[Sidenote: The Constitution irregular.]

The third attempt to form an organic union was now successfully carried
out. The irregular authority of the Continental Congress had been replaced
by the legal but inefficient Confederation; to this was now to succeed an
organized government, complete in all its departments, and well endowed
with powers. How had this Constitution been adopted? What was the
authority which had taken upon itself to diminish the powers of the
States, and to disregard the clauses which required unanimous consent to
amendments? Was the new Constitution an agreement between eleven States,
or was it an instrument of government for the whole people? Upon this
question depends the whole discussion about the nature of the Union and
the right of secession.

[Sidenote: Compact theory.]

The first theory is that the Constitution was a compact made between
sovereign States. Thus Hayne in 1830 declared that "Before the
Constitution each state was an independent sovereignty, possessing all the
rights and powers appertaining to independent nations.... After the
Constitution was formed, they remained equally sovereign and independent
as to all powers not expressly delegated to the federal government.... The
true nature of the Federal Constitution, therefore, is ... a compact to
which the States are parties." The importance of the word "compact" is
that it means an agreement which loses its force when any one of the
parties ceases to observe it; a compact is little more than a treaty.
Those who framed the Constitution appeared to consider it no compact; for
on May 30, 1787, Mr. Randolph moved that "-no treaty or treaties among the
whole or part of the States, as individual sovereignties, would be