Irresponsible Power Is Inconsistent With Liberty, And

Government Has Within It A Tendency To Abuse Its Powers.

The Government Of The Absolute Majority Instead Of The Government Of The People Is But The Government Of The Strongest Interests; And When Not Efficiently Checked, It Is The Most Tyrannical And Oppressive That Can Be Devised.

The Error Is In The Assumption That The General Government Is A Party To The Constitutional Compact. The States ... Formed The Compact, Acting As Sovereign And Independent Communities.

There Never Has Yet Existed A Wealthy And Civilized Society In Which One Portion Of The Community Did Not, In Point Of Fact, Live On The Labor Of The Other.

To Maintain The Ascendancy Of The Constitution Over The Lawmaking Majority Is The Great And Essential Point On Which The Success Of The [american] System Must Depend; Unless That Ascendancy Can Be Preserved, The Necessary Consequence Must Be That The Laws Will Supersede The Constitution; And, Finally, The Will Of The Executive, By Influence Of Its Patronage, Will Supersede The Laws . . .