Memoirs of the Administrations of Washington and John Adams: Edited from the Papers of Oliver Wolcott, Secretary of the Treasury, Volume 2

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Subscribers [W. Van Norden, Printer], 1846 - United States

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Page 163 - ... since the discretion of those who administer the government, and not the Constitution, would be the measure of their powers ; that the several states who formed that instrument, being sovereign and independent, have the unquestionable right to judge of its infraction ; and that a nullification by those sovereignties of all unauthorized acts done under color of that instrument, is the rightful remedy...
Page 171 - But in demonstrating by our conduct that we do not fear war in the necessary protection of our rights and honor we shall give no room to infer that we abandon the desire of peace.
Page 83 - Indian tribes; to fix the standard of weights and measures ; to establish post-offices and post-roads ; to declare war ; to raise and support armies ; to provide and maintain a navy...
Page 61 - ... administration. They ought to inspire universal confidence, and will no doubt, combined with the state of things, call from Congress such laws and means, as will enable you to meet the full force and extent of the crisis. Satisfied, therefore, that you have sincerely wished and...
Page 291 - The states never possessed the essential rights of sovereignty. These were always vested in congress. Their voting as states in congress is no evidence of sovereignty. The state of Maryland voted by counties. Did this make the counties sovereign ? The states at present are only great corporations, having the power of making by-laws, and these are effectual only if they are not contradictory to the general confederation. The states ought to be placed under the control of the general government, at...
Page 61 - I sincerely love, to enter upon the boundless field of public action, incessant trouble, and high responsibility. " It was not possible for me to remain ignorant of, or indifferent to, recent transactions. The conduct of the Directory of France towards our country, their insidious...
Page 56 - I will never send another minister to France without assurances that he will be received, respected, and honored as the representative of a great, free, powerful, and independent nation.
Page 282 - They appear to me to be moving by hasty strides to some awful crisis ; but in what it will result, that Being, who sees, foresees, and directs all things, alone can tell. The Vessel is afloat, or very nearly so, and considering myself as a Passenger only, I shall trust to the Mariners, whose duty it is to watch, to steer it into a safe...
Page 208 - But far, very far indeed was this surprise short of what I experienced the next day, when, by a very intelligent gentleman, immediately from Philadelphia, I was informed, that there had been no direct overture from the government of France to that of the United States for a negotiation ; on the contrary, that M. Talleyrand was playing the same loose and roundabout game he had attempted the year before with our envoys ; and which, as in that case, might mean any thing or nothing, as would subserve...
Page 185 - But to send another minister without more determinate assurances that he would be received would be an act of humiliation to which the United States ought not to submit. It must therefore be left with France (if she is indeed desirous of accommodation) to take the requisite steps.

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