It is true that in these earlier cases there was
no formal expression of a determination to withdraw from the Union, but
it is also true that in the Southern States the ordinances of secession
were treated by all the friends of the Union as mere nullities and are
now acknowledged to be so by the States themselves. If we admit that
they had any force or validity or that they did in fact take the States
in which they were passed out of the Union, we sweep from under our feet
all the grounds upon which we stand in justifying the use of Federal
force to maintain the integrity of the Government.
This is a bill passed by Congress in time of peace. There is not
in any one of the States brought under its operation either war or
insurrection. The laws of the States and of the Federal Government are
all in undisturbed and harmonious operation. The courts, State and
Federal, are open and in the full exercise of their proper authority.
Over every State comprised in these five military districts, life,
liberty, and property are secured by State laws and Federal laws, and
the National Constitution is everywhere in force and everywhere obeyed.
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