Acting Quote by John C. Calhoun

The powers of the federal government ... result from the compact to which the states are parties, [and are] limited by the plain sense…

— James Madison

“Owing its ratification to the law of a State, it has been contended that the same authority might repeal the law by which it…

— Alexander Hamilton

The several states composing the United States of America are not united on the principle of unlimited submission to their general government

— Thomas Jefferson

In the next place, the state governments are, by the very theory of the constitution, essential constituent parts of the general government. They can…

— Joseph Story

“I agree to this Constitution with all its faults, if they are such: because I think a General Government necessary for us, and there…

— Benjamin Franklin

“In examining the division of powers, as established by the Federal Constitution, remarking on the one hand the portion of sovereignty which has been…

— Alexis de Tocqueville

“… I believe that the maintenance of the rights and authority reserved to the states and to the people … are the safeguard to…

— Anonymous

Confederation is a compact, made originally by four provinces but adhered to by all the nine provinces who have entered it, and I submit…

— Wilfrid Laurier

“The United States of America, as defined in The Constitution thereof, is not a democracy, nor was it ever envisioned as such or intended…

— Joseph Befumo

The government created by this compact was not made the exclusive or final judge of the extent of the powers delegated to itself; since…

— Thomas Jefferson

The States then being the parties to the constitutional compact, and in their sovereign capacity, it follows of necessity, that there can be no…

— James Madison

“It requires emphasis that the states established the American Republic and, through the Constitution, retained for themselves significant authority to ensure the republic's durability.…

— Mark R. Levin