In the domestic policy of this Government there are two objects
which especially deserve the attention of the people and their
representatives, and which have been and will continue to be the
subjects of my increasing solicitude. They are the preservation of
the rights of the several States and the integrity of the Union.
These great objects are necessarily connected, and can only be
attained by an enlightened exercise of the powers of each within
its appropriate sphere in conformity with the public will
constitutionally expressed. To this end it becomes the duty of all
to yield a ready and patriotic submission to the laws
constitutionally enacted and thereby promote and strengthen a
proper confidence in those institutions of the several States and
of the United States which the people themselves have ordained for
their own government.
My experience in public concerns and the observation of a life
somewhat advanced confirm the opinions long since imbibed by me,
that the destruction of our State governments or the annihilation
of their control over the local concerns of the people would lead
directly to revolution and anarchy, and finally to despotism and
military domination. In proportion, therefore, as the General
Government encroaches upon the rights of the States, in the same
proportion does it impair its own power and detract from its
ability to fulfill the purposes of its creation.
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