Certain danger was foretold from the extension of our territory,
the multiplication of States, and the increase of population. Our
system was supposed to be adapted only to boundaries comparatively
narrow. These have been widened beyond conjecture; the members of
our Confederacy are already doubled, and the numbers of our people
are incredibly augmented. The alleged causes of danger have long
surpassed anticipation, but none of the consequences have
followed. The power and influence of the Republic have arisen to a
height obvious to all mankind; respect for its authority was not
more apparent at its ancient than it is at its present limits; new
and inexhaustible sources of general prosperity have been opened;
the effects of distance have been averted by the inventive genius
of our people, developed and fostered by the spirit of our
institutions; and the enlarged variety and amount of interests,
productions, and pursuits have strengthened the chain of mutual
dependence and formed a circle of mutual benefits too apparent
ever to be overlooked.
In justly balancing the powers of the Federal and State
authorities difficulties nearly insurmountable arose at the outset
and subsequent collisions were deemed inevitable. Amid these it
was scarcely believed possible that a scheme of government so
complex in construction could remain uninjured.
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