The question is whether a national government or a confederacy of nations was made by the adoption of the Constitution--The doctrine of nullification and secession considered--The State governments and the National government have limited powers--The foundation of our government was necessarily a compact--The compact was for a national government--The failure of the government of the Confederacy of the revolution--The Constitution had the sanction of the Confederacy, of the State government and of the people--Preamble of Constitution declares its perpetuity--Supremacy of the Constitution over State judiciaries and laws--All really sovereign powers given to United States--Restriction of State powers--Powers of States only local--People of States or parts of States making war against the United States guilty of treason--Originally States, like counties, were suable by the Constitution--By amendments to the Constitution the United States can assume any power over the States--Other provisions giving the general government great power over States--Restriction of States to prevent their making resistance--Constitution established a government over individuals not States--Authority of the judiciary. CHAPTER III. THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION INTENDED NATIONALITY 51 Convention called to amend the articles of Confederacy--First resolution passed: the government should be supreme and national--The national plan offered by the Virginia delegation preferred and considered--The New Jersey plan of a confederacy of the States with coercive power to compel obedience--Hamilton’s plan--The Virginia plan again adopted. The United States adopted as the title--Resolutions passed that there should be two branches of the legislature, the first to be chosen by the people--Long controversy as to representation in Senate, settled by an equal representation of the States, the vote to be per capita--This compromise of representation in Senate does not affect the supremacy of the granted powers--Resolution of Elbridge Gerry referring the plan of a _national_ government to the committee of detail unanimously passed--Government called national in many of the referred votes--Committee of detail report votes passed; the preamble declaring the government to be for posterity--Article against treason again debated and passed unanimously--Constitution committed to committee of style and arrangement--New draft considered at length, adopted, and signed by delegates--Diversity of opinion as to durability, no suggestion that a State had a right to leave the Union--Yates and Lansing left convention because the Constitution made a national government--Satisfaction with it of Southern States--Washington’s service--Franklin’s happy speech at close--George Mason did not sign, though efficient in making it--Constitution submitted by