u  But,  indeed,''  says  Mr.  Motley,  "  the  words  '  sovereign '
and  i  sovereignty  '  are  purely  inapplicable  to  the  American  sys-
tem. In  the  Declaration  of  Independence  the  provinces  declare
themselves  '  free  and  independent  States,'  but  the  men  of  those
days  knew  that  the  word  '  sovereign '  was  a  term  of  feudal  ori-
gin. When  their  connection  with  a  time-honored  feudal  mon-
archy was  abruptly  severed,  the  word  '  sovereign '  had  no  mean-
ing for  us."  *

If  this  be  true,  "  the  men  of  those  days  "  had  a  very  extraor-
dinary way  of  expressing  their  conviction  that  the  word  "  had
no  meaning  for  us."  "We  have  seen  that,  in  the  very  front  of
their  Articles  of  Confederation,  they  set  forth  the  conspicuous
declaration  that  each  State  retained  "  its  sovereignty,  freedom,
and  independence."

Massachusetts — the  State,  I  believe,  of  Mr.  Motley's  nativity
and  citizenship — in  her  original  Constitution,  drawn  up  by  "  men
of  those  days,"  made  this  declaration  :

"  The  people  inhabiting  the  territory  formerly  called  the  Prov-
ince of  Massachusetts  Bay  do  hereby  solemnly  and  mutually  agree
with  each  other  to  form  themselves  into  a  free,  sovereign,  and
independent  body  politic,  or  State,  by  the  name  of  The  Common-
wealth of  Massachusetts"

JSTew  Hampshire,  in  her  Constitution,  as  revised  in  1792,  had
identically  the  same  declaration,  except  as  regards  the  name  of
the  State  and  the  word  "  State  "  instead  of  "  Commonwealth."

Mr.  Madison,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  the  men  of

*  "Rebellion  Record,"  vol.  i,  Documents,  p.  211.
144      KISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  CONFEDERATE  GOVERNMENT.
