Connecticut was divided. Ellsworth
voted Aye, and Sherman, No.
Mr. Sherman lived, not only to sign a Constitution of limited
powers, but himself to support the Tenth Article of Amendment
thereto, which is as follows:
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution,
nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States
respectively, or to the people." The words "or to the people"
were moved by Mr. Sherman after the original article was reported.
So he saw clearly in the beginning, what no other member saw,
the two great American principles, first that the National
Government should be a Government of limited and delegated
powers, and next, that there is a domain of legislation which
the people have not delegated either to the National Government
or to the States, and upon which no legislative power may
rightfully enter.
I surely am not mistaken in thinking that even without the
other services of a life devoted to the public, these four
contributions to the Constitutional history of the country
entitle Mr. Sherman to an honorable place in the grateful
memory of his countrymen, and vindicate the tributes which
I have cited from his illustrious contemporaries.
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