“One of the fruitful sources, as I hold it, of the errors which prevail in our country, is the theory that this is a government of one people; that the government of the United States was formed by a mass; and therefore it is taken that all are responsible for the institutions and policies of each. The government of the United States is a compact between the sovereign members who formed it; and if there be one feature common to all the colonies planted upon the shores of America, it was the steady assertion of, and uncompromising desire for, community independence.”

— Jefferson Davis

Senate speech (7 May 1860)
1860s

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

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Jefferson Davis 44

President of the Confederate States of America 1808–1889

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Jefferson Davis 44

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