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off their allegiance to the entire government, and stand in the attitude of open and hostile rebellion.
It may not be an easy thing to settle the right of rebellion―to determine the question, when a people have a right forcibly to resist the execution of regularly enacted Law. But we can tell something about it. There are some things perfectly clear on this point.
- To justify rebellion, (or what is the same thing, forcible resistance of the laws,) a government must be so bad, as to manifestly fail of its just ent, that is, to promote the happiness of the people. If it does promote that general happiness, it answers the just end of government―it is a good government, and ought not to be overthrown.
- To justify rebellion, the injustice or failure of a government must be so great, that it cannot be endured,―so great, that it will manifestly be better on the whole, to run all the risks of a bloody conflict, of civil war, than to endure the execution of the governmental laws.
- To justify rebellion, there must be little or no prospect that the government can be peaceably altered, as ours may be, or that the injustice of oppression of the government can be made to cease by any peaceable means. Violence against government, rebellion, civil war, are no small matters. They bring horrid evils along with them. The injury of government must be very great to justify the introduction of such evils; and if the injury can be made to cease by any peaceable means and within any reasonable time, it would be better to bear the injury for a while, than to involve the nation in confusion and blood, with uncertainty as
