Page:Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States (1st ed, 1833, vol I).djvu/246

storm. They accordingly grew into union, and formed one great political body, of which congress was the directing principle and soul, &c. &c. The truth is, that the states, individually, were not known, nor recognized as sovereign by foreign nations, nor are they now. The states collectively under congress, as their connecting point or head, were acknowledged by foreign powers, as sovereign, particularly in that acceptation of the term, which is applicable to all great national concerns, and in the exercise of which other sovereigns would be more immediately interested." In Ware v. Hylton, (3 Dall. 199,^[1]) Mr. Justice Chase (himself also a revolutionary statesman) said: "It has been inquired, what powers congress possessed from the first meeting in September, 1774, until the ratification of the confederation on the 1st of March, 1781. It appears to me, that the powers of congress during that whole period were derived from the people they represented, expressly given through the medium of their state conventions or state legislatures; or, that after they were exercised, they were impliedly ratified by the acquiescence and obedience of the people, &c. The powers of congress originated from necessity, and arose out of it, and were only limited by events; or, in other words, they were revolutionary in their nature. Their extent depended on the exigencies and necessities of public affairs. I entertain this general idea, that the several states retained all internal sovereignty; and that congress properly possessed the rights of external sovereignty. In deciding on the powers of congress, and of the several states before the confederation, I see but one safe rule, namely, that all the powers actually exer-

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1. S. C. 1 Peters's Cond. R. 99.