The Constitution of the United States was formed by the sanction of
the states, given by each in its sovereign capacity. It adds to the
stability and dignity, as well as to the authority of the Constitution,
that it rests on this legitimate and solid foundation. The states, then,
being the parties to the constitutional compact, and in their sovereign
capacity, it follows of necessity, that there can be no tribunal above
their authority, to decide in the last resort, whether the compact made
by them be violated; and, consequently, that, as the. parties to it,
they must themselves decide, in the last resort, such questions as may
be of sufficient magnitude to require their interposition.
~ James Madison, Report of 1800
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