And, finally, to secure the absolute su premacy of the Federal government over all matters of Federal cognizance, it was expressly provided that Constitution and the laws of the United States which shall be passed in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made under the authority of die United States, shall be the supreme' law of the land, and the judges of every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding?' This making the Federal Constitution and treaties made, and laws of Congress passed under its authority, the supreme law of the land is the key of our dual system of government, as the omnipotence of Parliament is the key of the British Con stitution. But the Federal government, though supreme within the limits prescribed, is not omnipotent; it must keep within those limits. By the 10th amendment, passed immediately after the adoption of the Constitution, to pre vent Congress from meddling with the domestic concerns of the States, or exercising powers not granted to them, it was expressly provided that the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States re spectively, or to the people.
Thus the people of the United States created for themselves two separate and distinct gov ernments, each rof the people, by the people, and for the people,' each independent and exclusive of the other within its own scope and sphere, and each able, without aid from the other, to reach for its own purposes, by its own authority, every person and every foot of land within its territory. as it may appear to people living under other forms of government, this dual system has worked very simply, smoothly, and harmoniously from the beginning until now, except for the single occasion when the terrible question of slavery proved to be too much for all the departments of government combined, and could only be settled by our long years of Civil War. But how has this marvelous result been accomplished? How has it been possible for these two governments, each of prescribed and limited powers, and each department of both similarly defined, to act independently and at the same time harmoniously over the same people? By what magical force has each power, State and Federal, been kept within its own limits? What has prevented constant and hope less conflict between State functions and offi cials, and Federal functions and officials, be tween State and Nation, and between State and State, originally 13 in number and now 48? How has it been possible to secure the due pro tection of the law to the citizens of one State in each of the other States, and the rights of aliens against local prejudice and discrimination in any State, and how has the faith of treaties been preserved in every locality? These, and a thousand other similar questions and doubts as to the successful working of our system, are answered by pointing to the Supreme Court created by the Constitution, and to the Federal courts inferior to it created by Congress, in which the judicial power of the United States is vested, a power which, as has been said, is co-ordinate and co-extensive with the executive and legislative. Over whatever region Congress
may attempt to legislate or the President to execute its laws, there the judicial power tends, to pass, if need be, upon the legality of their acts and the validity of their laws. The Constitution, and each of its provisions, is su preme over President, Congress, Courts and States, and the valid laws of Congress, and treaties made under the authority of the United States, are the supreme law of the land for all its people, and for the courts, legislatures, and governors of each State. The Supreme Court is the final judge of the validity of all laws passed by Congress or by the legislatures of each of the 48 States, when brought to the test of the Constitution of the United States, and of the legality of all official acts when brought to the same test. It and the Federal courts inferior to it furnish the vehicle by which the judicial power of the United States is carried into the whole of its vast territory, to administer justice within the limits prescribed to it, to enforce the Federal laws and to punish offenders against them.
The third article of the Constitution is marvelously brief and simple. The judges, ac cording to that good old rule which has worked so well in England since the days of William and Mary, are to hold their offices during good behavior, and can only be removed by impeach ment, and their compensation shall not be diminished during their continuance in office. The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction only in cases affecting ambassadors, public ministers and consuls, and in those in which a State shall be a party. The first branch of this original power has seldom been invoked, but over and over again a great State has been brought to its bar by another State to settle boundary disputes, always the most dangerous to the peace of adjoining States, and in each instance its decree has been submitted to with implicit obedience — a most unique judicial power, and a most convincing example to per suade all nations to settle these most perilous questions by arbitration. It has been well said "that the provision that the judicial power created by the people shall be the arbiter be tween the States themselves, in all their contro versies with each other, marks the highest level ever attained in the progress of representative government.° Tocqueville says: "In the na tions of Europe the courts of justice are only called upon to try the controversies of private individuals, but the Supreme Court of the United States summons sovereign powers to its bar.° John Stuart Mill declares it to be "the first example of what is now one of the most prominent wants of civilized society, a real in ternational tribunal.° In all other matters the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is only ap pellate. The judicial power extends only to cases as they arise between party and party, and in the Supreme Court as they come to it mostly by appeal from the inferior Federal courts, or by writ of error to the State courts.