But power, confessedly derived from the people, must be exercised in obedience to their will, and must be resigned to them again, at least in death.
William Seward: “But power, confessedly derived from the people, must be exercised in obedience to their will, and must be resigned to…”
Editor's note · Context
Seward emphasizes the principle that power must be derived from and returned to the people, even in death.
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You have maintained through times of trial and danger the inheritance of freedom, of union, of independence bequeathed you by your forefathers.
The American colonists had been trained to rational conceptions of freedom, by lessons of wisdom and sagacity read them by their Puritan fathers, and by the experience in self-government, afforded during a century and a half of enjoyment…
It is not my voice, it is this cessation of ordinary pursuits, this arresting of all attention, those solemn ceremonies, and this crowded house, which speak their eulogy.
The policy of the United States, with reference to foreign nations, has always been founded upon the moral principle of natural law--Peace with all mankind.





