The life of a republic lies certainly in the energy, virtue, and intelligence of its citizens.

Honest conviction is my courage; the Constitution is my guide.

I have reached the summit of my ambition.

Let them impeach and be damned.

I tell our sisters in the South that so far as Tennessee is concerned she will not be dragged into a Southern or any other confederacy until she has had time to consider; and then she will go when she believes it to be her interest, and not before.

The sovereignty of the States is the language of the Confederacy and not the language of the Constitution. The latter contains the emphatic words. This Constitution and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof and all treaties made or which shall be made under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding

If the rabble were lopped off at one end and the aristocrat at the other, all would be well with the country.