The Importance of a National Government

If we are unwilling to be placed in this perilous situation, if we still will adhere to the design of a national government, we must incorporate into our plan those ingredients which may be considered as forming the characteristic difference between a league and a government. We must extend the authority of the union to the persons of the citizens, the only proper objects of government. Government implies the power of making laws. It is essential to the idea of a law that it be attended with a sanction, or in other words, a penalty or punishment for disobedience. If there be no penalty annexed to disobedience, the resolutions or commands which pretend to be laws will in fact amount to nothing more than advice or recommendation. This