Indeed,
this nearly happened in the civil war, which was more economic than
political in its origin.
"But, though we had our difficulties, we did find a way to make a
unified nation of a hundred million people and forty-eight
Commonwealths, all bound together in unity and in loyalty to a common
political ideal and a common political purpose.
"Just as certainly as we sit here this must and will be the future of
Europe. There will be a federation into the United States of Europe.
"When one nation sets out to assert itself by force against the will, or
even the wish, of its neighbors, disaster must inevitably come. Disaster
would have come here if, in 1789, New York had endeavored to assert
itself against New England or Pennsylvania.
"As a matter of fact, certain inhabitants of Rhode Island and
Pennsylvania did try something of the sort after the Federal Government
had been formed, but, fortunately, their effort was a failure.
"The leaders of our national life had established such a flexible and
admirable plan of government that it was soon apparent that each State
could retain its identity, forming its own ideals and shaping its own
progress, and still remain a loyal part of the whole; that each State
could make a place for itself in the new federated nation and not be
destroyed thereby.
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