“On all issues but one, antebellum southerners stood for state’s rights and a weak federal government. The exception was the fugitive slave law of 1850, which gave the national government more power than any other law yet passed by Congress.” — James McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, p. 78
A Thinking Reed
"Man is but a reed, the most feeble thing in nature, but he is a thinking reed" – Blaise Pascal
A Thinking Reed 
The point of government, after all, is to be a labor-saving device. Government should be weak enough not to interfere in the plans of the historically dominant group, but strong enough to exercise them against everyone else.