In a letter announcing his retirement from the army at the close
of the War, he wrote: «I now make it my earnest prayer, that God would have you, and the
State over which you preside, in his holy protection, that he would incline the hearts
of the
Citizens to cultivate a spirit
of subordination and obedience to Government, to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another, for their fellow
Citizens of the United
States at large, and particularly for their brethren who have served in the Field, and finally, that he would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all, to do Justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that Charity, humility and pacific temper
of mind, which were the Characteristicks
of the Divine Author
of our blessed Religion, and without an humble imitation
of whose example in these things, we can never hope to be a
happy Nation.»
As Justice Brandeis explained more than 70 years ago, «it is one
of the
happy incidents
of the federal system that a single courageous
state may, if its
citizens choose, serve as a laboratory and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest
of the country.»»