Divide et Impera

By D. Kenyon Williams Jr. 

For those of you who may have forgotten your high school Latin (or who were smart enough to take a "living" language, like Spanish or French), the phrase “divide et impera” means “divide and rule.” I retain only smatterings of the Latin I and II I endured in high school (although I still remember Latin II as the only "B" on my transcript, not that it bothered me ... ), so when I came across the phrase in “Federalist No. 7,” I had to look it up.

Recognizing that you may not be, as I am not, a Constitution nerd, I will pass along the information that the author of The Federalist Papers is Publius, the collective nom de plume of Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay. Beginning in 1787, Publius wrote a series of 85 essays in support of the adoption of the proposed United States Constitution. In the instance of “Federalist No. 7,” Publius was Alexander Hamilton. “Federalist No. 7” is an essay setting forth Mr. Hamilton’s arguments in support of the adoption of the Constitution by the state of New York on the grounds that a union of states would be less contentious and vulnerable than individual states. One of Mr. Hamilton’s posited possible disputes between the states was conflicting alliances by the respective states with foreign nations. It was in the context of Mr. Hamilton's discussion of conflicting alliances with foreign nations that he used the Latin phrase, stating, "Divide et impera must be the motto of every nation that either hates or fears us." Mr. Hamilton was pointing out that for enemies of our country, creating divisions in the unity of these United States is the surest path toward defeating and conquering the wonderful experiment that our form of federal government represents.

Since I have freely admitted that I am not a Constitution nerd, you might wonder why I would be reading The Federalist Papers. In anticipation of the July 4th holiday (and Constitution Day – and yes, I know that was last month), I had been trying to recall from my childhood all the ways my parents and my hometown of Skiatook used to make it a special, patriotic event. Certainly, the parades, fireworks displays and cookouts are a part of those memories. I also remember times when Abraham Lincoln’s “house divided” speech was quoted, both in school and as part of the speeches given at the end of some of the public celebrations. It seems to me that in grade school, I was required to memorize and recite this portion of the speech:

A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved – I do not expect the house to fall – but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new – North as well as South.

While I recall the exercise of memorization and recitation, I do not recall any of my teachers or the local politicians making the connection between Mr. Lincoln's speech and the ancient parable: "If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand." It was while researching the origin of Mr. Lincoln's reference in his speech that I came across the reference to The Federalist Papers, which led to further reading, and these thoughts I share with you.

From my perspective, the United States has avoided the weakness of "becoming a kingdom divided" through certain unifying social compacts. The United States Constitution is one of those unifying compacts. The proposed United States Constitution was considered by the American people only four years after the 13 colonies won their freedom from British rule. The Federalist Papers were penned and published only 11 years after the Declaration of Independence. The declaration, with its passionate and elegant language, is another unifying compact that has protected our republic from division:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it; and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Although not often a topic of discussion (in my education), the Declaration of Independence was a "new thing under the sun!" As John Quincy Adams (then secretary of state but later the sixth president of the United States) declared in his July 4, 1821, speech to the United States House of Representatives, the Declaration of Independence was "the first solemn declaration by a nation of the only legitimate foundation of civil government. ... It demolished at a stroke the lawfulness of all governments founded upon conquest. It swept away all the rubbish of accumulated centuries of servitude. It announced in practical form to the world the transcendent truth of the unalienable sovereignty of the people. It proved that the social compact was not a figment of the imagination; but a real, solid, and sacred bond of the social union. From the day of this declaration, the people of North America were no longer the fragment of a distant empire, imploring justice and mercy from an inexorable master in another hemisphere. ... They were a nation, asserting as of right, and maintaining by war, its own existence. A nation was born in a day."

After reading the entire text of the Declaration of Independence to the House of Representatives, Mr. Adams went on to say:

And here are we, fellow-citizens, assembled in the full enjoyment of its fruits, to bless the Author of our being for the bounties of His providence, in casting our lot in this favored land; to remember with effusions of gratitude the sages who put forth, and the heroes who bled for the establishment of this Declaration; and by the communion of soul in the reperusal and hearing of this instrument, to renew the genuine Holy Alliance of its principles, to recognize them as eternal truths, and to pledge ourselves and bind our posterity to a faithful and undeviating adherence to them.

Another unifying compact that comes to mind is the Pledge of Allegiance, which we have recited since childhood – possibly so many times that the true import of the words and our "pledge" no longer impacts us. "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." With each recitation, we are renewing our promise of allegiance to our republic as an indivisible nation that strives to provide liberty and justice for all the nation's citizens. "Weighty" promises, both by us and by our nation!

In “Federalist No. 51,” Publius (James Madison) argued for the importance of a balance of powers in the federal government. One portion of the essay in particular captures my attention: "In a free government the security for civil rights must be the same as that for religious rights. ... Justice is the end [purpose] of government. It is the end [purpose] of civil society. It ever has been and ever will be pursued until it be obtained, or until liberty be lost in the pursuit."[1]

I hope each of you, my sisters and brothers in our noble profession, will take pride in knowing that our role in protecting civil rights, liberty and justice for all is at the core of the founding principles of our republic. What you do matters and is important – not just to your clients but to our republic.

Thank you for your service!

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ENDNOTE

[1] Emphasis and clarification added.

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Originally published in the Oklahoma Bar Journal – OBJ 96 Vol 8 (October 2025).

Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff.