THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL 4 | OCTOBER 2025 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. 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. Divide et Impera From the President By D. Kenyon “Ken” Williams Jr. D. Kenyon “Ken” Williams Jr. is a shareholder and director at Hall Estill in Tulsa. 918-594-0519 kwilliams@hallestill.com (continued on page 71)
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTk3MQ==