Therelativepositionofthecentralfederalpoweriscontinuallydisplaced。FortyyearsagothemajorityofthecitizensoftheUnionwasestablisheduponthecoastoftheAtlantic，intheenvironsofthespotuponwhichWashingtonnowstands;butthegreatbodyofthepeopleisnowadvancinginlandandtothenorth，sothatintwentyyearsthemajoritywillunquestionablybeonthewesternsideoftheAlleghanies。IftheUniongoesontosubsist，thebasinoftheMississippiisevidentlymarkedout，byitsfertilityanditsextent，asthefuturecentreoftheFederalGovernment。Inthirtyorfortyyears，thattractofcountrywillhaveassumedtherankwhichnaturallybelongstoit。Itiseasytocalculatethatitspopulation，comparedtothatofthecoastoftheAtlantic，willbe，inroundnumbers，as40to11。InafewyearstheStateswhichfoundedtheUnionwilllosethedirectionofitspolicy，andthepopulationofthevalleyoftheMississippiwillpreponderateinthefederalassemblies。
Thisconstantgravitationofthefederalpowerandinfluencetowardsthenorthwestisshowneverytenyears，whenageneralcensusofthepopulationismade，andthenumberofdelegateswhicheachStatesendstoCongressissettledafresh。*oIn1790
VirginiahadnineteenrepresentativesinCongress。Thisnumbercontinuedtoincreaseuntiltheyear1813，whenitreachedtotwenty—three;fromthattimeitbegantodecrease，andin1833
Virginiaelectedonlytwenty—onerepresentatives。*pDuringthesameperiodtheStateofNewYorkprogressedinthecontrarydirection:in1790ithadtenrepresentativesinCongress;in1813，twenty—seven;in1823，thirty—four;andin1833，forty。
TheStateofOhiohadonlyonerepresentativein1803，andin1833ithadalreadynineteen。