Chapter 32

THE UNITED STATES.

INTRODUCTORY.--Each division of government which we have considered exists for only a part of the whole people. The government of one State has no authority over the people of other States; but the government of the United States, often called the national government or federal government, is for the good of the entire country, and its authority is over the whole people.

All these divisions of government--the family, the school, the township or civil district, the county, the State, and the United States--are dependent upon one another.

If family government were destroyed, society would be ruined and other governments would be worthless.

If there were no schools, the people would be so ignorant that free government would be impossible.

If the township or civil district were neglected, local government would be inefficient.

If the States were blotted out, the national government would assume all power, and the freedom of the people would be greatly abridged, and perhaps finally lost.

If the national government were dismembered, the States would be weak, helpless, at war with one another, and at the mercy of foreign nations.

The distribution of power among the several political organizations prevents any of them from assuming too much authority, and thus tends to preserve the liberties of the people.

FORMATION.--The national government is based upon the Constitution of the United States. It was formed by the union of the several States under the Constitution, and its powers are set forth in that instrument. The thirteen original States ratified the Constitution of the United States between December 7, 1787, and May 29, 1790, and thus organized the national government. It thus became, and has continued to be, the government of the whole people, "by the people and for the people."

FORM OF GOVERNMENT.

The national government, like the government of each State, is a republic; that is, the authority is exercised by the representatives of the people. As all power resides in the people, our government is called a democracy. As the people elect officers or representatives to act for them in the performance of public duties, it is called a representative democracy.

Our system of government is different from those of all other nations, because part of the political power is vested in the State, and part in the nation; that is, in the United States.

The national Constitution enumerates the powers which may be exercised by the national government, and reserves all other powers "to the States respectively, or to the people." Because of this dual or double character of our system of government, John Quincy Adams called it "a complicated machine."

PURPOSES.--The purposes of the national government are clearly and forcibly set forth in the "preamble," or opening clause, of the Constitution of the United States;

1. "To form a more perfect _union_;"

2. "To establish _justice_;"

3. "To insure domestic _tranquillity_;"

4. "To provide for the common _defense_;"

5. "To promote the general _welfare_;"

6. "To secure the blessings of _liberty_ to ourselves and our posterity."

Before the Revolutionary war, the American colonies were subject to Great Britain. By the Declaration of Independence these colonies became "free and independent States." During the period between the Declaration of Independence and the adoption of the national Constitution, the union between the States was weak and unsatisfactory.

Instead of there being "domestic tranquillity," the States were engaged in constant quarrels. There was no power to provide for the "common defense" of the people against foreign enemies; each State must protect itself as best it could. No provision could be made for the "general welfare" by the passage and enforcement of broad measures for the whole country. Under the Articles of Confederation, as was said at that time, the States might "declare everything, but do nothing." The adoption of the national Constitution and the formation of the national government made the inhabitants of the States one people, and have since brought the United States to be "the first of the nations of the earth."

FUNCTIONS.--The functions of the national government are numerous and important. In adopting the national Constitution, the States delegated or ceded to the United States those powers which are necessary to the strength and greatness of a nation.

The national government administers those public affairs which concern the whole people, such as the regulation of commerce, the granting of patents, and the coinage of money; and also those which pertain to the United States as a nation dealing with other nations, such as declaring war and making treaties of peace.

The subjects upon which the national Congress may enact laws, and consequently the subjects included in the functions of the national government, are enumerated in Section 8, Article I. of the Constitution.

CITIZENS.

The people who reside in the United States are either citizens or aliens. The national Constitution declares that "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside." Women and children are citizens, though not entitled to vote.

A citizen is a member of the body politic, bound to allegiance, and entitled to protection at home and abroad. He can renounce his allegiance--that is, lay down his citizenship--by becoming the subject of some other country. Wherever he goes, until he renounces his allegiance, he is a citizen of the United States, and is shielded from insult by the might and majesty of the whole nation. Citizenship is therefore valuable for its protection abroad, as well as for its rights and privileges at home.

NATURALIZATION.--Naturalized citizens are persons of foreign birth who have become citizens by naturalization, after a continuous residence of at least five years in the United States. A foreigner is naturalized by appearing in court, declaring his intention to become a citizen of the United States, and his purpose to renounce all allegiance to foreign governments. After two years more, he must appear in open court, renounce upon oath all foreign allegiance, and swear to support the Constitution of the United States. If he bears any title of nobility, he must renounce it. Naturalized citizens have all the rights and privileges that belong to native-born citizens, except that no naturalized person can become President or Vice President of the United States.

RIGHTS.--The Constitution of the United States does not contain a formal bill of rights, as do most of the State constitutions, but it names the following as among the rights of citizens:

(1) "The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens of the several States";

That is, a citizen who removes into another State shall enjoy all the rights and privileges that belong to its citizens.

(2) "A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another State, shall, on demand of the executive authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having jurisdiction of the crime." A demand for the delivery of a fugitive criminal is called a requisition.

(3) "No person held to service or labor in one State under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor; but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due."

This provision refers to the capture and return of fugitive slaves, and is rendered void by the abolition of slavery.

(4) "A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

This clause does not authorize the carrying of concealed weapons.

(5) "No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war but in a manner to be prescribed by law."

(6) "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated; and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized."

(7) _a_. "No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia when in actual service, in time of war or public danger;

_b_. "Nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb, nor shall be compelled, in any criminal case, to be a witness against himself;

_c_. "Nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law;

_d_. "Nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation."

The first part of this clause secures a civil trial to every private citizen. The land and naval forces, and the militia when in actual service, are under military law, usually called martial law.

(8) "In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right

_a_. "To a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law;

_b_. "To be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation;

_c_. "To be confronted with the witnesses against him;

_d_. "To have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor;

_e_. "And to have the assistance of counsel for his defense."

(9) "In suits at law where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States than according to the rules of the common law."

(10) "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted."

(11) "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction."

(12) "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State, on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."

(13) "The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."

ALIENS.

Aliens are subjects of foreign governments. They are not citizens of this country, and, in general, have no right to take part in its political affairs. Throughout the Union aliens have full social and moral rights; in some States their property rights are restricted; and in a few States they have certain political rights.

NATURE OF THE CONSTITUTION.

The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the whole land. It is a written instrument, and is often called the fundamental law.

Neither the laws of any State nor the laws of the United States must conflict with the Constitution. It is the basis of our system of government, the model upon which all State constitutions are framed, and the foundation of our greatness as a people. It defines the limits of the national government, and enumerates the powers of each of its departments. It declares what public interests are within the scope of the national government, reserves certain powers to the States, and provides that neither State nor nation shall enact certain specified laws.

FORMATION.--The national Constitution was framed by a convention of delegates from twelve of the thirteen original States, Rhode Island alone being unrepresented. The convention was called for the purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation under which the States were at the time united.

The convention met at Philadelphia, on Monday, May 14, 1787, and organized on the 25th day of the same month by electing as its president George Washington, one of the delegates from Virginia. The Articles of Confederation were readily seen to be inadequate to the purposes of a national government, and the convention proceeded to draught a "Constitution for the United States of America."

The convention completed its labors, submitted the Constitution to the several States for their ratification, and adjourned on the 17th of September, 1787. All the States ratified the Constitution, the last being Rhode Island, whose convention, called for the purpose, passed the ordinance of ratification, May 29, 1790.

NECESSITY.--The necessity for a written national constitution is readily seen. The preamble states the purposes of the Constitution, which are also the purposes of the national government. The Constitution defines the limits of State and of national power, and thus prevents conflicts of authority which would otherwise arise between the State and the United States. Through the Constitution, the people, who are the sources of all just authority, grant to the government certain powers, and reserve all other powers to themselves. The Constitution prescribes the functions of each department of the government, and thus preserves the liberties of the people by preventing either Congress, the executive department, or the judiciary from exercising powers not granted to it.

AMENDMENT.--The Constitution prescribes two methods by which it may be amended:

1. By a two thirds vote of both houses Congress may propose to the several States amendments to the Constitution.

2. Upon the application of two thirds of the States, Congress shall call a convention of delegates from the several States for proposing amendments.

An amendment proposed by either method, "when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the States, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, shall be valid to all intents and purposes as a part of this Constitution."

Twenty-one amendments have been proposed by Congress, and seventeen of these have been ratified by three fourths of the State legislatures, and have become parts of the Constitution. The other four proposed amendments were rejected. Congress has never called a convention to propose amendments, and no State has ever called a convention to consider those amendments proposed by Congress.

DEPARTMENTS.--The functions of each branch of government are carefully marked in the Constitution, and the people and their representatives jealously guard the rights of each department. They believe that the duties of the law-making power, those of the law-enforcing power, and those of the law-explaining power can not be too clearly separated. If the same officers could make the law, enforce the law, and explain the law, there would be no limit to their authority, and therefore no security to the people.

The framers of the Constitution were wise men; they had seen the abuse of power by Great Britain while the colonies were under her sway, and they determined to guard the liberties of the people by forever separating the legislative, the executive, and the judicial functions. Their example has been followed in the constitutions of all the States.

The President has no right to interfere with the decisions of the courts, and, except by his veto, can not interfere with the action of Congress.

Congress can not question the decisions of courts, nor can it interfere with the legal actions of the President, except that the Senate may refuse to confirm his appointments to office.

Even the Supreme Court of the United States can not call in question the official acts of the President, so long as he conforms to the law; nor has it any power over the acts of Congress, except merely to decide upon the constitutionality of the laws when they are properly brought before it.

While, therefore, Congress and the President have some remote influence upon the actions of each other, neither has the slightest right to invade the functions of the Supreme Court, or of any other court, even the humblest in the land.

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.

1. Why do foreigners become naturalized?

2. What is a title of nobility?

3. What officer of a State makes requisition for the delivery of a criminal held by another State?

4. When was slavery abolished in the United States?

5. What is the purpose of a militia force?

6. What is a capital crime?

7. Why is the accused entitled to a speedy and public trial?

8. Why is the Constitution called the fundamental law?

9. Read in the history of the United States the account of the formation of the Constitution.

10. How many States were needed to ratify the Constitution in order that it might go into effect?

11. Read the amendments to the Constitution.

12. Can you name any proposed amendments that have been recently advocated?

QUESTION FOR DEBATE.

_Resolved_, That a written constitution is best for a free country.