CHAPTER VII.

THE STATE.

INTRODUCTORY.--After the county, the government nearest us is that of the State. The political divisions which we have considered are subject to the State, holding their powers as grants from its government. The State can make and unmake them, and we owe them obedience because the State has commanded it. As we sometimes express it, the sovereignty or supreme sway of these local divisions resides in the State.

DEFINITION.--A State is a community of free citizens living within a territory with fixed limits, governed by laws based upon a constitution of their own adoption, and possessing all governmental powers not granted to the United States. Each State is a republic and maintains a republican form of government, which is guaranteed by the United States. The State is supreme within its own sphere, but its authority must not conflict with that of the national government. A State is sometimes called a commonwealth because it binds the whole people together for their common weal or common good.

FORMATION OF ORIGINAL STATES.--The thirteen original colonies were principally settled by people from Europe. The colonial rights were set forth and boundaries fixed by charters granted by the crown of England. In the Declaration of Independence these colonies declared themselves "free and independent States." After the treaty of peace which acknowledged their independence, they framed and adopted the national constitution, and thereby became the United States of America.

ADMISSION OF NEW STATES.--New States are admitted into the Union by special acts of the Congress of the United States. An organized Territory having the necessary population sends a memorial to Congress asking to be admitted as a State. Congress then passes a law called an "enabling act," authorizing the people of the Territory to form a State constitution. When the people have framed and adopted a State constitution not in conflict with the Constitution of the United States, Congress passes another act admitting the new State into the Union "upon an equal footing with the original States in all respects whatever." Sometimes the enabling act provides for admission on proclamation of the President of the United States. Several of the Territories adopted State constitutions and were admitted as States without enabling acts.

PURPOSES.--The State keeps power near the people, and thus makes them more secure in their liberty. "The powers not granted to the United States, nor prohibited to the States, are reserved to the States respectively or to the people." If the whole country were a single republic without State divisions, power would be withdrawn from the people and become centralized in the national government.

Our political system leaves the various functions of government to the smallest political communities that can perform them efficiently. The county has charge of all public interests that can be managed by it as well as by the State. Many public affairs, such as popular education,[1] private corporations, and the organization of the smaller political divisions, can be better managed by the State than by the National Government, and are therefore properly left to the State's direction.

Parts of the country widely separated differ in climate and soil, giving rise to different industries and occupations, which require different laws, made and administered by different States. The State serves as a convenient basis for the apportionment of members of both houses of Congress, and State institutions preserve and develop the local individuality and self-reliance of the people.

FUNCTIONS.--The functions of the State are very extensive, including the greater part of those acts of government which preserve society by affording security to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness.

The State government touches the citizens at most points; that is, all those laws that concern the body of the people in their ordinary daily life are made and enforced by the State, or by the smaller political divisions of the State, acting under the State's directions. Officers discharge their duties, arrests are made, courts are held, offenders are punished, justice is meted out, and taxes are collected, by the authority of the State.

The National Government has similar functions to perform in every part of the country, but they are far less frequent than those of the State.

INSTITUTIONS.--The State maintains a number of charitable and other institutions for the public welfare. It makes appropriations of land or money for the support of asylums, prisons, reformatories, scientific institutions, schools, colleges, and universities. The support of these institutions, the payment of salaries, the administration of justice, and the conduct of other public interests, involve large annual expenditures, often amounting to several millions of dollars.

CITIZENS.

The citizens of a State are the people who live in it, whether natives of the United States, or foreigners who have been adopted. Persons who are citizens of the United States are thereby citizens of the State in which they reside. They have all the rights that freemen can possess, and enjoy a larger freedom than do the people of any other country.

The legal voters, often called electors, are the male citizens who have resided in the State, the county, and the township, or voting precinct, the time required by law to entitle them to vote. The length of residence required in the State varies, being two years in some, six months in others, and one year in most States. Several States permit citizens of foreign countries to vote, and a few permit women to vote.

RIGHTS.--Every citizen has the right to be secure in his person; to be free from attack and annoyance; to go when and where he may choose; to keep, enjoy, and dispose of his property; and to provide in his own way for the welfare of himself and of those dependent upon him.

The rights of the people are set forth at length and with great precision in a portion of the State constitution called the Bill of Rights. These rights must be exercised under the restrictions of the law, and with due regard for the same rights held by others.

The legal voters have the right to vote in all local, State, and national elections. They are voters in national elections by virtue of being voters in State elections. The right to vote implies the right to be voted for, and the right to hold office; but for many officers the State requires a longer residence and other qualifications than those prescribed for voters.

DUTIES.--For every right, the people have a corresponding duty; and for every privilege they enjoy, there is a trust for them to discharge. The large personal freedom possessed by the American citizens imposes equally as large public responsibilities. It is the duty of every citizen to obey the law, to aid in securing justice, to respect authority, to love his country, and to labor for the public good. No one can be a useful member of society unless he respects the laws and institutions of the land. The people themselves have established this government, both State and national; it exists for them, and therefore they owe it honor and obedience.

It is the duty of every voter to study the interests of the country, and to vote for persons and measures that, in his opinion, will best "promote the general welfare." In this country, government is intrusted to the whole people, and they can govern only by expressing their will in elections. Therefore the majority must rule. The majority will sometimes make mistakes, but these will be corrected after a time. In order that good government may ensue, good citizens must take part in elections. The privilege of suffrage is conferred upon an implied contract that it will be used for the public good. He who fails to vote when he can, fails to perform his part of the contract, fails to fulfill his promise, and fails to respect the government that protects him.

CONSTITUTION.

The constitution is often called the supreme law of the State. In other words, it is the supreme act of the people, for the purpose of organizing themselves as a body politic, of formulating their government, and of fixing the limits of its power. It is a contract between the whole society as a political body, and each of its members. Each binds himself to the whole body, and the whole body binds itself to each, in order that all may be governed by the same laws for the common good. The constitution of each State is a written instrument, modeled after the Constitution of the United States, with which it must not conflict.

The constitutions of England and most other countries of Europe are unwritten. They consist of the common usages and maxims that have become fixed by long experience. In those countries, when a new political custom grows into common practice it thereby becomes a part of the national constitution.

FORMATION AND ADOPTION.--As the whole people can not assemble in one place to frame and adopt a constitution, they elect delegates to a constitutional convention. The convention usually meets at the capital, deliberates, frames articles for a proposed constitution, and in nearly all cases submits them to the people. The people make known their will in a general election, and if a majority vote in favor of adopting the proposed constitution, it becomes the constitution of the State. If the proposed constitution is rejected, another convention must be called to propose other articles to be voted upon by the people.

PURPOSES.--The purposes of the constitution are to guard the rights of the people, to protect the liberties of the minority, to grant authority to the government, to separate the functions of the three departments, to prescribe the limits of each, and to fix in the public policy those maxims of political wisdom that have been sanctioned by time.

The special tendency in recent amendments of State constitutions has been to limit the power of the legislature. Constitutions, like other political institutions, are largely matters of growth, and from time to time must be revised to meet the changing wants of society. For this purpose the constitution of almost every State contains a provision, called the open clause, which authorizes the legislature, under certain restrictions, to propose amendments to the constitution to be adopted or rejected by a vote of the people.

VALUE.--The people of any State may, at their pleasure, frame and adopt a new constitution, which must be in harmony with the Constitution of the United States. The right to make their own constitution is one of the highest and most important rights that freemen can possess. It is in this and in the right of suffrage that their freedom principally consists.

The constitution protects the people by prescribing the limits of official authority. The legislature can not legally pass a law which the constitution of the State forbids, and when such a law is passed it is declared unconstitutional by the State courts. A provision of a State constitution becomes void when declared by the supreme court of the United States to be in conflict with the national Constitution.

CONTENTS.--The constitutions of the several States are based upon the Constitution of the United States as a model, and are therefore much alike in their general provisions. Each contains:

A preamble setting forth the purposes of the constitution;

A lengthy declaration called the bill of rights;

Provisions for distributing the powers of government into three departments; and

Articles relating to suffrage, debt, taxation, corporations, public schools, militia, amendments, and other public affairs.

BILL OF RIGHTS.

The bill of rights usually declares various rights of the citizen which may be classified under the heads of republican principles, personal security, private property, freedom of conscience, freedom of speech and of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom from military tyranny.

REPUBLICAN PRINCIPLES.--Under this head the bill declares:

That all power is inherent in the people;

That governments exist for their good, and by their consent;

That all freemen are equal;

That no title of nobility shall be conferred;

That exclusive privileges shall not be granted except in consideration of public services;

That all elections shall be free and equal.

PERSONAL SECURITY.--In the interests of the personal security of the citizen it is provided:

That the people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and possessions, from unreasonable seizures and searches;

That warrants to seize and to search persons and things must describe them by oath or affirmation;

That there shall be no imprisonment for debt, except in cases of fraud.

PRIVATE PROPERTY.--To secure the rights of private property, the bill declares:

That private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation;

And, in some States, that long leases of agricultural lands shall not be made.

FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE.--To induce the entire freedom of conscience of the citizen it is declared:

That there shall be perfect religious freedom, but not covering immoral practices;

That there shall be no State church;

That no religious test shall be required for performing any public function;

That the rights of conscience are free from human control.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND OF THE PRESS.--To maintain the rightful freedom of the press, the bill guarantees:

That printing-presses may be used by all;

That every citizen may freely speak, write, and print upon any subject--being responsible for the abuse of the right.

FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY.--The right of assembly is secured by the provision:

That the people may peaceably assemble for the public good, to discuss questions of public interest; and

That they may petition the government for redress of grievances.

FREEDOM FROM MILITARY TYRANNY.--To guard against abuses by the military, it is declared:

That the military shall be in strict subordination to the civil power;

That no standing army shall be maintained in time of peace;

That in time of peace no soldier shall be quartered in any house without the owner's consent;

That the right of people to bear arms shall not be questioned. This does not authorize the carrying of concealed weapons.

FORBIDDEN LAWS.--To insure the people against improper legislation, the bill of rights provides:

That no _ex post facto_ law or law impairing the validity of contracts, shall be made;

That no bill of attainder shall be passed;

That no power of suspending laws shall be exercised except by the legislature.

RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED.--Among the worst abuses of tyranny in all ages have been the corruption of the courts and the denial of the rights of common justice. To guard against these it is expressly provided:

That the writ of _habeas corpus_ shall not be suspended except when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it;

That, except in capital cases, persons charged with crime may give bail;

That no excessive bail shall be required;

That all courts shall be open;

That the accused shall have a speedy trial in the district in which the offense was committed;

That the ancient mode of trial by jury shall be maintained; but civil suits, by consent of the parties, may be tried without a jury;

That all persons injured in lands, goods, person, or reputation shall have remedy by course of law;

That the accused shall be informed of the nature of the charges against him;

That he shall be confronted by the witnesses against him;

That he shall be heard in his own defense, and may have the benefit of counsel;

That he shall not be required to testify against himself;

That he shall not be deprived of life, liberty, or property except by due process of law;

That no cruel or unusual punishment shall be inflicted;

That no one shall be twice placed in jeopardy for the same offense.

No citizen of the United States would deny the justice of these declarations. They are so reasonable it seems strange that they should ever have been questioned. "But in enumerating them we are treading on sacred ground. Their establishment cost our ancestors hundreds of years of struggle against arbitrary power, in which they gave their blood and treasure."[2]

It was to secure and maintain a part of these rights that the American colonies went to war with Great Britain, and made good their Declaration of Independence by an appeal to arms.

Most of these rights are preserved in the Constitution of the United States, to prevent encroachments upon the liberties of the people by the General Government. They are repeated in the State constitution in order that they may not be invaded by the State Government. There is also a provision in the constitution of the State which declares that "the enumeration of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."

[1]Popular education must command the sympathy and respect of the people in each locality in order to remain "popular." While the State, therefore, enforces a general system of public schools, it leaves all the details of local management with the people most closely related to the particular school. The people esteem that which they create and control.

[2]McCleary's _Studies in Civics_.

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.

1. Why are the smaller political communities subject to the State?

2. Give the names of the thirteen original States.

3. What is meant by States having different industries and occupations?

4. How do State institutions develop the self-reliance of the people?

5. Name some acts of government which you have seen the State perform.

6. What are charitable institutions?

7. How is justice administered?

8. Wherein are the people of this country freer than other people?

9. How long must a person live in this State to entitle him to vote?

10. What is meant by being secure in person?

11. Read the bill of rights in the constitution of your State.

12. What is a body politic?

13. Why can not the whole people assemble to form a State constitution?

14. What is meant by taking private property for public use?

15. How may the right to speak and print be abused?

16. What is meant by the military being subordinate to the civil power?

17. Are all cases tried by jury?

QUESTION FOR DEBATE.

_Resolved_, That there should be an educational qualification for suffrage.