perfectly clear when once the facts in the case are known. It is
therefore the business of the courts also to ascertain the facts.
There are two classes of cases that come before the courts, civil
cases and criminal cases; and the law that applies to the two
classes is known as civil law and criminal law. A civil case is
one that involves a dispute between individuals, or an injury done
by one individual to another. Such would be a dispute over a
boundary line between the properties of two individuals, or over
the payment of a debt; or a personal injury due to the
carelessness of some one, or an injury to property or to health
through maintaining a nuisance of some kind. In such cases the
court, after ascertaining the facts, merely sees that justice is
done, as by the payment of damages to the injured party by the one
doing the injury. A criminal case is one in which a person is
charged with having violated a law of the community. The injury is
one against the community as a whole, and not merely against an
individual. It is the community that appears in court against the
accused person, and not merely one of his neighbors. In such cases
the court first ascertains the guilt or innocence of the accused
person; and if he is guilty, imposes a PUNISHMENT upon him, such
as a fine, or imprisonment, or even death, according to the nature
of the crime.
The judicial branch of government, then, is that part of the
governmental organization that seeks to adjust, by peaceful and
just means, the inevitable conflicts that arise in community life.
JUSTICES' COURTS
The lowest in the series of state courts are the JUSTICES' COURTS,
of which there is at least one in every township. They are
presided over by justices of the peace. Only cases of small moment
come before justices' courts: civil cases involving very small
amounts, and cases of minor infractions of the law punishable by
small fines or by short terms in jail. Persons accused of more
serious crimes may have a preliminary examination in a justice's
court and, if the evidence warrants it, be committed to jail to
await the action of the grand jury (see below). Most cases in a
justice's court are disposed of by the justice of the peace alone;
but a jury trial may be demanded in all criminal cases, and in
civil suits "where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty
dollars" (Const., Amendments VI, VII).
COUNTY COURTS
More serious cases, civil or criminal, are tried in the COUNTY, or
DISTRICT, courts before a judge and a JURY. Cases that have been
tried in a justice's court may be APPEALED to the county or
district court, where there is sure to be a jury trial, and where
the judge is more learned in the law than is a justice of the
peace. It is the business of the jury to decide on the facts in
the case on the evidence furnished in the trial, and in civil
cases to award the amount of damages, if any, to be paid; while
the judge sees that the procedure is in accordance with the law,
instructs the jury as to the law in the case, and in criminal
cases fixes the penalty within the limits permitted by the law.
THE COMMUNITY IN COURT
It was stated above that in criminal cases it is the COMMUNITY
that appears against the accused. The community appears in the
person of the district attorney, otherwise called the prosecuting
attorney, state's attorney, or county solicitor. It is the
business of this officer to gather evidence of crimes committed in
the community and, in most cases, to submit it to the GRAND JURY,
which is a body of citizens carefully chosen to consider such
evidence. If the grand jury considers the evidence against the
accused sufficient to warrant bringing him to trial, it brings in
an INDICTMENT against him. The prosecuting attorney then
prosecutes the case for the community against the accused. It is
of course his duty to secure exact justice; sometimes, however, he
seems interested only in securing the CONVICTION of the accused.
RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED
Our state and national constitutions seek to protect carefully the
rights of a person accused of crime. He is assumed to be innocent
until he has been proved otherwise. He is guaranteed a "speedy and
public trial, by an impartial jury." He must be "confronted with
witnesses against him," and have "compulsory process for obtaining
witnesses in his favor," and "assistance of counsel for his
defense" (Const., Amendment VI). He cannot be compelled to be a
witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or
property, without "due process of law" (Amendment V). "Excessive
bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel
and unusual punishments inflicted." (Amendment VIII).
CIRCUIT OR SUPERIOR COURTS
In some states there is another set of courts immediately above
the county courts, known as CIRCUIT, DISTRICT, or SUPERIOR,
courts. The districts in which these courts have jurisdiction
include several counties. The cases courts handled by them are
either cases of appeal from the lower courts, or cases of greater
importance than those over which the lower courts have
jurisdiction.
THE STATE SUPREME COURT
The highest court in the state is the SUPREME COURT, sometimes
called the COURT OF APPEALS, or the COURT OF ERRORS. In the
supreme court several judges sit together, and there is no jury.
The cases that come before it are for the most part cases of
appeal from the lower courts, although there are certain classes
of cases that come before it in the first instance. The supreme
court is the final judge as to whether acts of the legislature are
in conformity with the state constitution.
OTHER COURTS
In addition to the courts named above there are sometimes others
to deal with special classes of cases. In cities there are
MUNICIPAL COURTS and POLICE COURTS, both in the same class with
justices' courts. There are JUVENILE COURTS to deal with juvenile
offenders; PROBATE, or SURROGATE, COURTS to settle the estates of
persons who have died; COURTS OF CLAIMS to settle claims against
the state; and CHANCERY COURTS, or courts of EQUITY, which
administer justice in cases that the ordinary law will not reach.
For example, the LAW will permit a man's property to be taken to
satisfy a mortgage; EQUITY requires that the property be sold and
the surplus over the amount of the mortgage returned to the owner.
The LAW will grant damages for any injury inflicted; EQUITY will,
by an injunction, forbid a repetition of the injury.
SELECTION OF JUDGES
The judges of the state courts were originally appointed by the
governors, or by the legislatures. With the movement toward more
democratic forms of government, the states began to introduce
provisions in their constitutions for the election of judges by
the people, and they are now so chosen in most states, though in a
number they are appointed by the governor, and in a few by the
legislature. It is highly important that judges should be
controlled in their decisions solely by the desire to render
justice, and that they should be removed as far as possible from
partisan influences. Popular election of judges is most prevalent
because it seems to give to the people the most direct control
over their courts. On the other hand, it is opposed by many
because it makes possible the election of incompetent judges, and
because it does not necessarily remove the matter from partisan
influences. In three states (California, Oregon and Arizona) the
judges are subject to recall by the people.
The terms during which judges hold office also vary greatly among
the states. In three states they hold office for life
(Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire). In the other
states their terms vary from two to twenty-one years.
It seems to be the opinion of most students that the state courts
would be improved if their judges were appointed by the chief
executive and should hold office for life, or during good
behavior, as is the case in the federal courts.
Investigate and report on:
Civil law and criminal law.
What makes an act a "crime."
Difference between a "crime" and a "misdemeanor."
Justices' courts in your community.
Procedure in a justice's court.
The organization of your county court.
Who is your county (or district) judge.
Procedure in your county court, and how it differs from that in
the justice's court.
Organization and work of the grand jury.
How a trial jury is selected.
The citizen's duty to serve on the jury.
Rights of an accused person.
Meaning of "bail," "indictment," "due process of law," "counsel
for defense," "subpoena," "true bill."
Circumstances under which an appeal may be made.
The supreme court of your state.
The work of a juvenile court.
READINGS
State Constitution.
Reports of the several departments of the state government.
In LESSONS IN COMMUNITY AND NATIONAL LIFE: Series B: Lesson 18,
How state laws are made and enforced.
The Civil Administrative Code of the State of Illinois, compiled
by Louis L. Emmerson. Secretary of State, Springfield, Ill.
The Illinois Civil Administrative Code, by Charles E. Woodward,
The Academy of Political Science, Columbia University, New York
City.
Beard, Chas. A., AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS, Part iii, State
government.
Hart, A. B., ACTUAL GOVERNMENT, Part iii, State governments in
action.
Reed, T. H., FORM AND FUNCTIONS OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT, Part iii,
State government.
Bryce, James, THE AMERICAN COMMONWEALTH, vol. i, Part ii, The
State governments.
In Long's AMERICAN PATRIOTIC PROSE: Invisible government (Elihu
Root), pp. 261-264.
In Foerster and Pierson's AMERICAN IDEALS: How to Preserve the
Local Self-Government of the States (Elihu Root), pp. 48-55
CHAPTER XXVII
OUR NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
THE REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT
It was the necessity for team work in carrying on the War for
Independence that led the thirteen American colonies for the first
time to unite under a common government. They had revolted to
escape from an autocratic government, and they sought to avoid
setting up another in its place. Since it had been the king whom
they distrusted most, they endeavored to get along without any
executive head at all. Their new government consisted solely of a
Congress of delegates from the thirteen states.
THE CRITICAL PERIOD
This form of government was continued for several years after the
Revolution under a constitution known as the Articles of
Confederation. It was, however, unsuccessful in securing anything
like real national cooperation. The Congress had no power to levy
and collect taxes, it had little power to make laws, and it was
without means to execute the laws that it did make. The real
governing power during this period was with the several states.
The result was a period of unutterable confusion which has been
called "the critical period of American history." The question at
stake was whether a number of self-governing state communities
with a multitude of apparently conflicting interests could really
become a nation.
THE NEW CONSTITUTION
During the war Benjamin Franklin had said, "We must all hang
together or we shall all hang separately." The states had "hung
together" sufficiently to win the war; but the wise men of the
time now saw the need for a government so organized and with such
powers as to secure effective cooperation among all the states and
all the people at all times for the welfare of the entire Union,
while leaving each state free to manage its own local affairs.
Therefore a convention of delegates from all the states was called
together at Philadelphia in 1787 to revise the Articles of
Confederation. The result was our present Constitution under which
our present national government went into effect in 1789.
Investigate and report:
The nature and causes of the confusion during "the critical
period" of American history.
The leading men of the Constitutional Convention.
How the states ratified the Constitution.
Which of the original thirteen states did not ratify the
Constitution until after it had gone into effect.
The number of states required to ratify before the Constitution
went into effect (Constitution, Art. VII).
POPULAR CONTROL THROUGH THE CONSTITUTION
"We, the people of the United States" "ordained and established"
the Constitution (see the Preamble). It was also "ordained" in the
Constitution (Art. V) that it could be amended only by methods
designed to give the people control over the matter--greater
control than they have over ordinary lawmaking. A great many
amendments have been proposed in the course of time, but only
eighteen have so far been adopted,[Footnote: A nineteenth
amendment is at this writing before the states for ratification--
the woman suffrage amendment.] ten of these having been adopted in
the very beginning as a condition on which the states would accept
the Constitution at all. None of these amendments changed the form
of our government except with respect to the methods of electing
the President and United States senators (Amendments XII and
XVII).
Explain the two methods of proposing, and the two methods of
ratifying, amendments (Constitution, Art. VII).
Has there ever been a national constitutional convention called by
the states?
Which of the two methods of ratifying was used in the case of the
last amendment adopted? [Footnote: Ohio by a referendum in 1919
submitted the eighteenth amendment to the people of the state for
their vote, after it had been ratified by the legislature. This
was the first time in our history that an amendment to the
Constitution was submitted to popular vote for ratification.]
Did your state vote to ratify or to reject the last amendment?
If any amendment is now before the states for ratification, watch
the newspapers for the action of the various states.
OUR GOVERNMENT A GROWING THING
The Constitution adopted in 1787 has met the needs of our growing
nation in a most remarkable way. It would be a mistake, however,
to think that it has always met new conditions perfectly, or that
we are governed to-day exactly as was intended by the framers of
the Constitution. Although few amendments have been made,
INTERPRETATIONS have been placed on the Constitution that were
probably unthought of by the framers or by the people who ratified
it; and PRACTICES have grown up in our government that have made
it quite a different government from that which was anticipated.
Our government is a GROWING thing, and one of the chief merits of
our Constitution is the fact that it speaks in such general terms
that it has been possible, under it, to adapt our government to
new and unexpected conditions. In this respect it differs from the
detailed state constitutions.
DEFECTS INEVITABLE
On the other hand, conditions have arisen with the growth of our
nation that our Constitution has not enabled us to meet with the
greatest success, and that we have not yet met by amendment. In
some cases we have tried to get around the difficulties by devices
not provided for in the Constitution, sometimes with unfortunate
results. But a recognition of defects in our government should not
cause us to lose respect for the Constitution. They are due not to
positive blunders on the part of the framers, but to the mere
absence of provision for conditions that did not exist when the
Constitution was framed and that could not be foreseen by the
wisest men of that time. The wise course for all good citizens is
to seek to understand clearly wherein our government fails to meet
our needs, if it does fail, and then to seek to correct the
difficulty, under the existing terms of the Constitution if
possible, or by amendment of the Constitution if that becomes
clearly necessary. Amendment of the Constitution was purposely
made difficult, and this was doubtless wise, for it tends to
prevent changes without full consideration of their needs and
probable effects. Radical changes in our form of government and in
our established laws are always fraught with danger. Because of
the extreme complexity of community life a change effected at one
point to meet a particular evil may have consequences of the most
far-reaching kind and in the most unexpected directions. A change
that corrects one evil may produce conditions resulting in evils
even worse than the first. Changes are necessary at times, but
they should be made only after the most careful consideration by
men of the widest possible experience.
THE BILL OF RIGHTS
One thing that stood out clearly after the Revolution was the fear
of a strong national government. Some of the states refused to
ratify the Constitution unless amendments were added at once
guaranteeing the liberties of the people. The first ten
amendments, known as the "bill of rights," were the result. To
make sure that no important rights were left unguarded, the ninth
amendment provides that "the enumeration in the Constitution of
certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others
retained by the people."
Read the first ten amendments and discuss the meaning of each.
A GOVERNMENT OF DELEGATED POWERS
It was clearly expected that most of the governing powers to which
the people were subject should be exercised by the states, and not
by the national government. The national government was to
exercise no powers except such as were DELEGATED to it in the
Constitution. These powers are important ones, but few in number,
and are listed in section 8 of Article I. In order to make this
limitation of powers perfectly clear, the tenth amendment declares
that "The powers not delegated to the United States by the
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to
the states respectively or to the people." Certain powers were
also expressly denied to the national government in section 9 of
Article I.
Discuss the meaning of each clause in Article I, section 8.
Discuss the meaning of each clause in Article I, section 9.
THE SCOPE OF NATIONAL POWERS
The powers of the national government relate to interstate and
foreign affairs, or to matters that the several states could not
well regulate without confusion or injustice. For example, it was
chiefly the confusion in matters pertaining to trade in the period
following the Revolution that made the new government necessary.
Therefore power was given to it "to regulate commerce with foreign
nations and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes."
So, also, it was given power "to coin money, regulate the value
thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and
measures," for varying systems of coinage and of weights and
measures would be inconvenient. For similar reasons it was
empowered "to establish post-offices and post-roads," "to
establish an uniform rule of naturalization" for immigrants, and
"to promote the progress of science and useful arts" by giving
copyrights and patents to authors and inventors. The states, on
the other hand, were expressly forbidden to exercise any control
over some such matters of national and international concern in
section 10 of Article I.
Read section 10, Art I, and discuss the reasons why the powers
there mentioned should have been denied to the states.
THE SYSTEM OF CHECKS AND BALANCES
Not only did the framers of the Constitution carefully limit the
powers that the national government might exercise, but they also
introduced into the organization of the government various devices
to control it and to prevent any of its parts from assuming too
much power. The most important of these is the system of CHECKS
AND BALANCES. In our national government, as in the state
governments, the legislative, executive, and judicial powers are
SEPARATED. In early times in England, the king could make any laws
he wished, he could enforce them as he pleased, and he controlled
the courts of justice. In our government the legislature, composed
of representatives of the people, makes the laws; the executive
branch of government sees to their enforcement; and the courts,
which are responsible neither to the legislature nor to the
executive, interpret the laws and administer justice in accordance
with the laws. This separation of powers is to prevent any one
person or group of persons from exercising too much power, as the
king did, and is a safeguard to the liberty of the people. But the
separation of powers IS NOT COMPLETE. Each branch of government
has A LIMITED CONTROL over the others. This constitutes THE SYSTEM
OF CHECKS AND BALANCES, which still further protects the people's
liberties.
While the President cannot make the laws, he is given a check upon
the lawmaking power of Congress by his veto power. On the other
hand, he cannot, by an excessive use of his veto power, destroy
the lawmaking power of Congress, because Congress may pass laws
over the President's veto by means of a two-thirds vote.
The President cannot make a treaty, nor appoint men to office,
without the consent of the senate; neither can he exercise his
executive powers until Congress votes him the necessary money.
If Congress passes a law that is contrary to the Constitution the
courts may declare the law void, and the executive cannot enforce
it. The courts, on the other hand, are in a measure under the
control of both Congress and the President, for Congress may
create and destroy courts (except those created by the
Constitution), and the President, with the consent of the senate,
appoints the judges.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF CHECKS AND BALANCES
The "checks and balances" in the organization of our government
have been very effective in accomplishing the purpose for which
they were intended, namely, to protect the liberties of the people
against despotic government. But they have also, at times, been an
obstacle to team work and to effective service. It sometimes
happens, for example, that the President represents one political
party, while the majority of one or both houses of Congress are of
the opposing party. The two branches of government may then enter
into a struggle on partisan grounds, each trying to defeat the
program of the other. Such a situation was probably unforeseen by
the framers of the Constitution, although it again reminds us of
Washington's warning with regard to the dangers of the party
spirit.
THE IMPLIED POWERS OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
With the growth of our nation, the national government has come to
perform a vast amount of service, as we have seen in earlier
chapters, and to regulate the lives of the people in a multitude
of ways little dreamed of by the makers of the Constitution. This
has been possible because of the principle of IMPLIED POWERS in
the Constitution. This means that some of the powers expressly
granted in the Constitution have been broadly interpreted to IMPLY
powers not expressly stated. There are certain clauses in the
Constitution that especially lend themselves to such broad
interpretation. For example, after the enumeration of the powers
which Congress may exercise, in section 8 of Article I, clause 18
of that section gives Congress power "to make all laws which shall
be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing
powers ..." Another clause whose liberal interpretation has been
responsible for much of the service performed by the national
government is that giving it the power to regulate interstate
commerce (Art. I, sec. 8, clause 3).
In the early days of our government the Federalist party, under
the leadership of Alexander Hamilton, proposed the creation of a
NATIONAL BANK. The Republican party under Jefferson opposed this
because the Constitution did not expressly provide for it, and
because it was feared that it would give the national government
too much power. But the "broad constructionists" argued that a
national bank was a "necessary and proper" means to enable the
national government "to borrow money on the credit of the United
States" and to exercise other financial powers expressly granted
in the Constitution. The supreme court of the United States
supported the latter view, and the national bank became a fact.
The building of roads and other internal improvements by the
national government have always been opposed by the "strict
constructionists," except where roads were clearly "post-roads"
(Article 1, section.8, clause 7). But the "broad constructionists"
argued that roads were "necessary and proper" to provide "for the
common defense," and also as a means "to regulate commerce among
the several states."
Most of the work that the national government has done for the
promotion of the public health, such as the passage and
enforcement of the "pure food and drugs act," the inspection of
livestock and of slaughterhouses, and the attempt to regulate
child labor, has been done under the authority of the clause
giving Congress power to regulate interstate commerce.
EXPANSION OF POWERS BY JUDICIAL DECISION
It has been the duty of the Supreme Court of the United States to
decide finally whether much of the new service undertaken by the
national government is in accordance with the Constitution or not,
and this court has been responsible for most of the expansion of
the service rendered, because of its liberal interpretation of the
Constitution.
Why should the power to regulate interstate commerce also give
Congress the power to require the inspection of cattle in your
neighborhood? or to forbid the use of harmful substances in patent
medicines? or to forbid the employment in factories of children?
Find out what you can about the influence of John Marshall, Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court, in extending the powers of the
national government.
THE EXECUTIVE CENTRALIZED AND CONTROLLED
The Constitution vests the executive power in the President of the
United States (Art. II, sec. I), and he alone is responsible to
the people for the execution of the laws. The people are protected
against abuse of this power in the hands of one man by various
constitutional provisions. The President's term of office is
limited to four years, though he may be reelected. In case of
improper conduct in office, he may be removed by IMPEACHMENT. The
impeachment charges must be brought against him by the House of
Representatives, and the Senate, presided over by the Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court, must act as a court to try the case.
Moreover, even the President must act according to law, and in so
far as his duties are not prescribed by the Constitution they are
prescribed by Congress. Congress must also create the machinery by
which the President executes the laws, and it must appropriate the
necessary money. The Senate exercises a further control over the
President in that it must approve all appointments and all
treaties made by him.
METHOD OF ELECTING THE PRESIDENT
The method of electing the President provided in the Constitution
was intended to insure a wise choice, and also shows a lack of
complete confidence in the people on the part of the framers of
the Constitution. He was to be elected by a body of ELECTORS,
chosen by the several states "in such manner as the legislatures
thereof may direct," the number of electors from each state to
equal the whole number of senators and representatives from that
state (Art. II, sec. 2). These electors were originally chosen by
the legislatures of the states, but are now elected by the people.
When voters "vote for the President" every four years, they in
reality only vote for these electors who, in turn, cast their
votes for the President.
DEPARTURE FROM THE INTENTION OF THE CONSTITUTION
In the method of electing the President we find one of the points
where the intention of the framers of the Constitution has clearly
been thwarted. It was obviously the intention that the electors
chosen by the states should use their own discretion in the choice
of the President. But in practice to-day, the entire body of
electors from each state always represents the victorious
political party, and casts its vote invariably for the
presidential candidate already nominated by the party machinery.
We still elect the electors, and the electors go through the form
of electing the President; but their part in the procedure is now
entirely useless.
THE VICE-PRESIDENT
The Vice-President of the United States is elected at the same
time and by the same method as the President. But he has no
executive duties whatever so long as the President is capable of
performing his duties. In order that he might have something to
do, he was made presiding officer of the Senate, but even there he
has no vote.
Investigate and report:
The qualifications necessary to hold the office of President
(Const., Art. II, sec. I, cl. 5).
How the electors elect the President (Const., Amend. XII).
Who would become President if both the President and the Vice-
President should die.
The salary of the President.
The oath taken by the President on assuming office. The difference
between an oath and an affirmation (Art. II, sec. i, cl. 8).
The powers of the President (Art. II, sec. 2).
A President who was impeached.
Why no President has been elected for a third term.
Advantages and disadvantages of a longer term for the President.
GROWTH OF THE NATIONAL SERVICE ORGANIZATION
The President is at the head of a stupendous service organization
which was not ready-made by the Constitution, but which has been
gradually created by acts of Congress under its express and
implied powers. The Constitution did not even create the great
administrative departments through which the President works,
although it implied that such departments should be created: "The
President ... may require the opinion, in writing, of the
principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any
subject relating to the duties of their respective offices" (Art.
II, sec. 2, cl. i). The heads of these departments are appointed
by the President, are responsible to him, and may be removed by
him. Together they constitute the President's CABINET, meeting
with him frequently to discuss the affairs of their departments
and matters of public policy.
THE ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENTS
Five of these administrative departments were created during
Washington's administration. These five have grown to cover a
multitude of activities that were not at first contemplated, and
five other great departments have since been created.
The DEPARTMENT OF STATE maintains relations between the United
States and foreign powers. The Secretary of State, acting for the
President, negotiates treaties with foreign governments, and is in
constant communication with the ambassadors, ministers, consuls,
and other representatives of our government in foreign countries,
and with similar representatives of foreign governments in this
country. This department is the medium of communication between
the President and the governors of the several states. The
Secretary of State has in his keeping the treaties and laws of the
United States, and also the Great Seal of the United States, which
he affixes to proclamations, commissions, and other official
papers. Through him the rights of American citizens in foreign
countries are looked after. He is first in rank among the members
of the cabinet, and by law would succeed to the Presidency in case
of the death or disability of both the President and the Vice-
President.
The DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY has at its head the Secretary of
the Treasury, who is the financial manager of the national
government. He prepares plans for, and superintends the collection
of, the public revenues; determines the manner of keeping the
public accounts; directs the coinage and printing of money. He
also controls the construction and maintenance of public
buildings, and administers the public health service and the life-
saving service.
The DEPARTMENT OF WAR is directed by the Secretary of War, who,
under the President, controls the military establishment and
superintends the national defense. He also administers river and
harbor improvements, the prevention of obstruction to navigation,
and the building of bridges over navigable rivers when authorized
by Congress. He also has direction of the Bureau of Insular
Affairs, which supervises the government of Porto Rico and the
Philippines.
The DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE has at its head the Attorney General,
who is the chief law officer of the government, and represents it
in all matters of a legal nature. He is the legal adviser of the
President and of the several executive departments, and supervises
all United States attorneys and marshals in the judicial districts
into which the country is divided.
The POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT is administered by the Postmaster
General.
The DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY, under the Secretary of the Navy, has
charge of the "construction, manning, equipment, and employment of
vessels of war."
The DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR was created to relieve the
Department of State of work relating to internal affairs, and now
embraces a wide variety of duties. At its head is the Secretary of
the Interior. Through many bureaus and divisions it administers
the public lands, the national parks, the giving of patents for
inventions, the pensioning of soldiers, Indian affairs, education,
the reclamation service, the geological survey, the improvement of
mining methods for the safety of miners, certain matters
pertaining to the territories of the United States, and certain
institutions in the District of Columbia.
The DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE is directed by the Secretary of
Agriculture. Its work is described in Chapter XII.
The DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, under the Secretary of Commerce,
promotes the commercial interests of the country in many ways. It
includes in its organization the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic
Commerce, the Bureau of Corporations, the Census Bureau, the
Bureau of Lighthouses, the Bureau of Navigation, the Bureau of
Fisheries, and the Bureau of Standards.
The DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, under the Secretary of Labor, has for its
purpose "fostering, promoting, and developing the welfare of the
wage earners of the United States, improving their working
conditions, and advancing their opportunities for profitable
employment." Among its important bureaus are those of Immigration
and of Naturalization, and the Children's Bureau, which
investigates and reports upon "all matters pertaining to the
welfare of children and child life among all classes of our
people."
OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCIES
In addition to these great administrative departments with their
numerous bureaus and subdivisions, there are various boards,
commissions and establishments that are independent of the
departments.
Some of the most important of these are the Interstate Commerce
Commission, the Civil Service Commission (see below), the Federal
Reserve Board, the Federal Trade Commission, the United States
Tariff Commission, the Board of Mediation and Conciliation, the
United States Bureau of Efficiency, the Federal Board of
Vocational Education, the Panama Canal.
Of another kind are the Library of Congress which includes the
Copyright Office; the Government Printing Office; the Smithsonian
Institution, including the National Museum and the National
Zoological Park.
There are many others. During the recent war a great variety of
new administrative commissions and boards were created for the
emergency. Most of these have been, or are to be, discontinued,
though some of them may survive. Such were the Council of National
Defense, the Committee on Public Information, the Food
Administration, the Fuel Administration, the United States
Shipping Board, the War Trade Board, the Director General of
Railroads.
THE CIVIL SERVICE
The detailed work of this vast service organization is carried on
by about 400,000 employees (not counting the army and the navy).
These constitute the CIVIL SERVICE. The quality of service depends
largely upon the efficiency of these employees. The task of
filling all these places is a large one. In Andrew Jackson's
administration (1829-1837) the "spoils system" was introduced,
which means that government positions were treated by the
victorious party as "the spoils of victory," to be given to
members of the victorious party as rewards for party service
without much regard to fitness for the work to be done. Whenever
the administration passed from one party to another, the army of
civil service employees was displaced by another of new employees.
Not only did this result in inefficient service, but the time of
the President and the heads of the departments was largely
consumed in considering the claims of those seeking appointment.
Moreover, since appointments could be made only "with the advice
and consent" of the Senate, senators were besieged by applicants
for positions and their friends. The President, overwhelmed by the
multitude of appointments to be made, came to rely almost wholly
upon the advice of the senators, and even of members of the House
of Representatives, for appointments in their states and
districts. Thus, in effect, appointments were made by members of
Congress rather than by the President who was really responsible.
No system could have been devised more wasteful of the time of the
executive and legislative branches of the government, or more
conducive to inefficiency.
REFORM OF THE CIVIL SERVICE
The spoils system became a great offense to the nation, but it was
not until President Garfield was murdered by a disappointed office
seeker that Congress, in 1883, passed a law for the reform of the
civil service. Candidates for many positions in the civil service
were required to pass an examination designed to prove their
fitness for the work to be done, and a CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION
was created to administer the law and to conduct the examinations,
which are held at stated intervals in different parts of the
country. Those appointed under this system cannot be removed
except for cause. Even at the present time, however, only about
half of the civil service is subject to this MERIT SYSTEM. From
the above description of the work of the several executive
departments select topics for special investigation and report;
such as:
The work of United States Consuls. Coining money; the United
States Bureau of Engraving.
The life-saving service of the United States.
The United States Army in war and peace.
The United States Army as an organization to save life, especially
in its work of sanitation in territories occupied.
Representatives of the United States Department of Justice in your
community, and examples of their work.
Building a battleship. Training for the navy.
Exploits of the navy in war. The work of the navy in time of
peace.
The work of the patent office; of the bureau of Indian affairs; of
the geological survey; of the bureau of mines.
Taking the United States census.
The work of the bureau of fisheries.
Marvels of the bureau of standards.
The immigration bureau.
Work of the children's bureau.
How an immigrant is naturalized.
The Government Printing Office.
The Congressional Library.
The spoils system in Andrew Jackson's administration.
How would you go about it to take an examination for the civil
service?
Is there any reason why a mail carrier or a clerk in a government
office should be a Republican or a Democrat?
What employees of the United States civil service are there in
your community?
RESPONSIVE AND RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP
Efficient government requires strong, clearly recognized
leadership. Democratic government requires that its leadership
shall be responsive to the needs of the people and under their
control. The problem of how to secure strong leadership and
controlled leadership at one and the same time is a difficult one.
So far as the executive branch of government alone is concerned,
the framers of the Constitution secured strength by concentrating
full responsibility in the President. But did they expect him to
be their leader in the government as a whole; that is, in
formulating the policies of government that should serve as the
basis for legislation? We are in the habit of thinking of him as
our national leader, but was he made so in fact?
LEADERSHIP OF THE PRESIDENT
In fact, the framers of the Constitution were apparently more
concerned about maintaining control over the President than about
clearly making him the nation's leader. About the only indication
the Constitution contains that he was to be such a leader is the
statement that he "shall from time to time give to the Congress
information of the state of the Union, and recommend to their
consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and
expedient" (Art. II, sec.3). He does submit recommendations to
Congress at the opening of each of its terms and often at other
times. If the President and the majority in Congress are of the
same political party, Congress is pretty likely to follow the
President's lead; or, if the President has a commanding
personality and is clearly popular with the people, he may force
measures through even an unwilling Congress. But if differences
arise between the President and Congress, especially when one or
both houses of Congress are of the opposite party from the
President, his recommendations may be entirely ignored. By our
system of "checks and balances" the President is "controlled," but
he ceases to be a leader when he does not have the "following" of
Congress, or of the majority of the people.
President Wilson began his second administration with a majority
in both houses of Congress of his political party, and apparently
in popular favor. He was clearly accepted as leader and
practically all of his proposed measures were favorably acted upon
by Congress. In the middle of this administration a congressional
election occurred which resulted in a majority in both houses of
the opposing party. This result might be considered as a popular
vote against the leadership of the President, and his opponents
did consider it so. It cannot be absolutely certain that this was
intended, for the people were not voting directly on this
question. Whether this was true or not, Congress refused to follow
his leadership in many important questions, including the treaty
of peace with Germany.
CONTROL OF LEADERSHIP IN ENGLAND
It will be helpful to compare this situation with the method by
which England has worked out the problem of leadership and control
of leadership.
The real executive head in the English government is the prime
minister. The king appoints the prime minister, but he always
chooses for the position THE RECOGNIZED LEADER OF THE POLITICAL
PARTY THAT IS IN THE MAJORITY in the House of Commons (which
corresponds to our House of Representatives).
The prime minister having been appointed, he then selects the
other members of his cabinet, who are to be the heads of the
executive departments, and WHO ARE ALSO MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT.
The prime minister and the other members of the cabinet have seats
in the House of Commons, contrary to the practice in our country.
THEY ALSO TAKE THE LEAD IN LEGISLATION, for most of the important
bills considered in the House of Commons are planned and
introduced by the cabinet. So the executive and legislative
branches of the English government are not separated as in our
country. The same group of men manage the service organization and
lead in planning the legislation that makes the service possible.
It sometimes happens, however, that the cabinet introduces a
measure which, after discussion, a majority of the House of
Commons rejects. This means that on this question the cabinet no
longer represents the majority in the House. Then one of two
things happens. EITHER THE CABINET RESIGNS in a body to make way
for a new cabinet that does represent the majority; OR THE PRIME
MINISTER ASKS FOR A GENERAL ELECTION FOR MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF
COMMONS. If at this election a majority is again returned that is
opposed to the cabinet, it means that the cabinet no longer leads
the people, and it resigns. If a majority is returned in support
of the cabinet, it means that the old House was no longer
representative of the people, and the old cabinet retains its
leadership.
This system gives the English people MORE DIRECT CONTROL over
their government than we have in our country; it is very much like
the method of RECALL that is used in some of our states. At the
same time, it assures a real executive leadership WITHIN THE
GOVERNMENT, a leadership that is both responsive and responsible
to the people.
GROWTH OF IRRESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP
Not only does our Constitution fail to provide clearly for
responsible leadership within the government, but our system of
"checks and balances," our party system of government, and the
organization and rules of Congress, all taken together, have
tended to confuse our leadership, and to impose upon us an
irresponsible leadership, OUTSIDE of the government as outlined by
the Constitution. To understand this it will first be necessary to
examine the organization of Congress.
THE CONGRESS
Congress, like the state legislatures, consists of two chambers,
the House of Representatives and the Senate; this being another
instance of "checks and balances."
The creation of two chambers in the Congress made possible a
satisfactory settlement of a dispute in the Constitutional
Convention with regard to the basis of representation. The larger
states wanted representation proportional to their population,
while the smaller states, insisted upon EQUAL representation for
all the states. It was settled that there should be equal
representation in the Senate, and proportional representation in
the House of Representatives. This is one of a series of
compromises that had to be made between the two parties in the
convention. In fact, the Constitution is a series of compromises
from beginning to end. Only thirty-nine of the fifty-five
delegates in the convention signed the Constitution, and it is
probable that no one even of the thirty-nine was wholly pleased
with it.
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
The number of representatives in the first Congress from each
state was fixed in the Constitution, and provision made for a
census in 1790 and every ten years thereafter, on the basis of
which a reapportionment should be made. At present there are 435
members of the House, one for about every 212,000 of the
population. They are elected by direct vote of the people, one
from each of the CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS into which each state is
divided, and for a term of two years.
THE SENATE
There are two senators from each state. The Constitution provided
that they were to be elected by the state legislatures, another
evidence of distrust of the people. In 1913, the seventeenth
amendment to the Constitution was enacted, providing for the
election of senators by popular vote, showing the growing spirit
of democracy and the distrust of the state legislatures. Senators
are elected for six years, but the term of only one third of them
expires at the same time, so that at least two thirds of the
Senate have always had at least two years' experience. No citizen
may become a senator until he is thirty years of age, while one
may become a member of the lower house at twenty-five.
EXCLUSIVE POWERS OF EACH HOUSE
The House of Representatives has one important power not possessed
by the Senate: it alone can originate bills for raising revenue.
This is because the representatives were supposed to be more
directly representative of the people than the senators. However,
the Senate may amend such bills, and often succeeds in forcing the
House to accept such radical amendments as practically to destroy
the advantage possessed by the latter in its power to originate
the bills.
In addition to its lawmaking powers, the Senate was intended to be
an advisory council to the President. Only with its "advice and
consent" may the President make appointments and treaties.
Investigate and report on the following:
The compromises of the Constitution.
The census of 1920.
The number of congressional districts in your state, and the
number of the one you live in.
The names of your representative and senators.
The qualifications for election to the House of Representatives
and to the Senate (Art. I, secs. 2 and 3). Compare with the
qualifications for election to the two houses of your legislature.
The characteristics of the Senate that make it more conservative
than the House of Representatives. The meaning of "conservatism."
Why the Senate should be more conservative than the House.
The "long" and "short" sessions of Congress.
How vacancies in Congress are filled between elections.
Legislation in which the representative from your district has
been especially interested during the last session of Congress.
In England a member of the House of Commons is not required to be
a resident of the district which he represents. Arguments for and
against this plan.
Debate the question: RESOLVED, that our Constitution should be
amended to provide for a "responsible cabinet government" as in
England.
ORGANIZATION OF CONGRESS
The presiding officer of the Senate is the Vice-President of the
United States, while that of the House of Representatives is a
SPEAKER elected by the House. The Vice-President has no vote in
the Senate except in case of a tie, when he may cast the deciding
vote. The Speaker, on the other hand, has all the rights of any
other member and has large powers by virtue of his position. He is
always elected by a strictly party vote, and therefore represents
the majority party in the House.
THE COMMITTEE SYSTEM
As in the state legislatures, and for the same reason, most of the
work of legislation in Congress is done by standing committees, of
which there are about sixty in the House and about seventy-five in
the Senate. As in the state legislatures, these committees are
chosen on party lines, the chairmen and the majority of the
members always being of the majority party. The procedure by which
legislation is carried on in Congress is very much the same as
that in the state legislatures, and has the same advantages and
disadvantages. There is even greater necessity for the committee
organization and for rules because of the vastly greater number of
bills introduced. In a recent Congress more than 33,000 bills were
introduced in the House of Representatives alone. Whereas in the
state legislatures some of the rules of procedure are fixed by the
state constitutions, the rules of Congress are determined entirely
by each house for itself. The committee on rules in each house,
the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the chairmen of
the committees in both houses, may run things as they see fit.
That this is done there is plenty of evidence, such as the
following words of a member of Congress:
You send important questions to a committee, you put into the
hands of a few men the power to bring in bills, and then they are
brought in with an ironclad rule, and rammed down the throats of
members; and then those measures are sent out as being the
deliberate judgment of the Congress of the United States when no
deliberate judgment has been expressed by any man.
DIFFUSED LEADERSHIP IN CONGRESS
It is this procedure in Congress that causes leadership to become
diffused, hidden, and often to pass outside of the government
altogether into the hands of "bosses" and special "interests."
There can be no well-conceived PLAN worked out by responsible
leaders and approved by Congress as a whole. There may be "plans,"
worked out by leaders in Congress, but they are likely to be plans
designed to serve party ends rather than to promote a well-
thought-out program of national development. Thousands of bills of
the greatest variety are introduced by individual members and
handled by different committees acting independently of one
another and often at cross purposes.
RELATION BETWEEN EXECUTIVE AND LEGISTLATIVE BRANCHES
The legislative and executive branches of government are each
extremely jealous of any encroachment upon its powers by the
other. It is not always easy to decide just where the dividing
line lies between the powers properly exercised by each. It is
maintained on the one hand that Congress is encroaching on the
rightful domain of the executive; and at least it is true that
while it denies the President responsible leadership in
determining the policies of the government, it has failed to
substitute any other responsible leadership, and has even made
leadership obscure. On the other hand, it is maintained that the
executive encroaches upon the powers of Congress. While this
chapter was being written a member of the House of Representatives
made a speech in which he said:
This bill presents a fine specimen of bureaucratic legislation.
[Footnote: "Bureaucratic legislation" here means lawmaking by
bureaus in the executive branch of the government.] If the
Congress ever intends, as it surely does, to regain the powers
granted it by the fathers, of which it is now temporarily deprived
by bureaucratic encroachment, now is the time to start upon such a
campaign by defeating by a decisive majority the bill now offered
for your consideration ... Every time you weaken Congress by the
establishment of a bureau in which the authority of Congress is
lessened, you lay one more stone in the erection of the temple of
autocracy ... These bureaus are not only legislating by
administrative processes but are usurping the power and
prerogatives of the people's courts ...
THE DUTY OF CONGRESS TO WATCH THE EXECUTIVE
It is the business of the people's representatives in the law-
making branch of government not merely to make laws, but also to
watch and control the executive. The great English philosopher,
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), thus stated the purpose of the
English House of Commons:
To watch and control the government; [Footnote: "Government" here
refers to the executive branch.] to throw the light of publicity
on its acts; to compel a full explanation and justification of all
of them which any one considers questionable; to censure them if
found condemnable; to be at once the nation's committee on
grievances; an arena in which not only the opinion of the nation,
but that of every section of it, and as far as possible, of every
eminent individual that it contains, can produce itself in full
sight and challenge full discussion.
As we have seen, the English House of Commons has a way to control
executive leadership without destroying it. Even if we desired to
do so, we could not adopt the English plan without changing our
Constitution. But there are ways in which the same result could in
a measure be accomplished without such change. One of these is by
a well-organized BUDGET SYSTEM.
RESPONSIBILITY FOR APPROPRIATIONS
The methods of making appropriations for the purposes of our
national government have been as unbusinesslike as in the states.
Charges of extravagance and inefficiency have been made freely,
the blame being placed sometimes upon Congress and sometimes upon
the executive departments. Both are at fault; and the difficulty
is that it is almost impossible to fix the responsibility
anywhere.
DUPLICATION AND CONFUSION IN THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH
Although the national government, unlike the states, has a single-
headed executive, the executive departments are composed of a
multitude of bureaus and other subdivisions that are not well
organized in their relations to one another. There is overlapping,
duplication, and even conflict of work. The director of finance of
the War Department said that in the recent war,
The War Department entered this war without any fixed or carefully
digested and prepared financial system. There were at the
beginning of the war five ... bureaus each independent of the
others, each making its own contracts, doing its own purchasing,
doing its own accounting, with as many different methods as there
were bureaus. As a result they were competing with each other in a
market where the supplies in many cases for which they were
competing were restricted in amount ... There was no central
authority to prune, revise, or compare estimates submitted and to
coordinate expenditures, and that naturally resulted in
overlappings and duplications, and some of them of a large amount.
[Footnote: Testimony before Budget Committee, quoted by Will
Payne, "Your Budget," Saturday Evening Post, Jan. 3, 1920, p. 32.]
The responsibility is partly in the executive department; but it
is also partly in Congress, for it creates bureaus, defines their
duties, appropriates money for them. And in Congress the
responsibility is divided among various committees.
One committee or subcommittee has supervision of building the
barracks at a given army post while another committee or
subcommittee has supervision of building the hospital at the same
post. One committee has jurisdiction of the guns, another
committee has jurisdiction of the emplacement of the guns. All
committees are jealous of their own prerogatives and sometimes
more or less jealous of other committees. [Footnote: Will Payne,
"Your Budget," SATURDAY EVENING POST, Jan. 3, 1920, p. 166.]
APPROPRIATIONS MADE MORE OR LESS BLINDLY
Each year the executive departments submit to the Secretary of the
Treasury an estimate of the amount of money they think they will
need. The Secretary of the Treasury puts these estimates together
without revision and without criticism and submits them to
Congress, together with an estimate of the probable revenues
available. While there is a committee on appropriations in each
house of Congress,
... one class of appropriations after another has been taken away
from this committee and intrusted to other committees until, as a
result, the work of preparing appropriations in the House of
Representatives is broken up so that there are now no less than
fourteen general appropriation bills prepared by seven different
committees ... In the preparation of their bills the committee on
appropriations and the other committees in charge of
appropriations are really compelled to work more or less blindly.
Sometimes they hold extensive hearings endeavoring to get a
complete grasp of the multitudinous detailed expenditures for
which they must provide. But, of course, it is impossible for the
several committees, in the time at their disposal, to give even
minor matters the amount of attention demanded by sound public
economy. [Footnote: C. A. Beard, AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS,
pp. 366, 367.]
THE PRINCIPLES OF A BUDGET SYSTEM
The first principles of a budget, according to students of
government, are that it should be prepared by the executive branch
of the government, which is responsible for spending the money;
that it should be prepared by an agency responsible directly to
the President, and with authority to revise and adjust the
estimates of the several departments in the light of the needs and
resources of the government as a whole; and that it should be
based upon an accounting system that will show clearly how
efficiently each department and minor subdivision is doing its
work. As this chapter is being written, a bill is before Congress
which, if passed, will more or less completely accomplish these
results.
THE NEED FOR CENTRALIZING APPROPRIATIONS
It remains for Congress, however, to make the appropriations
requested in the budget, with such modifications as may be shown
to be wise. It is generally accepted that appropriations cannot be
wisely made under the present system, and that responsibility for
them must be centered in one committee in each house.
This change will necessitate a change in the rules which can only
be made by each house for itself. A resolution has been introduced
in the House of Representatives recommending this change, but it
has not at this writing been acted upon.
In the English House of Commons, when the appropriation bill is
introduced, the House becomes in effect a court before which the
prime minister and his cabinet are placed on trial to defend their
budget. The whole House is in session. The minority party, which
conducts the opposition, employs counsel, and by its searching
inquiries compels the cabinet to explain and defend the budget at
every point. By this procedure the public is informed as to the
work and program of the government, and the executive leaders held
strictly to account.
RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CITIZEN
A budget system, however good it may be, like all other
governmental machinery is merely an organization for team work,
and will do very little good unless the team work is forthcoming,
not only among the various branches and departments of government,
but also on the part of the citizens.
If there is a real budget it has got to be your budget. It will be
good, bad or indifferent finally just in proportion to your
interest in it and your expression of that interest at the polls
and elsewhere. If there is a good budget system--not on paper, but
in actual practice--you've got to make it. If, when a budget bill
is finally enacted you say, "Well, that job is done," and dismiss
it from your mind there will be no lasting gain ... [Footnote:
Will Payne, "Your Budget," SATURDAY EVENING POST January 3, 1920,
p. 30.]
Effective control over government can be exercised only by PUBLIC
OPINION and PUBLIC INTEREST. We may have any kind of government we
want, if we only want it badly enough, and only when we want it
badly enough. The blame for inefficiency and wastefulness on the
part of government at Washington, or at the state capital, or at
the county seat, rests largely with the people back home, who are
either selfish or blind to the fact that the interests of the
nation are larger than their own or those of their own little
community. The very people who talk most loudly about the
extravagance of government, or about the burden of taxes, are
likely to be the ones who expect most from their congressmen for
purely personal or local advantage. They are likely to judge their
representative's fitness for his position more by his ability to
get funds from the public treasury for local gratification than by
his attitude toward great national questions.
Investigate and report on the following:
The present Speaker of the House of Representatives, and some of
the more important members.
Leaders in the Senate at the present time.
A list of some of the more important committees in each House of
Congress.
The procedure by which a bill becomes a law, from the time when it
is introduced to the time it goes into effect as a law of the
land.
Bills introduced in Congress by the representative from your
district. The purposes of these bills. (Consult at home, at your
public library, at your newspaper office.)
Follow the course of debate on some measure in the House of
Representatives or the Senate in the files of the Congressional
Record (files may be found at your public library, or at the
newspaper offices, if not in your school).
Conflict of opinion regarding the powers of the President and of
the Senate in connection with the discussion of the treaty of
peace with Germany.
"Filibustering" in Congress.
Clause 2 of section 6 of Article I of the Constitution says, "No
person holding any office under the United States shall be a
member of either House during his continuance in office." Why is
this?
The privileges of members of Congress under clause I of section 6
of Article I of the Constitution. Reasons for these privileges.
"Log-rolling" in Congress, what it is and why so called.
The details of the budget system of the national government if one
has been created by the time you study this chapter.
Any change in the rules of Congress relating to appropriations.
The desirability of introducing in our government a plan similar
to that used by the House of Commons.
THE NATIONAL JUDICIARY
The judicial power of the United States government is vested by
the Constitution "in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior
courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish"
(Art. III, sec. I). The number of judges in the Supreme Court is
determined by Congress, and they are appointed by the President
with the advice and consent of the Senate. At present the Supreme
Court consists of a chief justice and eight associate justices.
Its sessions are held in the Capitol building at Washington.
Congress has created circuit courts of appeals, of which there are
now nine, each "circuit" including several states; and district
courts, of which there is at least one in every state, and
sometimes several. In addition to these there is a court of
customs appeals and a court of claims, for special classes of
cases. The courts of the District of Columbia are also United
States courts, inasmuch as the District is governed entirely by
the national government. The judges of all United States courts
are appointed by the President and hold office for life.
POWERS OF THE FEDERAL COURTS
The powers of the federal courts are stated in Article III,
section 2, of the Constitution. In general, they have jurisdiction
over cases of a national or interstate character. Most cases that
come in the first instance before the federal courts are tried in
the United States district courts, going to the higher courts only
on appeal; but there are certain classes of cases that go to the
Supreme Court at once (Art. III, sec. 2, cl. 2). A case brought to
trial before a state court may be appealed to the Supreme Court of
the United States when the Constitution, the laws, or the treaties
of the United States are involved, and its decision is final. The
Supreme Court may declare a law passed by Congress or an act of
the President null and void if, in its opinion, such law or act is
contrary to the provisions of the Constitution. It has been
questioned whether the framers of the Constitution intended the
Supreme Court to have this power, but it exercises the power on
the ground that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land to
which even Congress and the President are subject, and that it is
the sacred duty of the courts to preserve it from violation. We
have noted the influence exercised by the Supreme Court in
extending the activities of the United States government by its
broad interpretations of the Constitution.
Study the powers of the federal courts in Article III, sections 1
and 2.
What is treason? (Art. III, sec. 3, cl. I.)
What is meant by the second clause in section 3 of Article III?
READINGS
Guerrier, Edith, The Federal Executive Departments, Bulletin,
1919, No. 74, U. S. Bureau of Education. Swanton, W. I., Guide to
United States Government Publications; Bulletin, 1918, No. 2, U.
S. Bureau of Education.
In Lessons in Community and National Life:
Series A: Lesson 12, History of the federal departments.
Lesson 18, Local and national governments.
Series B: Lesson 13, The Department of the Interior.
Lesson 14, The United States Public Health Service.
Lesson 21, National standards and the Bureau of Standards.
In Foerster and Pierson's American Ideals: The nature of the Union
(Daniel Webster), pp. 17-26. The nature of the Union (John C.
Calhoun), pp. 27-44. Jefferson's First Inaugural Address, pp 59-
64. The frame of the national government (Bryce), pp. 285-300.
Criticism of the federal system (Bryce), pp. 301-311. Merits of
the federal system (Bryce), pp. 312-321.
Beard, C. A., American Government and Politics, Part ii,
especially chaps, xi and xiv Hart, A. B., Actual Government, Part
v, The National Government in Action. Bryce, James, The American
Commonwealth, vol. I, Part i. Wilson, Woodrow, Congressional
Government (Houghton Mifflin Co.). Haskin, F. J., The American
Government (Lippincott). Young, The New American Government
(Macmillan).
APPENDIX
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
PREAMBLE
We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more
perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity,
provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and
secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do
ordain and establish this CONSTITUTION for the United States of
America.
ARTICLE I. THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT
SECTION I. CONGRESS IN GENERAL
All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a
Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and
House of Representatives.
SECTION II. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Clause. The House of Representatives shall be composed of
members chosen every second year by the people of the several
States, and the electors in each State shall have the
qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch
of the State legislature.
2nd Clause. No person shall be a representative who shall not have
attained to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a
citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be
an inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.
3rd Clause. Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned
among the several States which may be included within this Union,
according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined
by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those
bound to service for a term of years, and, excluding Indians not
taxed, three-fifths of all other persons. The actual enumeration
shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the
Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of
ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The number
of representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand,
but each State shall have at least one representative; and until
such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall
be entitled to choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and
Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New
Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six,
Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and
Georgia three.
4TH CLAUSE. When vacancies happen in the representation from any
State, the executive authority thereof shall issue writs of
election to fill such vacancies.
5TH CLAUSE. The House of Representatives shall choose their
Speaker and other officers; and shall have the sole power of
impeachment.
SECTION III. THE SENATE.
1ST CLAUSE. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of
two senators from each State, chosen by the legislature thereof,
for six years; and each senator shall have one vote.
2nd CLAUSE. Immediately after they shall be assembled in
consequence of the first election, they shall be divided as
equally as may be into three classes. The seats of the senators of
the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the second
year, of the second class at the expiration of the fourth year,
and of the third class at the expiration of the sixth year, so
that one-third may be chosen every second year; and if vacancies
happen by resignation, or otherwise, during the recess of the
legislature of any State, the executive thereof may make temporary
appointments until the next meeting of the legislature, which
shall then fill such vacancies.
3rd CLAUSE. No person shall be a senator who shall not have
attained to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen
of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an
inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.
4TH CLAUSE. The Vice-President of the United States shall be
President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be
equally divided.
5TH CLAUSE. The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also
a President pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice-President, or
when he shall exercise the office of President of the United
States.
6TH CLAUSE. The Senate shall have the sole power to try all
impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall all be on
oath or affirmation. When the President of the United States is
tried, the Chief Justice shall preside; and no person shall be
convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members
present.
7TH CLAUSE. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend
further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold
and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United
States; but the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and
subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according
to law.
SECTION IV. BOTH HOUSES.
1ST CLAUSE. The times, places, and manner of holding elections for
senators and representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by
the legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law
make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of
choosing senators.
2nd CLAUSE. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every
year, and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December,
unless they shall by law appoint a different day.
SECTION V. THE HOUSES SEPARATELY.
1ST CLAUSE. Each house shall be the judge of the elections,
returns, and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of
each shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller
number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to
compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner and under
such penalties as each house may provide.
2nd CLAUSE. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings,
punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the
concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member.
3rd CLAUSE. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings,
and from time to time publish the same, excepting such parts as
may in their judgment require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of
the members of either house on any question shall, at the desire
of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal.
4TH CLAUSE. Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall,
without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three
days, nor to any other place than that in which the two houses
shall be sitting.
SECTION VI. PRIVILEGES AND DISABILITIES OF MEMBERS.
1ST CLAUSE. The senators and representatives shall receive a
compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and
paid out of the treasury of the United States. They shall, in all
cases except treason, felony and breach of the peace, be
privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of
their respective houses, and in going to and returning from the
same; and for any speech or debate in either house, they shall not
be questioned in any other place.
2nd CLAUSE. No senator or representative shall, during the time
for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under
the authority of the United States, which shall have been created,
or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such
time; and no person holding any office under the United States
shall be a member of either house during his continuance in
office.
SECTION VII. MODE OF PASSING LAWS
1ST CLAUSE. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the
House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur
with amendments as on other bills.
2nd CLAUSE. Every bill which shall have passed the House of
Representatives and the Senate shall, before it become a law, be
presented to the President of the United States; if he approve he
shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his objections,
to that house in which it shall have originated, who shall enter
the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to
reconsider it. If after such reconsideration two-thirds of that
house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together
with the objections, to the other house, by which it shall
likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of that
house, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of
both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of
the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on
the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be
returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after
it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in
like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their
adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a
law.
3rd CLAUSE. Every order, resolution, or vote to which the
concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be
necessary (except on a question of adjournment) shall be presented
to the President of the United States; and before the same shall
take effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by
him, shall be repassed by two-thirds of the Senate and House of
Representatives, according to the rules and limitations prescribed
in the case of a bill.
SECTION VIII. POWERS GRANTED TO CONGRESS.
The Congress shall have power--
1ST CLAUSE. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and
excises, to pay the debts, and provide for the common defence and
general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts, and
excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
2nd CLAUSE. To borrow money on the credit of the United States;
3rd CLAUSE. To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among
the several States, and with the Indian tribes;
4TH CLAUSE. To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and
uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United
States;
5TH CLAUSE. To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of
foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures;
6TH CLAUSE. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the
securities and current coin of the United States;
7TH CLAUSE. To establish post-offices and post-roads;
8TH CLAUSE. To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by
securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive
right to their respective writings and discoveries;
9TH CLAUSE. To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court;
10TH CLAUSE. To define and punish piracies and felonies committed
on the high seas, and offences against the law of nations;
11TH CLAUSE. To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal,
and make rules concerning captures on land and water;
12TH CLAUSE. To raise and support armies; but no appropriation of
money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years;
13TH CLAUSE. To provide and maintain a navy;
14TH CLAUSE. To make rules for the government and regulation of
the land and naval forces;
15TH CLAUSE. To provide for calling forth the militia to execute
the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel
invasions;
16TH CLAUSE. To provide for organising, arming, and disciplining
the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be
employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the
States respectively the appointment of the officers, and the
authority of training the militia according to the discipline
prescribed by Congress;
17TH CLAUSE. To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases
whatsoever, over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as
may, by cession of particular States, and the acceptance of
Congress, become the seat of the Government of the United States;
and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the
consent of the legislature of the State in which the same shall
be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards,
and other needful buildings;--and
18TH CLAUSE. To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper
for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other
powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United
States, or in any department or officer thereof.
SECTION IX. POWERS DENIED TO THE UNITED STATES.
1ST CLAUSE. The migration or importation of such persons as any of
the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be
prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight
hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such
importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person.
2nd CLAUSE. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not
be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the
public safety may require it.
3rd CLAUSE. No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be
passed.
4TH CLAUSE. No capitation, or other direct tax shall be laid,
unless in proportion to the census or enumeration hereinbefore
directed to be taken.
5TH CLAUSE. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from
any State.
6TH CLAUSE. No preference shall be given by any regulation of
commerce or revenue to the ports of one State over those of
another; nor shall vessels bound to, or from, one State, be
obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another.
7TH CLAUSE. No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in
consequence of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement
and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money
shall be published from time to time.
8TH CLAUSE. No title of nobility shall be granted by the United
States; and no person holding any office of profit or trust under
them shall, without the consent of Congress, accept of any
present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from
any king, prince, or foreign State.
SECTION X. POWERS DENIED TO THE STATES.
1ST CLAUSE. No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or
confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money;
emit bills of credit; make anything but gold and silver coin a
tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, EX POST
FACTO law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant
any title of nobility.
2nd CLAUSE. No State shall, without the consent of the Congress,
lay any imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may
be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws; and the
net produce of all duties and imposts, laid by any State on
imports or exports, shall be for the use of the treasury of the
United States; and all such laws shall be subject to the revision
and control of the Congress.
3rd CLAUSE. No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay
any duty of tonnage, keep troops, or ships of war in time of
peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another State or
with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded,
or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay.
ARTICLE II. THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.
SECTION I. PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT.
1ST CLAUSE. The executive power shall be vested in a President of
the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the
term of four years, and, together with the Vice-President, chosen
for the same term, be elected as follows:
2nd CLAUSE. Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the
legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the
whole number of senators and representatives to which the State
may be entitled in the Congress. But no senator or representative,
or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United
States, shall be appointed an elector.
[The 3rd clause has been superseded by the 12th article of
Amendments. See page xix.]
4TH CLAUSE. The Congress may determine the time of choosing the
electors, and the day on which they shall give their votes, which
day shall be the same throughout the United States.
5TH CLAUSE. No person, except a natural-born citizen, or a citizen
of the United States at the time of the adoption of this
Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President;
neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not
have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen
years a resident within the United States.
6TH CLAUSE. In case of the removal of the President from office,
or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers
and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-
President; and the Congress may by law provide for the case of
removal, death, resignation, or inability, both of the President
and Vice-President, declaring what officer shall then act as
President, and such officer shall act accordingly, until the
disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.
7TH CLAUSE. The President shall, at stated times, receive for his
services a compensation, which shall neither be increased nor
diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected,
and he shall not receive within that period any other emolument
from the United States, or any of them.
8TH CLAUSE. Before he enter on the execution of his office, he
shall take the following oath or affirmation:--"I do solemnly
swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of
President of the United States, and will, to the best of my
ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the
United States."
SECTION II. POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT.
1ST CLAUSE. The President shall be commander-in-chief of the army
and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several
States, when called into the actual service of the United States;
he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer
in each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to
the duties of their respective offices, and he shall have power to
grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the United
States, except in cases of impeachment.
3rd CLAUSE. He shall have power, by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of
the senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint,
ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the
Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose
appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which
shall be established by law; but the Congress may by law vest the
appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in
the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of
departments.
3rd CLAUSE. The President shall have power to fill up all
vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by
granting commissions, which shall expire at the end of their next
session.
SECTION III. DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT.
He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the
state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such
measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on
extraordinary occasions convene both houses or either of them, and
in case of disagreement between them with respect to the time of
adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think
proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers;
he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall
commission all the officers of the United States.
SECTION IV. Impeachment of the President.
The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the
United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for,
and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and
misdemeanors.
ARTICLE III. THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT.
SECTION I. The United States Courts.
The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one
Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may
from time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the
Supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good
behavior, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services a
compensation, which shall not be diminished during their
continuance in office.
SECTION II. Jurisdiction of the United States Courts.
1st Clause. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law
and equity arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United
States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their
authority, to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public
ministers, and consuls; to all cases of admiralty and maritime
jurisdiction; to controversies to which the United States shall be
a party; to controversies between two or more States; between a
State and citizens of another State; between citizens of different
States; between citizens of the same State claiming lands under
grants of different States, and between a State, or the citizens
thereof, and foreign states, citizens, or subjects.
2nd Clause. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public
ministers and consuls, and those in which a State shall be a
party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all
the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have
appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such
exceptions and under such regulations as the Congress shall make.
3rd Clause. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of
impeachment, shall be by jury; and such trial shall be held in the
State where the said crimes shall have been committed; but when
not committed within any State, the trial shall be at such place
or places as the Congress may by law have directed.
SECTION III. TREASON.
1ST CLAUSE. Treason against the United States shall consist only
in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies,
giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of
treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt
act, or on confession in open court.
2nd CLAUSE. The Congress shall have power to declare the
punishment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work
corruption of blood, or forfeiture except during the life of the
person attainted.
ARTICLE IV. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.
SECTION I. STATE RECORDS.
Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public
acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And
the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which,
such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the
effect thereof.
SECTION II. PRIVILEGES OF CITIZENS.
1ST CLAUSE. The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all
privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States.
2nd CLAUSE. 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.
3rd CLAUSE. 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.
SECTION III. NEW STATES AND TERRITORIES.
1ST CLAUSE. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this
Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the
jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the
junction of two or more States or parts of States, without the
consent of the legislatures of the States concerned as well as of
the Congress.
2nd CLAUSE. The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make
all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or
other property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this
Constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of
the United States or of any particular State.
SECTION IV. Guarantees to the States.
The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a
republican form of government, and shall protect each of them
against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the
executive (when the legislature cannot be convened), against
domestic violence.
ARTICLE V. POWERS OP AMENDMENT.
The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it
necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on
the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several
States, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which,
in either case, shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as
part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of
three-fourths of the several States, or by conventions in three-
fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may
be proposed by the Congress: provided that no amendment which may
be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight
shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the
ninth section of the first article; and that no State, without its
consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.
ARTICLE VI. PUBLIC DEBT, SUPREMACY OF THE CONSTITUTION, OATH OF
OFFICE, RELIGIOUS TEST.
1st Clause. All debts contracted and engagements entered into
before the adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid
against the United States under this Constitution, as under the
Confederation.
2nd Clause. This Constitution, and the laws of the United States
which shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made,
or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States,
shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every
State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws
of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.
3rd Clause. The senators and representatives before mentioned, and
the members of the several State legislatures, and all executive
and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the
several States, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support
this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as
a qualification to any office or public trust under the United
States.
ARTICLE VII. RATIFICATION OF THE CONSTITUTION.
The ratification of the conventions of nine States shall be
sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution between the
States so ratifying the same.
AMENDMENTS
PROPOSED BY CONGRESS AND RATIFIED BY THE LEGISLATURES OF THE
SEVERAL STATES, PURSUANT TO THE FIFTH ARTICLE OF THE ORIGINAL
CONSTITUTION.
ARTICLE I. FREEDOM OF RELIGION.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging
the freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a
redress of grievances.
ARTICLE II. RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS.
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.
ARTICLE III. QUARTERING SOLDIERS ON CITIZENS.
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.
ARTICLE IV. SEARCH WARRANTS.
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.
ARTICLE V. TRIAL FOR CRIME.
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; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be
twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in
any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived
of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor
shall private property be taken for public use without just
compensation.
ARTICLE VI. RIGHTS OF ACCUSED PERSONS.
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right 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, and to be
informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be
confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory
process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the
assistance of counsel for his defence.
ARTICLE VII. SUITS AT COMMON LAW.
In suits at common 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.
ARTICLE VIII. EXCESSIVE BAIL.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed,
nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
ARTICLE IX. RIGHTS RETAINED BY THE PEOPLE.
The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be
construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
ARTICLE X. RESERVED RIGHTS OF THE STATES.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution,
nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States
respectively, or to the people.
ARTICLE XI.
The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to
extend to any suit, in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted
against one of the United States by citizens of another State, or
by citizens or subjects of any foreign state.
ARTICLE XII.
1ST CLAUSE. The electors shall meet in their respective States,
and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom,
at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with
themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for
as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as
Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons
voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-
President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they
shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the
government of the United States, directed to the President of the
Senate; the President of the Senate shall, in presence of the
Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates,
and the votes shall then be counted; the person having the
greatest number of votes for President shall be the President, if
such number be a majority of the whole number of electors
appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the
persons having the highest numbers, not exceeding three on the
list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives
shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in
choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the
representation from each State having one vote; a quorum for this
purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of
the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to
a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a
President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them,
before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-
President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or
other constitutional disability of the President.
2nd CLAUSE. The person having the greatest number of votes as
Vice-President shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a
majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no
person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the
list the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the
purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of
senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to
a choice.
3rd CLAUSE. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the
office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of
the United States.
ARTICLE XIII.
SECTION I. 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.
SEC. II. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
ARTICLE XIV.
SECTION I. 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. No State shall
make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or
immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State
deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due
process of law, nor deny any person within its jurisdiction the
equal protection of the laws.
SEC. II. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several
States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole
number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But
when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors
for President and Vice-President of the United States,
representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers
of a State, or the members of the legislature thereof, is denied
to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one
years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way
abridged, except for participation in rebellion or other crime,
the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the
proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to
the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such
State. SEC. III. No person shall be a senator or representative in
Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any
office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any
State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of
Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of
any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of
any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall
have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or
given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by
a vote of two-thirds of each house, remove such disability.
SEC. IV. The validity of the public debt of the United States,
authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of
pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or
rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States
nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred
in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or
any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such
debts, obligations, and claims shall be held illegal and void.
SEC. V. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate
legislation, the provisions of this article.
ARTICLE XV.
SECTION I. 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.
SEC. II. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
ARTICLE XVI.
The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes,
from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the
several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.
ARTICLE XVII.
SECTION I. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of
two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for
six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in
each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of
the most numerous branch of the State Legislatures.
SEC. II. When vacancies happen in the representation of any State
in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue
writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided that the
Legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make
temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by
election as the Legislature may direct.
SEC. III. This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect
the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid
as part of the Constitution.
ARTICLE XVIII.
SECTION I. After one year from the ratification of this article,
the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors
within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof
from, the United States and all territory subject to the
jurisdiction thereof, for beverage purposes, is hereby prohibited.
SEC. II. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent
power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
SEC. III. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have
been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the
legislatures of the several States, as provided in the
Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission
thereof to the States by the Congress.
ARTICLE XIX.
SECTION 1. 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 sex.
SECT. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
End of Project Gutenberg's Community Civics and Rural Life, by Arthur W. Dunn