REVENUE AND TAXATION.
Revenue; Taxation; Necessity of Taxation; Direct Taxes; Indirect Taxes;
Customs or Duties; Internal Revenue; Suggestive Questions
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
INDEX
ELEMENTS OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT
PART I.
CHAPTER I.
THE FAMILY.
INTRODUCTORY.[1]--People living in the United States owe respect and
obedience to not less than four different governments; that is, to four
forms of organized authority. They have duties, as citizens of a
township or civil district, as citizens of a county, as citizens of
some one of the States, and as citizens of the United States. All
persons are, or have been, members of a family; some also live under a
village or city government; and most children are subject to the
government, of some school. Many people in this country live under six
governments--namely, the family, the township or civil district, the
village or city, the county, the State, and the United States; while
children who live in villages or cities, and attend school, are subject
to seven different governments. These organizations are so closely
related that the duties of the people as citizens of one do not
conflict with their duties as citizens of the others. The better
citizen a person is of one of these governments the better citizen he
is of all governments under which he lives.
DEFINITION.--Each of us is a member of some family. We were born into
the family circle, and our parents first taught us to obey. By
insisting upon obedience, parents govern their children, and thus keep
them from evil and from danger. The family, then, is a form of
government, established for the good of the children themselves, and
the first government that each of us must obey.
PURPOSES.--The family exists for the rearing and training of children,
and for the happiness and prosperity of parents. All children need the
comforts and restraints of home life. They are growing up to be
citizens and rulers of the country, and should learn to rule by first
learning to obey. The lessons of home prepare them for life and for
citizenship.
MEMBERS.
The members of the family are the father, the mother, and the children;
and the family government exists for all, especially for the children,
that they may be protected, guided, and taught to become useful men and
women. The welfare of each and of all depends upon the family
government, upon the care of the parents and the obedience of the
children.
RIGHTS.--The members have certain rights; that is, certain just claims
upon the family. Each has a right to all the care and protection that
the family can give: a right to be kindly treated; a right to be spoken
to in a polite manner; a right to food, clothing, shelter, and an
opportunity to acquire an education; a right to the advice and warning
of the older members; a right to the respect of all.
DUTIES.--As each of the members has his rights, each also has his
duties; for where a right exists, a duty always exists with it. It is
the duty of each to treat the others kindly; to teach them what is
right and what is wrong; to aid them in their work; to comfort them in
their sorrows; and to rejoice with them in their gladness. It is the
duty of the children to love their parents; to obey them in all things;
to respect older persons; and to abstain from bad habits and bad
language.
OFFICERS.
The officers of the family government are the father and the mother.
They were made officers when they were married, so that the rulers of
the family are also members of the family. The office of a parent is a
holy office, and requires wisdom for the proper discharge of its duties.
POWERS.--The parents have power to make rules, to decide when these
have been broken, and to insist that they shall be obeyed. They make
the law of the family, enforce the law, and explain the law. They have
supreme control over their children in all the usual affairs of life,
until the children arrive at the legal age--twenty-one years.
DUTIES, RESPONSIBILITY.--Parents should be firm and just in their
rulings; they should study the welfare of their children, and use every
effort to train them to lives of usefulness and honor. It is the duty
of parents to provide their children with food, clothing, shelter, and
the means of acquiring an education. There is no other responsibility
so great as the responsibility of fathers and mothers. They are
responsible for themselves, and the law makes them partly responsible
for the conduct of their children. Therefore, one of the highest
duties of a parent to his children is to exact obedience in all right
things, in order that the children may be trained to true manhood and
womanhood.
[1]To the teacher--Do not assign to the average class more than two or
three pages of the text as a lesson. Make haste slowly. When each
chapter is completed let it be reviewed at once, while the pupil's
interest is fresh.
See that the "Suggestive Questions" at the end of the chapter are not
neglected. If necessary, devote special lessons to their
consideration. Assign the "questions" to the members of the class, to
be answered on the following day, giving not more than two "questions"
to any pupil.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
1. Name some of the restraints of home life.
2. Why does the welfare of all depend upon the family government?
3. Why do rights and duties always exist together?
4. Name some bad habits.
5. Why should children abstain from bad habits?
6. What is true manhood?
7. Are disobedient children apt to make good citizens?
8. Should a father permit his bad habits to be adopted by his children?
CHAPTER II.
THE SCHOOL.
INTRODUCTORY.--When children reach the age of six or seven years, they
enter the public school and become subject to its rules. We are born
under government, and we are educated under it. We are under it at
home, in school, and in after life. Law and order are everywhere
necessary to the peace, safety, liberty, and' happiness of the people.
True liberty and true enlightenment can not exist unless regulated by
law.
DEFINITION AND PURPOSES.--A school district or sub-district is a
certain portion of the town or county laid off and set apart for the
purpose of establishing and maintaining a public school. It exists for
educational reasons only, and is the unit of educational work. The
public schools are supported by funds raised partly by the State, and
partly by the county or the township. They are frequently called
common schools or free schools. It is the duty of the State to provide
all children with the means of acquiring a plain English education, and
the State discharges this duty by dividing the county into districts of
such size that a school-house and a public school arc within reach of
every child.
FORMATION.--The limits of the school district are usually fixed by the
chief school officer of the county, by the town, by the school board,
or by the people living in the neighborhood. In most of the States
districts vary greatly in size and shape; but in some of the States
they have a regular form, each being about two miles square.
FUNCTIONS.--The functions, or work, of the school are solely
educational. The State supports a system of public schools in order
that the masses of the people may be educated. The country needs good
citizens: to be good citizens the people must be intelligent, and to be
intelligent they must attend School.
MEMBERS.
The members of the school district are the people living in it. All
are interested, one way or another, in the success of the school. In
most States the legal voters elect the school board, or trustees, and
in some States levy the district school taxes. Those who are neither
voters nor within the school age are interested in the intelligence and
good name of the community, and are therefore interested in the public
school.
CHILDREN.--The children within the-school age are the members of the
school, and they are the most important members of the school district.
It is for their good that the school exists. The State has provided
schools in order that its children may be educated, and thus become
useful men and women and good citizens.
RIGHTS.--Children, as members of the school, have important rights and
duties. It is the right, one of the highest rights, of every child to
attend the full session of the public school. Whoever prevents him
from exercising this right commits an offense against the child and
against the State. The State taxes its citizens to maintain a system
of schools for the benefit of every child, and so every child has a
right to all the State has provided for him.
DUTIES.--As it is the right, it is also the duty of all children to
attend the full session of the public school, or of some other equally
good. They should be regular and punctual in their attendance; they
should yield prompt and cheerful obedience to the school government,
and try to avail themselves of all advantages that the school can give.
As it is the duty of the State to offer a plain English education to
every child, so it is the duty of all children to make the most of all
means the State has provided for their education.
PARENTS, THEIR RIGHTS AND DUTIES.--All parents have the right to send
their children to the public school, and it is also their duty to
patronize the public school, or some other equally as good. Fathers
and mothers who deprive their children of the opportunities of
acquiring an education do them lasting injury. Parents should use
every effort to give their children at least the best education that
can be obtained in the public schools.
GOVERNMENT.
The school has rules to govern it, that the pupil may be guided,
directed, and protected in the pursuit of knowledge. Schools can not
work without order, and there can be no order without government. The
members of the school desire that good order be maintained, for they
know their success depends upon it; so that school, government, like
all other good government, exists by the consent and for the good of
the governed.
OFFICERS.--The school, like all other governments, has its officers.
These are the school board, or trustees, and the teacher. They are
responsible for the government and good conduct of the school. There
are, in most governments, three kinds of officers, corresponding to the
three departments of government--the legislative, the judicial, and the
executive. The legislative department of the government makes the
laws, the judicial department explains them, and the executive
department executes them. School officers are mostly executive; that
is, their chief duties are to enforce the laws made by the legislature
for the government of the public schools. As they also make rules for
the school, their duties are partly legislative.
APPOINTMENT, TERM OF OFFICE.--The district officers are usually elected
by the legal voters of the school district; but in some States they are
appointed by the county superintendent, or county school commissioner
as he is often called. In most States the term of office is three
years, but in some it is two years, and in others it is only one year.
Trustees or directors usually receive no pay for their services.
DUTIES.--In most States it is the duty of the district officers to
raise money by levying taxes for the erection of school-buildings, and
to superintend their construction; to purchase furniture and apparatus;
to care for the school property; to employ teachers and fix their
salaries; to visit the school and direct its work; to take the school
census; and to make reports to the higher school officers. In some
States, as in Indiana, most of these duties belong to the office of
township trustee.
THE TEACHER.--The teacher is usually employed by the directors or
trustees, but in some States he is employed by the township trustee or
by the county superintendent. He must first pass an examination before
an examiner, or board of examiners, and obtain therefrom a certificate
or license entitling him to teach in the public schools.
POWERS.--The teacher has the same power and right to govern the school
that the parent has to govern the family. The law puts the teacher in
the parent's place and expects him to perform the parent's office,
subject to the action of the directors or trustees. It clothes him
with all power necessary to govern the school, and then holds him
responsible for its conduct, the directors having the right to dismiss
him at any time for a failure to perform his duty.
DUTIES.--The teacher is one of our most important officers. The State
has confided to him the trust of teaching, of showing boys and girls
how to be useful men and women, of training them for citizenship. This
is a great work to do. The State has clothed him with ample power for
the purpose, and it is his duty to serve the State faithfully and well.
The teacher should govern kindly and firmly. Every pupil in school, of
whatever age or size, owes him cheerful and ready obedience. It is his
duty, the duty for which he is paid, to insist upon this obedience; to
govern the school; to teach the pupils to obey while they are children,
in order that they may rule well when they become rulers; that is, when
they become citizens.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
1. Why are law and order necessary to the peace and happiness of the
people?
2. Why are public schools sometimes called free schools or common
schools?
3. About how many square miles are there in a school district in this
county?
4. What is the official title, and what the name, of the chief school
officer of this county?
5. Why does the State want its people educated?
6. Why should children be regular and punctual in their attendance?
7. What can parents do to aid their children to acquire an education?
8. What number of directors do you think would be best for the school
district? Why?
9. Should directors receive compensation? How much?
10. Why should the teacher pass an examination?
11. Should he be examined every year?
12. Why does the law place the teacher in the parent's place?
13. Why are citizens said to be rulers?
QUESTION FOR DEBATE.
_Resolved_, That it is right for a man without children to pay school
taxes.
CHAPTER III.
THE CIVIL DISTRICT.
INTRODUCTORY.--In our study, thus far, we have had to do with special
forms of government as exercised in the family and in the school.
These are, in a sense, peculiar to themselves. The rights of
government as administered in the family, and the rights of the members
of a family, as well as their duties to each other, are natural rights
and duties; they do not depend upon society for their force. In fact,
they are stronger and more binding in proportion as the bands of
society are relaxed.
In the primitive state, before there was organized civil society,
family government was supreme; and likewise, if a family should remove
from within the limits of civil society and be entirely isolated,
family government would again resume its power and binding force.
School government, while partaking of the nature of civil government,
is still more closely allied to family government. In the natural
state, and in the isolated household, the education of the child
devolves upon the parents, and the parent delegates a part of his
natural rights and duties to the teacher when he commits the education
of his child to the common school. The teacher is said to stand _in
loco parentis_ (in the place of the parent), and from this direction,
mainly, are his rights of government derived. The school, therefore,
stands in an intermediate position between family government and civil
government proper, partaking of some features of each, and forming a
sort of stepping-stone for the child from the natural restraints of
home to the more complex demands of civil society. The school
district, also, while partaking of the nature of a civil institution,
is in many respects to be regarded as a co-operative organization of
the families of the neighborhood for the education of their children,
and its government as a co-operative family government.
THE CIVIL UNIT DEFINED.
In nearly every part of the United States there is a unit of civil
society in which the people exercise many of the powers of government
at first hand. This civil unit is variously named in the different
States, and its first organization may have been for some minor
purpose; but it has grown to be an important sphere of government in
many States, and throughout the entire country it is the primary school
of the citizen and the voter.
There are many different names by which this civil unit is known.
In the State of Mississippi it is called the _Beat_, and this name is
no doubt derived from the original purpose of the organization, as the
jurisdiction of a watchman or constable.
In Delaware it is called the _Hundred_, which is the old English
subdivision of a county, supposed to contain one hundred families, or
one hundred men able to bear arms in the public service.
In the New England States, in New York, and in Wisconsin it is called
the _Town_, from the old Anglo-Saxon civil unit, which antedates the
settlement of England by its Saxon invaders, and is probably older than
the Christian era.
In Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri,
Montana, New Jersey, the Carolinas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and parts of
Illinois, Nebraska, and the Dakotas, it is called the _Township_, only
a variation of name from the "town," and having the same origin.
In California it is called the _Judicial Township_, and in parts of the
Dakotas it is called the _School Township_.
In Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and
parts of Illinois and Nebraska, it is called the _Election Precinct_,
from the fact that it was the subdivision made for the convenience of
voters.
In Georgia it is called the _Militia District_, from the fact that each
subdivision furnished a certain proportionate number of men for the
militia service of the State.
In Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia, it is called the _Magisterial
District_, from the fact that it was constituted as the limit of the
jurisdiction of a local magistrate.
In Louisiana it is called the _Police Jury Ward_, perhaps for the
reason that from each one of these subdivisions a warden was elected to
administer the parish government.
In Maryland and Wyoming it is called the _Election District_, from the
fact that it was the subdivision made for the convenience of voters.
In Tennessee it is called the _Civil District_--probably, next to
"town" or "township," the most fitting name for the smallest
subdivision of civil government.
In Texas it is called the _Justice's Precinct_, as being the limit of a
justice's jurisdiction.
In some of the New England States, also, districts which have not the
entire town organization are provisionally called _Plantations_ or
_Grants_, being subject to the administration, in some local affairs,
of other towns.
But under whatever name the civil unit may exist, it is the primary
seat of government. In many cases the original reason for the name has
disappeared, while the character of the government has greatly changed,
and been modified and developed from the first crude forms.
THREE GENERAL CLASSES.--As a result, there are at present but three
general classes into which we need subdivide the civil unit in the
various States: these are the _Civil District_, which would include the
"Beat," "Hundred," "Election Precinct," "Militia District," and
numerous other classes, embracing about one half the States of the
Union; the _Town_, which has its fullest development in the New England
States; and the _Township_, which in some States has nearly the full
development of a New England town, while in other States it has a
looser organisation, approximating the civil district of the Southern
and Southwestern States.
THE CIVIL DISTRICT, PROPER.
We shall treat of the various forms of the civil unit which we have
classed under the general name of civil district before we speak of the
town and the township, because they are simpler and much less
developed, and therefore naturally constitute the simplest form of the
civil unit.
NUMBER, SIZE.--In number and size, civil districts vary widely in
different States and in different counties of the same State. There
are rarely less than five or more than twelve districts to the county.
PURPOSES.--The division of the county into districts, each with its own
court of law, brings justice to the people's doors. It secures
officers to every part of the county, thus affording better means for
the punishment of crimes. It provides a speedy trial for minor
offences and minor suits. It aids the higher courts by relieving them
of a multitude of small cases. As each district has one or more
polling-places, it secures convenience to the electors in casting their
votes.
GOVERNMENT.--The functions of the civil district arc judicial and
executive, and lie within a narrow range. Its government possesses no
legislative or corporate power whatever; it can not make a single law,
however unimportant. Within a narrow jurisdiction or sphere, it
applies the law to particular cases, and this is the chief purpose for
its existence. Whenever the civil unit possesses more powers than are
herein set forth, it is more properly described under the township in
the next chapter, no matter what name it may go by locally.
CITIZENS.
The citizens of the civil district are the people residing within it.
It exists for their benefit, that they may be secure in life, liberty,
and property. In a certain sense they constitute the district, since
its government concerns them directly, and others only remotely.
RIGHTS.--All citizens have a right to the full and equal protection of
the laws. Each has a right to be secure in his person and property; to
demand that the peace be preserved; to do all things according to his
own will, provided he does not trespass upon the rights of others. No
one in the family, in the school, in the civil district, in the county,
in the State, or in the nation, has the right to do or say any thing
which interferes with the life, liberty, property, or happiness of
another. Any act which interferes with the rights of others is an
offence against the common good and against the law. It is chiefly for
the prevention and punishment of these unlawful acts that the civil
district exists, with its court and its officers.
All legal voters of the district have the right to participate in its
government by exercising a free choice in the selection of its
officers, except in States where these officers are appointed. They
have the right to cast their votes without fear or favor. This is one
of the most important and sacred rights that freemen possess. Free
government can not exist without it. The law guarantees it, and all
the power of the State may be employed to maintain it. Therefore,
whoever prevents a voter from exercising the right of suffrage does it
at his own peril.
DUTIES.--As the citizens of the civil district have rights, they also
have corresponding duties. As they may demand protection and the
preservation of the peace, so it is their duty to obey the law and
assist the officers in its enforcement, in order that the same
protection may be extended to the whole people. Each should abstain
from acts that injure others, and render cheerful aid to all in
securing their rights through the law.
All qualified voters have the right, and it is also their duty, to
vote. The voters elect the officers of the district, and are therefore
its rulers. When they fail to vote, they fail to rule--fail in their
duty to the people and to themselves. The duty to vote implies the
duty to vote right, to vote for good men and for good measures.
Therefore, citizens should study their duty as voters, that they may
elect honest, capable, faithful officers, and support the parties and
principles that will best promote the good of the country? Every one
should study his political duty with the best light that he can obtain,
decide what is right, and then vote his sentiments honestly and
fearlessly. If the district has good government, the voters deserve
the credit; if it has bad government, the voters deserve the blame.
OFFICERS.
The officers of the district are the justices of the peace and the
constable. In some States there is only one justice to each district,
in other States there are two, and in others there are three.
JUSTICE OF THE PEACE.--The office of justice of the peace is one of
dignity and importance. Justices can render great service to society
by the proper discharge of their duties. They may have much to do with
enforcing the law, and therefore the best men should be elected to this
office.
ELECTION, TERM OF OFFICE.--Justices of the peace are usually elected by
the qualified voters of the district. In some States the governor
appoints them. The term of office is two, three, four, or even seven
years, varying in different States.
DUTIES.--The duties of justices of the peace are principally judicial,
and their jurisdiction extends throughout the county. Upon the sworn
statement of the person making complaint, they issue warrants for the
arrest of offenders. With the aid of juries, they hold court for the
trial of minor offences--such as the breach of the peace--punishable by
fine or brief imprisonment. They sometimes try those charged with
higher crimes, and acquit; or, if the proof is sufficient, remand the
accused to trial by a higher court. This is called an examining trial.
They try civil suits where the amount involved does not exceed a fixed
amount--fifty dollars in some States, and one hundred dollars in
others--and prevent crime by requiring reckless persons to give
security to keep the peace. Justices sometimes preside, instead of the
coroner, at inquests, and in some States they have important duties as
officers of the county.
CONSTABLE, ELECTION, TERM OF OFFICE.--There is usually one
constable--in some States more--in each civil district. Constables,
like the justices, are elected in most States; but in some they are
appointed. The term of office is usually the same as that of the
justice in the same State.
DUTIES.--The constable is termed a ministerial officer because it is
his duty to minister to, or wait upon, the justice's court. He serves
warrants, writs, and other processes of the justice, and sometimes
those of higher courts. He preserves the public peace, makes arrests
for its violation, and in some States collects the taxes apportioned to
his civil district.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
1. In what respect does civil government differ from family or school
government?
2. Why does the government of the civil district concern its people
directly and others remotely?
3. What is meant by the civil unit? By what names is it known in the
various States?
4. What are the three general classes under which the civil unit may be
considered?
5. Why can not free government exist without the right to vote?
6. Why should the people try to secure their rights through the law?
7. What is the purpose of the subdivision of a county into districts?
8. Define in general terms the rights and duties of the citizens of
civil districts.
9. By what other names are justices of the peace sometimes called?
10. Why is the jurisdiction of a justice's court limited?
11. Who are the justices of this civil district?
12. When elected, and what is their term of office?
13. Who is constable of this district?
QUESTION FOR DEBATE.
_Resolved_, That the government of the civil district should have a
legislative department.
CHAPTER IV.
THE TOWNSHIP OR TOWN.
INTRODUCTION.--We have learned that in the Southern States the civil
unit under various names may be described under the common name of the
civil district; that in the New England States it is called the town,
and in many of the Western States it is known as the township. As the
powers and functions of the town and the township are the same in kind,
differing only in extent, and as the two names are so often used, the
one for the other, we shall consider both under the head of the
township.
As a rule, the township possesses more extensive governmental functions
in the Eastern than in the Western States, and in the West it possesses
functions much more extensive than those of the civil district in the
South. Many of the most important powers that belong to the county in
the Southern States belong to the township in the Eastern and the
Western States.
FORMATION.--In the Eastern States the townships were formed in the
first settlement of the country, and afterward a number of townships
were combined to form the county. In the Western States the townships
were surveyed, and their boundaries marked, by agents of the general
government, before the Territories became States of the Union. As a
natural result, the townships of the Eastern States are irregular in
shape and size, while those of the Western States have a regular form,
each being about six miles square. In the Western States the township
is usually composed of thirty-six sections, each section being one mile
square, and containing six hundred and forty acres of land.
PURPOSES.--It is an old and true maxim that government should be
brought as near the people as possible. This the township system does.
In our country all power resides in the people, and the township
provides a convenient means of ascertaining their wishes and of
executing their will. The farther away the government, the less will
be the people's power; the nearer the government, the greater will be
the people's power. The township system enables each community to
attend to its own local affairs--a work which no other agency can do so
well--to remove readily and speedily its local public grievances, and
to obtain readily and speedily its local public needs.
CITIZENS.
The citizens of the township are the people living in it, whether
native or foreigners who have become citizens. It exists for their
benefit, to afford them a means of securing their rights and of
redressing their wrongs. It is these persons that the law has in view
when setting forth the privileges and immunities of citizenship.
RIGHTS.--All citizens of the township arc entitled to enjoy the rights
of "life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness." The
township government exists for the purpose of securing these rights to
the people. All have equal claims to the fullest protection of the
law. They may use their own property as they choose, and do whatever
pleases them, so long as they do not interfere with the rights of
others. Whenever one's act, speech, or property interferes with the
rights of others, he falls under the censure of the law and becomes
subject to its penalty.
All male inhabitants born in the United States, and foreigners who have
become citizens, who have resided within the State, county, and
township the time required by law, are entitled to vote at all
township, county, state, and national elections. Several States
require ability to read, or the payment of poll-tax, as a qualification
to vote; a few permit the subjects of foreign countries to vote; and in
some States women are permitted to vote in school elections or in all
elections. Lunatics, idiots, paupers, and persons convicted of certain
high crimes are disfranchised; that is, are not permitted to vote. The
right of suffrage is one of great power and value, being the basis of
all free government, and is jealously guarded by the laws of the land.
DUTIES.--The people have extensive rights and they have equally
extensive duties. Each citizen has rights that others must respect.
It is the duty of each to observe and regard the rights of all other
persons; and when he does not, the law interferes by its officers and
deprives him of his own rights by fine or imprisonment, and in some
instances by a still more severe penalty. It is the duty of the people
to love and serve the country; to be good citizens; to labor for the
public good; to obey the law, and to assist the officers in its
enforcement.
It is the duty of the qualified voters to give the township good
government by electing good officers. A vote cast for a bad man or a
bad measure is an attack upon the rights of every person in the
community. The power of suffrage is held for the public good; but it
is used for the public injury when incompetent or unfaithful men are
elected to office. Good government and the happiness and prosperity of
the country depend upon an honest and intelligent vote.
GOVERNMENT.
The township government possesses legislative, judicial, and executive
functions. It has a legislative department to make local laws, a
judicial department to apply the laws to particular cases, and an
executive department to enforce these and other laws. The three
functions are of nearly equal prominence in the Eastern States, but in
the West the executive function is more prominent than the legislative
and the judicial.
CORPORATE POWER.--Each township is a corporation; that is, in any
business affair it may act as a single person. In its corporate
capacity it can sue and be sued; borrow money; buy, rent, and sell
property for public purposes. When it is said that the township
possesses these powers, it is meant that the people of the township,
acting as a single political body, possess them.
OFFICERS.--The officers of the township are more numerous, and their
functions are more extensive than those of the civil district. Many
officers are the same in name, and others have the same duties as those
of the county in the Southern States.
LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT; THE PEOPLE.--In the Eastern States the
legislative department of the township government has more extensive
functions than in the West. In the New England States most local
affairs belong to the township government, and the county is of minor
importance. In these and a few other States the people make their own
local laws instead of delegating this power to representatives. The
electors of the township meet annually at a fixed place, upon a day
appointed by law, discuss questions of public concern, elect the
township officers, levy township taxes, make appropriations of money
for public purposes, fix the salaries and hear the reports of officers,
and decide upon a course of action for the coming year. Thus the
people themselves, or more strictly speaking, the qualified voters, are
the government. In some States special town meetings may be called for
special purposes. The town meeting places local public affairs under
the direct control of the people, and thus gives them a personal
interest in the government, and makes them feel a personal
responsibility for its acts. Another benefit of the system is that it
trains the people to deal with political matters, and so prepares them
to act intelligently in all the affairs of the State and the nation.
In the Western States the county government is more important, and
township legislation is confined to a narrow range. In power and
importance the township of most Western States is intermediate between
the town of the East and the civil district of the South.
SELECTMEN OR TRUSTEES.--The legislative power of the township is vested
in the trustees, town council, or selectmen, as they are variously
termed. The number of trustees or selectmen is not the same in all
parts of the Union, being fixed at three in most States of the West,
and varying in New England with the wishes of the electors. The
trustees, councilmen, or selectmen are elected by the qualified voters
of the township for a term of one, two, or three years, varying in
different States. They are the legal guardians of the public interests
of the township, and make laws or ordinances, sometimes called by-laws,
expressly pertaining to the local wants of the community, and to a
limited extent may levy taxes.
In some States, especially those of the East, the principal duties of
the trustees or selectmen are executive. They divide the township into
road districts; open roads on petition; select jurors; build and repair
bridges and town halls, where the expenditure is small; act as judges
of elections; purchase and care for cemeteries; have charge of the poor
not in the county charge; and act for the township in its corporate
capacity. If any thing goes wrong in the public affairs of the town,
complaint is made to these officers.
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.--Most of the public affairs of the township, as
well as of all other governments, pertain to the executive department.
Its duties are far more extensive, and its officers are more numerous,
than those of the other departments. The executive officers of the
township are the clerk, the treasurer, the school directors, the
assessor, the supervisors, and the constables. In most States all
these officers are elected by the qualified voters; but in some the
clerk, the treasurer, and the constables are elected by the town
council.
CLERK.--The clerk of the township is clerk of the trustees, council, or
selectmen, and in some States of the school board. He attends the
meetings of the trustees, and makes a careful record of the
proceedings. He keeps the poll-lists and other legal papers of the
township, administers oaths, and notifies officers of their election.
In the New England States, and some others, he keeps a record of the
marriages, births, and deaths, calls the town meeting to order, reads
the warrant under which it is held, presides until a moderator is
chosen, and then acts as clerk of the meeting.
TREASURER.--Taxes collected from the people for local purposes are paid
to the treasurer. He receives all fines, forfeitures, and license-fees
paid to the township. He is the keeper of the township funds, giving
bond for the faithful performance of his duties, and pays out money
upon the written order of the trustees, attested by the clerk. In some
States, as in New York, there is no separate township treasurer, the
above and other duties being performed by the supervisor, who is the
chief officer of the township.
SCHOOL DIRECTORS.--The school directors have charge of the public
schools of the township. The number of directors varies widely, being
usually three, five, or more. In a few of the States, the clerks of
the district trustees constitute the township school directors, or
township board of education. The directors levy taxes for school
purposes, visit and inspect the public schools, adopt text-books,
regulate the order of studies and length of the term, fix salaries,
purchase furniture and apparatus, and make reports to the higher school
officers. In some States they examine teachers and grant certificates
to teach. In many States a part of these duties falls to the county
superintendent.
ASSESSOR.--The assessor makes a list of the names of all persons
subject to taxation, estimates the value of their real and personal
property, assesses a tax thereon, and in some States delivers this list
to the auditor, and in others to the collector of taxes. In most
States there, is also a poll-tax of from one to three dollars,
sometimes more, laid upon all male inhabitants more than twenty-one
years of age. In some States there are two or more assessors to the
township, and in others real estate is valued only once in ten years.
COMMISSIONERS, or surveyors of highways, have charge of the
construction and repair of highways, summon those subject to labor on
the road, and direct their work.
SUPERVISOR.--In some States the chief executive duties of the town fall
upon the supervisor, but his principal duties are rather as a member of
the county board of supervisors.
CONSTABLES.--Constables are ministerial and police officers. There are
usually two or three in each township. They wait upon the justice's
court, and are subject to his orders. They preserve the public peace,
serve warrants and other processes, and in some States act as
collectors of taxes.
COLLECTOR, ETC.--In some States the township has a collector and three
or more auditors. They are usually elected by the trustees, or
council, but in a few of the States they are elected by the town
meeting. The collector collects the township taxes, giving bond for
the faithful performance of his duties. In order to secure honesty and
efficiency in public office, and to exhibit the financial condition of
the township, the auditors annually examine the books of the treasurer
and the collector, and publish a report showing the receipts and
expenditures of public money.
In a few States the township has a field-driver and a pound-keeper,
whose respective duties are to take stray animals to the pound, an
enclosure kept for the purpose, and to retain them with good care until
the owner is notified and pays all expenses; two or more fence-viewers,
who decide disputes about fences; surveyors of lumber, who measure and
mark lumber offered for sale; and sealers, who test and certify weights
and measures used in trade. These officers are usually appointed by
the selectmen.
JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT; JUSTICES.--The judicial power is vested in the
justices, who are elected by the qualified voters of the town. There
are usually two or three justices, but in some States there is only one
in each township. The term of office is one, two, three, four, or more
years, varying in different States. Justices preside in the justice's
court to hear and determine suits at law. "This is the humblest court
in the land, the court of greatest antiquity, and the court upon which
all other courts are founded."[1] The justice's court tries petty
offences and civil suits for small amounts. In some States the
justices preside at the town meetings, and in others they perform the
duties of coroner in the township.
[1]Thorpe's _Civil Government_.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
1. Has this State the township system? If so, give the name and number
of your township.
2. How does the township system provide a convenient means of
ascertaining and of executing the people's will?
3. Why is the people's power greater when the government is near?
4. Why can the community manage its own affairs better than any other
agency can manage them?
5. How do people secure their rights?
6. What is meant by falling under the censure of the law?
7. What is a naturalized person?
8. Is it right for subjects of foreign governments to vote? Why?
9. Is it right for women to vote?
10. Why is suffrage the basis of all free government?
11. What is a more severe penalty than imprisonment?
12. How can people serve the country?
13. What is a good citizen?
14. Why is a bad vote an attack on the rights of the people?
15. What other laws than those made by the legislative department of
the township does the executive department enforce?
16. How do you like the New England town meeting? Why?
17. Name some duties that belong to the executive department.
18. What is a poll-list?
19. What are the duties of judges of election?
20. Of what use is a record of marriages, births, and deaths?
21. What is meant by license-fees?
22. What persons are subject to taxation?
23. What is a poll-tax, and is it right? Why?
24. Who are subject to road duty in this State?
25. Give the names of the officers of this township.
QUESTION FOR DEBATE.
_Resolved_, That the town meeting is the best system of local
government yet devised.
CHAPTER V
THE COUNTY.
INTRUDUCTORY.--The county is a political division of the State, and is
composed of civil districts or of townships. It bears the name of
county in all parts of the country except in Louisiana, where a similar
organization is known as a parish. In New England the county has less
power than the town; in the Western States it has more than the
township; and in the Southern States it has far more than the civil
district, being there the unit of political influence.
PURPOSES.--The county organization brings justice near the people,
enables them to attend to local affairs too extensive for a smaller
community, and affords a medium by which they may transact business
with the State. It serves as a convenient basis of apportioning
members of the legislature among the people. It maintains local
officers, such as sheriff and prosecuting attorney, whose duties would
be too narrow if confined to a township. It secures a competent and
higher tribunal than the justice's court for the trial of suits at law.
This was the original purpose, and is still the controlling reason for
the division of the States into counties.
FORMATION, AREA.--Counties are formed, their rights are conferred, and
their duties imposed, by act of the State legislature. In most States
counties vary greatly in shape and size, but in some of the Western
States they have a regular form. The average area of counties in the
United States is eight hundred and thirty square miles; the average
area of those east of the Mississippi River is only three hundred and
eighty square miles.
COUNTY SEAT.--The county government resides at the county seat, county
town, or shire town, as it is variously called. The court-house, the
jail, the public offices, and sometimes other county buildings are
located at the county seat. Here are kept the records of the courts;
also, usually copies of the deeds, wills, mortgages, and other
important papers of the people.
COUNTY GOVERNMENT.
The county, like the United States, the State, and the township, has a
republican form of government; that is, it is governed by
representatives elected by the people. In nearly all States the county
government has three departments, legislative, executive, and judicial;
but the functions of making, of executing, and of explaining the laws,
are not always kept separate and distinct. In a few States the county
does not have a judicial department.
OFFICERS.--County officers and township officers have duties similar in
kind, but the former have charge of the larger interests. The usual
officers of the county are the commissioners or supervisors, the county
attorney or prosecuting attorney, the county superintendent of schools
or school commissioner, the sheriff, the treasurer, the auditor, the
county clerk or common pleas clerk, the surveyor, the coroner, and the
county judge and surrogate, or probate judge. In the counties of many
States one or more of these officers are lacking, and others have
different names from those here given. In the Western and the Southern
States county officers are elected by the direct vote of the people; in
most of the New England States some of them are chosen in other ways.
The terms of county officers vary in different parts of the Union,
being usually two, three, or four years; but in some States certain
officers are elected for a longer term.
LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, OR BOARD OF
SUPERVISORS.--In most States the public interests of the county are
intrusted to a board of officers, three or five in number, called
county commissioners. In some States the board consists of one or more
supervisors from each township, and is called the board of supervisors.
In a few States the board consists of all the justices of the county,
with the county judge as presiding officer.
The county commissioners, or board of supervisors, have charge of the
county property, such as the court-house, the jail, and the county
infirmary; make orders and raise funds for the erection of county
buildings, and for the construction and improvement of highways and
bridges; provide polling-places; make appropriations of money for
public purposes; and act as the chief agents of the county in its
corporate capacity. In some States they fix the salaries of county
officers; in others they have power to form new townships and to change
the township boundaries. In several States the functions of the board
are almost wholly executive.
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT: COUNTY ATTORNEYS, OR PROSECUTIN ATTORNEYS.--The
county attorney, or prosecuting attorney, is the county's counsellor at
law, and when requested gives legal advice to all the county officers.
It is his duty to prosecute the accused in the trial of crimes and
offences, in the justice's court, the county court, and in some States
in the circuit court or district court; to represent the county in all
civil suits to which it is a party; and to act for it in all cases in
which its legal interests are involved.
COUNTY SUPERINDENTENT OF SCHOOLS.--In some States there is no county
superintendent of schools. In most States there is such an officer
elected by the township school directors or by the people of the
county, or appointed by the State superintendent of public instruction.
In a few States the county is divided into two or more districts, each
having a commissioner of schools.
The county superintendent, or school commissioner, is the chief school
officer of the county. He administers the public school system,
condemns unfit school-houses and orders others built, examines teachers
and grants certificates, holds teachers' institutes, visits and directs
the schools, instructs teachers in their duties, interests the people
in education, and reports the condition of the schools to the State
superintendent of public instruction. He is one of the most important
officers of the county, a capable administration of his duties being of
the greatest benefit to the whole people.
SHERIFF.--"The sheriff is the guardian of the peace of the county and
the executive officer of its courts."[1] He preserves the peace,
arrests persons charged with crime, serves writs and other processes in
both civil and criminal cases, makes proclamation of all elections,
summons jurors, and ministers to the courts of his county. In States
having no county jailer, the sheriff has charge of the prisons and
prisoners, and is responsible for their safe-keeping. When persons
refuse to pay their taxes, he seizes and sells enough property to pay
the sum assessed; and in some States he is the collector of all State
and county revenue.
COUNTY TREASURER.--The duties of the treasurer are indicated by the
title of his office. He receives all county taxes, licenses, and other
money paid into the county treasury. In most States he is custodian of
the county's financial records, and of the tax-collector's books, and
in others he collects all the taxes assessed in the county. He gives
bond for the faithful performance of his duties, and pays out funds
upon the warrant of the county commissioners. In most States having no
county treasurer, the sheriff is keeper of the public money.
AUDITOR.--The auditor is the guardian of the county's financial
interests. He examines the books and papers of officers who receive or
disburse county funds; keeps a record of receipts and expenditures;
draws all warrants for the payment of public money; and publishes a
report of the county's financial transactions. In some States he
receives the assessor's returns, apportions taxes among the people, and
prepares the tax-collector's duplicate list. In States having no
county auditor, these duties are performed by other officers.
COUNTY CLERK, OR COMMON PLEAS CLERK.--The county clerk, or common pleas
clerk, is the recording officer of the county court, or probate court,
and in some States of the circuit court. He issues writs, preserves
papers, and records judgments. In many States he issues licenses,
preserves election returns, and records wills, deeds, mortgages, and
other important papers.
RECORDER, OR REGISTER.--In many States the county has a recorder, or
register, instead of the county clerk, and in some States it has both.
The recorder, or register, makes a record in books kept for that
purpose, of wills, deeds, mortgages, village plats, and powers of
attorney. Some of these instruments must be recorded in order to make
them valid in law. In some States having no recorder, these duties are
performed by the township clerk, and in others by the county clerk.
SURVEYOR.--The county surveyor, or engineer, surveys tracts of land to
locate lines, determine areas, and to settle conflicting claims. In
some States his services are frequently needed in the transfer of real
estate. In most States he makes plots of surveys, issues maps of the
county, and has charge of the construction of roads and bridges.
CORONER.--The coroner investigates the death of persons who have died
by violence, or in prison, or from causes unknown. He receives notice
of the death; a jury is summoned; witnesses testify; and the jury
renders a verdict in writing, stating the cause and the manner of the
death. This inquiry is known as the coroner's inquest. In some States
when the office of sheriff is vacant, the coroner performs the duties.
OTHER OFFICERS.--In some States there are superintendents of the poor,
or infirmary directors, who have charge of the county infirmary in
which the dependent poor are maintained; in others the township
overseers of the poor support these unfortunates with funds furnished
for that purpose by the county. In some States there is a collector
who collects all the taxes of the county; a county jailer who holds
prisoners in custody and has charge of the county buildings, under the
commissioners' directions; and also a circuit clerk, or district clerk,
who is the recording officer of the circuit court, or district court as
it is often called.
JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT: COUNTY JUDGE OR PROBATE JUDGE.--The judicial power
of the county is vested in the county judge, or probate judge, who in
many States is its most prominent and important officer. He has
jurisdiction of wills and estates, appoints administrators and
guardians, and settles their accounts. In many states he grants
licenses; presides over the legislative body of the county; makes
orders opening roads and appointing overseers of the public highway:
appoints officers of elections; holds examining trials; sits in the
county court to try minor offences and civil suits for small amounts;
and in a few States acts as county superintendent of schools.
In some States there is a probate judge, or judge of the orphan's
court, in addition to the county judge.
[1]Thorpe's _Civil Government_.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
1. What is meant by unit of political influence?
2. What affairs are too extensive for a smaller community than the
county?
3. Why is the county seat so called?
4. State the terms and the names of the officers of this county.
5. Why do the officers of the county need legal advice?
6. What is meant by the sheriff administering to the courts?
7. What are licenses?
8. Of what use is the treasurer's bond?
9. What is the collector's duplicate list?
10. What is a writ?
11. What is the plot of a survey?
12. What is a will? an administrator?
13. What is an examining trial?
14. Do you think the county judge or probate judge should act as
superintendent of schools? Why?
QUESTION FOR DEBATE.
_Resolved_, That a poll-tax is unjust.
CHAPTER VI.
MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS.
VILLAGES, BOROUGHS, AND CITIES.--The county usually has within its
limits villages or cities, organized under separate and distinct
governments. When the people become so thickly settled that the
township and county government do not meet their local public wants,
the community is incorporated as a village. Villages are often called
towns, and incorporated as such, especially in the Southern States; but
the word taken in this sense must not be confounded with the same word,
denoting a political division of the county in New England, New York,
and Wisconsin.
THE VILLAGE, OR BOROUGH.
INCORPORATION.--In most States, villages, boroughs, and towns are
incorporated under general laws made by the State legislature. A
majority of the legal voters living within the proposed limits must
first vote in favor of the proposition to incorporate. In some States,
villages are incorporated by special act of the legislature.
GOVERNMENT PURPOSES.--The purposes of the village or borough government
are few in number, and lie within a narrow limit. It is a corporate
body, having the usual corporate powers. Under the village
organization, local public works, such as streets, sidewalks, and
bridges, are maintained more readily and in better condition than under
the government, of the township and county. The presence of the
village officers tends to preserve the peace and make crime less
frequent.
OFFICERS.--The usual officers of the village or borough are the
trustees or councilmen, whose duties are mostly legislative; the
marshal, and sometimes a president or mayor; a collector and a
treasurer, whose duties are executive; and the recorder, or police
judge, or justices of the peace, whose duties are judicial. The
officers are usually elected by the legal voters, and serve for a term
of one or two years. In many villages the president and the collector
are elected by the trustees, the former from among their own number.
DUTIES.--The trustees or council pass laws, called _ordinances_,
relating to streets, fast driving, lamps, water-works, the police
system, public parks, public health, and the public buildings. They
appoint minor officers, such as clerk, regular and special policemen,
keeper of the cemetery, and fire-wardens; prescribe the duties, and fix
the compensation of these officers.
The president or mayor is the chief executive officer, and is charged
with seeing that the laws are enforced. In villages having no
president or mayor, this duty devolves upon the trustees. The marshal
is a ministerial officer, with the same duties and often the same
jurisdiction as the constable, and is sometimes known by that name. He
preserves the peace, makes arrests, serves processes, and waits upon
the recorder's court. The collector collects the village taxes. The
treasurer receives all village funds, and pays out money upon the order
of the trustees.
The recorder or police judge tries minor offences, such as breach of
the peace, and holds examining trials of higher crimes. His
jurisdiction is usually equal to that of justices of the peace in the
same State. In some States the village has two justices of the peace
instead of the recorder, these being also officers of the county.
THE CITY.
When the village, borough, or town becomes so large that its government
does not meet the people's local public needs, it is incorporated as a
city. Where the country is sparsely settled the peace is seldom
broken, private interests do not conflict, the people's public needs
are small, and therefore the functions of government are few and light.
As the population grows dense, the public peace is oftener disturbed,
crime increases, disputes about property arise, the public needs become
numerous and important, and the officers of the law must interfere to
preserve order and protect the people. The fewer the people to the
square mile, the fewer and lighter are the functions of government; the
more people to the square mile, the more and stronger must be the
functions of government.
INCORPORATION.--Cities and villages or boroughs differ principally in
size and in the scope of their corporate authority. A city is larger
in area and population, and the powers and privileges of its government
are more extensive. In most States cities may be incorporated under
general laws, but some cities are incorporated by special acts of the
State legislature. The act or deed of incorporation is called the city
charter. The charter names the city, fixes its limits, erects it as a
distinct political corporation, sets forth its powers and privileges,
names its officers, prescribes their duties, and authorizes the city to
act as an independent government. The legislature may amend the
charter at any time, and the acts and laws of the city must not
conflict with the constitution of the State or of the United States.
WARDS.--The city is usually divided into wards for convenience in
executing the laws, and especially in electing representatives in the
city government. Wards vary greatly in area and population, and their
number depends in a measure upon the size of the city. Each usually
elects a member of the board of education, and one or more members of
each branch of the city council. Each ward is subdivided into
precincts for convenience in establishing polling-places.
CITY INSTITUTIONS.--Cities maintain a number of institutions, peculiar
to themselves, for the public welfare. The frequency of destructive
fires causes the formation of a fire department. A police force must
be organized to protect life and property. A system of sewerage is
necessary to the public health. There must be gas-works or
electric-light works, that the streets may be lighted, and water-works
to supply water for public and private use. In many cities gas-works
and water-works are operated by private parties or by private
corporations.
FINANCES.--Each city has an independent financial system, which
requires skillful management. The city borrows money, issuing
interest-bearing bonds in payment, and engages in extensive public
improvements. The large outlays for paving the streets, constructing
water-works, laying out parks, erecting public buildings, and for
maintaining police systems and fire departments, cause cities to incur
debts often amounting to many millions of dollars. As the result of
the greater expense of its government, and as its people also pay State
and county taxes, the rate of taxation in a city is far greater than in
rural districts and villages.
CITIZENS: RIGHTS AND DUTIES.--The qualifications, the rights, and the
duties of citizens of the city are the same as those of citizens of the
township and the county. The qualifications of voters are also usually
the same. The duties of voters are the same in all elections, whether
in the school district, the civil district, the city, the county, the
State, or the United States; namely, to vote for the best men and the
best measures. Under whatever division of government the people are
living, they always have the same interest in the maintenance of order,
in the enforcement of the laws, in the triumph of right, principles,
and in the election of good men to office.
GOVERNMENT.--A city often has a more complex government than that of
the State in which the city is situated. The massing of so many
people, representing so many interests, requires a government with
strong legislative, executive, and judicial functions. One of the
great questions of our time is how to secure economy and efficiency in
city government; and, as our cities are growing with great rapidity,
the problem is daily becoming more difficult to solve.
OFFICERS.--The legislative power is vested in the city council, in many
cases composed of a board of aldermen and of a common council. The
executive authority is vested in the mayor, the city attorney or
solicitor, the city clerk, the assessor, the collector, the treasurer,
the city engineer or surveyor, the board of public works, the street
commissioner, the school board or board of education, and the
superintendent of schools. The judicial power is vested in the city
court, police court, or recorder's court, as it is variously termed; in
a number of justices' courts; and in the higher courts, which are also
courts of the county in which the city is located. The officers of the
city are usually elected by the legal voters, but in some cities the
collector, the city engineer, the street commissioner, and a number of
subordinate officers are appointed by the mayor or city council. The
superintendent of schools is elected by the school board.
DUTIES.--In many small cities, and in several of the larger cities,
such as New York, Chicago, and San Francisco, the council consists only
of the board of aldermen. When the council is composed of two
branches, a law can not be made by one of them alone; it must be passed
by both; and if vetoed by the mayor, it must be passed again, and in
most cities by a two thirds vote, or it is void. The council makes
laws, or ordinances, regulating the police force; fixing the rate of
city taxation; ordering the issue of bonds and the construction of
public works; and making appropriations for public purposes.
The mayor is the chief executive of the city. It is his duty to see
that the laws are enforced. He appoints a number of subordinate
officers, and in most cities may veto the acts of the city council.
The duties of the city attorney, the city clerk, the assessor, the
collector, the treasurer, the school board, and the superintendent of
schools are similar to those of township and county officers of the
same name. The city engineer has charge of the construction of sewers
and the improvement of parks. The street commissioner attends to the
construction and repair of the streets, crossings, and sidewalks.
There are a number of officers appointed by the mayor or the council,
such as chief of police, chief of the fire department, and the city
physician, who have duties connected with their special departments.
The city judge, police judge, or recorder, has duties similar to those
of the same officer in an incorporated village. Cities also have
higher courts, variously named, whose judges have duties and
jurisdiction equivalent to those of county officers of the same grade.
Because offenses against the law are more frequent, officers are more
numerous in cities than in the rural districts.
COMMISSION PLAN OF CITY GOVERNMENT.--In recent times the "commission
plan" of government has been adopted for many cities, in a number of
different States. This plan gives full control of the city government
and its minor officials to a commission or council composed of a few
men (usually five) elected by the voters of the whole city. This
commission exercises both legislative and executive functions. It is
composed of a mayor, and councilmen or commissioners who act also as
heads of administrative departments.
RECALL.--In a few States a mayor or councilman (or other local or State
officer elected by the people) may be displaced before the expiration
of his term of office. If a sufficient number of voters petition to
have this done, a new election is held to decide whether he or some one
else shall have the office for the rest of the term.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
1. What is meant by incorporating a village?
2. What is a breach of the peace?
3. What are polling-places?
4. To what State officer does the mayor of a city or town correspond?
5. Why are offenses against the laws more frequent in the cities than
in the rural districts?
6. What is the largest city of this State? Is its council composed of
one body or of two?
QUESTION FOR DEBATE.
_Resolved_, That the legislative department of a city government should
consist of only one deliberative body.
CHAPTER VII.
THE STATE.
INTRODUCTORY.--After the county, the government nearest us is that of
the State. The political divisions which we have considered are
subject to the State, holding their powers as grants from its
government. The State can make and unmake them, and we owe them
obedience because the State has commanded it. As we sometimes express
it, the sovereignty or supreme sway of these local divisions resides in
the State.
DEFINITION.--A State is a community of free citizens living within a
territory with fixed limits, governed by laws based upon a constitution
of their own adoption, and possessing all governmental powers not
granted to the United States. Each State is a republic and maintains a
republican form of government, which is guaranteed by the United
States. The State is supreme within its own sphere, but its authority
must not conflict with that of the national government. A State is
sometimes called a commonwealth because it binds the whole people
together for their common weal or common good.
FORMATION OF ORIGINAL STATES.--The thirteen original colonies were
principally settled by people from Europe. The colonial rights were
set forth and boundaries fixed by charters granted by the crown of
England. In the Declaration of Independence these colonies declared
themselves "free and independent States." After the treaty of peace
which acknowledged their independence, they framed and adopted the
national constitution, and thereby became the United States of America.
ADMISSION OF NEW STATES.--New States are admitted into the Union by
special acts of the Congress of the United States. An organized
Territory having the necessary population sends a memorial to Congress
asking to be admitted as a State. Congress then passes a law called an
"enabling act," authorizing the people of the Territory to form a State
constitution. When the people have framed and adopted a State
constitution not in conflict with the Constitution of the United
States, Congress passes another act admitting the new State into the
Union "upon an equal footing with the original States in all respects
whatever." Sometimes the enabling act provides for admission on
proclamation of the President of the United States. Several of the
Territories adopted State constitutions and were admitted as States
without enabling acts.
PURPOSES.--The State keeps power near the people, and thus makes them
more secure in their liberty. "The powers not granted to the United
States, nor prohibited to the States, are reserved to the States
respectively or to the people." If the whole country were a single
republic without State divisions, power would be withdrawn from the
people and become centralized in the national government.
Our political system leaves the various functions of government to the
smallest political communities that can perform them efficiently. The
county has charge of all public interests that can be managed by it as
well as by the State. Many public affairs, such as popular
education,[1] private corporations, and the organization of the smaller
political divisions, can be better managed by the State than by the
National Government, and are therefore properly left to the State's
direction.
Parts of the country widely separated differ in climate and soil,
giving rise to different industries and occupations, which require
different laws, made and administered by different States. The State
serves as a convenient basis for the apportionment of members of both
houses of Congress, and State institutions preserve and develop the
local individuality and self-reliance of the people.
FUNCTIONS.--The functions of the State are very extensive, including
the greater part of those acts of government which preserve society by
affording security to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of
happiness.
The State government touches the citizens at most points; that is, all
those laws that concern the body of the people in their ordinary daily
life are made and enforced by the State, or by the smaller political
divisions of the State, acting under the State's directions. Officers
discharge their duties, arrests are made, courts are held, offenders
are punished, justice is meted out, and taxes are collected, by the
authority of the State.
The National Government has similar functions to perform in every part
of the country, but they are far less frequent than those of the State.
INSTITUTIONS.--The State maintains a number of charitable and other
institutions for the public welfare. It makes appropriations of land
or money for the support of asylums, prisons, reformatories, scientific
institutions, schools, colleges, and universities. The support of
these institutions, the payment of salaries, the administration of
justice, and the conduct of other public interests, involve large
annual expenditures, often amounting to several millions of dollars.
CITIZENS.
The citizens of a State are the people who live in it, whether natives
of the United States, or foreigners who have been adopted. Persons who
are citizens of the United States are thereby citizens of the State in
which they reside. They have all the rights that freemen can possess,
and enjoy a larger freedom than do the people of any other country.
The legal voters, often called electors, are the male citizens who have
resided in the State, the county, and the township, or voting precinct,
the time required by law to entitle them to vote. The length of
residence required in the State varies, being two years in some, six
months in others, and one year in most States. Several States permit
citizens of foreign countries to vote, and a few permit women to vote.
RIGHTS.--Every citizen has the right to be secure in his person; to be
free from attack and annoyance; to go when and where he may choose; to
keep, enjoy, and dispose of his property; and to provide in his own way
for the welfare of himself and of those dependent upon him.
The rights of the people are set forth at length and with great
precision in a portion of the State constitution called the Bill of
Rights. These rights must be exercised under the restrictions of the
law, and with due regard for the same rights held by others.
The legal voters have the right to vote in all local, State, and
national elections. They are voters in national elections by virtue of
being voters in State elections. The right to vote implies the right
to be voted for, and the right to hold office; but for many officers
the State requires a longer residence and other qualifications than
those prescribed for voters.
DUTIES.--For every right, the people have a corresponding duty; and for
every privilege they enjoy, there is a trust for them to discharge.
The large personal freedom possessed by the American citizens imposes
equally as large public responsibilities. It is the duty of every
citizen to obey the law, to aid in securing justice, to respect
authority, to love his country, and to labor for the public good. No
one can be a useful member of society unless he respects the laws and
institutions of the land. The people themselves have established this
government, both State and national; it exists for them, and therefore
they owe it honor and obedience.
It is the duty of every voter to study the interests of the country,
and to vote for persons and measures that, in his opinion, will best
"promote the general welfare." In this country, government is
intrusted to the whole people, and they can govern only by expressing
their will in elections. Therefore the majority must rule. The
majority will sometimes make mistakes, but these will be corrected
after a time. In order that good government may ensue, good citizens
must take part in elections. The privilege of suffrage is conferred
upon an implied contract that it will be used for the public good. He
who fails to vote when he can, fails to perform his part of the
contract, fails to fulfill his promise, and fails to respect the
government that protects him.
CONSTITUTION.
The constitution is often called the supreme law of the State. In
other words, it is the supreme act of the people, for the purpose of
organizing themselves as a body politic, of formulating their
government, and of fixing the limits of its power. It is a contract
between the whole society as a political body, and each of its members.
Each binds himself to the whole body, and the whole body binds itself
to each, in order that all may be governed by the same laws for the
common good. The constitution of each State is a written instrument,
modeled after the Constitution of the United States, with which it must
not conflict.
The constitutions of England and most other countries of Europe are
unwritten. They consist of the common usages and maxims that have
become fixed by long experience. In those countries, when a new
political custom grows into common practice it thereby becomes a part
of the national constitution.
FORMATION AND ADOPTION.--As the whole people can not assemble in one
place to frame and adopt a constitution, they elect delegates to a
constitutional convention. The convention usually meets at the
capital, deliberates, frames articles for a proposed constitution, and
in nearly all cases submits them to the people. The people make known
their will in a general election, and if a majority vote in favor of
adopting the proposed constitution, it becomes the constitution of the
State. If the proposed constitution is rejected, another convention
must be called to propose other articles to be voted upon by the people.
PURPOSES.--The purposes of the constitution are to guard the rights of
the people, to protect the liberties of the minority, to grant
authority to the government, to separate the functions of the three
departments, to prescribe the limits of each, and to fix in the public
policy those maxims of political wisdom that have been sanctioned by
time.
The special tendency in recent amendments of State constitutions has
been to limit the power of the legislature. Constitutions, like other
political institutions, are largely matters of growth, and from time to
time must be revised to meet the changing wants of society. For this
purpose the constitution of almost every State contains a provision,
called the open clause, which authorizes the legislature, under certain
restrictions, to propose amendments to the constitution to be adopted
or rejected by a vote of the people.
VALUE.--The people of any State may, at their pleasure, frame and adopt
a new constitution, which must be in harmony with the Constitution of
the United States. The right to make their own constitution is one of
the highest and most important rights that freemen can possess. It is
in this and in the right of suffrage that their freedom principally
consists.
The constitution protects the people by prescribing the limits of
official authority. The legislature can not legally pass a law which
the constitution of the State forbids, and when such a law is passed it
is declared unconstitutional by the State courts. A provision of a
State constitution becomes void when declared by the supreme court of
the United States to be in conflict with the national Constitution.
CONTENTS.--The constitutions of the several States are based upon the
Constitution of the United States as a model, and are therefore much
alike in their general provisions. Each contains:
A preamble setting forth the purposes of the constitution;
A lengthy declaration called the bill of rights;
Provisions for distributing the powers of government into three
departments; and
Articles relating to suffrage, debt, taxation, corporations, public
schools, militia, amendments, and other public affairs.
BILL OF RIGHTS.
The bill of rights usually declares various rights of the citizen which
may be classified under the heads of republican principles, personal
security, private property, freedom of conscience, freedom of speech
and of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom from military
tyranny.
REPUBLICAN PRINCIPLES.--Under this head the bill declares:
That all power is inherent in the people;
That governments exist for their good, and by their consent;
That all freemen are equal;
That no title of nobility shall be conferred;
That exclusive privileges shall not be granted except in consideration
of public services;
That all elections shall be free and equal.
PERSONAL SECURITY.--In the interests of the personal security of the
citizen it is provided:
That the people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and
possessions, from unreasonable seizures and searches;
That warrants to seize and to search persons and things must describe
them by oath or affirmation;
That there shall be no imprisonment for debt, except in cases of fraud.
PRIVATE PROPERTY.--To secure the rights of private property, the bill
declares:
That private property shall not be taken for public use without just
compensation;
And, in some States, that long leases of agricultural lands shall not
be made.
FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE.--To induce the entire freedom of conscience of
the citizen it is declared:
That there shall be perfect religious freedom, but not covering immoral
practices;
That there shall be no State church;
That no religious test shall be required for performing any public
function;
That the rights of conscience are free from human control.
FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND OF THE PRESS.--To maintain the rightful freedom
of the press, the bill guarantees:
That printing-presses may be used by all;
That every citizen may freely speak, write, and print upon any
subject--being responsible for the abuse of the right.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY.--The right of assembly is secured by the provision:
That the people may peaceably assemble for the public good, to discuss
questions of public interest; and
That they may petition the government for redress of grievances.
FREEDOM FROM MILITARY TYRANNY.--To guard against abuses by the
military, it is declared:
That the military shall be in strict subordination to the civil power;
That no standing army shall be maintained in time of peace;
That in time of peace no soldier shall be quartered in any house
without the owner's consent;
That the right of people to bear arms shall not be questioned. This
does not authorize the carrying of concealed weapons.
FORBIDDEN LAWS.--To insure the people against improper legislation, the
bill of rights provides:
That no _ex post facto_ law or law impairing the validity of contracts,
shall be made;
That no bill of attainder shall be passed;
That no power of suspending laws shall be exercised except by the
legislature.
RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED.--Among the worst abuses of tyranny in all ages
have been the corruption of the courts and the denial of the rights of
common justice. To guard against these it is expressly provided:
That the writ of _habeas corpus_ shall not be suspended except when, in
cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it;
That, except in capital cases, persons charged with crime may give bail;
That no excessive bail shall be required;
That all courts shall be open;
That the accused shall have a speedy trial in the district in which the
offense was committed;
That the ancient mode of trial by jury shall be maintained; but civil
suits, by consent of the parties, may be tried without a jury;
That all persons injured in lands, goods, person, or reputation shall
have remedy by course of law;
That the accused shall be informed of the nature of the charges against
him;
That he shall be confronted by the witnesses against him;
That he shall be heard in his own defense, and may have the benefit of
counsel;
That he shall not be required to testify against himself;
That he shall not be deprived of life, liberty, or property except by
due process of law;
That no cruel or unusual punishment shall be inflicted;
That no one shall be twice placed in jeopardy for the same offense.
No citizen of the United States would deny the justice of these
declarations. They are so reasonable it seems strange that they should
ever have been questioned. "But in enumerating them we are treading on
sacred ground. Their establishment cost our ancestors hundreds of
years of struggle against arbitrary power, in which they gave their
blood and treasure."[2]
It was to secure and maintain a part of these rights that the American
colonies went to war with Great Britain, and made good their
Declaration of Independence by an appeal to arms.
Most of these rights are preserved in the Constitution of the United
States, to prevent encroachments upon the liberties of the people by
the General Government. They are repeated in the State constitution in
order that they may not be invaded by the State Government. There is
also a provision in the constitution of the State which declares that
"the enumeration of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or
disparage others retained by the people."
[1]Popular education must command the sympathy and respect of the
people in each locality in order to remain "popular." While the State,
therefore, enforces a general system of public schools, it leaves all
the details of local management with the people most closely related to
the particular school. The people esteem that which they create and
control.
[2]McCleary's _Studies in Civics_.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
1. Why are the smaller political communities subject to the State?
2. Give the names of the thirteen original States.
3. What is meant by States having different industries and occupations?
4. How do State institutions develop the self-reliance of the people?
5. Name some acts of government which you have seen the State perform.
6. What are charitable institutions?
7. How is justice administered?
8. Wherein are the people of this country freer than other people?
9. How long must a person live in this State to entitle him to vote?
10. What is meant by being secure in person?
11. Read the bill of rights in the constitution of your State.
12. What is a body politic?
13. Why can not the whole people assemble to form a State constitution?
14. What is meant by taking private property for public use?
15. How may the right to speak and print be abused?
16. What is meant by the military being subordinate to the civil power?
17. Are all cases tried by jury?
QUESTION FOR DEBATE.
_Resolved_, That there should be an educational qualification for
suffrage.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE STATE--(Continued).
GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS.--The State government is based upon the State
constitution. It has a legislative department charged with the making
of the laws, an executive department to enforce the laws, and a
judicial department to explain and apply the laws. Each of the
departments is independent of the others, being supreme within its own
sphere.
The American people believe that the functions of making, of enforcing,
and of explaining the laws, should forever be separate and distinct.
Experience has shown that it is dangerous to the liberties of the
people to permit either of the three departments of government to
trespass upon the functions of the others. Therefore, the limits of
each department are well defined, and its power closely guarded, by the
constitution and laws of the State.
LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT.
The legislative or law-making power of the State is vested in the
legislature, sometimes called the general assembly, and in some States
known as the general court, or legislative assembly. The legislature
is composed of two bodies, or houses, called respectively the Senate
and the House of Representatives. In New York the latter body is known
as the Assembly, in New Jersey it is called the General Assembly and in
some States the House of Delegates. A bill must be passed by both
branches of the legislature in order to become a law. The proceedings
of the legislature should be made public, and therefore the sessions
are open, and the constitution requires each house to keep and publish
a daily record, called the _Journal_.
QUALIFICATIONS.--The State constitution prescribes the age, the length
of residence, and other legal qualifications for membership in each
branch of the legislature. The constitutions of most States fix a
longer term of office and require a more mature age for senators than
for representatives. In addition to these legal qualifications a
legislator should be a man of unswerving honesty, of broad information,
of close thought, well versed in the principles of government,
acquainted with the needs of the country, and faithful to the interests
of the whole people.
PRIVILEGES.--Each branch of the legislature consists of members elected
by the people. Senators and representatives are responsible for their
official acts to the people, and to the people alone. Except for
treason, felony, and breach of the peace, members of the legislature
are privileged from arrest while attending the sessions of their
respective houses, and while going thereto and returning therefrom.
For any speech or debate in either house, a member thereof can not be
questioned in any other place.
Each house adopts rules for its own government. Each house also elects
its own officers, except that in most States the people elect a
lieutenant-governor, who is also president of the Senate. These
various privileges are granted in the State constitution in order that
the actions of the legislature may be free from all outside influences.
POWER.--The constitution of the State defines the limits of the power
vested in the legislative department. The legislature may enact any
law not forbidden by the Constitution of the State or of the United
States. Every act passed is binding upon the people unless it is
declared by the courts to be unconstitutional. An act of the
legislature, when declared to be unconstitutional, thereby becomes
void; that is, it ceases to have any legal force.
SESSIONS.--The legislature meets at the State Capitol. In a few States
the legislature holds annual sessions, but in far the greater number it
meets biennially; that is, once every two years. In many States the
constitution limits the session to a certain number of days, but in a
few of these States the legislature may extend its session by a special
vote of two-thirds of each house. A majority constitutes a quorum for
business, but a smaller number may meet and adjourn from day to day in
order that the organization may not be lost.
FUNCTIONS.--The legislature enacts laws upon a great variety of
subjects. It fixes the rate of State taxation, it provides for the
collection and distribution of State revenue, creates offices and fixes
salaries, provides for a system of popular education, and makes laws
relating to public works, the administration of justice, the conduct of
elections, the management of railways and other corporations, the
maintenance of charitable and other institutions, the construction and
repair of public roads, the organization of the militia, the conduct of
prisons and reformatories, and a number of other public interests.
FORBIDDEN POWERS.--The Constitution of the United States forbids any
State to exercise certain powers:
(1) No State can enter into any treaty, alliance, confederation,
contract, or agreement with any other State, or with a foreign power;
issue commissions to vessels authorizing them to capture and destroy
the merchant ships of other nations; coin money; issue paper money;
make any thing but gold and silver coin a legal tender for the payment
of debts; pass any bill inflicting the penalty of death without a
regular trial, or any law fixing a penalty for acts done before its
adoption, or any law affecting the provisions of contracts made before
its passage; or grant any title of nobility.
(2) No State can, without the consent of Congress, lay a tax or duty on
imports or exports, except what is necessary in executing its
inspection laws. The net proceeds of all duties laid by any State for
this purpose must be paid into the treasury of the United States; and
all such laws are subject to the revision and control of Congress.
Without the consent of Congress, no State can tax ships, keep troops or
ships of war in time of peace, or engage in war unless invaded or in
imminent danger.
(3) "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 to any person within its jurisdiction the
equal protection of the laws."
(4) "[No] State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in
aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any
claim for loss or emancipation of any slave."
THE SENATE.--The Senate is a less numerous body than the House of
Representatives. The presiding officer is addressed as "Mr. President"
or "Mr. Speaker," the title varying in different States. There is also
a chief clerk, with assistants, who keeps the records; a
sergeant-at-arms, who preserves order on the floor; a doorkeeper, who
has charge of the senate chamber and its entrances, and a number of
subordinate officers.
The Senate has two functions not belonging to the House of
Representatives: 1. When the governor nominates persons for appointment
as officers of the State, unless the Senate advises and consents to the
nominations, the appointments are void; 2. When the House of
Representatives presents articles of impeachment against an officer of
the State, the Senate sits as a court to try the charges.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.--The House of Representatives is often called
the popular branch of the legislature. It is sometimes designated as
the "House." The title of the presiding officer is "Mr. Speaker." The
other officers usually have the same titles and duties as those of the
Senate.
In many States bills raising revenue, and in some States bills making
appropriations, must originate in the House of Representatives. This
body also has the sole power of impeachment. Usually when charges
affecting the official conduct of an officer of the State are brought
before the legislature, the House of Representatives appoints a
committee to investigate the charges and report. If the report
warrants further action, the House adopts charges of official
misconduct, or of high crimes and misdemeanors in office. This
proceeding is called an _impeachment_.
The Senate sits as a court of impeachment, hears the evidence, listens
to the argument by the managers and the counsel for the accused, and
then condemns or acquits. The judgment in cases of impeachment is
removal from office and disqualification to hold any office of honor,
trust, or profit under the State.
DIRECT LEGISLATION.--In order to give fuller and quicker effect to the
will of the people in law making, recent provisions in the
constitutions of some States provide for the initiative and referendum.
By the initiative a certain number of voters may petition for the
enactment of a law set forth in the petition. If the legislature does
not pass the act petitioned for, it may be enacted by the people,
voting on it in a general or special election--the referendum. On
petition of a certain number of voters also, a referendum may be
ordered as to a bill passed by the legislature, to which the
petitioners object, giving the people the opportunity to ratify or
reject the proposed law.
These methods of direct legislation have been applied also to the
making of constitutional amendments, and to some city, as well as some
state governments.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
1. Why is the State legislature composed of two houses?
2. Why should the proceedings of the legislature be public?
3. Why should senators and representatives be free from arrest while
discharging their public duties?
4. How often does the legislature of this State meet?
5. What is the limit of its session?
6. Can its session be extended?
7. What is a reformatory?
8. What are the age and number of years of residence required of a
State senator in this State? Who is the senator from this district?
9. What is a bill for raising revenue?
10. What are the age and number of years of residence required of a
representative in this State? Who is the representative from this
district?
QUESTION FOR DEBATE
_Resolved_, That a State legislature should not have more than forty
senators and one hundred representatives.
CHAPTER IX.
THE STATE--(Continued).
When the laws are enacted it becomes necessary that some one be charged
with seeing that they are duly executed and obeyed. The people's
representatives in the legislative department make the laws. The
people's servants in the executive department execute the laws.
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.
The chief executive officers of the State are the governor, the
lieutenant-governor, the secretary of state, the auditor or
comptroller, the treasurer, the attorney-general, and the
superintendent of public instruction, who, in most States, are elected
by the people. Besides these, an adjutant-general, a commissioner of
agriculture, a commissioner of insurance, railway commissioners, a
register of the land office or land commissioner, and in some States
other subordinate officers, are usually appointed by the governor, and
confirmed by the Senate.
The higher State offices are provided for in the constitution, while
the subordinate offices are created by act of the legislature. Several
States have no lieutenant-governor; in some the secretary of state and
the superintendent of public instruction are appointed by the governor,
and in others some of the subordinate officers are elected by the
people. The titles of many of these officers vary in different States.
The terms of the State officers elected by the people are usually alike
in the same State, but in some States there are differences. In
several States the terms of the auditor and the treasurer are less than
those of the other officers.
GOVERNOR: TERM, QUALIFICATIONS.--The supreme executive authority is
vested in the governor, who is therefore sometimes called the chief
executive of the State. His position is one of great dignity and
influence.
The term of office is one, two, three, or four years, varying in
different States, and in some the constitution prohibits any person
from serving two terms in succession.
The legal qualifications of the office of governor vary in different
States. He must be a citizen of the United States; must have resided
in the State at least a fixed term of years; must not be under a
certain age, usually thirty years; and in some States must own property
of a given value.
POWERS, DUTIES.--The governor is commander-in-chief of the military
forces of the State, and represents it in its dealings with other
States. He may call on all other executive officers for written
information concerning their respective duties. He is presumed to be
well informed upon the affairs of the people, and is therefore required
to give the legislature information as to the condition of the State,
and to recommend the passage of such laws as he deems proper and
expedient.
The governor may call special meetings of the legislature to consider
questions of great and immediate public concern. At the opening of
each session he addresses a regular message to the legislature, and
from time to time submits special messages upon various subjects.
All acts of the legislature are presented for his approval and
signature. If he approves and signs them, they become laws; if he
retains them for a certain number of days without signing them, they
become laws without his signature; if he refuses to approve them, he
returns them within the specified time to the house in which they
originated, with a statement of his objections.
This action is called a veto, and the vetoed measure, in order to
become a law, must pass both houses again, and in some States must
secure a two thirds vote of each house.
The governor may grant reprieves and pardons, except in cases of
impeachment, and in some States, of treason. In some States this power
is limited by a board of pardons, which must recommend a pardon before
it can be granted by the governor; and in others the consent of one
branch of the legislature must be obtained.
Treason against the States consists in an open or overt act of "levying
war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and
comfort."
_To reprieve_ is to delay or postpone for a time the execution of the
sentence of death upon a criminal.
_To pardon_ is to annul a sentence by forgiving the offense against the
law, and by releasing the offender.
The governor may also _commute_ the sentence of an offender by
exchanging the penalty for one less severe.
LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR:--The term and qualifications of the
lieutenant-governor are the same as those of the governor. The
lieutenant-governor is also president or speaker of the Senate, but
votes only in case of a tie. In States having no lieutenant-governor,
the Senate elects its presiding officer.
In case of the death or resignation of the governor, the
lieutenant-governor becomes governor of the State. In States having no
lieutenant-governor, special laws provide for filling vacancies in the
office of governor.
When the chief executive is absent from the State, or disabled, the
lieutenant-governor performs the duties of the office.
SECRETARY OF STATE.--The secretary of state is the keeper of all State
papers, and usually of the great seal of the State. In some States he
is _ex officio_ auditor. He keeps a record of the proceedings and acts
of the legislature and of the executive department of the State
government.
He certifies to the correctness of State documents and commissions,
indexes the laws, and attends to their printing and distribution,
except in States having a superintendent of printing. He receives and
preserves the returns of elections, and in some States has charge of
the State buildings at the capital.
AUDITOR, OR COMPTROLLER.--The auditor is the financial agent of the
State, and in some States acts as register of the land office, and in
others as commissioner of insurance. He is also the State's
bookkeeper, and attends to the collection of its revenue. He examines
and adjusts claims and accounts against the State, and orders the
payment of such as he approves. He receives moneys paid to the State,
deposits them with the treasurer, and takes receipt therefor. No funds
can be paid out of the State treasury except upon the auditor's
warrant. He makes an annual or biennial report, showing the financial
condition of the State. In some States having no auditor, these
various duties fall to other officers, chiefly to the secretary of
state.
TREASURER.--The treasurer is custodian of the funds of the State. He
receives the State's revenues from the auditor, and pays them out only
upon the auditor's warrant, keeping an accurate account of all sums
paid. The treasurer and the auditor (and also the secretary of state
when he handles State funds) give heavy bonds for the faithful
performance of their duties.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL.--The attorney-general is a lawyer who acts as
attorney for the State in law cases to which the State is a party. His
duties pertain chiefly to the higher courts of the State. He is the
legal adviser of the State officers, and, when requested by them, gives
opinions upon points of law.
He prosecutes persons who are indebted to the State, and assists in
bringing to justice those charged with crime. He represents the State
in its legal business in the supreme court at Washington, and in the
other courts of the United States.
SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION.--The superintendent of public
instruction has charge of the public school system, and thus
superintends one of the largest interests of the State. He has the
general management of State teachers' institutes, and in some States he
has an official connection with the State university and the State
normal schools, either as a member of the faculty or as president or
secretary of the board of trustees.
He is an officer of, and usually president of, the State board of
education, a body generally consisting of from three to seven members,
and in most States composed, in part, of other high officers of the
State. The State board of education decides questions of school law,
and performs other important duties varying in different States.
The superintendent of public instruction makes an annual or biennial
report to the legislature, showing the condition of the public schools
and suggesting amendments to the system. In many States the
superintendent is elected by the people; in some he is appointed by the
governor; in others he is elected by the State board of education, and,
as president or secretary of that board, is _ex efficio_ superintendent
of public instruction.
OTHER OFFICERS.--The _adjutant-general_ is the active officer of the
State militia.
The _commissioner of agriculture_, sometimes called the secretary of
the board of agriculture, looks after the agricultural interests of the
State.
The _commissioner of insurance_ oversees the insurance companies doing
business in the State.
The _railway commissioners_ assess the value of railway property, and
to a limited extent regulate charges on railway lines.
The _register of the land office, or land commissioner_, keeps in his
office the patents or title-deeds of land issued by the State in its
early settlement, and furnishes copies of land patents and warrants to
those who desire them. In a few States this officer is elected by the
people.
The _State librarian_ has charge of the State library, and in some
States is superintendent of the State buildings at the capital.
In a few States there are other executive officers, among whom may be
named:
A _surveyor-general_, who surveys the public lands, and keeps in his
office maps of counties and townships;
A _State engineer_, who superintends the construction and repair of
canals and levees;
A _commissioner of statistics_, who collects statistics relating to
public interests;
A _commissioner of immigration_, who attends to the interests of
immigrants;
A _labor commissioner_, who looks after the interests of the laboring
classes;
A _bank inspector_, or _superintendent of banking_, who inspects State
banks for the protection of the public; and
A _State examiner_, who investigates the conduct of State institutions,
and inspects the State offices, in order to secure honesty and
efficiency in public affairs.
In some States two or more of these offices are combined, and in others
their duties are performed by the higher officers of the State.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
1. What is the term of office and what the name of the governor of this
State?
2. What are the age and the length of residence required of him?
3. How many terms can he serve in succession?
4. Has this State a lieutenant-governor?
5. If so, name his qualifications.
6. What is the great seal of the State?
7. What is the necessity of an auditor?
8. Why should the superintendent of public instruction make a report?
QUESTION FOR DEBATE
_Resolved_, That the governor should hold the power of veto.
CHAPTER X.
THE STATE--(Continued).
JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT.
PURPOSES.--The judicial department of the State government exists for
the sole purpose of administering justice; that is, for the purpose of
interpreting the laws and of applying them to particular cases. The
legislature makes the laws, but it can not execute them. The governor
recommends the passage of certain laws, and holds the veto power; but
he has no law-making power, nor can he try the most trivial suit.
So the judiciary has no voice in making or in executing the laws, its
sole function being to decide their meaning and to apply them in
securing justice. The legislative and executive departments may
assist, but it is the peculiar province of the judiciary to protect
society and to maintain the rights of the people.
SUPREME COURT.--The higher courts of the State are of two
classes--those whose jurisdiction includes the entire State, and those
whose jurisdiction is confined to particular districts.
The Supreme Court, called in some States the Court of Appeals, is the
highest court of the State. The number of the judges of the supreme
court varies in the different States, there being a chief justice and
from two to eight associate justices in each State.
In some States the Justices are elected by the people; in others they
are elected by the legislature; and in some they are appointed by the
governor, and confirmed by the Senate.
The term of office is lengthy, not less than four years in any State,
except Vermont, where it is two years; six, seven, eight, nine, ten,
twelve, fourteen, or fifteen years in most States; twenty-one years in
Pennsylvania; during good behavior in Massachusetts; until the judges
are seventy years of age in New Hampshire; and practically for life in
Rhode Island.
The jurisdiction of the supreme court, or court of appeals, extends
over the entire State. It holds sessions at the State capital, and in
some States at other prominent places, and is chiefly engaged in the
trial of cases in which appeals have been taken from the decisions of
the lower courts.
Its decision is final, but in cases in which it is alleged that the
State law is in conflict with the constitution or laws of the United
States, appeals may be taken to the United States Supreme Court at
Washington.
DISTRICT, OR CIRCUIT COURT.--The people most commonly resort to the
district court, circuit court, or superior court, as it is variously
called in different States, to secure justice. In it are tried the
great body of important civil and criminal cases, and also appeals from
the lower courts.
The jurisdiction of the district court is limited to a district created
by the State constitution or by act of the State legislature. In some
cases the district consists of a single county; usually it includes two
or more counties, the court being held successively in each county of
the district.
In each district there is usually one district judge, who is elected by
the people, appointed by the governor, or elected by the legislature.
The term of office in most States is four, six, or eight years.
In some of the districts of certain States there are criminal courts
having jurisdiction in criminal cases, and chancery courts or courts of
common pleas having jurisdiction in certain civil cases.
In some States there is a high court of chancery having State
jurisdiction, and in others there is a superior court which has State
jurisdiction, and whose rank is between the supreme court and the
district courts.
TERRITORIES.
ORGANIZATION.--Congress organizes the public domain into Territories,
fixes their boundaries, and establishes their governments. The act of
organization is passed as soon as the population is dense enough to
require governmental authority.
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.--The governor and the secretary of the Territory
are appointed by the President of the United States, with the consent
of the United States Senate, and serve for four years, unless removed.
The governor appoints a treasurer, an auditor or comptroller, a
superintendent of public instruction, an attorney-general, and several
other territorial officers.
LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT.--The legislature consists of a senate of eight
or fifteen members, and a house of representatives of sixteen or thirty
members elected by the people of the Territory. The senate is
sometimes called the upper house of the legislature. Although the
governor and the legislature rule the Territory, all laws passed by
them must be submitted to Congress, and, if disapproved, they become
null and void.
JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT.--The judiciary consists of a supreme court and
inferior courts. The chief justice and two or more associate justices
of the supreme court are appointed for four years by the President,
with the consent of the Senate. The inferior courts are established by
the territorial legislature.
REPRESENTATION IN CONGRESS.--Each Territory elects a delegate to the
Congress of the United States. Territorial delegates serve upon
committees, and have the right to debate, but not to vote. Their real
duties are as agents of their respective Territories.
LAWS.--Territories are governed by the laws of Congress, by the common
law, and by the laws passed by the territorial legislatures. The
governor may pardon offenses against territorial laws, and may grant
reprieves for offenses against the laws of Congress, until the cases
can be acted upon by the President.
LOCAL AFFAIRS.--The local interests of a Territory are similar to those
of a State. Taxation, schools, public works, and the administration of
justice are supported by the people. The people of the Territories
have no voice in the election of President, and none in the government
of the United States except through their delegates in Congress.
PURPOSES.--The chief purposes of the territorial government are to give
the people the protection of the law, and to prepare the Territory for
admission into the Union as a State. A State is a member of the Union,
with all the rights and privileges of self-government; a Territory is
under the Union, subject at all times, and in all things, to regulation
by the government of the United States.
All the States, except the original thirteen (including Maine, Vermont,
Kentucky, and West Virginia) and California and Texas, have had
territorial governments. A Territory is not entirely self-governing;
it may be called a State in infancy, requiring the special care of the
United States to prepare it for statehood and for admission into the
Union "upon an equal footing with the original States in all respects."
Hawaii and Alaska illustrate the territorial form of government
described above. The following are exceptions to the rule:
The District of Columbia is neither a State nor a Territory. It
resembles a Territory in being directly governed by Congress in such
manner as that body may choose, but it differs from a Territory since
it can never become a State.
It is not represented in the government of the United States, and its
inhabitants have no voice in local matters. Its affairs are
administered by three commissioners, appointed by the President, with
the consent of the Senate, and they are subject to the laws of Congress.
Porto Rico and Philippines have each a legislature and are governed
much like a Territory; but their people are not citizens of the United
States. They are practically colonies.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
1. Is it better that judges be elected, or that they be appointed? Why?
2. Why should a judge's term of office be lengthy?
3. Who is chief justice of this State?
4. Who is the judge of the circuit or district court of this district?
5. At what dates does this court hold sessions in this county?
6. How many organized Territories now in the United States? Give their
names.
7. When did this State cease to be a Territory?
8. Why should delegates from the Territories not have the privilege of
voting in Congress?
QUESTION FOR DEBATE.
_Resolved_, That the judges of the higher courts should be appointed by
the governor, and hold their positions during life and good behavior.
CHAPTER XI.
THE UNITED STATES.
INTRODUCTORY.--Each division of government which we have considered
exists for only a part of the whole people. The government of one
State has no authority over the people of other States; but the
government of the United States, often called the national government
or federal government, is for the good of the entire country, and its
authority is over the whole people.
All these divisions of government--the family, the school, the township
or civil district, the county, the State, and the United States--are
dependent upon one another.
If family government were destroyed, society would be ruined and other
governments would be worthless.
If there were no schools, the people would be so ignorant that free
government would be impossible.
If the township or civil district were neglected, local government
would be inefficient.
If the States were blotted out, the national government would assume
all power, and the freedom of the people would be greatly abridged, and
perhaps finally lost.
If the national government were dismembered, the States would be weak,
helpless, at war with one another, and at the mercy of foreign nations.
The distribution of power among the several political organizations
prevents any of them from assuming too much authority, and thus tends
to preserve the liberties of the people.
FORMATION.--The national government is based upon the Constitution of
the United States. It was formed by the union of the several States
under the Constitution, and its powers are set forth in that
instrument. The thirteen original States ratified the Constitution of
the United States between December 7, 1787, and May 29, 1790, and thus
organized the national government. It thus became, and has continued
to be, the government of the whole people, "by the people and for the
people."
FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
The national government, like the government of each State, is a
republic; that is, the authority is exercised by the representatives of
the people. As all power resides in the people, our government is
called a democracy. As the people elect officers or representatives to
act for them in the performance of public duties, it is called a
representative democracy.
Our system of government is different from those of all other nations,
because part of the political power is vested in the State, and part in
the nation; that is, in the United States.
The national Constitution enumerates the powers which may be exercised
by the national government, and reserves all other powers "to the
States respectively, or to the people." Because of this dual or double
character of our system of government, John Quincy Adams called it "a
complicated machine."
PURPOSES.--The purposes of the national government are clearly and
forcibly set forth in the "preamble," or opening clause, of the
Constitution of the United States;
1. "To form a more perfect _union_;"
2. "To establish _justice_;"
3. "To insure domestic _tranquillity_;"
4. "To provide for the common _defense_;"
5. "To promote the general _welfare_;"
6. "To secure the blessings of _liberty_ to ourselves and our
posterity."
Before the Revolutionary war, the American colonies were subject to
Great Britain. By the Declaration of Independence these colonies
became "free and independent States." During the period between the
Declaration of Independence and the adoption of the national
Constitution, the union between the States was weak and unsatisfactory.
Instead of there being "domestic tranquillity," the States were engaged
in constant quarrels. There was no power to provide for the "common
defense" of the people against foreign enemies; each State must protect
itself as best it could. No provision could be made for the "general
welfare" by the passage and enforcement of broad measures for the whole
country. Under the Articles of Confederation, as was said at that
time, the States might "declare everything, but do nothing." The
adoption of the national Constitution and the formation of the national
government made the inhabitants of the States one people, and have
since brought the United States to be "the first of the nations of the
earth."
FUNCTIONS.--The functions of the national government are numerous and
important. In adopting the national Constitution, the States delegated
or ceded to the United States those powers which are necessary to the
strength and greatness of a nation.
The national government administers those public affairs which concern
the whole people, such as the regulation of commerce, the granting of
patents, and the coinage of money; and also those which pertain to the
United States as a nation dealing with other nations, such as declaring
war and making treaties of peace.
The subjects upon which the national Congress may enact laws, and
consequently the subjects included in the functions of the national
government, are enumerated in Section 8, Article I. of the Constitution.
CITIZENS.
The people who reside in the United States are either citizens or
aliens. The national Constitution declares that "All persons born or
naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction
thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein
they reside." Women and children are citizens, though not entitled to
vote.
A citizen is a member of the body politic, bound to allegiance, and
entitled to protection at home and abroad. He can renounce his
allegiance--that is, lay down his citizenship--by becoming the subject
of some other country. Wherever he goes, until he renounces his
allegiance, he is a citizen of the United States, and is shielded from
insult by the might and majesty of the whole nation. Citizenship is
therefore valuable for its protection abroad, as well as for its rights
and privileges at home.
NATURALIZATION.--Naturalized citizens are persons of foreign birth who
have become citizens by naturalization, after a continuous residence of
at least five years in the United States. A foreigner is naturalized
by appearing in court, declaring his intention to become a citizen of
the United States, and his purpose to renounce all allegiance to
foreign governments. After two years more, he must appear in open
court, renounce upon oath all foreign allegiance, and swear to support
the Constitution of the United States. If he bears any title of
nobility, he must renounce it. Naturalized citizens have all the
rights and privileges that belong to native-born citizens, except that
no naturalized person can become President or Vice President of the
United States.
RIGHTS.--The Constitution of the United States does not contain a
formal bill of rights, as do most of the State constitutions, but it
names the following as among the rights of citizens:
(1) "The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and
immunities of citizens of the several States";
That is, a citizen who removes into another State shall enjoy all the
rights and privileges that belong to its citizens.
(2) "A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other
crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another State,
shall, on demand of the executive authority of the State from which he
fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having jurisdiction
of the crime." A demand for the delivery of a fugitive criminal is
called a requisition.
(3) "No person held to service or labor in one State under the laws
thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or
regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor; but shall
be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may
be due."
This provision refers to the capture and return of fugitive slaves, and
is rendered void by the abolition of slavery.
(4) "A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free
State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be
infringed."