The Short Constitution
Elementary Americanism Series
Being a Consideration of the Constitution of the United States, With
Particular Reference to the Guaranties of Life, Liberty, and Property
Contained Therein, Sometimes Designated The Bill Of Rights
By
Martin J. Wade
Judge of the United States District Court
And
William F. Russell
Dean of the College of Education, University of Iowa
Annotations By
Charles H. Meyerholz
Professor of Social Science, Iowa State Teachers College
Third and Revised Edition
American Citizen Publishing Co.
Iowa City
Copyright, 1920, 1921
CONTENTS
About The Authors
Preface
I. The Judge’s First Talk
II. Government
III. Liberty
IV. America—A Democracy
V. America—A Republic
VI. Law
VII. The Constitution
VIII. Making The Constitution
IX. Freedom
X. Military Provisions
XI. Search Warrant And Indictment
XII. Rights Of Accused
XIII. Life, Liberty, And Property
XIV. Criminal Trials
XV. The Indictment
XVI. Guarding Rights In Court
XVII. Punishment
XVIII. Equal Rights Of Citizens
XIX. Writ Of Habeas Corpus
XX. Other Prohibited Laws
XXI. Titles, Gifts, Treason
XXII. Jury, Except In Impeachment
XXIII. Wrongs Under King George
XXIV. Shall Any Part Be Repealed
XXV. Amending The Constitution
XXVI. Machinery Of The Government
XXVII. State Constitutions
XXVIII. The Suffrage
A Word To The The Teachers And Others
Declaration Of Independence
Constitution Of The United States
Articles In Addition To, And Amendment Of The Constitution Of The United
States Of America, Proposed By Congress, And Ratified By The Legislatures
Of The Several States Pursuant To The Fifth Article Of The Original
Constitution
Footnotes
What Has America Done For Me And For My Children?
This question may not be spoken, but it is in the hearts of millions of
Americans to-day.
All those who attempt to teach Americanism to foreigners, _and to
Americans_, must be prepared _to answer this question_. _It can only be
answered_ by teaching the individual guaranties of the Constitution of the
United States, and of the States, which protect life and liberty and
property.
_It can only be answered_ by convincing the people that this is a land of
justice and of opportunity for all; that if there be abuses, they are due
not to our form of government, but that the people are themselves to
blame, because of their ignorance of their rights, their failure to
realize their power, and their neglect of those duties which citizenship
imposes.
All over the land earnest men and women are endeavoring to teach the great
truths of Americanism, and with substantial success; but those who
understand human nature realize that the faith of our fathers can only be
firmly established by lighting the fires of patriotism and loyalty in the
hearts of our children. Through them the great truths of our National life
can be brought into the homes of the land.
And the Nation will never be safe until the Constitution is carried into
the homes, until at every fireside young and old shall feel a new sense of
security in the guaranties which are found in this great charter of human
liberty, and a new feeling of gratitude for the blessings which it assures
to this, and to all future generations.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
For a work designed to promote education in the spirit of American
citizenship it would be difficult to imagine a more competent authorship
than that which has been provided for “The Short Constitution”. Either of
the writers alone would have produced a book of high standing in this
field; the collaboration of the two makes it a remarkable production in
its adaptation to the subject for home reading, the study club, and the
school curriculum. It is unique, and has justly been termed “the first
real attempt to popularize Constitutional law.”
Federal Judge Martin J. Wade has had a varied contact with people in his
long experience as practicing attorney, district judge, member of
Congress, and Judge of the United States Court. A well known Iowa
publicist, he has gained nation wide fame as a public speaker and writer
on Americanization and citizenship topics, basing his themes on first-hand
experiences with conditions which have produced much unrest throughout the
Nation. As a member of the State Council of National Defense during the
World War, and as presiding judge at the trial of many obstructionists in
that period, he conceived the idea of the need for a school of
Americanism, to teach what our country has done for its citizens.
Clearness and eloquence mark his public addresses, and have enriched the
arguments and illustrations of this first book of the “Elementary
Americanism Series”.
Dean William F. Russell was the educational adviser sent with a group of
experts by appointment of the President of the United States to advise
disorganized Russia during the latter part of the World War; and also one
of the five members of the China Educational Commission of North America,
sent to China in 1921. His course of study in American citizenship,
written at the request of the National Masonic Research Society for use
throughout the United States, was inspired by the observation that the
government in Russia, in contrast with our own, was an agency that took
money for its coffers and boys for its armies and gave nothing in return.
In addition to his work as Dean of the College of Education of the State
University of Iowa, and his record as a widely-known lecturer on
educational topics, he has found time to write school texts notable for
accurate and concise statement, adapted to arousing and sustaining
interest in the student mind.
The authors have done more than present the facts about the Constitution
of the United States, with particular emphasis on its personal guaranties.
They have vitalized a topic generally thought to be dry and technical.
They have succeeded in making the Constitution seem to be what it is, a
factor of first importance in the daily life of the average citizen. It is
not too much to say that the seed of this book should be planted in every
home in America.
The admirable work of annotation by Professor Chas. H. Meyerholz,
Professor of Social Science in the Iowa State Teachers College, gives much
additional material for elementary and advanced study. Professor Meyerholz
is well known as an authoritative teacher, writer, and lecturer on
subjects pertaining to government, and has done much valuable
Americanization work.
The elementary and advanced questions at the end of each chapter will
serve as a guide to all teachers and leaders of study classes. The text of
the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States,
with the original capitalization and punctuation preserved, and an
abridgement of a State Constitution, printed at the end of the book, are
valuable for reference.
THE PUBLISHER
PREFACE
“The Short Constitution” is one of a series of volumes entitled
“Elementary Americanism”, intended for use in the home, the club, the
school, and in general Americanization work.
It is our hope that regular courses in “Americanism” will soon be
established in all schools, colleges, and universities.
We use the term “Americanism” because we feel that it signifies something
broader, deeper, and more appealing than any title now used in the schools
in the teaching of American government, or citizenship, or the rights and
duties of the citizens of the United States.
We like the term “America” better than “the United States”. “The United
States” suggests boundaries, codes, and constitutions. “America” suggests
all these and then it suggests _spirit_. There _is_ such a thing as
“Americanism”. It includes all there is of information relating to our
country; but it also has a soul “Americanism” relates to democracy, into
which enter all the ideals, all the impulses and emotions of men, women,
and children. “Americanism” teaches not only the relation of the States to
the National government, and the relation of citizens to both the State
and the National government, but it also teaches the relation of men,
women, and children to each other.
This is a government by the people, and therefore we must understand the
people in order that we, the people, may govern.
To arouse patriotism and loyalty we must do more than develop the powers
of the mind, do more than expand the field of knowledge. We must inspire
in the heart faith, confidence, and love. Men must not only learn how to
govern, but they must learn how to be governed. We must not only learn to
command, but also to obey. Our spirits must be so molded that we can
submit to duly constituted authority, submission to which is the most
lofty expression of American patriotism.
Submission to authority in America is submission to law, for no man in
this country has any authority to command or direct a fellowman, except as
the law made by the people vests him with such authority.
To inspire devotion to our country we must arouse in the hearts of our
people a sense of gratitude for the blessings which come to us because we
live in free America, gratitude for the rights and liberties which we
possess, which are protected by the guaranties of a written Constitution
adopted by the people themselves.
There is only one way in which the average person may be brought to see
what America has done for him, and that is by contrasting the rights,
privileges, and opportunities which he has with those possessed by others
in the same walk of life before the Constitution became the bulwark of the
people against injustice and wrong.
The aim of “The Short Constitution” is to present, in a form as simple as
possible, a definite knowledge of all the personal guaranties of the
Constitution, with an explanation of what they mean, and what they have
done in the advancement of human happiness; and a brief explanation of the
machinery of government provided by the Constitution.
Everyone who understands human nature will admit that to mold the spirit,
to inspire faith, and to excite gratitude training must begin in
childhood. The child must learn:
(a) What authority means.
(b) The source of authority.
(c) In whom authority rests: in the parent, in the teacher, and in
public officers selected by the people to enforce the authority of
the community, the State, and of the Nation.
(d) How the authority of the people, the community, the State, and
the Nation is expressed through laws which are nothing but rules
of human conduct.
(e) How we should respect authority and submit to authority.
(f) How and by whom those who will not yield obedience to
authority out of respect will be compelled to obey by punishment.
We have adopted a new method of presenting this subject. In this country
authority is largely administered through the courts. Judges of the courts
construe the Constitution and the laws; and, generally with the aid of a
jury, determine rights and wrongs, and enforce justice through their
judgments and decrees.
We therefore feel that the subject “Americanism”, presented through the
spoken word of a judge, will better gain and hold the attention of the
pupil than in any other way. We have the teacher invite Judge Garland to
deliver a series of “Talks” to the pupils, which are herein presented. By
this direct method greater freedom of expression is permitted and with the
aid of notes greater brevity is possible. In these “Talks” considerable
apparent repetition will appear. This is essential to thorough
understanding. Without reiteration it is impossible to accomplish our
purpose which is not only to enlighten, but to inspire.
Our endeavor is to present the subject not from the standpoint of the
government, but from the standpoint of the people. The _rights of the
people_ are of first importance in a Nation where men, women, and children
are free. The State and the Nation have no rights except those given them
by the people. Strictly speaking the Nation and the States have no
“rights” but only the duty to exercise certain powers in the protection of
the liberties of the people.
In America the rights of the people are supreme. The state exists for man,
not man for the state.
To gain substantial results we must rely largely upon the industry and
enthusiasm of the instructors. We are sure they will realize that in the
“upbuilding of the spirit” a proper atmosphere must be created and
maintained. Doctor Steiner wisely said, “Religion cannot be taught, it
must be caught”. In other words religion is of the spirit; so is
patriotism. _Always bear in mind that in presenting the Constitution we
are teaching human rights under the Constitution._
It is more than a century since the Constitution was ratified, and, so far
as we have knowledge, this is the first direct attempt to translate its
guaranties into the language of the ordinary man, woman, and child. We
demand respect for, and loyalty to the Constitution, but the truth is that
the ordinary citizen has no knowledge of the relation of the Constitution
to his life or to the life of his children.
THE AUTHORS
I. THE JUDGE’S FIRST TALK
Reasons For The Study Of The Constitution Of The United States
For several days there had been an air of expectancy about the school. At
Monday’s assembly the teacher had announced that she had persuaded Judge
Garland to come to talk to the teachers and pupils about the Constitution
of their country and about the law, the rights, the powers, and the duties
of the people. A real live judge was coming! Most of the children had
never seen a judge. The word inspired a sort of dread. They had read of
men being sentenced to prison. They expected to see a fierce, hard-hearted
man. Some of the younger children had wondered if it would be possible to
stay away from the assembly room when the judge was there, but the teacher
said that everyone should be present. So important was the subject that
the teachers were to be there, too; and many fathers and mothers that
could spare the time were also invited. The principal had said that he
would not miss a meeting.
So when Friday came the assembly room was crowded. All the pupils and
teachers were there, and in the rear of the room were a few of the
parents. The door opened and the principal of the school entered. By his
side was a man whose gray hair and serious countenance told of years of
responsibility. He did not appear “fierce”. Rather his face was kind and
his eyes twinkled as he ascended the platform and stood looking out over
the faces before him.
The principal introduced Judge Garland who bowed and began his series of
talks to the children.
Well my friends, I am glad to see you. I am delighted to be back in a
school room again. It is many years ago, though it seems but a short time,
since as a schoolboy I sat in a school room like this, among boys and
girls like you. I suppose that I studied about as you study, and did not
recite any better than you recite. I thought I had to work very hard, and
I remember that I often looked out of the open window of the school room
when the summer sun was warm, and I thought I could hear the trees, the
grass, the stream, and even the fish calling me to quit study and come out
to joy and freedom. I know it was a real temptation. I could have had a
good time, but I have often been glad since that I obeyed my teacher, my
parents, and the law, and continued my studies in school. I am glad,
because I now realize how much easier, how much happier, and how much more
useful my life has been because I did not listen to the voice of
temptation which called me from work to play.(1)
Since those pleasant school days I have seen much of human life. On the
bench now for over twenty-five years, I have been compelled to deal with
all sorts of people, even the little children who early in life sometimes
drift from the path of right to ways of wickedness. I have served as judge
of the Juvenile Court, and judge of the court in which the worst criminals
are tried. I have heard the cases of thousands of persons on trial for
crimes, men and women, young and old. I have sent hundreds to prison, and
I have been compelled to sentence some to death.
In this experience, I have learned something of how easy it is, unless we
are on our guard, to sin against the laws of our country, and against the
laws of God. I have observed that the average person does not fully
appreciate the value of liberty until he is about to lose it.(2)
I also know that most people do not know the worth of the protection which
our Constitution gives to each one of us, until someone is about to take
away their right to life, or to liberty, or to property; and then they cry
out for help. If they are right in their appeal, they always find help in
the Constitution and in the law of the land. Yet it is true that there is
much real ignorance about our country, our Constitution, and our laws.
There is even much ignorance of these things among people who are supposed
to be well educated.
So I was pleased when your teacher came to me the other day asking me to
come to your school a couple of times a week, to talk to you about our
country, our Constitution, and our laws. I am happy to be able to comply
with her request. It is a difficult subject for children, yet children
must study these things, and learn them. There is no more important
subject.(3)
One of the chief objects of furnishing free education to children, rich
and poor, is to make of them good law-abiding citizens; citizens who know
what authority is; citizens who will obey the voice of authority; citizens
who realize that authority in this country rests in the people themselves;
citizens, men and women, who realize that they owe a duty to their country
and their fellowmen to do all they can to keep America the most free and
the most just country in the world.(4)
No American child should leave school without a full knowledge of the
government of our country; nor until he has in his heart loyal devotion to
America, and to the Stars and Stripes, the emblem of the free.
Of course I do not expect you to learn all there is to be known about your
government. However I do expect you to know the great fundamental truths
which after all are very simple and easily understood.
I am not endeavoring to make lawyers. I am not trying to train you to
become lawyers. You know nearly all the children in the American schools
have to learn something about physiology and hygiene, but not in order to
become doctors. They study physiology and hygiene in order to understand
the ordinary rules of health, so that they may protect themselves as far
as possible against disease and take care of their bodies intelligently.
Of course sickness will come. Then you must call the doctor.
Well, so it is in this course. I want you to know enough about your
government, your Constitution, and your laws—because these things are
yours—so that you, as members of this great society called America, will
be able to understand your rights and duties, your privileges, your
opportunities, and your obligations. Sometime in your life your problem
may become so difficult, or your rights may become so endangered, that you
will have to call upon a lawyer, just as when illness comes you call upon
your physician.(5)
No one knows anything of real worth about his country until he knows its
Constitution. No one can have in his heart a full measure of gratitude for
the blessings of living in a free country, until he knows of how fully the
Constitution guards every right and privilege which we hold dear. So we
shall enter upon the study of the Constitution of our country.
But in order that you may better understand the Constitution of your
country, in order that you may better study the problems which will be
presented to you in this course, it is necessary for you to understand
something, in a general way at least, of four separate
things—_Government_, _Liberty_, _Authority_, and _Law_. So before talking
to you of the Constitution, I shall talk to you on these subjects.(6)
I know it will not be easy for you at first to understand some of the
words and expressions which it is necessary for me to use. It will be
necessary for me to repeat to some extent, from time to time, but I feel
satisfied that if we will work together in the right spirit, you will find
the matter interesting; and I am sure that the great truths, the great
principles of life, conduct, and action will soon become clear to your
minds.
The important thing to realize at all times is that we are not talking
about something away off in which we have slight interest, but that we are
talking of things which are ours, which affect every one of us, not in the
future, but now.
I can recall a number of faces of men who have been before my court
charged with crimes, who in childhood were sitting where you are sitting
to-day. I have sentenced some of them to long terms of years in the
penitentiary. I was compelled to take away from them their liberty,
because they had shown themselves unworthy, and had shown themselves
rebels against the authority of their country.
On the other hand, I recall those who came into court seeking protection
of their rights against wrongdoers—against those who would take away their
property, the earnings perhaps of a lifetime; and in court they found
protection, justice, and right. But in administering justice and right,
the court was only applying the principles of the Constitution of our
country which we are about to study.
So let us enter upon this work with a determination to succeed in our
undertaking. You know that has a great deal to do with our success in
life—a determination to succeed.
When you boys take your baseball team to play the team of some other
school, you start for the baseball park determined to win the game; and,
if you keep up this spirit, you probably will win the game. In any event,
you play a real game of which your friends are proud. That is the way to
meet all the problems of life, whether in the school room, or out in the
world after you have entered upon the great battles of life.
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS
1. Did you ever see a judge? Would you be afraid of a judge? Why?
2. What are the duties of a judge?
3. Why did the judge say, “But I have often been glad since, that I obeyed
my teacher, my parents, and the law, and continued my studies in school”?
Why do boys and girls go to school? Why is the public willing to pay large
sums of money to pay teachers, buy books, build school buildings, and keep
them open?
4. What law was it that the judge said he was glad that he had obeyed?
5. Why did the judge send hundreds to prison? Why was he compelled to
sentence some to death?
6. What are the advantages of staying in school? What more do you know
when you graduate from elementary school than those who quit earlier?
Should one try to graduate from high school? Why?
7. The judge says that one of the chief purposes of school is to make
good, law-abiding citizens. Think of some person you know who is a “good,
law-abiding citizen”; think of some one who is not; name five ways in
which they are different.
8. Have you read the Constitution of the United States? Should a good,
law-abiding citizen know what is in the Constitution of the United States?
9. The judge says that we owe a duty to our country. List five duties that
a school pupil owes to his father and mother, five that he owes to his
teacher, and, if you can, list five duties that all of us owe to our
country.
10. The judge says that the Constitution guards every right and privilege
that we hold dear. Can you name any rights or privileges that you hold
dear?
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. Why do we say that the United States is the “land of the free”? Why
does the judge say that it is the most free and just country in the world?
B. How are judges selected? To whom are they responsible? What are their
duties?
C. What are likely to be the results of poor schools?
D. Should a parent have a right to give a child as poor an education or as
little schooling as he may desire?
E. Why do some States require children to study physiology and hygiene? Is
there as good an argument for a study of the Constitution?
F. Why does the judge say, “No one knows anything of real worth about his
country until he knows its Constitution”?
G. The judge says that good citizens know what authority is. Give an
illustration of a child, a student, and a citizen who knows what authority
is. Define authority. Give an illustration of a man who does not respect
authority.
H. When is a country a “free country”? What is a “just country”? How can a
judge justify himself in a free country when he sends some men to prison,
thereby taking away their freedom?
I. How can an American protect his liberties? What steps must he take?
J. Prepare a paper on one of the following subjects:
The Advantages of Staying in School
One Law-abiding Citizen That I Know
What One Man I Know Knows About the Rights and Privileges of the
American Citizen Under the Constitution.
Why Everyone Should Study the Constitution
What a Law Is, Where It Comes From and Its Value
II. GOVERNMENT
The Purpose And Origin Of Government Among Men—In The United States
It is a little difficult even for grown people to understand clearly what
is meant by “the government”. They have so many absurd notions about what
the government is, and where it is, that I do not wonder that children do
not understand. If I could look into the mind of each child here this
morning, I am sure I would find many that picture the capitol at
Washington, the President, or some other officer as being the government.
Now the capitol and the President and the Congress and the Supreme Court
of the United States and all other National officers are part of the
government, _but they are not the government_.(7)
The government of the United States is merely the agency by which and
through which the people protect their own rights and liberties. Our
government may be said to be the organized will of all the people. The
people govern in this country, and the men and the means by which they
govern all combined may be said to be the government. But do not ever
forget this fact: the President is not a master, but a servant. The
President, Senators, congressmen, and judges, in the Nation; the
Governors, State Senators, and State Representatives in the States are
only agents or servants of the people to carry out the people’s will. Also
do not forget that the power of government does not rest in Washington,
the capital of the Nation, nor at the capitals of the different States.
The power of government exists all over these United States. The power of
government exists right in the homes and hearts of the people.(8)
The President has no power except that conferred upon him by the
Constitution and the laws which the people have adopted. Neither have the
Senators, the congressmen, nor the judges any power except that given by
the people, and the people at any time can take away any part of the power
given. When I say the people, I mean of course all the people. Not that
all the people must agree to any law to have it enacted. The majority of
the people make the laws as a rule. We shall take this up later and
consider it fully. Government is power to exercise authority. Authority is
in the people, and the authority of the people is expressed as they want
it in laws which they make.
But what is government for? Why have any government?
Government is organized to protect human rights.(9) Perhaps if you were a
giant possessed of wonderful wisdom you would not need any law to protect
your rights because you would be big enough, powerful enough, and wise
enough to resist any person who might undertake to interfere with your
rights; but we are not all giants and we are not all wise. In fact there
are very few giants in the world. It is true, however, that some are
bigger and stronger than others; and sometimes these big, strong people
are selfish, wicked, or envious. They see that a weaker person has
something which they want, and being big and strong, if there were no law
to restrain them, they would take it.
Now if you have a bicycle and some full-grown, strong, brutal man were to
come into your yard, take your bicycle, and start away with it, what would
you do? You might protest. You might beg him not to take your property,
but this would probably do no good. A thief does not stop when he is asked
to by the owner of the property he is stealing, nor is a thief influenced
by the fact that his act is wrong. In fact doing wrong is the business of
a thief.
So there being many strong people in the world and many weak people, many
wise people, and many simple people, the full grown and the children, and
many, many people who are not guided by rules of right or morality or
justice, you can see how necessary it is that someone shall provide rules
and regulations under which the weak, the simple, and the young may be
protected from the strong, the brutal, and the wicked who would deprive
their neighbors of their rights or their property, simply because they had
the power to do it. This is what the government does.
There have been times in the world, hundreds and thousands of years,
during which the strong governed the weak, made the weak their slaves,
took from the weak the earnings of their toil; but our government exists
for the very purpose of restraining the strong and protecting the weak, so
that their rights are equal. Every man is free and no man is a slave.
Therefore always keep in mind that the purpose of government is to protect
the people of all classes and ages so that, so far as possible, all may be
equal in their right to do the things they want to do, own the things they
want to own so far as they are able to produce or procure them, think the
things they want to think, and speak the things they want to speak. In
other words, _government is to protect our freedom against the wrongs of
others_.
Now we must not have the notion in our mind that the government has
anything to do with who shall work, or who shall play, or who shall idle.
Occupations in life are not selected by the government. Each person
determines this for himself. That is one of the privileges which we have
in a free country, to select our own occupations; and as you go through
life you will find that what appear to be the higher or better occupations
are usually earned by industry, faithfulness, and honesty.(10)
I am going to talk to you some day about occupations in life so that you
will understand that our place in life is selected by ourselves,
determined by our efforts and our conduct. I want you to start out in life
with such a knowledge of these things that you will never blame your
country if you do not like your job.
_But how did our government come into existence? What was the beginning?_
Well, it is all very simple if we only get right down to elementary
principles, if we only “begin at the beginning”. Perhaps your father is a
Woodman, or an Odd Fellow, or a Knight of Columbus. Perhaps he is a member
of the American Federation of Labor. Perhaps your mother belongs to the
Eastern Star, or the P. E. O. society. Perhaps you belong to some school
fraternity, debating society, or neighborhood club, the Boy Scouts, or the
Camp Fire Girls.
Now let us go back a few years. None of these societies were in existence.
Where did they come from? One day, years ago, a few men and women, or boys
and girls, met perhaps in some home, or the office, and talked over the
plan which perhaps had been suggested by some one present at the meeting.
After discussion, it was decided to form an organization. I have no doubt
that most of you have had such an experience. The beginning of each
society was merely an idea in the mind of some one. He or she talked of it
to some one else, and the discussion extended until enough of interested
persons came together to complete an organization and give it a name.
What was the first step in perfecting the society or organization? It was
the preparation of a written statement of the purposes and principles of
the organization, which is usually called a constitution. When the
constitution was completed, usually by a committee, all those about to
become members of the society met and talked it over. Changes probably
were made and the constitution finally adopted. Probably some voted
against it, but those who did vote against it recognized that they should
be bound by the judgment and will of the majority.(11)
Laws, or by-laws, as they are generally called, were then adopted to
govern the conduct of the members in their relation to each other and to
the society. These by-laws have been amended from time to time ever since,
and perhaps at all times some of the members have believed that the
by-laws should be different, but they have submitted to the will of the
majority.
So with the United States. There was a time less than one hundred and
fifty years ago when there was no such thing on earth. A comparatively few
men, representing the people of the former colonies, decided to form a
Nation, and in the Constitutional Convention after months of discussion,
the Constitution was adopted, and it was finally ratified by the people of
the States. While many persons opposed some of the provisions of the
Constitution, all submitted to the will of the majority.
Thereafter, rules of conduct called laws—in your society by-laws—were
adopted, and from time to time changed and extended as circumstances
seemed to demand. We are going to talk about these laws in a few days.
But _there is the whole story_. There is the simple beginning of this now
great Nation, the most powerful on earth.
So you see there is nothing mysterious about the origin of our
Constitution. There is nothing mysterious about the origin or the
organization of this government. The important thing to bear in mind is
that it was formed by the people for themselves. Humanity, after thousands
of years, had reached a point where they refused longer to be governed by
a king or similar ruler.
All this will become more clear to you as you understand something of the
nature of liberty and of law.
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS
1. What is the government of the United States? Why isn’t the capitol at
Washington the government? Why is it impossible to point out the
government of the United States upon the map?
2. What is a servant? Describe a servant. Why does the judge say that the
President of the United States is only a servant of the people?
3. Was the Kaiser a servant of the German people? Why not?
4. Where does the President get his power? Where do members of Congress
get their power? Judges? The Sheriff? The Mayor?
5. If we do not like what our servants do, how can we control them?
6. What is government in a school? In a club? What would it be like if
there were no government in either? Name five advantages of having a
government.
7. Suppose that you were like Robinson Crusoe, except that five of you
were shipwrecked. Would you form a government? Why?
8. If you were tie write a constitution, what would you include?
9. Suppose that a man came into your yard and tried to steal your bicycle,
what could you do to protect your rights?
10. Do all people do what they think is right? How can you tell what is
right and wrong?
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. What is the purpose of government?
B. Why is it wrong for the great and powerful to govern the small and
weak? Does might make right?
C. Which would be the better government, one based upon might makes right,
or one based upon right makes might? Why?
D. How can right make might?
E. In a free country can the government prescribe what occupations in life
the people must follow? How are the higher and better occupations acquired
in America?
F. How did the American government come into being?
G. How would you organise a literary society? List the steps in detail.
Would you have a constitution? What should be included in any
constitution?
H. Discuss the effect of a sudden breakdown in government.
I. What were the first steps in the actual organisation of the government
of the United States?
J. Write a paper on:
The Ways in Which the Postmaster, Superintendent of Schools,
Sheriff, Coroner, or Judge Serves the People
Why We Cannot Locate Our Government On the Map
The Advantages of Having a Government
What a Constitution Should Include
III. LIBERTY
Definition Of Liberty And The Historical Background Of The Struggle For It
I hope that we now all understand that the purpose of government is to
maintain the liberty of the people. I wish that every child would learn
from the Declaration of Independence the following:
“_We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to
secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their
just powers from the consent of the governed._”(12)
This expresses the whole purpose of government—to secure the right to
life, to liberty, and to happiness.
I suppose every child here would like to be rich some day. A great many
people feel that riches bring happiness. The experience of men, however,
is that riches more often bring disappointments, burdens, and grief.
_What is the most valuable thing in the world?_ It is not money, lands,
nor jewels. The most valuable thing in the world is human liberty. I do
not believe that we, born here in America, realize the value of human
liberty. It comes to us as a heritage. We accept it as we accept the
sunlight, the springtime, the harvest. I am afraid that we seldom stop to
recall the fact that the great blessing of human liberty, as we have it
here in America, did not exist before our Nation was born. Always remember
that there were thousands of years before our country came into being,
when the people, men, women, and children living in many countries of the
world and under many forms of government dreamed, hoped, and prayed for
freedom. But it never came to them. They lived, labored, and died under
kings and emperors, or other rulers, never having any power, or at most
very limited power, in making the laws under which they were compelled to
live.(13)
To a considerable extent the history of the world is a sorrowful story of
men who fought and died in struggles for liberty, the same liberty which
we in this country enjoy. We must not forget that freedom in this Nation
was obtained only through war, bloodshed, and sacrifice.
Now what is this liberty for which men have fought and died? It is liberty
of thought, liberty of speech, liberty of conscience, liberty of action,
liberty, as the Supreme Court of the United States says, “of all the
faculties”. Men wanted the right to form their own opinions and to express
them in speech or in writing. They wished to worship God according to the
dictates of their own consciences, and not as directed by the ruler of the
government. They wanted to work in employments of their own choice, to
have their own earnings for themselves and their families, instead of
having it taken as tithes or taxes to buy purple robes for some monarch
upon a throne. They wanted the right to own property, to own a home; and
they hoped and prayed for the day when their children might have a chance
to advance in life according to their merits. They hoped some day to have
the door of opportunity open to the son of the poor man as well as the
rich. They hoped to see class and privilege wiped away.(14)
These were the things that men and women throughout the centuries
struggled for, but which were never attained in the whole history of the
world, by any race or by any nation, until America opened its doors to all
the peoples of the earth, guaranteeing to them all the blessings which had
been so long denied to the human race.
You will understand better the functions of government with relation to
human liberty if you will realize that human liberty is a natural right.
It comes from no man and no government. It is “God given”. Men are born
free. The love of freedom is in every human heart. Again recall the words
of the Declaration of Independence—“all men are created equal ... they are
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights”, among which is
liberty.
America does not confer liberty upon the individual. America realizes that
the individual possesses the right to liberty, and the whole structure of
the American government is framed with the special purpose of protecting
each individual in his natural liberty.(15)
Now there is no danger to the liberty of any one except from two
sources—the wrong of a fellowman, or the wrong of the government, which in
this country is a mere organization of men and women and children. Here we
see emphasized the necessity for law in order to protect the liberty of
the individual. Government is organized to protect individuals in their
liberties. This protection is furnished by laws enacted by the people to
protect the weak against the strong, the good against the evil; and in
this country the same law applies to every individual. There are no
special laws for special classes; every one is equally interested in
having these laws as just and fair as possible. Liberty under law is the
privilege of doing everything one wishes to do, except in so far as his
acts may interfere in some way with like privileges of those who are about
him in society.
Therefore always keep in mind that the great achievement of those who
founded America was the establishment of a Nation where liberty would have
a home. Of course liberty could not be fully established in this country
until the Nation was fully established, until the Constitution was
adopted, until laws were enacted; but from the adoption of the
Constitution to the present time the people have enacted laws from time to
time, and still enact laws, the better to protect every man in his liberty
and to enlarge his opportunities in life.
Now in order to understand clearly how the liberties of the people are
protected through our government, we must understand the nature and form
of our government; and this subject we must take up at our next meeting.
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS
1. What is your idea of the right to “life”? Does it mean that no one
shall ever be sentenced to death for murder?
2. What is your idea of the right to “property”? Does this mean that
everyone shall be wealthy? Does it mean that everyone shall own his own
home?
3. What is your idea of the right to “pursuit of happiness”? Does this
mean that everyone can do as he pleases?
4. Why does the judge say that liberty is the most valuable thing in the
world? What would you trade for it?
5. Note the dangers to liberty that the judge points out. What are they?
6. Give an illustration of each of these dangers.
7. How may we protect ourselves against these dangers?
8. Where does this liberty that we enjoy come from? Who grants it?
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. In what particular ways does the Constitution of the United States
guarantee liberty?
B. What forms of government existed before the United States? What
liberties did the people of Russia, or France, or England enjoy in 1600?
C. Who really possesses the power of government in the United States?
D. How is the liberty of the individual protected in the United States?
E. In what ways were the people of Massachusetts in 1650 not as free as we
are to-day?
F. What does it mean when we say “all men are created equal”?
G. Discuss the real meaning of the right to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit
of Happiness”.
H. Write a paper on:
Ways in Which We Have an Equal Chance
How We Can Make Chances Still More Equal
“I hope to see the time when every American citizen will have an
unfettered start and an equal chance in the race of life.”—Abraham
Lincoln
The Meaning of Liberty
A Week in a Land Where There Is No Liberty
IV. AMERICA—A DEMOCRACY
The Spirit Of Democracy Developed Under The Constitution Of Our Country
It is not sufficient that we shall know what government is and where it
is. We must also understand its nature. It is the proud boast of America
that it is a democracy, the first real democracy in the world. Now what is
meant by a democracy? We hear much about democracy, and we hear much about
republicanism, and many people when they hear or see these terms think
that it has to do with the Democratic or Republican political party. We
must not be confused. We must see and think clearly. Democracy and
republicanism, as we use the terms in these talks, have no reference to
any political party, but relate solely to the form of government under
which we live.
America is a democracy. It is also a republic, as we shall see in our next
talk. It is very important that we shall understand why it is a democracy,
and why it is also a republic, and the distinction between the two.
It has been well said that republicanism in government “refers rather to
the form of government”, and that democracy refers to the “spirit of
government”. In government as with the people the spirit is the real,
important thing. In a democracy the people govern. “A government of the
people, by the people, and for the people”, as Lincoln expressed it, is a
democracy. In a democracy no man is the master of another man without his
consent. In a democracy there are no slaves. In a democracy each and all
have equal rights. Every one in a democracy has an equal opportunity with
every other person.(16)
You have already learned that in this country the people make the laws. In
the making of laws the banker and the man who digs in the sewer have the
same power. Each has one vote on election day, and no more. America has no
rulers except the people. In a democracy the spirit of all should be one
of toleration and kindness. All of us cannot have things just as we want
them in this world. Men do not all agree, so we must let the majority of
the people rule. But the majority should not have any feeling of
superiority. The majority should be inspired by a sense of justice and
charity toward their fellowmen. In fact a democracy is a brotherhood in
which each person should think, not only of himself, but of his neighbor.
In this democracy the more we think of the rights of our neighbor and the
more we think of our duty toward our neighbor, the better will our
government be.
In a democracy we live in the belief that all men are created equal, that
all through life they are equal in their rights, in their duties, and in
their privileges. I do not mean of course that all men are equal in
physical strength, because you who run and wrestle every day know that
some are stronger than others. I do not mean that all are equal in the
powers of the mind, because some of us here this morning, even some who
study hard, know that other pupils get higher marks in every examination.
Nor do I mean that all are equal in wealth, in health, or in comforts.
What I mean is, that so far as life and liberty are concerned, in our
rights under the law, in our protection under the law, we are all equal.
In a democracy the people make the laws, and the people enforce the laws.
As we shall hereafter see, every man who takes part in making a law, and
every one who aids in enforcing the law is selected by the people. But the
great thing about a democracy is the spirit of the people—the feeling of
the people toward each other. Pride of wealth, position, race, or creed
has no place in a democracy. Every person should feel sympathy and charity
for his neighbor, and for his neighbor’s problems in life.
We should all be willing to help those who may be less fortunate. We
should all endeavor to make our neighbor’s life as easy as possible.
A democracy cannot be a government by groups: it must be a government by
every one.
Now I do not mean to say that we in this country all have the proper
feeling toward our neighbor. We are not all good citizens of a democracy.
Many people have pride, selfishness, and hate. Many people do not seem to
care how the rest of the world lives. Such people are not worthy to have
the privileges of living in a democracy. Many people are also ignorant in
matters of government. They do not seem to care what kind of a government
we have. In fact many people will not vote on election day. It is because
of pride, selfishness, hate, ignorance, and indifference that I am here
talking to you to-day. This is a wonderful government, but it can be made
much better, with more freedom and more justice, if the people will only
learn more about their power and their duty, especially if they will only
cultivate the right spirit—the spirit of America, the spirit of justice,
humility, kindness, and charity.
“Love thy neighbor as thyself” is not only a Christian duty, but it is the
foundation of social life in a democracy. You will find when you become
acquainted with life that success in life does not depend upon money,
clothes, nor social position, but that in this American democracy real
merit wins. More and more are we learning every day that true happiness
comes only from service, service to humanity, service to our country, and
this spirit of service must be developed in childhood, and expand as we
grow to manhood and womanhood.
That was a nice thing you did the other day, here in this school, when you
put your pennies and your nickels together, bought a ton of coal, and sent
it to the widowed mother of one of your schoolmates who had been sick for
several weeks. He is just a poor Polish boy; but when in health he ran
errands before and after school. This helped to support his mother and his
little sister. I am sure that he thinks of you every day; and that he
often thanks God that his father, who died last winter, had the courage to
leave the old home in Poland and come to America where there is a chance
for the poorest and the most obscure.
I told you a while ago that this is the first real democracy in the world.
So few people stop to think about this. The world is thousands of years
old. Humanity in all these thousands of years has been made up of men,
women, and children just like us. They hoped for, and dreamed of freedom,
but until America became a Nation no government in the world had ever been
a real government by the people. They had always been ruled by a king, a
queen, an emperor, by some other ruler, by a small group of men who were
rulers, or by a certain class. Your father may be a blacksmith, or a
street sweeper, but on election day he can vote. Up to the organization of
this government no such right existed anywhere in the world. In some
countries, a few men who owned a certain amount of property could vote;
but the wise men of the world sneered at the American plan to give every
man the right to vote whether he owned a dollar’s worth of property or
not.
Always remember this, too, that even when America became a Nation, the
right of all the people to vote was not granted at once. Many of our
States for many years required that a voter must have a certain amount of
property. Finally this was all wiped away. America has been a growth, each
generation doing a little more to expand the power of the people, and this
growth, this expansion must continue. We are still a young Nation and we
all have much to do to aid in making this democracy a better place in
which to live.
When you hear of other democracies now existing in the world, remember
that America has been their guide and inspiration. Men came from France to
help fight our revolution, and carried back with them the spirit of
America. In time democracy was established in France. So with all the
countries in the world which to-day have a greater or less degree of
democracy, to them all, America has been a beacon light, a source of
courage and of inspiration. Did any of you ever see the great Statue of
Liberty at the entrance to the New York harbor? If you did, you saw that
grand figure looking out to the east over the great expanse of water,
holding aloft the great torch which in the darkness of the night is aglow
with light, the great flaming torch, which is emblematic of America
enlightening the world.
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS
1. Which was the first real democracy to be established in the world?
2. What is a democracy? What is the difference between “democracy” and a
“Democrat”?
3. Who governs in a democracy?
4. In a democracy, who makes the laws?
5. How is power in government expressed in a democracy? In America, does
one man have more power than another?
6. How many times can a person vote on election day?
7. Suppose Congress or the legislature in our State passes a law that we
do not like. Do we have to obey it? What can we do about it? How can we
secure a change in the law?
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. What does “government of the people, by the people, and for the people”
mean?
B. What is the proper spirit of people who live in a democracy?
C. What is meant by “the majority of the people rule”?
D. What would happen if the minority should rule? Lincoln said that this
meant anarchy. Why?
E. Does the minority have any rights? Should the majority pay any
attention to them? Why or why not?
F. Who enforces laws in a democracy?
G. Why is it said that the best way to get rid of a bad law is rigidly to
enforce it?
H. What is the result of not casting your ballot on election day?
I. It is a fact that from election to election there is an increasing
percentage of the qualified voters who do not vote. What is the danger of
this? What is it likely to lead to?
J. Write a paper on:
The Meaning of Democracy
The Danger of Not Voting
Why It Is Right that Women Should Vote
Why We Fought to Make the World Safe for Democracy
V. AMERICA—A REPUBLIC
A Representative Form Of Government Under The Constitution
As I stated to you in our last discourse, America is a democracy, but it
is also a republic. It is a democracy in its spirit and the power of its
people, but in the mode of exercise of the power of the people it is a
republic. We often hear America referred to as a “representative
democracy”. If America were merely a democracy there would be no fixed
method for expressing the wishes or the power of the people. In a pure
democracy, people having full power would naturally assemble from time to
time to decide by the vote of all those present what should be done for
the public good.
You will hear of the “town meeting” which even to-day in some parts of New
England is held from time to time, where the people assemble, and by vote
decide matters of public concern.
But this is now a Nation of more than one hundred and five million people.
We have forty-eight States, many of them very populous. When the
Constitution was adopted, there were only about 3,900,000 people in all
the States; but those who framed the Constitution looked into the future
and could see something of the wonderful growth of the Nation which they
were planning. Of course it is easy for anyone to see that in a large
country like this, with a large population or a population as large as it
was at the time when the Constitution was adopted, it would be impossible
for all the people to assemble in a meeting to vote directly upon the
passage of necessary laws, or to provide for taxation, or to conduct the
general business of the State or the Nation. You can see how absolutely
impossible it would be in these days to have the people of the United
States assemble at the National capital to vote on any law, or to make any
appropriation, or to provide rules for exercise of governmental power.
Therefore you can readily see that the founders of this country very
wisely realized that the only government possible would be what is known
as a representative government, a democracy where the people would have
all the power, but a republic wherein the people would express that power,
not directly, but through representatives or agents chosen by them.(17)
The government of the United States and that of each of the States is
sub-divided into three parts: the executive, represented by the President
or the Governor, the legislative, represented by Congress or the
legislature, and the judicial, represented by the courts.
Now the President and the members of Congress, including the Senate, and
the judges of the courts are all merely representatives of the people
chosen by the people to carry out the will of the people. The position and
powers of all of these representatives of the people are fixed and defined
by laws enacted by the people.
As we shall hereafter find, the first law of the Nation, the foundation of
all laws of the Nation, is the Constitution of the United States, which in
the long ago was adopted by the people of thirteen small States.
Our form of government therefore is representative. That is to say, the
people choose their representatives to do the business of the country for
the people. Laws are voted for directly by members of Congress and the
Senate of the United States, or members of the legislatures of the States;
but these members of Congress, Senators, and legislators are selected by
the people, and in voting for laws they are expressing the will of the
people who voted for them. They are elected for a short term of years, so
that in case any one of them should not, in his vote upon any law, carry
out the wishes of the people who elected him, they may at the next
election select someone else in his place who will better represent
them.(18)
The important thing to bear in mind in relation to this government
organization, with all the officers now necessary to do the business of
the people of this great country, is that these officers—executive,
legislative, and judicial—are not the government; the government rests
with the people, and these officers are merely servants of the people,
subject to the will of the people.
It has been well said that government in a democracy is organized public
opinion. Public officers, representatives of the people, have only the
power which the people give to them. In many of the States of this
country, in the enactment of laws, the people by law make provision by
which the people themselves have the power to reject laws enacted by their
representatives of which they do not approve. Under the “initiative” and
“referendum” in some States, the people retain the power to direct their
legislature to enact certain laws. Also laws made by the legislature may
be voted upon by the people for final approval, if desired.(19)
The important thing first to be learned is that in this democracy the
government is in form a republic, because the laws are enacted and
enforced, not by the direct vote of the people, but by the representatives
elected by the people.
The power of the people always continues. A law may be passed by one
legislature, or one session of Congress, and may be repealed the next. Any
law upon the statute books may be changed from time to time, in response
to the changing sentiment of the people.
We are inclined to consider the term “representative government” as
relating particularly to the enactment of laws, but this is a
representative government not only in the making of laws, but also in the
enforcement of laws. I want you to realize early in life that every
citizen has a responsibility for enforcing laws as well as for making
laws, and that for any failure or omission in the making of laws, or in
the enforcement of laws, the people must bear the responsibility.
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS
1. In what respect is America a republic?
2. What is the difference between a republic and a Republican?
3. What was the population of America when the Constitution was adopted?
4. Why was it impossible to have all the people assemble to adopt laws?
5. What is meant by a representative of the people?
6. Suppose a representative does not represent the people as they wish.
What can they do about it? Give illustrations.
7. Into what parts is the government of the United States divided?
8. How are the powers and duties of representatives of the people defined?
Why does the judge say that the people really have the power and that this
power continues?
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. What is the fundamental law of the United States? Why is it
fundamental?
B. How can we say that the people have power in lawmaking, when we know
that the representatives make the laws?
C. How can we influence the votes of our representatives?
D. If you know that your representative is likely to vote against your own
wishes, what can you do about it?
E. How soon may a law be changed after it has been passed?
F. What is meant by “initiative, referendum, and recall”? How have they
worked out in practice?
G. Write a paper on the following:
The Difference between a Democracy and a Republic
How the Public Can Make Their Representatives Represent Them
Why America Could Not Do Without Representatives
The New England Town Meeting
VI. LAW
Necessity For Rules Of Human Conduct For Guidance And Restraint
This morning I wish to talk with you about one of the most important
subjects in the world, the law; and strange to say, most people know very
little about it.
Indeed I find that the average person feels that he does not need any
knowledge of the law, that the law is for lawyers, judges, and courts.
Now the truth is, that there is scarcely any activity in life in which the
law does not play an important part. This is true from childhood to old
age, in every calling and every occupation in life.(20) The law is not
intended for any one class of people, but it applies to all classes of
people, the rich and the poor, the wise and the ignorant. It also applies
to all ages, to men, women, and children.
_What is the law_, or what is a law?(21) There is nothing difficult about
it. A law is merely a rule of human conduct, a rule of conduct for human
beings which is enforced by the Nation, the State, or the city. There are
other rules of human conduct enforced by the parents, teachers, or
employers—those who have authority over others, those whose duty it is to
direct the conduct of others.
Every boy knows that in his home his parents have certain rules, not
written or printed, but stated by his father or mother with relation to
his conduct about the home, about his school, or about his play time or
vacation, when he must go to bed, when he must arise, and with whom he may
associate, that he must not go in swimming unless accompanied by his
father, that he shall not go to the movies without the consent of his
mother, that he must attend Sunday school regularly, that he must not eat
with his knife, that he must be courteous to all persons, especially the
aged, that he must not play ball in the street, and a large number of
other rules and directions, all intended for the good of the boy.
Then in school you find certain rules of conduct made by the Board of
Education or other officers, or adopted by the teacher.
If a boy works in a store, he finds that his employer has certain rules:
the time when the store shall be opened and closed; that the boy shall
sweep the floor at certain hours; that he may go to lunch at a certain
time; that he shall not permit other boys to pass behind the counters,
etc. All of these are illustrations of rules of conduct for children, or
those under the control, authority, or direction of some older person.
But older persons, the parents, the school officers, the teachers, the
storekeepers, and those of all other occupations are likewise subject to
rules, are under control and direction of the Nation, the State, and the
city, all having power to enforce rules of conduct, called laws, which
apply to the old and the young. Without such rules, such laws, it would be
impossible to maintain peace and order. Without such rules, called laws,
it would be impossible to protect the weak against the strong and the
wicked.
This government being organized for the purpose of protecting the rights
and liberties of the people, it is necessary that laws be enacted in order
that our rights and liberties shall not be taken away from us by those who
may be stronger or wiser than we are. Many laws prohibit wrongful acts and
provide a punishment for those who commit such wrongful acts. Thus one who
strikes you without justification, one who steals your bicycle, or any
other property, one who breaks into your home, or into the store, a
burglar, is punished. One who kills another human being, a murderer, is
punished. A person who willfully sets fire to a building, or is guilty of
cruelty to animals, malicious mischief, or sells liquor is punished.(22)
So there are scores of different offenses forbidden by the law, and
punishments fixed for those who will not obey.
There are also laws requiring that one shall ride or drive on the right
hand side of the street when passing another coming from the opposite
direction.
There is generally in every city a law which punishes a person who rides
his bicycle upon the sidewalk. There are laws regulating the speed of
automobiles, the lights and signals, and the turning at the corners of the
street, so that other people either walking, or riding on bicycles, or in
automobiles or other vehicles, may not receive injury.(23)
You know in this country, where every person is equal before the law, no
one person has any more right in the street than his neighbor has, and the
conduct of each in the use of streets and sidewalks and other public
places must be such that all may enjoy equal opportunities in the use
thereof.(24)
Freedom, as already explained, does not mean a right to do everything we
wish to do. Freedom is the right to do whatever we may wish to do,
provided it does not interfere with the right of our neighbors to have the
same privileges which we claim for ourselves.
Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to have laws fixing the conduct of
all persons; and it is necessary, in order to enforce these laws, to
punish those who will not obey them.
_Who makes these laws?_ In America the laws are made by the people
themselves; that is, they elect representatives to serve in Congress, in
the legislatures of the States, and in the councils of the city, who make
the laws for the people according to the wishes of the people. This you
will understand more fully as you study this representative form of
government we have in this country.
The people have the right to change any law now in existence, and may also
make such new laws as they think will better protect the people in their
rights.(25)
_Who enforces these laws_, these rules of conduct? The rules of the home
are enforced by the parents. If you violate the rules of your parents,
they impose a punishment upon you. This punishment may not be severe, in
fact it should not be, unless your disobedience is continued and stubborn.
If you violate the rules of school, the teacher or other school officers
have the right to punish; and if you violate the rules of your employer,
he has the right to admonish you, and of course if you do not obey, he
will discharge you and you will lose your place.
Now the rules of conduct, the laws of the Nation, the State, or the city
are enforced in this country by the people, through their government,
through the courts, presided over by judges whom the people themselves
select for that purpose. Sometimes the punishment is severe, sometimes
mild. It all depends upon the character of the person who disobeys the
law, and whether the disobedience is stubborn or willful. Penalties are
imposed, not only to punish the wrongdoer, but as a warning to others,
that if they disobey the law, they too will be punished.
In this country all laws imposing punishment for offenses are printed so
that every one may know what the law is; but it is not necessary that one
should study each separate law, because as a rule, your conscience will be
your guide against wrong doing. There are not many acts punished by the
State or Nation which are not morally wrong. The person whose heart is
right knows good from evil; and the person who really tries to do right
will seldom be guilty of violating any law.
I do not expect you to learn all about the different laws. This is not
necessary. But I do expect you to understand enough about the law to
realize that we are all subject to authority; that laws are enacted by the
authority of the people; that laws are absolutely necessary, and that
without laws we should have no liberty. Above all, I want you to learn
that in this country the people make the laws, and I want you to feel
absolute confidence in the power of the people to make and enforce laws.
I hope that you will acquire a spirit of confidence and faith in the
justice of the law, and learn that submission to the law is absolutely
essential in a government of the people and by the people.(26)
But there are many laws, many rules of conduct, besides those defining
crimes, offenses, and the punishment of wrongdoers.
I want to talk to you briefly about some of the laws which affect our
conduct in every day life, in matters not criminal. I want to impress upon
you how far reaching the law is as affecting every human being in his
daily conduct.(27)
Suppose one of the girls here goes to the store to buy a piece of cloth.
How does she tell the merchant how much cloth she wants? She, without
doubt, will say that she wants one yard, or two yards, or three yards,
according to her needs. Now how much is a yard? Of course you all know
that a yard is three feet. I suppose you all know that a yard is the same
length in every city in the United States. We go into the store and ask
for a yard of cloth in any city in the country, with absolute confidence
that we will get for each yard, three feet in length. But how do we know
we will get three feet in length for each yard? How do we know what we
will get when we ask for a pound of coffee, or for a ton of coal, or for a
quart of milk?
These weights and measures are nearly all fixed by law. When you come to
read the Constitution of the United States, you will find that there is
conferred upon the United States government the power to “_fix the
standard of Weights and Measures_”.(28)
The Constitution is the fundamental law of the land. This confers upon the
United States government the right to fix all standards of measurements
and all weights and measures of every kind. The United States government
has this power. It is not required to exercise the power, but it has the
power.
The United States government has a National Bureau of Standards,(29) which
supervises weights and measurements, which coöperates with the States, and
maintains uniformity, so that in every State, with reference to most
things bought and sold, the law fixes definitely the quantity or
dimensions. Without such laws you can see what a mass of confusion the
people would be in at all times.
Severe penalties are imposed by law upon those who give short measure, or
short weight,(30) in order to protect buyers against those who might
defraud them.
So you see how necessary law is to the simple transactions of life, and
how we are constantly relying upon the law in our daily transactions, to
protect us against wrongdoers.
Then again, how do you know how much the silver dollar which you are
saving for Christmas is really worth? How do you know that one dollar is
as valuable as another dollar? How do you know that the paper dollar which
is in circulation is as valuable as the silver dollar? Well, here again
when you read the Constitution of the United States, you will find that
the people, when they adopted the Constitution, gave to the Congress of
the United States the power:
“_To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin_”.(31)
Congress, with this power, has enacted numerous laws with reference to the
coinage of silver and gold money, the printing of paper money, and fixing
the value of such money. How helpless the people would be without such
laws.
Then how do you know that the dollar you received in change at the grocery
store is a real dollar? There are many counterfeit dollars made by
wrongdoers, by criminals who seek to profit by manufacturing money
themselves, sometimes so much like the genuine, that it is almost
impossible to detect the difference. There are counterfeit bills, and
counterfeit coin, which I dare say could not be distinguished from the
genuine by any person in this room. But there are laws enacted by Congress
providing very severe punishment for any person who makes, passes, or
attempts to pass, any counterfeit coin. For instance, if one shall make,
or pass, or attempt to pass counterfeit gold or silver coin, he may be
punished by five years imprisonment in the penitentiary.(32) Even for
making, or passing, or attempting to pass a one cent, two cent, three
cent, or five cent piece, a person may be imprisoned for five years. Any
one who makes a die or mold designed for the coining, or making of
counterfeit coins may be punished by imprisonment in the penitentiary for
ten years.
These are severe penalties. Liberty is dear, and yet you can see how
absolutely necessary it is to have these severe penalties in order to
protect you, your father and mother, and all other persons from being
defrauded and wronged by the use of counterfeit money which is worthless,
but which most people cannot distinguish from the genuine.
I suppose you watched for the letter carrier this morning. Perhaps you
were expecting a letter from a friend or relative. The letter carrier came
to your door. You did not have to walk to the post office. Perhaps your
friend lives one thousand miles away. How is it possible for you to
receive a letter in perhaps a couple of days from that far distant point?
Did you ever stop to think about it? Of course you say, “Well it came
through the post office”. Yes, but the postoffice is only a part of the
great postal system of this country, which carries your letters from one
end of the land to another for the small amount of two cents; and we have
wonderful confidence in this postal service. We carelessly drop into the
mail box most important letters, often most sacred, but we have no doubt
that the letter will reach its destination safely.(33)
How is it all possible? Well, again, in reading the Constitution you will
find that the people gave to Congress the power:
“_To establish Post Offices and Post roads._”(34)
This power has been exercised by the enactment of many laws by Congress
providing for post offices, letter carriers, postal clerks, railway mail
service, rural routes, and many laws severely punishing any one in the
postal service who willfully fails to perform his duties.
Persons engaged in the postal service may be sent to the penitentiary for
stealing money from the mails, stealing a letter from the mails, for any
act of dishonesty, or failure of prescribed duty. How could the great
postal service of this country be maintained without such laws? How would
the people have the blessing of a great service of this kind without the
most carefully prepared laws made to protect the people?
So I might go on giving numerous other illustrations of the laws enacted
by the people through their representatives, for the benefit of the people
themselves, for their comfort, their convenience, and their protection
against wrongdoers, who might deprive them of their property, or of things
still more sacred than property.
I have only used these illustrations to impress upon you the great truth
that there is hardly any relation in life in which the law does not have
an important part. We should realize early in life that law is absolutely
necessary to guide human conduct, to restrain wrongful conduct, to punish
wrong doing, and thus to aid in protecting us in our right to life,
liberty, and property.
These laws are not the judges’ laws, nor the lawyers’ laws; they are the
laws of the people, made for their benefit, worthy of our most earnest
support, calling upon us for loyal obedience, demanding our respect, and
inspiring our confidence.
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS.
1. What is a law?
2. By whom is a law enforced?
3. Name an activity in life that the law has nothing to do with.
4. Make a list of some of the laws that your father and mother make in
your home.
5. Make a list of some of the rules of conduct found in school.
6. Go to a store in your town. Are there rules of conduct for the clerks?
What are they?
7. Who makes the rules in a home? In a school? In business institutions?
8. Upon which side of the street must a person drive? Why?
9. Who fixes the rules of measurement and weight?
10. Suppose that you buy a ton of coal and find later on that you only
received 1500 pounds. Could you do anything about it? Why should the coal
dealer be punished?
11. What would it be like if we had no laws at all?
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. In imposing punishment upon a wrongdoer, what elements does the judge
consider in fixing the amount of fine or the length of punishment?
B. Why do we have our laws printed? What would be the dangers of having
secret laws concerning the nature and existence of which the people could
not obtain information?
C. What is the distinction between a rule of conduct in the home and a law
of the land?
D. List a number of laws and penalties in addition to those cited by the
judge.
E. Why cannot one have liberty without law?
F. Why are people punished when they break the law?
G. Is it ever right to break the law?
H. Write a paper on the following:
Why Breaking the Postal Laws Deserves Severe Punishment
Liberty Under the Law
The Danger of Counterfeit Money
Laws that Should Be Passed
How to Have a Law Passed
VII. THE CONSTITUTION
Personal Guaranties Grouped Under The Title "The Short Constitution"
We now take up the subject of the Constitution of the United States. It is
important because it is the foundation of the rights and liberties of all
Americans. It relates to the rights and liberties of everyone in this
room. It is our great charter.
Gladstone, the great English statesman, once said, “It is the greatest
work ever struck off at any one time by the mind and purpose of man.”(35)
It is quite a long document. I want every one of us to read it carefully
and study it thoroughly.
The larger part of the Constitution consists of provisions telling of the
qualifications and manner of election of the President, Senators, and
congressmen, the powers and duties of the various parts of our government,
procedure of government, and the relations of the Nation and the States.
These are important.
But more important still are the ways in which the Constitution guarantees
the rights, liberties, and privileges of all men, women, and children who
live under the American flag. These guaranties are numerous, but they are
briefly stated. Any of us can understand them if we but read them
carefully and catch their meaning. It ought not to be difficult to cause a
person to study the things which relate to himself, to the most important
things in his own life. Liberty we prize most dearly. Everyone of these
guaranties in the Constitution is intended to guard and protect the
freedom and liberty which you and I enjoy.(36)
To make our task more simple, I have selected from the Constitution those
sections which deal with our privileges as American citizens. You can see
them in the copy of the Constitution which you have. (See page 217.) I
have grouped these together and for convenience I shall call it “The Short
Constitution”. As you can see, there is nothing in it that is not in the
original Constitution. It is just as if I had taken a pair of shears, cut
out these phrases from the Constitution, and pasted them together. It
makes it more convenient for us.
Take this “Short Constitution” home with you. Bring it with you when you
come to school. Talk with your father and mother about it. It may be that
sometime a knowledge of these rights that every American citizen now has
may save to you your home, your freedom, or your life.
Now I am going to read this:
THE SHORT CONSTITUTION
Article I (_Amendment I._)
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging
the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a
redress of grievances.(37)
Article II (_Amendment II._)
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a
free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall
not be infringed.
Article III (_Amendment III._)
No Soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house,
without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a
manner to be prescribed by law.
Article IV (_Amendment IV._)
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,
shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon
probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly
describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to
be seized.
Article V (_Amendment V._)
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise
infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand
Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in
the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public
danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be
twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in
any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived
of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor
shall private property be taken for public use, without just
compensation.
Article VI (_Amendment VI._)
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to
a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and
district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which
district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be
informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be
confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory
process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the
Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
Article VII (_Amendment VII._)
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall
exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be
preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise
re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to
the rules of the common law.
Article VIII (_Amendment VIII._)
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed,
nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Article IX (_Amendment IX._)
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not
be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Article X (_Amendment X._)
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution,
nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States
respectively, or to the people.(38)
Article XI (_Amendment XIII, Sec. 1._)
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment
for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall
exist within the United States, or any place subject to their
jurisdiction.
Article XII (_Amendment XIV, Sec. 1._)
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject
to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and
of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce
any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of
citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any
person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;
nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal
protection of the laws.
Article XIII (_Amendment XV, Sec. 1._)
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be
denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State on
account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Article XIV (_Art. I, Sec. 9, Cl. 2._)
The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended,
unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion, the public Safety
may require it.
Article XV (_Art. I, Sec. 9, Cl. 3._)
No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed.
Article XVI (_Art. I, Sec. 9, Cl. 8._)
No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no
Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall,
without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present,
Emolument, Office or Title of any kind whatever, from any King,
Prince, or foreign State.
Article XVII (_Art. III, Sec. 2, Cl. 3._)
The trial of all Crimes except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be
by Jury, and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said
Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within
any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the
Congress may by Law have directed.
Article XVIII (_Art. III, Sec. 3, Cl. 1._)
Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying
War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid
and Comfort. No person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the
Testimony of two witnesses to the same overt Act or on Confession
in open Court.
The Congress shall have power to declare the Punishment of
Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of
Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person
attainted.
Article XIX (_Art. IV, Sec. 2, Cl. 1._)
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and
Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
Article XX (_Art. VI, Cl. 3._)
No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any
Office or public Trust under the United States.
Now that is not long, is it? Yet in this brief part of the Constitution
are contained provisions the most important for the common people ever
written by the hand of man in all the history of the world. In some
countries of the world people have some of the rights and privileges
guaranteed by our Constitution, but in no other country in the world do
the people have a written guaranty of all the rights, privileges, and
liberties set forth in these short extracts from the Constitution of the
United States.
I want you all to get fixed in your minds the date of the adoption of the
original Constitution by the convention—1787.(39) That was more than a
century and a quarter ago.
I want every child to understand just why the Constitution was made, how
it was made, something of the men that made it, and how the people of the
States approved of the Constitution before it became binding.
I also want you to understand something of the changes and additions made
by the people since the Constitution was first adopted. I want you to
understand that it is the Constitution of the people, the whole people,
and I want you to know that the people can change the Constitution or make
additions to it whenever they want to.(40)
So at our next meeting I am going to tell you something of the making of
the Constitution.
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS
1. Compare “The Short Constitution” on pages 56-60 with the complete
Constitution found at the back of the book.
2. Why were these parts selected from the entire Constitution? Is there
any similarity in the various parts selected?
3. What are the most important provisions of the Constitution of the
United States?
4. Do the guaranties of the Constitution protect the rights of all people
living in America, or do they apply only to a few favored classes?
5. What was the date of the adoption of the original Constitution?
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. Why are we interested in our rights?
B. What are the dangers of talking too much about our rights?
C. Make a list of a duty to correspond with each right selected.
D. Write a paper on the following:
The Officials Provided by the Constitution
The American Bill of Rights
VIII. MAKING THE CONSTITUTION
How The Convention Of 1787 Drafted The Constitution Of The United States
You will remember from your study of American history that when the early
colonists came to this country they settled along the Atlantic coast in
many separate and distinct groups. Not all had come from the same country.
Most of them were English, but there were also smaller settlements of
Dutch, French, Germans, and Swedes. It was not many years until the
English had taken control of all the land from Maine to Georgia, but even
then not all the English were alike. There were Puritans and Cavaliers,
Scotch and Irish, Scotch-Irish and Quakers. They differed in their ideas
of government, religion, and education.
These colonists had come for many purposes. Some had come to make their
fortune. Others because of trouble at home. Most had come to be free, to
worship God in the way they chose, to form their own government, to make
their own laws, to govern themselves; and in the early days, they had met
with success.
But as time went on, as more people came, as ships were built, and trade
and commerce increased, the government of England became more and more
tyrannical. The English people may not have favored this, but they did not
direct the acts of their king and his officers. Taxes were placed on the
colonists without their consent. They were forced to accept laws not of
their own choosing. The king refused them the right to select their own
judges. They could not trade where they pleased. If you will read the
Declaration of Independence you will see how their liberties were
restricted.(41)
All this time the various colonies were as separate as so many distinct
countries. They did not know each other. There was little travel from one
to another. They were quite different. But they were alike in the fact
that each wanted liberty, and that each was subject to oppression from the
English king.
So from time to time we find them sending delegates to some common meeting
place to discuss a plan of action. In 1754 a group met at Albany to
suggest a plan of union. In 1765 England passed the Stamp Act which put a
tax upon certain articles such as books, newspapers, and playing cards. A
person could not sell one of these articles without pasting upon it one of
these stamps, the money from which went to England as a tax. It was much
like our war tax upon tooth paste, shaving soap, and playing cards. The
difference was this. The colonists had never given the right to make this
tax. It had been imposed upon them by England; and further, if a person
were accused of selling a book or newspaper without this stamp, he could
be severely punished.(42) This enraged the colonists, and in New York in
the following year, there met a group of delegates from nearly all the
colonies to discuss ways and means of meeting this.
Again in 1774, conditions having become worse, delegates from twelve
colonies met at Philadelphia at the First Continental Congress to consider
the grievances against Great Britain. The Second Continental Congress
following it carried on the first years of the Revolutionary War. It
drafted and adopted the Declaration of Independence. It raised and
provided for the armies, and brought the States together.
But it needed a kind of constitution. So in 1777 the Articles of
Confederation were drawn up and adopted by Congress and by 1781 all the
States had finally adopted them. But they were inadequate. Each of the
thirteen States wanted all the power in its own hands.(43)
You cannot blame them. Picture to yourself these little settlements down
on the Atlantic Coast. All together they did not have as many people as
there are in the State of New Jersey to-day. They and their fathers had
left their homes and traveled thousands of miles over stormy seas to find
liberty. They themselves had fought a long war against England to make
themselves free. They did not wish to give up these powers.(44)
But the wiser people in the different States saw that to form a more
perfect union it was necessary to grant the central government more
powers, and to fix forever certain rights which every American citizen
should enjoy throughout the years to come. So the people selected men as
their representatives and authorized them to meet with the representatives
from other States at Philadelphia in 1787 to draw up a plan of government
which would be strong enough to hold the country together and govern it
effectively.
Now who were these men? They were men who were selected by their neighbors
to represent them, just as men are elected to-day to represent us in the
legislature of our State or in Congress. To be sure, in those days not all
men were allowed the right to vote. In some States a man had to have a
certain amount of money before he could vote. In others men of certain
religious faiths were not allowed to vote. But the delegates to the
Constitutional Convention were men who were fairly representative of all
the people. When we consider the work that they did, that they wrote our
Constitution, that they were able to do this at the time they did, we must
feel that a wise Providence guided their selection and inspired them in
their wonderful work.
There in Independence Hall in Philadelphia were Benjamin Franklin and
George Washington, James Madison and Edmund Randolph, Alexander Hamilton
and Gouverneur Morris. Almost all the prominent men of the time took
part.(45)
They took the best that they knew of the experience of the human race in
government, especially the experience of England and America, and from
this they drew up the Constitution of the United States, the foundation of
the government under which we live.(46)
When they had finished their work—that part of the Constitution which
precedes the amendments—they submitted it to the States. They were very
careful to see to it that the people themselves should approve of this. So
instead of having the usual legislature of each State vote upon it, they
provided that the people of each State should elect delegates for a
special convention, the sole purpose of which was to decide whether or not
they would like to live under a government like this.(47) These
conventions, elected by the people for this special purpose, met and one
after another, often after a bitter struggle, ratified the Constitution.
The chief objection was that the rights of all Americans were not clearly
stated.
So at the first meeting of Congress, the first ten amendments—our American
Bill of Rights—were adopted and in 1791 they were ratified by the States.
Since then the Constitution has been rarely amended. In 1798 and in 1804
the eleventh and twelfth amendments regarding the courts and the election
of the President were adopted. After the Civil War three amendments were
adopted regarding the problem of the negro citizen. Since then we have
added changes regarding the income tax, the election of United States
Senators, and prohibition. The last amendment, dealing with the extension
of the vote to women, was ratified by Tennessee as the thirty-sixth State
on August 18, 1920.
To-day then, our government is founded upon the Constitution made shortly
after the Revolutionary War. It represents the aims and ambitions of the
fathers of our country. They came to this land to be free. They suffered
persecution. They threw off the yoke of the oppressor. They established a
government of the people, by the people, for the people. The people
selected the men who drew it up. They selected the men who amended it. Our
task is to understand what it means, to obey it, and protect it.
The lofty purpose of the fathers of the republic in establishing this, the
first real government by the people, is expressed in these thrilling
words:
“_We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect
Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the
common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of
Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this
CONSTITUTION for the United States of America._”
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS
1. Why did the early settlers come to America?
2. From what countries did they come? Which countries were most important?
3. Why did they become dissatisfied with English rule here?
4. Why did they wish to unite? Name some of the earlier attempts at union.
5. When was the Stamp Act passed? What was it supposed to do? Why did the
colonists object?
6. Why were the Articles of Confederation not satisfactory?
7. What was the meeting in Philadelphia in 1787? How were the
representatives at this meeting chosen? How did they try to see that the
representatives at this meeting actually represented the people?
8. How was the Constitution ratified by the people? In what way did they
try to make it the actual will of the people?
9. When was our Bill of Rights passed?
10. What amendments have been added to the Constitution since 1791?
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. How did the makers of the Constitution guard against the abuses cited
in the Declaration of Independence?
B. How were the defects in the Articles of Confederation guarded against
and remedied?
C. What experience had the makers of the Constitution had which enabled
them to prepare so successful a document?
D. Would you say that Gladstone’s statement, “It is the greatest work ever
struck off at any one time by the mind and purpose of man” was literally
true?
E. How did the allusions to other countries made during the convention
show the advantage of America’s being a “melting pot”?
F. What people were allowed to vote at the time of the adoption of the
Constitution?
G. What were the chief objections urged against ratification of the
Constitution?
H. Write a paper on the following:
Why the People Needed a Constitution
The Main Points Included
A Comparison of the Work Done Then and the Outline Made in Answers
to Questions J Chapter Two
George Washington
Benjamin Franklin
Alexander Hamilton
James Madison
IX. FREEDOM
How Freedom Of Worship, Speech, The Press, And Assembly Are Guaranteed
This morning we begin the consideration of what I believe to be the most
important of all the subjects we have talked about. I think people are
more interested in their privileges and rights than they are in their
duties. In fact we hear a great deal and we read a great deal about
“rights”, but we do not find very much said on the streets, in the homes,
or in the newspapers about our “duties”.(48)
Now we have considered in a very general way the nature of our government
and something of our powers and duties under the Constitution. I know that
you will be interested in considering our rights and privileges under the
Constitution of the United States.
Always keep in mind that each State has a Constitution, and that the
Nation has a Constitution, that the Constitution of the United States
covers the entire Nation, not only the original thirteen colonies, but the
present forty-eight States, and that any States that may hereafter be
brought in the Union will have as their fundamental law the Constitution
adopted by the people in the long ago.(49)
Also always keep in mind that the Nation has certain powers, and that the
Constitution of the United States is supreme only as to the things over
which the United States as a Nation has control.
But it is important to bear in mind that the great principles of the
Constitution of the United States have been carried into the Constitutions
of the various States, and that the rights and privileges of the people
under the Constitution of the United States have also to a large extent
been guaranteed by the Constitutions of the States.(50)
This morning we take up a constitutional guaranty which you perhaps have
not thought much about, but which is one of the most important in the
whole Constitution—_Freedom of Worship_. The Constitution provides:
_“__Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof.__”_(51)
As we look back through the history of the world we are startled to find
that this was the first written guaranty that the people of any nation
ever had permitting them to worship God according to the dictates of their
own conscience.(52)
Now some of you may not realize how important this is; but there is
nothing so dear to the human heart as the right, the privilege, of
belonging to that church and worshipping God in that manner which each
individual may desire. We do not realize the value of such a privilege
until some one, or some power, seeks to take it away from us. All through
the world men and women and children have fought, and many of them have
died, for this privilege. It was the custom of the nations of the world
before our Constitution to have an established religion, a National
religion, and in many of the countries it was the law that every one must
belong to the state church, and must actually believe in the religion of
the state. In fact, in many countries, refusal to believe in the religion
of the state was punished by death—sometimes by burning to death, and I am
sure you will be surprised to realize that while America was first settled
by people who were seeking religious freedom, they were still so imbued
with a feeling of the old days that persons must worship, not as their
conscience might dictate, but as the state might dictate, that for many
years in this country in certain of the colonies a state religion was
recognized, and obligation to conform to the established religion enforced
by severe penalties.
In the colony of Virginia the established or state church existed, and it
was the law that any person who did not conform thereto should be punished
by burning to death. This is startling, isn’t it, to hear of such a brutal
law upon American soil? Virginia afterwards became the pioneer in
legislation establishing freedom of worship, but it took the most
strenuous efforts of Thomas Jefferson through many years to finally wipe
out these cruel laws and establish freedom of worship.(53)
The Virginia statute granting absolute freedom of worship was the first
ever adopted in the history of the world by any state or nation, the first
guaranty of the right. Freedom of worship had existed before this in
Maryland under the generous rule of Lord Baltimore, but the first formal
statute was adopted in Virginia.
Now your teachers tell me that in this school the pupils belong to sixteen
different churches. I suppose each one of you thinks that the church to
which he belongs is better than any of the others. I hope you do. I hope
that every child is sincere in his religious belief, whatever it may be.
But how would you feel if some representative of the State should come
here this morning, and announce that a law had been passed by which every
pupil must belong to the Baptist, the Methodist, the Catholic, or the
Jewish church? How would you feel if a law were to be read to you which
provided that unless you changed your religious belief and adopted some
other, you would be burned to death out here on the hillside? You can
hardly believe that such a thing would be possible in any age of the
world; and yet never forget that the foregoing provision which I have read
from the Constitution of the United States was the first declaration of
the right of the people of a whole Nation to worship God according to
their own will, their own conscience.
The declaration of this great right by the Constitution of the United
States has been in full force ever since the adoption of the Constitution,
not only as a National law, but similar provisions have been made the
policy, usually by the Constitution, of every State in the Union. What a
glorious thing it is to live in a Nation and in an age where no man, no
state, and no power can tell you what to believe, or how to express your
belief, what church you shall attend, or in what manner you shall express
your religious faith.
Not only this, but this constitutional guaranty protects every one in his
right to belong to no church if he so elects. The soul is free. No power
can compel one to belong to any church, nor in any manner to hold or
exercise religious faith, or religious duty or obligation. _In other
words, men are free_, and this freedom, aside from any other guaranty of
the Constitution, should make us all feel affection and veneration for
this great charter of human liberty.
But freedom of worship is only one of the many rights and privileges
guaranteed to the people—to all the people.
Another great natural right—God given right—is firmly and finally
established:
“_Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech or of the
press._”(54)
Here again remember, when you are thinking of what you owe to your
country, that this declaration of the Constitution was the first in all
the history of the world by which a Nation guaranteed to all the people
the right freely to express their thoughts in words or in writing. This
was the first time the chains were taken from the human intellect. No one
will ever be able to number the men and women who, throughout the history
of the world, were condemned to death, because they dared to express their
sentiments. If Patrick Henry had delivered his famous speech in which he
said, “Give me liberty, or give me death”, in England rather than America,
he would have been promptly punished. Hundreds of the colonists would have
been hanged by the British government if they had expressed themselves in
the mother country instead of in the new world. Kings to hold their power
in the old world, to keep the people so terrorized that they would submit
to their will, made the practice of hanging or beheading those who freely
spoke their sentiments against the government.(55)
Of course under the old laws those who expressed their religious
convictions in opposition to the state church by speech or writing were
usually promptly imprisoned, hanged, or burned.
Now do not have any misunderstanding about this guaranty of freedom of
speech and of the press. We often hear complaints of certain people about
certain laws punishing those who abuse the privilege of free speech; but
there is no law of State or Nation which prohibits the speaking or writing
of anything in this country. Men may speak and write what they will; but
there are some laws punishing those who abuse this great privilege to the
injury of another person, or to the injury of the Nation. Of course no one
would feel that it was right to allow another to write libelous articles
about your neighbors. You would not feel that it would be right to permit
some vile person to write false and vicious articles about your mother or
your father; and yet any one may do so. They cannot be prohibited or
enjoined from doing so, but they may be punished after doing so, after
they have been tried in a court and found guilty of libel by a jury of
their fellowmen.(56)
So if one writes a threatening letter to your father, telling him that he
will kidnap his child unless he pays ten thousand dollars by a certain
time, such person is exercising his constitutional right to freedom of
expression, but no one would think that it was right to permit him thus to
abuse his constitutional right without being punished for it; and
consequently such person may be arrested and tried, and if found guilty,
punished.
So in these later days it has been found wise, not to prohibit persons
from giving expression to their views about our government, but to punish
those who show by their words or writing that they are rebels against our
government, endeavoring by their words to cause a revolution, to incite
people to use force, bombs, or the torch to destroy our government.
No one can ever be punished for criticising our government, or any of the
officers of our government, so long as he does not undertake to destroy
our government, and I am sure that you would not think it right to permit
any one to destroy the government controlled by ourselves which has
brought to us so many blessings. Nearly every one agrees that if a person
should use bombs or the torch in an effort to cause revolution and destroy
our form of government, such a person should be punished; but there are a
few who think that they should not be punished until they actually begin
destruction. Of course we cannot agree with them. The man who goes out on
the street corner and advocates the use of the bomb and the torch to
destroy our government, who arouses passions willfully with the purpose of
destroying the government, is doing just as much wrong as is done by the
person who follows his advice and uses the bomb and the torch. In fact the
man who advocates revolution and destruction, who preaches the use of the
bomb and the torch, who plants the poison in the hearts of his fellowmen,
and incites them to revolutionary action is more guilty of wrong than are
those who, stirred by his appeals, carry out his wishes.
In punishing those who thus violate every principle of loyalty,
patriotism, and right the constitutional provision is in no manner
modified. The worst revolutionist has the freedom of speech and of the
press guaranteed to him. The law which punishes him does so only because
under the protection of the Constitution, he commits a crime against his
country and against humanity.
America has done more than any other nation in the world in the cause of
educating the common people. It should exercise care that the people
should be educated in the true spirit of America, that their minds should
not be poisoned by the vicious teachings of those, not Americans at heart,
who seek to poison souls and rob the people of their patriotism and of
their loyalty.
In the olden days so tyrannical was the king that in many instances when
the people complained of their burdens and sought rights and privileges
they were punished for daring to seek relief. The king would usually give
them what he thought they ought to have and would not listen to
complaints. One of the rights which the people always hoped for was the
privilege of assembling, meeting together, talking over their troubles,
drawing up a petition, signing, and presenting it, praying “a redress of
grievance”. When the representatives of the people met in the
Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia they had before their minds the
things that the people had suffered under old forms of government and it
was their earnest effort to provide constitutional guaranties which would
prevent the abuses to which the people were compelled to submit in the old
world. Therefore one of the provisions of the Constitution of the United
States is the following:
“_Congress shall make no law ... abridging ... the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of
grievances._”(57)
Under this constitutional guaranty the people have the right to assemble
peaceably at any time or place, to talk over their troubles, and to draw
up a petition to the government seeking relief from unjust burdens. Where
they assemble peaceably there is no officer of the government and no court
that can interfere with them; and when they petition the government they
cannot be reprimanded or punished in any way. Of course under our
representative government where the people themselves select those who
make the laws, the necessity for assembling and drawing up petitions is
not so great. Yet in Congress and in the legislatures of the various
States nearly every day petitions come in from some body of people urging
the adoption of a certain law or objecting to a certain proposed law. If
you were in Congress or in the legislature you would probably see some
member arise and say, “Mr. Speaker, I present the petition of the people
of my district objecting to the passage of Bill No. 781, which I desire to
have made part of the record”, and the Speaker, who is the presiding
officer, would respond in substance, “the request of the gentleman will be
granted and the petition will be made part of the record”.
What I desire especially to impress upon you this morning is the value of
this right and the failure of our people to take advantage of the
privilege granted. This being a government by the people and the laws
being made by their agents, these agents of the people, members of
Congress and of the State legislatures, cannot carry out the will of the
people unless they know what the people want. Ask your father when you go
home whether or not he has ever written to the member of Congress from
this district telling him about some law he would like to have passed or
about some proposed law he would like to see defeated. The truth is that
there are large numbers of people in this city who do not even know the
name of their congressman, or representative in the legislature of the
State. They do not pay any attention to such things, yet when the
legislature or Congress passes a law they are always ready to criticise
and condemn, despite the fact that before it was passed they did not take
interest enough to give an expression of their views to those who were
trying to follow the wishes of the people. From time to time the people
should assemble in every community to talk over government matters, their
matters, the things that come most close to them in life. You will find
men and women meeting every month in their lodges and clubs, discussing
all sorts of things, music, art, and literature, but we find hardly any
organized meetings for the discussion of the big things in life, our
liberties, our rights, and our duties as citizens of this free republic. I
hope to see the time when there will be community centers and regular
assemblies, not for amusement but for serious discussion, serious thought,
and earnest coöperation in the affairs of the city, State, and Nation.
There is so much complaint in these days that it would be of great value
at these assemblies to allow every person who has a grievance against the
government or any branch of the government to present it for discussion.
The rights and duties of each individual in government are of importance
to every other person, and there should be frankness, honesty, and
earnestness in every discussion of grievance and remedies, so that public
sentiment may be developed. Government in a democracy is government by the
sentiment of the people; and the sentiment of the people can only be
created and manifested by talking over the things in which all people are
interested—the problems of life, liberty, and happiness.
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS
1. Which colonists came to America to avoid religious persecution?
2. Why do people fight and die for their religious beliefs?
3. In what ways were people persecuted for their religious beliefs?
4. Where was the first statute granting absolute freedom of worship
passed?
5. Why is it a good thing to have freedom of speech?
6. Name some famous Americans who have been outspoken in saying what they
thought.
7. Can you publish in the paper a statement that Mr. X is a burglar? If
so, can you be punished if your statement is not true? If so, how can you
have freedom of speech?
8. Is the Constitution of the United States in force in all the States of
the Union?
9. Are there other constitutions which the people of different States must
observe?
10. Why did the people want the right to assemble?
11. Do you know of any countries where they do not allow it?
12. Do you know of anyone who ever sent a petition to a State legislature?
To Congress? What was it like?
13. How many assemblies of people and petitions help to make our
representatives do what we want them to do?
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. Name the places in the world, where to-day there is religious
persecution.
B. Describe the conditions in Armenia.
C. What are the real advantages of religions liberty?
D. Just how would it affect a person if freedom of speech were not
allowed?
E. How may the right to freedom of speech be abused?
F. During the recent war, men were punished for what they said under what
is known as the Espionage Act. How can this be reconciled with freedom of
speech?
G. Discuss the method of organizing a community meeting.
H. Discuss the method of preparing a petition.
I. Suppose the opinion of the meeting should be divided, what should be
the procedure?
J. Plan a method to make the people talk more about government.
K. What are the dangers of a lack of interest in the affairs of
government?
L. How will a congressman represent the wishes of the people if he
receives no petitions?
M. Write a paper on the following:
The Story of the Pilgrims
Roger Williams and the Providence Colony
Lord Baltimore
Thomas Jefferson and Religious Liberty
Censorship of the Press and Freedom of Speech
What to do with an Anarchist Meeting
Socialist Papers
The Importance of the Right of Petition
Keeping In Touch with our Representatives
Some Petitions I have Seen
Things for Which We Should Petition the Legislature
X. MILITARY PROVISIONS
Rights Of Citizens To Bear Arms—Restrictions On Quartering Soldiers In
Homes
Again we find the framers of the Constitution looking back into the past
at abuses imposed upon the people by kingly power. They inserted in the
Constitution the following provision:
“_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._”(58)
They were making a government of free States. They did not wish to see the
National government become the master of the States nor the master of the
people. They believed that the government should be the servant and not
the master. They wanted to have the power in the hands of the people of
the States to protect their rights if they ever should be invaded by
force; and therefore they furnished to the people of all the States the
guaranty that the States should have the right to have militia, that is,
soldiers organized to maintain order and to defend the State, if
necessary, against abuse of power; and they guaranteed to the people the
right to bear arms lawfully.
If you read the history of the old world you will find many instances of
soldiers entering the homes of the people to search for fire arms or other
weapons, taking them away, possibly punishing those who had them. The
people are guarded by our Constitution against any such conduct on the
part of soldiers or representatives of the National government. Of course
this right, like the right of free speech, may be abused and when abused
punishment may be imposed. For instance, it is dangerous to the good order
of a community that persons should carry concealed weapons and therefore
in every State there is some law concerning this. If a man should walk
down the street here with a loaded revolver in his pocket he could be
arrested and imprisoned, or fined, but in this State a man could walk down
the street with a shot gun in his hands or any other weapon where it is
exposed so people could see it. A law against carrying concealed weapons
imposes no burden upon any law-abiding citizen. There are regulations, of
course, permitting certain persons to carry weapons concealed, police
officers, a sheriff, and other peace officers; and there is a law under
which any person of good moral character may make application for
authority to carry concealed weapons which will be granted under certain
restrictions. Some States require a bond to be filed guaranteeing good
conduct. Persons who have to carry large sums of money, express messengers
upon the trains, post office employees who carry registered mail, and
other persons may be granted the privilege of carrying concealed weapons.
The laws regarding carrying concealed weapons differ from State to State,
the punishment in some being a term in the penitentiary.
But in all this we find only regulation and careful provision to help
maintain order and peace; and with it all we find the absolute right given
by the Constitution to the people to maintain their State militia and to
keep and bear arms within reasonable regulations which may be provided by
the different States.
Then we find a strict guaranty of the Constitution against an abuse which
was common in the old world. You know before America came into being the
strength of a government was the power of a government. The people were
ruled by force; they were kept in constant fear. When this Nation was
organized it was the hope of the founders that we could have laws so just
that people would have love for their country and respect for its laws, so
that we would not have to inspire fear in the hearts of the people in
order to make them obey. Laws should be obeyed not because of fear, but
because of respect, because of a sense of duty. Laws should be obeyed
because we know that laws are necessary to protect our own liberties. We
know that without law, liberty is impossible.
So that when the Constitution was framed, reflecting upon the abuses of
the old world, the makers of the Constitution inserted this guaranty:
“_No Soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without
the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be
prescribed by law._”(59)
In the olden days the military power was supreme. The soldier was part of
the military power. The ordinary citizen was compelled to submit to many
of the wishes of the soldiers in times of peace as well as in times of
war. In reading the history of the world you will find that soldiers
exercised the right to enter the homes of the people and demand food and
shelter. Of course the people, being in fear of the military power, would
not think of refusing anything demanded; but the people of America, under
our Constitution, are supreme. The soldier is subject to the people, not
the people subject to the soldier. While we must respect those who are the
defenders of our country, we must also respect our own rights and
privileges. And every soldier, general or private, must also respect our
rights and privileges. No soldier can enter any home, no matter how
humble, without the consent of the owner, except in times of war. Even in
times of war he cannot enter except under circumstances and conditions
prescribed by law. The law being made by the people, they will be
protected against abuse. Of course in times of war every one should be
glad to give freely of what he has for the soldiers of his country, but in
times of peace in this country the soldier, under our Constitution,
understands that the home is sacred and that he has no right there unless
the owner invites him to enter.
I wonder if the people realize what these guaranties mean to them. I
wonder if they understand how earnestly and how carefully those who framed
the Constitution endeavored to protect the sacred rights of every man,
woman, and child in this country.
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS
1. Why did the Germans refuse to allow the Belgians to keep and bear arms?
2. Why is this right important to us?
3. Ask some soldier who fought in France to tell you about how soldiers
quartered in the village. Would you like to see this in America? Why not?
4. What rights has a soldier in time of peace to demand admittance to a
house, or to demand food?
5. In time of war under what conditions may a soldier be quartered in any
house?
6. Where is the whole power of government in America? Where is it in a
kingdom or monarchy?
7. Do you know the name of your congressman?
8. When should a person be allowed to carry weapons?
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. What is the importance of the right of keeping and bearing arms?
B. What is the status of the National Guard in your locality? What are its
duties? What is its purpose?
C. What is the fundamental objection to the quartering of soldiers on a
population in time of peace?
D. Write a paper on the following:
The Right to Bear Arms
The Evils of Quartering of Soldiers
The Purpose of the National Guard
How the Soldiers Were Quartered in France
XI. SEARCH WARRANT AND INDICTMENT
The Home Protected Against Unlawful Search And Seizure—Grand Jury
Indictment Required
Following the provision that we last discussed that no soldier shall in
time of peace be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner,
nor in time of war except in a manner prescribed by law, we find the
Constitution making a most positive provision guarding the sacredness of
the home, the sacredness of the person, and the things belonging to each
person. In the olden days the people had to submit to the most brutal
conduct. A man might think some one had stolen his ring or his watch.
Suspecting a neighbor, and being the stronger, or assembling his friends,
or some officers, he might enter the neighbor’s home, search all through
the house among papers, in the desks, and in every trunk and other place
where personal belongings were kept, might search the person himself, his
pockets, and clothing.
Of course you can easily understand that the people who were thus abused
would resent such actions. In England the people in early days had
protested and had secured some guaranties from the king against these
outrages, but the first absolute written guaranty of the full rights of
the people was when the following provision was inserted in our
Constitution:
“_The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers,
and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be
violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported
by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be
searched, and the persons or things to be seized._”(60)
Of course it is apparent that so long as we have crimes committed the
wrongdoer must be punished. Wrongdoers naturally try to conceal the
evidence of their crimes: the murderer seeks to hide the revolver, the
thief seeks to hide the money, the bonds, or the jewels. So it is
necessary, in order to find criminals and to recover valuable things they
may have taken, to have the privilege of searching persons or houses. But
the thing which the Constitution guarantees is that no such search shall
be made except upon warrants issued by some court, which are commands to a
peace officer to seize a certain person (arrest him) or to search a
certain house or other place for things which might aid in administering
justice. No warrants shall be issued by any court until some one has
appeared and filed a solemn statement under oath showing some reasonable
grounds for believing that the search or seizure will disclose evidence of
the offense. The place must be described. The things or the persons to be
seized must be described. A warrant issued by any court, no matter how
high, without such a sworn statement being presented, is void and in
violation of the rights of every person under the Constitution. The courts
are often called upon to enforce this right of the people. The home,
especially under our Constitution, is recognized as sacred. “Every man’s
house is his castle” and wherever, without the proper warrant, search or
seizure is made, the court will promptly punish the wrongdoer and if
something has been seized or taken possession of wrongfully the court will
order it returned. Even though valuable as evidence of guilt, the court
will not permit it to be used, if it has been seized in violation of the
guaranty of the Constitution.
No matter how humble the home, whether it be owned or rented, whether it
have one room or a dozen, it stands exactly the same under this
constitutional provision, and is guarded against “unreasonable searches
and seizures”. No matter how poor the owner, he can stand at his door and
defy all the officers of State or government, yes, and all the soldiers of
the republic, defy them to enter until the provisions of the Constitution
of the United States shall have been complied with.
Now, we come to guaranties of the right of the people to protection
against any trial, except the same be conducted in accordance with the
guaranties of the Constitution. These guaranties are for all persons,
young or old, rich or poor. You know sometimes the innocent are charged
with grave crimes. A crime is committed in the darkness of the night. The
criminal has fled. The first duty of the officers of the government—the
servants of the people—is to find the criminal so that he may be punished
for his wrongdoing. This is not an easy task, and no matter how careful
officers may be, mistakes are sometimes made and innocent persons are
arrested and charged with the offense. Bring this home to yourself,
because every one of these constitutional guaranties are for you, for each
of you, for your father, mother, brothers, and sisters. Keep this in mind.
Do not consider them as applying to somebody away off, some stranger in
whom you have no interest. _They apply to you._
Now suppose that to-night a murder should be committed, and to-morrow your
father should be arrested and charged with the crime of which he was
entirely innocent. It will be very important to him that he should have a
fair chance, a fair trial. His liberty would be at stake, and liberty
under the Constitution is a sacred thing. Thinking of liberty his mind
would naturally turn to the Constitution, and if he examined it, he would
find the following guaranty:
“_No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous
crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in
cases arising in the land or naval __ forces, or in the Militia, when in
actual service in time of War or public danger._”(61)
Now you do not understand this, do you? And yet it is very simple. When a
man is arrested, he is brought before the court for trial. But how, and
before whom shall he be tried?
Remember that in America the enforcement of law is in the hands of the
people. Remember that this is a government by the people and that the
chief purpose of government is to protect the liberties of the people.
Here is your father’s liberty at stake. If he should be convicted of
having committed this murder, he might be hanged or sent to prison for
life, so it is very important to him that the investigation into the
charge against him shall be conducted in the right manner.
Under this constitutional guaranty which is also included in your State
Constitution, there is no court and no judge in the United States big
enough or powerful enough to call your father before the court for trial
until he has been indicted by a grand jury. A grand jury, generally
composed of twelve or more men selected from ordinary citizens, is brought
together every term of court. They sit in a room by themselves and hear
evidence as to the commission of offenses. They have no power to find a
man guilty or not guilty. Their power and their duty is to decide whether
the evidence brought before them is sufficient to justify putting the
accused man on trial for the offense. They hear the witnesses for the
State or government. The defendant is not brought before them personally,
nor is he represented in any way. It is simply a secret investigation. If
these men upon this investigation decide the evidence is not sufficient to
warrant the trial of a man, he is discharged. He cannot be put on trial
before the court. Before the court can proceed the grand jury must first
say that the man shall be tried. The people thus have in their hands the
power of protecting the innocent, and the power of instituting proceedings
against the guilty. The grand jury brings in its report by an “indictment”
which is merely a written statement to the court that the grand jury
believes the defendant should be put upon trial for a certain offense.
When this indictment is brought in, the defendant is called before the
court, the charge is read to him, and he is then required to say whether
he is guilty or not guilty. If he says that he is not guilty, then
preparation must be made for a trial in the court, before a petit jury, a
trial jury, which we will consider later. The thing I want to impress upon
you now is the care with which the framers of the Constitution guarded the
right of your father to have an investigation by a body of citizens before
he can be brought up for trial for this murder which has been committed.
He cannot be dragged by officers before some court and forced to go
hurriedly through a form of trial only to be found guilty. The proceedings
must be deliberate and careful. The Constitution guards him against danger
of conviction without substantial proof of his guilt.
There are a few minor offenses, sometimes called misdemeanors, and there
are violations of city ordinances, in which an indictment is not
necessary, but an indictment by a grand jury is necessary whenever the
crime is infamous or capital; that is, generally speaking, when punishment
would involve imprisonment in the penitentiary or the taking of life by
hanging or otherwise. You will understand this better as we consider the
trial before the petit jury.
You may think it is difficult to learn all about grand juries, the number
of jurors, and the manner in which they are sworn to perform their duties.
I do not blame you. But bear in mind I am not insisting that you shall
learn all these details. Of course the more knowledge we have about these
matters the better. But _the important thing_ is that you shall learn that
away back more than one hundred and thirty years ago the people of America
in framing the Constitution of our country, by written guaranties, made
this a government by the people. Knowing that the most sacred thing on
this earth is human liberty, they sought to guard it by providing every
possible safeguard which would protect the innocent from unjust
conviction. They trusted the people. While courts were provided, the power
to accuse the humblest human being living under the American flag of a
grave offense and bring him before a court for trial was reserved to the
people themselves.
Grand juries are merely representatives or agents of the people. As they
sit in court they are exercising some of the highest and most important
duties exercised by men. Grand jurors and petit jurors hold in their hands
the liberty of their fellowmen.
It is these great truths I wish to impress upon you. I want you to have
the knowledge, but more than this, I want you to have the spirit, the
spirit of confidence in your government, and the spirit of gratitude that
you live in America where the people rule, where the people not only make
the law, but enforce it.
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS
1. In the olden days how could a strong man abuse one suspected of
stealing?
2. What would he be compelled to do to-day?
3. Why are the guaranties regarding trials important to you?
4. Who may accuse or charge a person with a crime?
5. Is a person charged with a crime necessarily guilty?
6. What is a grand jury? What is its purpose?
7. How are members of a grand jury servants of the people?
8. Is a search warrant valid if no sworn statement has been filed?
9. What are the rights of the owner, if a search is made without proper
warrant or papers?
10. State the guaranty of the Constitution with reference to indictment by
a grand jury.
11. Is the session of a grand jury secret or public?
12. Is the defendant present before the grand jury during the
investigation?
13. What is meant by “indictment”?
14. What is done when the grand jury returns an indictment?
15. What offenses may be prosecuted without an indictment?
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. Discuss the procedure of securing a search warrant?
B. If we had no guaranty of security of property rights what effect would
this have with reference to working, earning, and saving?
C. How is the fact that we have a grand jury an evidence of the care with
which our government guards our rights?
D. What is a heinous crime?
E. Write a paper on:
Early Abuses of Power in Search and Seizure
Some Interesting Violations of this Right
The Grand Jury as an Evidence That the People Rule
An Account of the Work of One Grand Jury
XII. RIGHTS OF ACCUSED
Acquittal By Jury Final—Accused Not Compelled To Be A Witness
Now keeping in mind that this is a personal matter with each one of us,
that we are talking about our own rights, that some day our liberties may
be in danger, let us take up the next guaranty of the Constitution: “_nor
shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in
jeopardy of life or limb_”.(62)
I am sure you do not know what that means. I am sure there is not one of
you who ever dreamed that such a thing might happen to you as to be “twice
put in jeopardy of life or limb”. This is very important and likewise very
simple. In the olden days, in the old world, many a man was tried for a
crime in court and found not guilty, and then later was arrested and put
on trial again and found guilty. Suppose your father, as I said the other
day, should be arrested, although he were innocent. Suppose he were
indicted by this grand jury and brought on for trial. He would be
compelled to hire a lawyer, if he were able to, and get ready for trial.
The trial would come on, and days or possibly weeks might be spent in
examining witnesses. Finally the case would close and the jury would bring
in a verdict of “not guilty”. It would be an expensive proceeding. Perhaps
it would take all the money he had saved. It would not only be expensive
but it would be a hard strain upon him, your mother, the other children,
and yourself. It is a very serious matter for an innocent man to be tried
for murder. Still the verdict of “not guilty” comes in and you are all
full of joy to realize that his life and liberty have been saved. Now
suppose it were possible that within a couple of weeks afterwards he could
again be arrested, indicted, put on trial. All of the family would again
be subjected to worry and sorrow. You do not think it would be just, do
you? It would not be right. Of course it wouldn’t be right, but men in the
olden days have been compelled to submit to such injustices. So when the
Constitution was adopted this guaranty which I just read was put in there,
so that for any offense against the United States no man can be tried
again after acquittal. Once a jury of his fellowmen, his neighbors, brings
in a verdict of “not guilty” that ends forever any prosecution for the
same offense. He is free and there is no power in the United States nor
any of its officers to call him again for trial for that offense. Most of
the States have a like constitutional guaranty.
Then there is another important guaranty: “_nor shall (he) be compelled in
any criminal case to be a witness against himself_”.(63)
I wonder if you have ever heard of the days when men were tortured to make
them confess. I wonder if you ever heard of the rack where men were
stretched, almost torn limb from limb, or of the days when men were hung
up by their thumbs, in order to compel them to admit their guilt of some
crime. Have you read of the burning of the soles of men’s feet? Or the
application of red hot irons to other parts of the body in order to extort
a confession? Well those were common things in some of the countries in
the days before America was born. Men would be arrested, charged with an
offense, and then an effort would be made to torture them into confessing
to the crime. And often where no such brutal torture was employed, men
were brought into court, put on the stand, threatened, examined, and cross
examined by lawyers to try to gain admissions which might help to prove
their guilt. Of course this was all wrong. It was brutal. It was a
violation of human right. When the Constitution of the United States was
framed this great abuse of human privilege was absolutely barred by the
provision, that no one can “be compelled in any criminal case to be a
witness against himself”. In this country, when a man is brought into
court charged with a crime, it is the duty of the government to prove his
guilt. This proof must be by the sworn testimony of witnesses of certain
facts or circumstances, aside from any statement or admission by the
defendant. He cannot be compelled to be a witness at all. If he so wishes,
however, he may be a witness for himself. This privilege was denied him
under the English practice for generations, and even in this country in
many of the States until a comparatively recent time; but never since the
Constitution was adopted could any person charged with a crime against the
United States be compelled to testify to any fact or circumstance in
relation to the crime. Not only can he sit in the court room and listen to
the stories told against him, but he is guaranteed this right by
protection against any threats or inducements outside of court and before
the trial which would lead him to say anything against his innocence.
Every judge in criminal courts has been compelled at times to refuse to
admit in evidence before the jury certain statements or alleged
confessions. You may see in the paper where some man has been arrested for
breaking into a bank or committing some other offense, and it may be
further stated that the defendant has confessed that he broke into the
bank. Naturally you then say to yourself that he will be found guilty.
Well this constitutional guaranty not only protects him in court but
protects him out of court. He cannot be compelled to give answers after
his arrest while he is in jail, or even if he is at liberty under bond,
which can be used against him upon the trial. Of course a person charged
with a crime may waive this constitutional guaranty. He may voluntarily
say that he wants to tell his story, and if he does so without any
inducement, promises, or threats it may be admitted against him when the
trial comes. Otherwise not. To be admitted, it must appear to be
absolutely voluntary and of his own free will. If it appears that the
confession has been induced by promises of lighter sentence or “that it
will be easier for him”, or if any other inducement is used to get him to
consent to make his statement, such statement cannot be used in evidence
because of his constitutional guaranty. Many times I have seen the court
refuse to admit proof of an alleged confession of a defendant, and I could
see that the jury trying the case and the people sitting in the court room
were surprised that the judge would not admit such proof even when the
confession was signed by the defendant; but the jury and the people did
not happen to think of this constitutional provision. Perhaps they had
never heard of it. Every judge is sworn to uphold and defend the
Constitution. No judge can permit any provision of the Constitution to be
violated if he can help it. A man is on trial before him. A written
confession is offered in evidence to help convict him. The defendant’s
attorneys claim that the confession was not voluntary but was induced by
threats or promises. The court then makes inquiry and hears the witnesses
upon this question, and if the court finds that the confession was not the
voluntary act of the defendant, the same will be excluded because the
Constitution provides that no man “shall be compelled in any criminal case
to be a witness against himself”.
Let us turn again to the false accusation against your father. He is
charged with murder. He is on trial before a jury. The attorney for the
government pulls a paper out of his pocket and offers it in evidence. It
appears to be signed by your father. Your father’s attorney objects to
having it considered by the jury for the reason that the policemen took
your father into a cell in the jail, and threatened that they would beat
him with their clubs unless he would sign a paper telling how he committed
the offense, and that in terror he signed the paper. At this point, the
court would hear the statements of your father, and other evidence, and if
it appeared that there were any threats of any kind used to get your
father to sign the paper, it would not be admitted in evidence at all.
Your father would only claim his constitutional rights as an American, and
they would not be denied to him.
There are notable instances in which confessions were made and signed by
innocent parties, who were discouraged because the facts seemed to be all
against them, who felt that they were certain to be convicted, and that
their punishment would be lighter if they would make a confession. Under
this impression they made and signed a confession. It was afterward found
that the confession was false and that they were innocent of the crime.
This constitutional guaranty protects against any injustice of this kind.
These careful efforts of the makers of the Constitution to guard the
liberties of the most humble persons must impress us with the earnestness
of their efforts to make this a free country, where no one shall be
deprived of his life or liberty except where proven guilty, after a most
carefully guarded trial.
Isn’t it fine to live in a country where the people have a Constitution
written in such simple language that even the little children can read it?
I want every one, even the smallest child, to understand that every line
of the Constitution was written to guard and protect each one of us, young
and old, against injustice and wrong. These safeguards cannot be taken
away except by the people themselves. The President cannot change the
Constitution. Congress cannot change it. Judges cannot change it. No one
but the men and women of America can alter it in the least.
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS
1. Show how being put on trial again and again for the same offense would
be an injustice.
2. Why is it right to have the verdict of “not guilty” final?
3. What would be the result if it were not final?
4. Why is this of _particular_ advantage to the poor man?
5. Why should no man be compelled to be a witness against himself?
6. Why do they allow a man to be a witness if he so desires?
7. What is the importance of the guaranty protecting the defendant from
being examined as a witness?
8. When a person is indicted for an offense, what is the duty of the
government with reference to proof of guilt?
9. How is guilt proven in court?
10. When may a confession made outside of court be introduced as evidence?
11. Why would anyone accused of a crime confess guilt, when in fact he
might not be guilty at all?
12. Can the President or Congress or a judge change any of the provisions
of the Constitution?
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. Discuss the democracy of the provision that the verdict of “not guilty”
is final while that of “guilty” may not of necessity be final?
B. Why are confessions wrung from frightened or tortured men likely to be
untrustworthy?
C. Why should the “Third Degree” methods be prohibited?
D. Write a paper on the following:
The Third Degree
Early Cases of Torturing Accused Persons
The Burdens, Disadvantages, and Injustice of Permitting a Retrial
After A Verdict of “Not Guilty”
Methods Sometimes Used to Secure a Confession of Guilt
XIII. LIFE, LIBERTY, AND PROPERTY
Rights Protected By Due Process Of Law—Property Taken For Public Use
The three great things which every man, woman, and child cherishes are
life, liberty, and property. We see in every one of these guaranties how
careful the people who made the Constitution were to see that these
valuable things were sacredly guarded.
It is stated in the Constitution that:
“_No person shall ... be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without
due process of law._”(64)
You can understand how important this is if you will realize how in the
olden days people were so brutally treated by their fellowmen, especially
by those in power who happened to represent the government. Have you ever
read the story of the Bastile, a prison in which hundreds of French people
were thrown without a trial, in which many were murdered and many kept in
dark cells chained to the floor for years? Have you ever read the story of
the Tower in London, where men were imprisoned and murdered without a
trial by any court and without an investigation by any one, often without
the knowledge of their closest friends? Have you ever read about how the
property of people was taken away from them without trial or investigation
to be turned over to the king or to some of his friends? Until you have
read something of the past, and realize how people suffered, how they lost
their lives, their liberty, and their property, you will never realize the
wisdom of those who framed our Constitution, nor the affection which they
had for the people of America in protecting them against such horrible
treatment.
No person’s property can be taken, no person’s life can be taken, no
person’s liberty can be taken under our Constitution without due process
of law. We do not need to discuss the meaning of “due process of law”. You
will learn more about this later, as you study more fully the details of
the Constitution. It is sufficient now to say that no person’s life,
liberty, or property can be taken away from him without his consent,
except by a trial before a legal court, in which the person shall have the
right to a fair hearing. He must have notice of the charge or claim made
against him. He must have a chance to appear in person. He must have the
right to employ attorneys to represent him. He must have the privilege of
bringing in witnesses to tell the truth about the charges that may be
made. There must be a decision by the court after a speedy public trial.
In all the States of this country any one is entitled to such a trial, and
he is also, in case of defeat, entitled to appeal and present his case to
a different and a higher court. These courts are the courts of the people,
selected by the people, and neither government nor individuals have any
right to take away anyone’s life, liberty, or property unless the people
by and through their courts shall so find and do.
Then we find the following constitutional provision: “_nor shall private
property be taken for public use, without just compensation_.”(65)
Of course the government at times must have property which may belong to a
private person. The public must at times take property belonging to an
individual. Property may be taken, even when the owner will not consent to
it, when it is taken for public use. One man’s property cannot be taken by
the government and given to another person. Government buildings must be
erected and land must be obtained for such purposes. The public must have
railroads, and a railroad can only be built when land is obtained for what
is called the right of way. Sometimes a railroad must run through lots or
farms belonging to private owners. The higher right of the public to these
conveniences, these necessities, requires that when necessary the private
individual must give up his right of ownership to these higher public
uses. But even for the Nation, or the State, or railway, or for any other
public use, not one foot of land may be taken from the poorest man in the
country unless he is first fully paid its value therefor. Usually, of
course, the owner will sell his property for such purpose at a fair price,
but, if he is stubborn and will not do so, or if a fair price cannot be
agreed upon then the government of the State or of the Nation, or the
agents of the State or of the Nation may take such property by first
having its value fixed by a commission, or a jury, composed of the
neighbors of the owner. Where the amount fixed by such commission or jury
is not satisfactory to the owner of the property, he may appeal to the
court and have a trial, usually a jury trial, in which he can bring his
witnesses and prove the value of his property, so that he will finally
receive its full, fair, just value.
By this constitutional guaranty every person is well guarded in his
ownership and possession of property. In countries existing before America
not much attention was paid to the rights of property owners. If the king
or emperor should demand possession of a certain piece of property the
owner had little to say about it. He received his orders and obeyed them,
because he was afraid of the power of the government. The government could
pay or not as it pleased. But this period of wrong and injustice was
ended, so far as the people of America were concerned, when the
Constitution became the final power in this land.
There are a few people in this country who seek to have private ownership
of property abolished. No law taking away the right to own property can
ever come into force in this country until the people by their votes
change the Constitution. The Constitution stands guard over the farms, the
homes, the money, and all forms of personal property. It guards the
cottage of the widow with the same jealous care that it does the ten-story
building of the bank. No person and no power can interfere with the right
to accumulate property and to hold it, provided only it is honestly
obtained.
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS
1. What are the three things that every man, woman, and child cherishes?
2. What does the Constitution say about these three things?
3. What was the Bastile? The Tower of London?
4. Show how injustice was worked by confining people without due process
of law.
5. What are some of the essentials of “due process of law”?
6. When can private property be taken by the government?
7. When the State wishes a piece of land, end the owner will not sell for
a fair price, how is the matter adjusted?
8. What right for reconsideration has a person against whom a judgment has
been rendered in a trial court?
9. How can the reasonable value of property be established or proven?
10. Suppose the President of the United States wished a certain piece of
property upon which to build a summer home. Could the President secure the
land? Give reasons.
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. What are some of the steps necessary to due process of law?
B. What would be the effect on people if life, liberty, or property could
be taken without due process?
C. Discuss the process of condemning property.
D. Write a paper on the following:
Evils of the Bastile and the Tower of London
Why Military Courts Do Not Always Follow This Law
The Different Purposes For Which Property May Be Taken For Public
Use
Why Ownership of Property Should Be Protected
XIV. CRIMINAL TRIALS
Accused Guaranteed A Speedy Public Trial By An Impartial Jury Of The Local
District
I hope no one here this morning will ever be arrested for a crime of any
kind, and yet, as I have already explained to you, the innocent are
sometimes brought before the court charged with a grave offense. Therefore
you should be interested in the investigation of the truth of any charge
that may be made against you, whether by a private individual or by a
public officer.
I have already explained to you that in all grave offenses when a person
is charged with a crime, he cannot be brought before the court for trial
until the grand jury has investigated the facts and until they have
returned an indictment, or written charge, to the court. Until this is
done, the court has no power to proceed.
But now suppose that you have been arrested, suppose that a grand jury has
investigated the charge against you, has heard witnesses, and has returned
an indictment. You are then brought up before the court, and the
indictment is read to you. This indictment I will explain to you more
fully later. When the indictment is read you are then required to say
whether you are “guilty” or “not guilty”. If you have committed the crime
charged, it may be advisable to plead guilty and ask for the mercy of the
court in the punishment which he may impose. Courts usually temper justice
with mercy. Courts will usually impose a lighter sentence when a guilty
person pleads “guilty” and avoids the delay and expense of a trial. But,
if you are innocent, you will plead “not guilty”, and then the government,
through its officers, will get ready for trial. You may not be tried right
away, as it usually takes some time to investigate the facts and get the
witnesses into court. As I will hereafter explain, you will be entitled to
an attorney when the time comes for your trial, when you will have a
chance to hear the witnesses offered by the prosecution, introduce your
own witnesses, and, under our present law, testify yourself, tell your own
story.
If you will walk into a court some day you will see the judge and over at
one side twelve chairs for the jury. When your case is called for trial
the first thing will be to select the twelve men who will be the jury in
your case. I am not going to give the manner of selection at this time.
This will be fully explained later. I wish now to impress upon you the
fact that the Constitution expressly guards your rights by providing that
you shall be entitled to have your case tried, not before a judge, but by
a jury composed of men from the ordinary walks of life, laborers,
merchants, farmers, people of all classes; men just like your fathers are.
They are called. They hold up their right hands and take an oath to try
your case fairly and justly and to make a finding according to the
evidence which is brought before them.
The Constitution provides:
“_In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a
speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and the
district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall
have been previously ascertained by law._”(66)
_This is an absolute guaranty_—a right which is given to you, given to
each of you, to every man, woman, and child, young or old, regardless of
color or creed. A trial without a jury would be a violation of your
constitutional rights. Of course, there are a few minor offenses,
misdemeanors, and violations of city ordinances, which are sometimes tried
without a jury, but in all infamous crimes, for which life may be taken as
punishment or for which a person may be sent to the penitentiary, every
one is entitled to a trial before a jury.
Is not this a sacred right? Don’t you think that it is wise to permit
people to have their rights and wrongs determined by a body of plain,
honest men? It removes any suggestion of the abuse of power by a person in
a public position. It inspires confidence in those who are brought before
the court for trial. If we cannot obtain justice before such a body of
men, how can justice be obtained in this world?
I have already told you that in this country the people are not only the
makers of the law but the enforcers of the law. It is in these jury trials
where the people enforce the law.
Of course, the hearing before the jury is held in court. The judge
presides. He directs the proceedings of the trial, sees that it is
conducted in an orderly way, endeavors to prevent any falsehoods from
getting before the jury, keeps away from the jury any hearsay or gossip,
or expressions of prejudice, or other matters not founded on absolute
knowledge and truth. But the jurors are the sole judges of what the truth
is, and, when the case is closed, when the evidence has all been
introduced and the attorneys have made their arguments and pleas, the
members of the jury retire to a private room by themselves. There they
discuss the evidence, come to some conclusion, make a finding of “guilty”
or “not guilty”, and bring in their finding in the form of a verdict.
Have you also observed that the constitutional protection of your liberty
not only provides for a jury trial, but also provides that it shall be a
“speedy” trial. That is, one charged with a crime cannot without his
consent, be locked up for weeks and months and years, as has often
occurred in other parts of the world. He is entitled to be tried just as
soon as the case can be prepared for trial, in justice to both sides.
Cases are often postponed for many months, but only by consent of the
accused. A case not tried at the second term of court will usually be
dismissed except when the defendant consents to the delay.
The Constitution also provides that it must be a public trial. Oh! how
many men in the long ago have been tried and condemned in private, where
only a few enemies were present, where one’s friends and neighbors could
not hear the charges or the evidence. In this country the doors of the
court room must be open. Any one has a right to enter and listen to the
proceedings. The public has a right to know what is being charged against
the humblest citizen, and what the proceedings against him are. Thus is
justice guarded.
Then the Constitution provides that the trial shall be before “_an
impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been
committed_.” This is important. We are not to be sent away among strangers
to be tried. That is what they used to do long ago. That is one of the
things which our forefathers complained of most bitterly. In the
Declaration of Independence the colonies declared:
“He (the King of Great Britain) has combined with others to subject us to
a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our
laws; giving his Assent to their acts of pretended legislation ... for
depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury ... for
transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offenses.”
When the Constitution was adopted the people made up their minds that
nothing of that kind should ever occur again in free America. They were so
careful that they went so far as to provide that the district where a
trial shall be held “_shall have been previously ascertained by law_”.
That is to say, that the place of trial, the county or district where it
shall be held, must be fixed by law before the crime is committed. The
courts or the legislature of any State cannot, after a crime is committed,
pass a law providing that such a crime shall be tried in a district then
to be named. The law must fix this in advance of the commission of any
offense. For instance, without such a constitutional provision, a person
who committed a crime in the State of New York might be taken to
California to be tried. This would not be American justice. The accused
would have the right to point to the Constitution of his country and
demand that he should be tried in New York, and any court which would not
grant this right would not only violate the oath which every judge takes
before he undertakes to perform the duties of such office, but his
unlawful conduct would perhaps result in his impeachment. The proceedings
would be reversed by a higher court, and the party would be granted a new
trial at a place and in accordance with his constitutional privileges.
Isn’t it wonderful how the little details which may affect one’s liberty
were so carefully considered away back there when they were planning the
Nation and establishing the rules which would guard the rights of the
people?
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS
1. Why should all of us be interested in a trial?
2. Describe a court room scene.
3. Why is trial by jury a sacred right? What would it be like if we did
not have this right?
4. How are jurors selected in your State?
5. Why is the trial to be held in the vicinity where the crime was
committed? What would be the dangers of taking it far away?
6. Why should the jury be impartial?
7. If the accused person is guilty, why is it advisable to plead guilty?
8. Why is it impracticable to hold a trial immediately after the arrest of
the accused person?
9. What is the first step in the actual trial?
10. After a jury is selected, what is required of them before the trial
commences?
11. Why is a speedy trial essential to justice?
12. Why is it important that the trial should be public?
13. State some offenses that are sometimes tried without a jury.
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. Can the judge declare an accused man guilty?
B. How is trial by jury an evidence of the rule of the people?
C. Show how this benefits the poor man and the rich man equally.
D. Why are some trials delayed for many months?
E. What is the importance of the clause “shall have been previously
ascertained by law”?
F. Discuss the relative role of jury and judge in a trial.
G. Write a paper on the following:
The Method of Selecting Jurors in Your State
Delay in Trial
The Injustice of Remote Trials
Trial by Jury vs. Trial by a Judge
The Procedure of a Trial From Beginning to End
XV. THE INDICTMENT
Defendant Must Be Informed Concerning The Accusation Against Him
Now, my friends, in order to understand more fully the value of our
constitutional rights, let us again imagine ourselves in a place of
danger, danger of our liberty or of our life, and let us recall how
carefully we have been guarded. To the poorest tramp, or the richest
millionaire, the same rules apply. Innocent persons may be accused of
crimes; they may be arrested, but they cannot be brought into court and
put upon trial until they are fully advised of the charge against them.
The Constitution provides:
“_In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall ... be informed of the
nature and cause of the accusation._”(67)
This is the first step in bringing a person to trial. He does not go
blindly. He must be informed “of the nature and cause” of the charge
against him. He must be given full knowledge of the crime which it is
claimed he committed. _How is this done?_ Well, we have to consider the
constitutional provision that one cannot be put upon trial for an infamous
crime “_unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury_”. What this
constitutional provision means is, that a grand jury shall hear and
consider the evidence and, if satisfied that a person shall be tried, they
shall draw up a writing called an “indictment”, which they shall return
publicly in court. This indictment is a brief statement by which the grand
jury makes a charge against the person named of having committed a certain
offense, and the indictment must state not only the name of the offense,
but the manner, briefly stated, in which the grand jury claims the offense
was committed.
So that under this constitutional guaranty the person accused knows what
he is to be tried for. This enables him to prepare for his defense. When
his attorney is consulted he examines a copy of the indictment. He sees
what is charged in it. He then talks over with the accused the facts and
circumstances with relation to the crime charged. He then makes proper
inquiry. If possible he secures witnesses with relation to the charge and
thus is enabled to come into court ready to hear the evidence offered by
the prosecution and ready to introduce witnesses to contradict or explain
the testimony introduced by the prosecution.
So you see how valuable this right is. One may proceed intelligently, with
full light upon the alleged transaction. He is not required to stumble in
the darkness, perhaps to tumble into a pitfall. Without such a provision
you can see how helpless an innocent person might be if brought suddenly
before the court for trial for an offense which he never committed. If he
were not first advised of the nature of the charge and the circumstances
he might be helpless. You know evidence is brought before the court by
witnesses who are called by the attorneys for the prosecution and for the
accused. These witnesses take oath to tell the truth. But, unfortunately,
witnesses do not always tell the truth. They sometimes commit perjury. One
must be ready to meet false testimony. By the constitutional guaranty
requiring that the accusation be in writing, stating the crime and its
nature, one can be prepared. In many of the States still greater
precaution is taken to guard against any possible wrong, by requiring not
only an indictment but also requiring that there shall be furnished to the
person accused the names of witnesses and a brief statement of the
evidence which the prosecution expects to offer, this to be furnished
before the trial commences so that the defendant may get ready to meet it.
Did you ever go into a court when a man was upon trial for a grave
offense? You should do so. Everyone should do so. But you should go there
with the proper spirit, not for amusement, not to criticise, but with a
full realization of the great human drama there being enacted. There at or
near the trial table you will see the defendant, the man who is being
tried. He may be a stranger. He may be poor. He may possibly be wicked,
but he is a human being; and no matter what faults he may have he is an
American citizen, and under the Constitution of our country he cannot be
convicted until proven guilty of the particular crime charged in the
indictment. He sits there while witnesses are telling their stories. You
will see him watching the jury. Occasionally he looks at the judge. But he
knows that no matter what the judge may think, he cannot find him guilty.
The jury and the jury alone can convict.
It is a solemn proceeding, though the lawyers may at times appear to use
trifling words in their discussions. The prisoner looks through the court
room window. Outside the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the
breezes sway the branches of the green trees. Everything seems to suggest
liberty and freedom. At no time is liberty so sweet as when it is in
danger. The prisoner realizes that in a few days the trial will be ended
and the verdict of the jury will determine whether he shall go out of the
court room to freedom or to prison.
To-day it is the stranger who is on trial. To-morrow it may be someone who
is near and dear to you. If such misfortune should come, then you will
fully realize what a wonderful blessing it is that under our Constitution
everyone is assured of a fair trial, that a person can only be tried for
the specific offense stated in the indictment, and that a verdict of
guilty can only be rendered when the evidence is strong enough to convince
the jury of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS
1. Restate the guaranties that every man has before being brought to
trial.
2. Why should the accused be informed of the nature of the accusation?
3. What would be the result if he were not so informed?
4. Why is it necessary that this accusation be put in writing?
5. Why is this important to everybody?
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. Illustrate the dangers of secret charges.
B. What chance has a person with malicious and secret gossip?
C. Upon a trial can evidence of hearsay or gossip be offered to prove
guilt?
D. When a person makes a charge against a person and says, “Don’t tell
anyone that I said this”, what is the effect?
E. Tell some of the dangers and injustices of slander.
F. What is the first step in bringing an accused person to trial?
G. Is it sufficient to charge the defendant with having committed murder
without any further explanation? Give reasons.
H. What is required of a witness before he is examined?
I. What is perjury?
J. Why is a trial a solemn proceeding?
K. How strong must the evidence be in order that a person may be found
guilty?
L. Write a paper on the following:
The Need of a Public and Written Charge
The Danger of the Secret Slander
How An Accused Person Prepares For His Trial
A Visit to a Court in Session
XVI. GUARDING RIGHTS IN COURT
Confronted By Witnesses—Compulsory Process—Aid Of Counsel—Jury In Civil
Trial
I am sure that no one until he has studied the Constitution, no one
certainly who is not a trained lawyer, will realize the many safeguards
necessary to protect persons who may be wrongfully accused of a crime; but
the framers of the Constitution knew the dangers from the sad experiences
of innocent men and women who had been sacrificed by tyrants who had but
little regard for human life or for human liberty.
Of course you now understand that in case an indictment is returned by the
grand jury, the person accused comes into court, or is brought in, and
enters his plea of “guilty” or of “not guilty”. If he pleads “not guilty”
a jury is brought together, “empanelled”, as it is called, and they are
sworn to hear the evidence, and decide the case according to the evidence.
But in these grave criminal trials, in order that the truth may prevail,
every accused person is given the right to be confronted by the witnesses
against him. The Constitution provides:
“_In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall ... be confronted with
the witnesses against him._”(68)
What does this mean? It means that the government, the prosecution, cannot
prove guilt by witnesses who are not present in court where the defendant
can see them, where they may be cross examined by counsel, where the jury
may observe them, and study their conduct and demeanor, because this often
helps in determining whether a person is telling the truth or a falsehood.
In ordinary trials where property alone is involved, a witness may live in
another State or at some great distance from the place of trial. Witnesses
cannot be brought a long distance in those cases. In some States they
cannot be compelled to attend a distance of more than seventy miles. In
other States, not more than one hundred miles; so that to get their
testimony, the parties take their depositions. This means that instead of
bringing the witness into court, the parties obtain an order by which they
can go to the place where the witness is. There he is sworn before a
commissioner, or a notary public, examined, and his testimony is taken in
writing. The testimony is returned to the court where the trial is to be
held, and is then read to the court or the jury upon the trial.
But in the trial of a person accused of a crime, depositions cannot be
used against him. Statements of witnesses in writing, or in any other
form, cannot be used by the prosecution. The witnesses must be physically
in court before the accused, and there orally testify, and the defendant
must have the right to cross examine them.
But to give the accused person every possible aid in enabling him to have
the truth brought before the court and jury, he may take the depositions
of witnesses in his own behalf. That is, the prosecution—the State or the
Nation accusing a man of a crime—must prove the truth of the accusation by
witnesses personally in court confronting the defendant, but the defendant
is given the privilege of taking the testimony of witnesses at a distance,
in the form of depositions which are read to the jury.
This provision of the Constitution may be very important to an innocent
person sometimes. The importance of it may never appear to us until
unfortunately we be wrongfully accused of a crime, and our life or liberty
in danger.
Then the Constitution further provides:
“_In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the __ right ...
to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor._”(69)
This is also very important. “Compulsory process” means an order of the
court, commonly called “subpoena”, which is served upon witnesses by the
marshal, or the sheriff, or other authorized person, commanding them to
appear in court for examination before the court and jury as to the truth
of matters involved in the accusation against a person on trial.
Here I wish you to recall the unfortunate fact that every little while
somebody is complaining about our government as “a rich man’s government”.
It is often claimed that the poor have no chance for justice. The truth is
that the rich and the poor stand equal in the courts. In creating the
Constitution, it is known of course that someone might be brought before
the court who was poor, without money, possibly without friends. He might
be innocent, but in order that his innocence might be established it would
be necessary for him to have witnesses who might live many miles away, who
would not come into court to testify of their own free will. Therefore,
there was inserted in the Constitution this provision, that every
defendant shall have the right to compulsory process, commanding witnesses
to appear, and there is no one so poor that he cannot have this privilege,
because the United States—and in most of the States we have a like
provision—not only issues subpoenas and compels the officers to serve
them, but it pays the expense of serving, and pays the witness fees and
mileage, so that the poor man has all of the rights in getting the truth
before the court and jury that the richest may have.
Furthermore, in the same American spirit, when persons accused of an
offense are too poor to employ counsel, the government will furnish
counsel. The Constitution provides:
“_In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall ... have the Assistance
of Counsel for his defence_.”(70)
There is no person so poor, or obscure, or friendless, that when he is
charged with a crime which might affect his liberty or his life, he shall
not have the right to a full, fair trial. Not only are his witnesses
produced and paid by the government, but an attorney is appointed by the
government to represent him, and help him establish his innocence.
This is a wonderful illustration of the paternal care which is manifested
for those who may be unfortunate, and this is all because under our
Constitution, liberty is a sacred thing, and it shall not be taken away
except in punishment for a crime which has been proven in open court in a
public trial before a jury, where the party has been confronted with the
witnesses against him, where he has had a chance to furnish witnesses in
his behalf and the aid of counsel in his trial.
Then the people who brought the Constitution into being, feeling that so
far as practicable they should have control of the enforcement of law not
only in criminal cases, but in civil cases, included a guaranty in the
Constitution that:
“_In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed
twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved._”(71)
Of course there is often more or less controversy about property of small
value, where the expense and delay of jury trials might possibly be
oppressive, but in any case involving more than twenty dollars in value,
triable under the common law, which includes practically all cases except
those peculiar cases triable in Chancery, or in Courts of Equity, the
parties are entitled to a trial by jury. That is, instead of introducing
their evidence and having the judge decide what the truth is between them,
the parties are entitled to have a jury of men from the ordinary
occupations of life hear the evidence and say from the evidence what is
the truth.
And furthermore, the people provided in the Constitution that:
“_No fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of
the United States, than according to the rules of the common law._”(72)
Here again is the right to a jury trial, and the benefit of a jury trial,
and to a trial according to the established rules and precedents of the
common law courts carefully preserved.
Now my friends, I know that there is much confusion in your minds about
trials in court. I do not expect you to know all about trials. We are
studying the guaranties of the Constitution so that we shall learn human
rights—our rights—under the Constitution. I am talking to you about the
safeguards of the Constitution so you shall know your rights, especially
so that you will always venerate the Constitution which guards your
rights, and defend it against those who may assail it. But I do want you
to have a clear idea of what a trial in court is. I want you to know the
purpose of the long days of examination of witnesses, the objections of
the attorneys to certain questions asked, the rulings of the court, and
the arguments of counsel.
_The main purpose, aim, and object of every lawsuit_, as trials are
usually termed by people who are not lawyers, _is to find the truth_. The
proceedings in court in every lawsuit are a continuous search for the
truth. If in disputes we could agree to what the truth is, there would be
few lawsuits to try.
A lawsuit only arises where there is a dispute to settle. If people agreed
about their rights there would be little need of courts. In criminal
cases, the government through the grand jury charges by indictment that a
man committed a certain crime. The government says the man did it. He
denies it by a plea of not guilty. He says he did not. The trial before
the petit jury is merely a search for the truth about the charge. _What is
the truth about the matter in dispute_, that is all that is involved in an
ordinary lawsuit.
Picture two boys in a dispute about which owns a ball. One positively
asserts that it is his, that his father bought it and gave it to him. The
other is just as sure that it is his. He says that his brother gave it to
him. They quarrel so excitedly that a neighbor coming across the street
asks the cause of the trouble. They tell him their claims and ask him to
decide. One boy points out a rough spot on the ball which he insists was
caused by a blow from his bat while he was playing in his own yard. The
other says that his brother gave him a ball with red and white stitches.
The neighbor, after hearing these and many other claims, decides the case,
giving the ball to the boy whom he finds to be the owner.
In this we have every element of a lawsuit. The dispute, the court (the
neighbor), the witnesses (the boys), and the judgment based upon what the
neighbor finds to be the truth from the evidence before him. That is all
that any court or jury can do, but under the Constitution in cases
involving life or liberty every possible safeguard is provided so that the
truth may be found, so that justice may be done.
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS
1. Why should all witnesses for the prosecution speak in the actual
presence of the accused?
2. Why should the accused be allowed to have testimony in his favor
submitted in writing?
3. In what cases is written testimony ordinarily admitted?
4. What is compulsory process?
5. In what ways does the Constitution aid the poor man?
6. In what cases may there be a trial without a jury?
7. What is the main purpose of any lawsuit?
8. What is meant by cross-examination of a witness?
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. In what way do these provisions sustain the fact that our government is
a democracy?
B. Is a person more likely to commit perjury when not actually facing the
person accused? Give reasons.
C. What is the provision of the Constitution as to “compulsory process”?
Explain the importance of this right.
D. Explain the provision of the Constitution as to the right to have
counsel.
E. Show how compulsory process and free counsel help the poor man.
F. Why is jury trial omitted in small controversies?
G. What is a “civil” case?
H. Write a paper on the following:
How Perjury is Detected
Oral and Written Testimony
How the Poor Man is Protected
The Purpose of a Trial in Court
The Story of a Tramp Without Money, Accused of an Offense: How the
Constitution Helps Him
XVII. PUNISHMENT
Prohibition Of Excessive Bail Or Fines, Cruel Or Unusual Punishments, And
Involuntary Servitude
Before we finish, I want you to have in your mind a clear conception of
the way in which a person accused of an offense is brought before the
court, tried, and convicted or acquitted.
I have already explained that the first step is the arrest of the
suspected person.(73) Again put yourself in the place of the suspected
person.
You are arrested. It is the duty of the officer making the arrest to bring
you into a court, but this is not generally to a trial court. A person is
generally brought before what is called a committing magistrate, a justice
of the peace or commissioner—some person having authority to issue
warrants of arrest. You may be far from home and friends when you are
arrested. You may be entirely unacquainted in the neighborhood. The
government is not ready to proceed to your trial. Witnesses must be
summoned, not only for the government, but if you have witnesses you
desire to use, they must be brought in.
The general rule is to set the case for hearing—a “preliminary hearing” in
a day or two, or a week possibly. You must therefore wait until this time
comes. What are you going to do? Must you go to jail until they get ready
to have the hearing? No, you are entitled to bail; that is, you are
entitled to be discharged upon a bond fixed by the magistrate,
commissioner, or judge. There are usually only two offenses which are not,
as the saying is, bailable—murder and treason. Usually where murder or
treason is charged, the person is not admitted to bail. He is locked up in
a cell to await trial; but as a general rule, when a person is arrested
his bail is fixed—that is, the amount of the bond which he must file in
order to be discharged pending the trial. For instance, if it were a
charge of stealing a bicycle, the court might fix the bail at $500 or
$1000. That would mean that if he would file a bond, with sureties,
conditioned that in case he did not appear for hearing—that he should run
away, for instance—the sureties would pay into the court the amount of the
bond. Mostly any person of fair standing in a community can secure some
friends who will sign such a bond, so that he may have his liberty until
the trial.
But the framers of the Constitution, again anxious about the liberties of
the people, provided:
“_Excessive bail shall not be required._”(74)
There were many instances in the olden days where bail was purposely fixed
so high—so far beyond all reason in view of the nature of the offense that
the party could not furnish the bail, the purpose being to compel the
party to remain in prison. Our Constitution guarantees to every individual
that the amount of bail fixed shall be reasonable in view of the nature of
the offense and if it is not reasonable, the person arrested may have the
matter brought before the court, who will make full inquiry, and reduce
the amount of the bail if found to be too large.
All through these guaranties of the Constitution, all through these
provisions guarding the sacred rights of every person, you will see that
the effort is that justice shall be done, not injustice; that right shall
prevail, not wrong. That no one shall be kept in prison, deprived of his
liberty, unless absolutely necessary in the interest of justice.
Then after a trial, if a person is found guilty, the Constitution again
guards the rights even of the guilty, by providing:
“_Excessive fines (shall not be) imposed, nor cruel and unusual
punishments inflicted._”(75)
When this constitutional guaranty was written persons then living could
recall without doubt the barbarous punishments which had been imposed in
civilized countries even for light offenses. Common hanging was not
regarded as sufficient punishment. “Hanged, drawn and quartered” was often
heard in the courts of countries which had been left behind. It was
nothing uncommon to see persons upon the roadside in England left hanging
to the gibbet for long periods of time where the people could see them as
a warning. It was not uncommon in those times to have a penalty of death
imposed for the offense of stealing.
It is almost impossible to read of the punishments of the olden days, even
under decrees of courts, without a shudder. Therefore, every one in
America should be filled with gratitude that in the adoption of our
Constitution these excessive cruelties were forever ended.
We have in this country the death penalty only for the most grave
offenses, and it is seldom imposed. Imprisonment is generally regarded as
just and sufficient. I might spend an hour if we had time, telling you
something of the horrible dungeons which served as prisons in the olden
days, into which God’s sunlight seldom entered; of the chains the
prisoners had to wear; of the starvation; yes, and of the
lash—inhumanities which one can scarcely conceive, and which can never
disgrace the civilization of America.
Again, carefully guarding the rights and liberties of the people we find:
“_Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for
crime whereof the party shall have been duly __ convicted, shall exist
within the United States, or any place subject to their
jurisdiction._”(76)
This is not a part of the original Constitution. It was adopted after the
war had driven slavery from our shores. The spirit of America has from the
beginning been exerted in enlarging the rights of human beings. Slavery
existed before the adoption of the Constitution, and so strongly was it
intrenched at that time in some of the colonies that it was impossible
then to wipe it out.
But it did not belong in America, and the time came when the American
people, after a long bitter war, crushed the slave power, and swept from
our shores the last vestige of involuntary servitude. That it might not be
renewed, the people amended the Constitution so as forever to bar slavery
or involuntary servitude except as men might be put in prison in
punishment for crime after a full, fair trial.
Did you ever read of the debtor’s prison? It used to be in nearly every
country in the world, that men who were merely unfortunate, who got in
debt and who could not pay when the debt was due were sent to prison, and
kept there sometimes for long periods. It was most cruel, because in many
instances the persons were honest. They wanted to pay their debts, but
sickness came, or floods, or fire, or other misfortune, and when the time
came they were unable to pay and thus they lost their liberty.
In those olden days, men were not only imprisoned, but in some countries
they were compelled to labor for the person whom they owed. They were
compelled to be slaves.
But at last we have reached a stage in America, where no one may be
compelled to work for another, unless by his own free will, except under
conviction of a crime where the State may compel prisoners to work for
some one in order to help pay the expense of maintaining them.
The old debtor’s prison is gone. No one in this country can now be
imprisoned for an ordinary debt. There are a few States in which a person
may be imprisoned for debts arising in fraud, but for an ordinary contract
debt, mere inability to pay, no one in America can now be compelled to
submit to imprisonment.
I wish sometime you would think seriously about what America has done for
the poor. In the olden days they had few if any rights; but to-day in
America, while by law we cannot prevent sickness nor sorrow, or other
misfortune, we can and we do guard the liberty of the poorest and the most
unfortunate. In fact many laws have been enacted which give to the poor
special privileges which are denied to those who have property or money.
For instance in nearly every State there are what are called exemptions
for a person who is the head of a family, which protect him even in the
possession of a limited amount of property which his creditors cannot take
away from him in payment of a debt. In most of the States laborers may
hold the earnings of a certain period, for instance ninety days, for
support of themselves and their families, which no one can touch, which no
officers and no court can seize in payment of a debt. Also they are
protected in their household goods, their clothing for themselves and
their families, and in many other ways.
The farmer who may be heavily in debt is protected for himself and his
family by having exempted to him a team of horses, harness and wagon,
machinery, farm utensils, and food and clothing for the family.
I have not time to relate all that has been done by America in sympathetic
aid of the poor and the unfortunate. No other country in the world has
given such consideration to the poor as has America.
We hear much talk of social injustice, that the poor man has no chance.
The truth is that more has been done in America during the past
twenty-five years to provide justice for the poor and unfortunate and for
those who toil, than was done in any other country of the world during the
last one thousand years. The spirit of America is right. The people have
the power. They are right at heart. The only weakness in America is the
failure of many thousands of our men and women to take an active interest
in the affairs of government. Hundreds of thousands, yes millions, of our
voters fail to go to the polls on election day to vote. They do not seem
to feel any gratitude for the privilege of living in a free country where
liberty is guarded by written guaranties of a Constitution which cannot be
changed, except by the will of the people themselves.
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS
1. After a person is arrested where is he generally taken by the officer?
2. If the hearing is postponed, what is generally done with him in the
meantime?
3. What is bail?
4. What offenses are not bailable?
5. What is the constitutional guaranty as to bail?
6. Why should excessive bail be prohibited? What would be the injustice of
this practice?
7. What happens when a person “out on bail” fails to appear in court at
the time set? Is he relieved of further punishment?
8. If a magistrate fixes excessive bail, what may the accused person do in
order to have it reduced?
9. Name some cruel and unusual punishments?
10. When was slavery in America abolished?
11. What was a debtor’s prison?
12. How does America protect the poor? Can a debtor be put in prison for
failing to pay ordinary debts?
13. What is meant by “exemptions” in relation to property and debts?
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. Explain the injustice of requiring excessive bail?
B. When a judge determines the amount of bail, what factors does he
consider?
C. What is the purpose of punishment?
D. Discuss the movement for prison reform.
E. What is the purpose of the bankruptcy law?
F. Write a paper on:
Cruel and Unusual Punishments
Punishment and Crime in the United States
How America Protects the Poor Man
The Reformatory Versus the Penitentiary
XVIII. EQUAL RIGHTS OF CITIZENS
All Citizens Entitled To Equal Privileges And Immunities—Right To Vote Not
Abridged
The great achievement in American government was the establishment of a
Nation composed of independent and sovereign States. It was not an easy
matter to bring all these States together as one government, so that there
would be harmony and unity; but the framers of the Constitution succeeded
in a wonderful way in adopting rules and regulations—the
Constitution—which made this the most powerful and the most peaceful
Nation in the world.(77)
Only once has there been any serious question between the States, and the
Civil War settled that forever. Following the war, to bind the States more
firmly together by the establishment of the rights of citizens of the
various States, an amendment to the Constitution was adopted in 1868, by
the people of the Nation, which is as follows:
“_All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the
jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State
wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall
abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor
shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without
due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the
equal protection of the laws._”(78)
This portion of our Constitution establishes the citizenship of every
person born or naturalized in the United States, and guarantees the rights
of such citizens, not only in the State where he lives, but in any State.
No State has the power, since the adoption of this amendment, to make or
enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges, rights, or immunities
of citizens, no matter in what State they may make their home.
By this amendment all States are prohibited from enacting any law, or
permitting any procedure of their courts, which shall “deprive any person
of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law”.
You will recall that immediately after the adoption and approval of the
original Constitution there were ten amendments adopted which became
effective in 1791, in one of which it was provided that no person “shall
be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law”.
This forever barred the United States government from depriving the
humblest citizen of his life, his liberty, or his property, except through
the regular processes of the law which we have heretofore considered; and
by the amendment of 1868 the same restriction was placed upon every State
in the Union, thus completing the guaranty to every man, woman, and child,
that life, liberty, and property would be safe and sacred. No power exists
in the State or Nation by which life, liberty, or property may be
interfered with, except through the tribunals established by the people
themselves to hear and determine in a judicial way after proper notice
with full opportunity to be heard in a public trial.
No secret schemes can be devised which will interfere with the rights of
the humblest citizen, no power can be created strong enough wrongfully to
invade the right to life, liberty, and property. These guaranties, being
written into the Constitution, will stand forever, unless the people by
their own choice shall throw away these great guaranties and destroy these
great blessings.
Then following the Civil War, the people of America adopted the following
as part of the Constitution of the United States:
“_The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied
or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race,
color, or previous condition of servitude._”(79)
You remember the Emancipation Proclamation by President Lincoln which
struck the chains from the limbs of men and women and children who had
been slaves for generations. They were human beings, though of the colored
race. They were lifted from the position of slavery to the dignity of
citizenship, and clothed with power to help in the government of their
country by being given the privilege of going to the ballot box to vote.
To establish this right and protect this privilege for all time, this
amendment to the Constitution was adopted by the people of the United
States. It was a bold thing to do, to clothe a subject race which had
little opportunity for education with the rights of citizenship. No nation
in the world ever before attempted such a wonderful and radical
experiment; but the people of America, having real confidence in human
beings, regardless of color, race, or creed, assumed the responsibility of
admitting the former slaves as part of the power of government in this
country.
Of course you realize that the value of a citizen to his country, when it
comes to voting and making laws, depends upon his knowledge of public
affairs, and his confidence in his government; and therefore education is
absolutely necessary to real service to one’s country. That is one of the
big objects of education—to qualify persons for full citizenship.(80)
Too many of us consider the right to vote simply as a privilege to help
some neighbor to be elected to some public office. This view is all wrong.
Our country is first, and we never should help a neighbor to be elected to
an office unless that neighbor can help to make this a better
government.(81)
When we elect any one, we are selecting a servant to represent us, to act
for us. Therefore great care should be exercised in selection. We must
inquire not only whether the person is good and virtuous, but also whether
the person is useful, and has right ideas about public service.(82)
If congressmen, judges, legislators, mayors, or other public servants are
not honestly or truly representing the people, if they are not carrying
out the will of the people in their official actions, this simply proves
that the people have not selected the right kind of men to represent them.
There are honest men; there are men who are tried and loyal and patriotic.
They are our neighbors. We have the choice of selecting them if we want
to. _The truth is_ that nearly all public officers are honest and
patriotic. The truth is that as a rule they try to do what the people
want. But _the truth is_ that the majority of the American people take so
little interest in public affairs that they make no effort to have their
servants in public life know what they do want. People are ready to
criticise if a mistake is made, but they will do little to help avoid
mistakes.
I’ll tell you what I would like to see. I’d like to see this assembly room
in this school filled one night each week with children and men and women,
with parents and teachers. It would be a real community meeting to talk
over community, State, and National matters. I would like to see such a
meeting in every school in this city, in this State, and in the Nation. I
wish someone would start a movement to have the movies closed one evening
each week, so that the people might have at least one night to give some
little consideration to the serious problems of life. “Eternal vigilance
is the price of liberty.” Vigilance means watchfulness, care, and thought.
Every man, woman, and child in America should watch and pray that our
liberties so dearly bought with the life blood of heroes should not be
taken away.
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS
1. Show how the United States gave citizens of the different States equal
rights.
2. Who can vote in the United States? Who are citizens of the United
States?
3. Is the power to vote simply a privilege?
4. Why is it that our representatives sometimes do not truly represent us?
5. How can we interest people in voting?
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. Show how it is important that people should have equal rights in the
various States.
B. Give some illustrations of the variations from State to State of
certain local laws, such as automobile laws, etc.
C. If the law of New York limits the speed of an automobile to 25 miles
per hour and the law of Massachusetts limits the speed to 20 miles per
hour, can a citizen of New York travelling in Massachusetts legally
operate his car at 25 miles per hour? Under like circumstances can a
citizen of Massachusetts while in New York operate his car at 25 miles per
hour?
D. Show in detail the dangers of not voting.
E. How may a person obtain citizenship?
F. What has education to do with citizenship or voting?
G. Should you vote for a neighbor simply out of friendship? What should be
taken into consideration?
H. Discuss Roosevelt’s definition of a good citizen given in Note 5.
I. Outline a proper program for a community meeting.
J. Write a paper on the following:
The Privileges of the Citizen
The Danger of Not Voting
The Ballot—An Obligation Not a Privilege
How to Become a Naturalized Citizen
Voting and other Duties of Citizenship
XIX. WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS
The Privilege Of The Writ Of Habeas Corpus Not To Be Suspended Except In
War
Here is something in our Constitution which I suppose you have read, but
which you probably do not understand. That is, you probably do not
understand its real value, not to somebody else, but to yourselves,
because all of these provisions of the Constitution are for each one of
us.
We may go along through life, never being placed in a position where we
will have to call upon the Constitution to defend us. Most of our people
are peaceful and just, and it isn’t often that the rights of innocent
persons are attacked or invaded. It isn’t often that an innocent man is
arrested for a crime, and yet such a thing may occur any day to any one of
us. You may rest assured that such things do not occur as often as they
would if the Constitution did not stand as a barrier to protect innocent
persons. These great constitutional guaranties are not only valuable when
we want to assert our rights, but they are valuable as a restraint upon
wrongdoers.(83)
Now here is this provision:
“_The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended,
unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may
require it._”(84)
What is a “writ of habeas corpus”? “Habeas Corpus” is a Latin phrase,
which in English means “you may have the body”. A writ of habeas corpus is
a writ directed to the person detaining another, or holding him in prison,
commanding him to produce the prisoner at a certain time and place before
a court or judge, so that the right of imprisonment or restraint may be
inquired into. It is an ancient writ, recognized as far back in English
jurisprudence as 1679. It was used against the king in the reign of Henry
VII, and on through the later years. It was recognized from time to time,
sometimes entirely denied, and again given force.
But as applied to you and to me, what does it signify? Suppose on your way
home this evening, some person should seize you and force you to go to
jail, and lock you up. No charge is made against you. You are innocent of
any offense. You sit there in the cell wondering what it all means. You
cannot even communicate with your parents or friends. The jail is built of
stone, the iron bars are strong, and you are helpless.
Well, in the olden days, many a man and woman had such experiences, and
many a man and many a woman lay in jail for long periods without any
charge, or any trial, deprived of liberty, utterly powerless.
Now as I said, suppose you were in jail to-night—not even permitted to
communicate with a friend or with a lawyer, and your father found out
where you were. He could not go and break down the prison walls. He could
not even talk to you; but if he were familiar with the Constitution of the
United States and of his State—because there is a like provision in the
Constitutions of all States—if your father understood his constitutional
rights, he would at once apply to some court or judge for a writ of habeas
corpus. It would be a simple matter. He would set out in writing the
facts, simply the story that you were seized and were imprisoned
wrongfully, and he would ask that a writ of habeas corpus issue, and this
request, no court or judge can deny. He would promptly issue the writ,
which would be in writing directed to the person keeping you in jail, or
the keeper of the jail, or some one who was aiding in keeping you in jail,
and this writ would command such person to have you brought before the
court at once, “commanding him to produce the body of the prisoner at a
certain time and place”. You would be brought there, and the person having
you in jail would have to show cause for such conduct. Unless legal cause
were shown, the judge would promptly discharge you, and the person who had
committed the wrong against you would probably receive proper punishment,
after a trial, for his wrongful act.
Now there were long periods of time in England when the right to a writ of
habeas corpus was suspended, during which time a person wrongfully in
prison had no relief and no remedy, when helpless men and women starved
and died. So when the Constitution was adopted, the people of America were
careful to see that the following guaranty was written therein:
“_The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended_”.(85)
Under our Constitution this may be done only “in case of rebellion or
invasion” when “public safety may require it”. For instance, in the World
War, which you all remember, some dangerous person, some traitor, might
have been arrested by the military authorities and detained in custody,
and he could not be discharged upon a writ of habeas corpus, because a
state of war existed, and public safety required that he be held. Of
course in times of war persons engaged in the military service are not
entitled to a trial in a civil court for their offense. They are tried for
military offenses by court martial. That is a military court, where the
judges are military officers, ordered by their superiors to sit and hear
the evidence. There is not much formality. In grave offenses prompt action
is necessary. Spies are caught, the courts organized, the evidence taken,
a finding of guilty made, and the party shot, all perhaps within
twenty-four hours. These are the necessary awful consequences of war. But
can’t you see now what a sense of security this little provision of our
Constitution ought to bring to each one of us? We always know that in case
of our wrongful arrest, a writ of habeas corpus will bring us before some
court where we may have prompt inquiry into the reasons for invading our
right to liberty, and prompt order for discharge if the arrest is not
justified.
This writ issues not only in behalf of persons confined in jails and
prisons, but also in every case where one is held by force against his
will by another person, because this is a free country, and no man,
whether a private citizen or public officer, has any power to restrain
another against his will, unless such restraint is under legal proceedings
with all the safeguards of the Constitution.
I remember a case when unfortunately a father and mother were separated
and divorced. Their little boy was left with his mother. The judge decided
that the father was a bad man and that he was not worthy to have charge of
his son.
A few months later that father went to the house where the mother and boy
lived, watched behind the hedge until the little boy was at play in the
yard, when he seized him, jumped in an automobile which was waiting for
him in the woods, and drove away at great speed. He took the boy to a
boarding school in a neighboring State, telling the principal of the
school that he wanted the boy safely kept until he should return from
Europe. After many days the sheriff with the aid of detectives found where
the boy was. The mother came to the school. Of course she was filled with
joy when she saw her son. She thought that she could take him away with
her at once, but the principal would not consent. He said that he had no
knowledge of whether or not she was the boy’s mother; that she had no
right to take him away; and that his duty was to return the boy to the man
who had left him in the school. The appeal of the mother and the tears of
the boy were in vain.
At last she had to leave the boy. She at once consulted a lawyer. He
prepared a written application asking that a writ of habeas corpus be
issued, commanding the principal of the school to bring the boy before the
judge, that the judge might hear the evidence, and make an order releasing
the boy from the school and placing him in the charge of his mother. The
writ was issued by the judge. An officer went to the school, read the writ
to the principal, who promptly brought the boy to the court room.
There the judge heard the story of the mother and the simple tale of the
little boy, he examined certified copies of the order of the court
awarding the custody of the boy to his mother, which the sheriff had
procured, and then he very promptly ordered the principal of the school to
give the boy to his mother. The principal was of course glad to do so,
when he found that the father had done wrong.
This is only one of hundreds of cases where the writ of habeas corpus
releases someone from wrongful confinement. Such wrongful confinement may
be in a school or in a home or in a jail or in a dungeon or in a dark
cellar. No matter where, the writ of habeas corpus does not stop at locked
doors or barred windows or stone walls. An officer with such a writ can
break and enter if necessary. No obstacle can be allowed wrongfully to
deprive an American citizen of his liberty.
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS
1. What is a writ of habeas corpus?
2. What does “habeas corpus” mean?
3. When was it recognized in England?
4. When may it be suspended in America?
5. Just what does it mean to the average citizen?
6. Can you think of a time when it might be valuable to you?
7. What is martial law?
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. Just when is a writ of habeas corpus likely to prove valuable?
B. Why is it called “the most famous writ of the law”?
C. Show how it affects the poor man.
D. Show how it makes for democracy.
E. Write a paper on the following:
Abuses Found Before the Writ of Habeas Corpus Was Recognized
Cases Where It was Used Locally
The Experience of the Arrest of an Innocent Man Who Was Unable to
Furnish Bail
A Court Martial
XX. OTHER PROHIBITED LAWS
No Bill Of Attainder Or Ex Post Facto Law May Be Passed By Congress
This morning I have something else for you which you probably do not
understand, something that you can hardly imagine would interest you
personally; but as I have often repeated, always bear in mind that every
single clause of the Constitution is made for each and every one of us, no
matter what position we may have in life.
The framers of the Constitution said:
“_No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed._”(86)
What does “attainder” mean? It means the extinction of civil rights and
capacities and powers, which under the law in the olden times took place
whenever a person was convicted of treason, or of a crime for which the
death sentence was imposed. It means that all the estate of the convicted
person, all his land, money, or other property, was forfeited to the
government; so that upon his death nothing passed by inheritance to his
heirs. As it was expressed, his blood was “corrupted”. He could not sue in
a court of justice. He was helpless to defend any right of himself or his
family.
By “bills of attainder”, which were legislative acts imposing that penalty
on the accused without giving him any hearing in a court, many persons
were deprived of their rights and their possessions in the centuries which
have gone by, in order that such rights and such possessions might go to
some favorite of the government. Of course no one would have much sympathy
for a person who might be actually guilty of treason, or guilty of a great
crime which involved a death penalty; but in the olden days innocent men
were often charged with treason and punished. Conspiracies were formed to
get rid of certain individuals who might be an obstacle to the achievement
of base ambitions.
The abuses arising out of the imposition of attainder became so grave that
in the time of Queen Victoria a statute was passed in England abolishing
the extreme penalties which followed it.
In some of the colonies in this country, before the Constitution was
adopted, acts of attainder were passed and enforced; but when the
Constitution was finally adopted, bills of attainder were forever barred.
Don’t you see the spirit of charity which is manifest in this, just as in
the entire Constitution, charity even for wrongdoers, charity for the
weaknesses of men? Wrongdoers of course must be punished, yet the
Constitution wipes out harsh and brutal methods which were common in the
days before America came into being.
No “ex post facto law” shall be passed. _What does that mean?_(87) If a
person does an act, which at the time of the doing of the act is not a
criminal offense, the Congress of the United States, with all its power,
cannot make that act, innocent when done, a crime. Yet this used to be
done in the old days. You can imagine how in those days a brutal
government being desirous of getting rid of some objectionable person, but
desiring to have its acts appear legal, might find that he had done some
act which was not punishable under the law; but through a corrupt
legislative body, it might so legislate as to make the act a criminal
offense, and thus have the person tried and convicted.
A person might commit an offense for which there was a moderate
punishment; and the legislature might, after the commission of the crime,
but before he was tried, increase the penalty. For instance, if there were
a penalty of two years imprisonment for stealing a horse, and some
neighbor was guilty of stealing a horse, thus leaving himself, when
convicted, subject to two years imprisonment, all the powers of the United
States government, all the powers of Congress, all the wonderful power of
the people of the country could not change the penalty, could not, for
instance, amend the law so as to provide a five year penalty instead of
two, so as to affect this neighbor who had stolen the horse before this
time. He could, if convicted, be sentenced to two years, but no more.
You may think that those who adopted the Constitution must have been
suspicious of Congress, or the people in thus carefully preventing wrongs
against individuals accused of a crime—yes, individuals who had actually
committed a crime; but you can readily understand why they were so
careful. The conduct of the governments of the world had been such before
that day that suspicion was justified. The Constitution was made for the
individual—for men, women, and children—to guard their rights against the
abuse of power; and in fact most of the wrongs of the world have had their
origin in the abuse of power. The Constitution guards the humblest person
against abuse of the power granted to the government, as well as against
the wrongs of our neighbors.
The people in this country have great power—absolute power. This power may
be expressed in laws enacted by Congress or by the legislatures of the
States, except in those things which the people themselves in the
Constitution of the United States, and in the Constitutions of the
different States, have placed beyond even their own power.
Of course these provisions of the Constitution, as all provisions of the
Constitution, may be changed by the people, but not by a mere majority of
the people. These constitutional provisions relate to sacred rights, and
they may not be changed except upon mature deliberation, and by a vote
which represents the sentiment of at least a majority of the people of
three-fourths of the States.
So I hope you can realize that when the framers of the Constitution
prohibited bills of attainder, and prohibited the enactment of the ex post
facto laws, they were doing something for the people of this country. They
had the rights of the people in mind—the rights of the humble and perhaps
unknown, as well as the rights of those in high places. I do not expect
you to study the details of these provisions of the Constitution relating
to bills of attainder and ex post facto laws. You will probably never have
to enforce these rights which are given to you under the Constitution. I
hope you will not; but the important thing which I always want you to bear
in mind is, that these guaranties of the Constitution are in existence and
that they confer upon you certain powers which may be asserted to protect
your liberty if occasion should ever arise.
I am sure you realize that at the beginning of the life of the American
Nation, extreme care was exercised by those who framed the Constitution,
to guard the people at every point against injustice and wrong, whether
exercised by private individuals or by public officials.
Understanding these things—feeling these things, will give you a new sense
of power, of pride, and of duty, as citizens of this great Nation.
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS
1. What does attainder mean?
2. What was the effect of a bill of attainder on the family of a man who
was convicted?
3. Why does the abolition of attainder show the charity of the founders of
the Constitution?
4. What is an ex post facto law?
5. How would this kind of a law be unjust?
6. How could a strong, powerful, and dishonest man work injustice by means
of such a law?
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. Show how attainder worked in England in the early days.
B. What were the abuses found under such a law?
C. Show how its abolition made for democracy.
D. Show how the abolition of ex post facto laws made for democracy.
E. Write a paper on the following:
The Injustice of Attainder
The Injustice of an Ex Post Facto Law
XXI. TITLES, GIFTS, TREASON
Prohibition Of Titles And Foreign Gifts—Treason, Its Trial And Punishment
America is a democracy. It was the plan from the beginning that it always
should be a democracy. The human race had suffered much from royalty, from
kings and emperors, and queens and princes. Human nature is weak. We are
all more or less attracted by people with titles. Story books which we
read in childhood exalt the “lords” and “ladies” and “princes”, and I
regret to say that the history of lords and ladies and princes does not
always justify the pictures which our story books would paint for us.
The men who framed the Constitution had just finished a life and death
struggle with royalty—a struggle between the people and a king, and the
people had won. They were determined that the blighting influence of royal
power should never again find a place on American soil. Therefore they put
into the Constitution:
“_No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no
Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without
the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or
Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign
State._”(88)
Never before in the history of the world was such a bold thing done. These
words reflect the spirit of the Revolution. They mark the turning point in
the history of human governments. They proclaim the final establishment of
the government by the people—the first real government by the people that
the world ever knew.
I wonder if those who criticise the government of America who complain
that in this country the people have no chance, ever read these glowing
words of our Constitution. It isn’t so much the words, but the spirit in
which they were made a part of our Constitution, the spirit in which the
young Nation proclaimed to the world eternal separation from kingly power.
I find all through the Constitution an expression of grim determination to
fortify the Nation against any influence which would weaken the supreme
power of the people, which would in any way interfere with the plan to
make this a government by the people.
In many provisions of our Constitution we find expressions which show how
humane America is.
_We hate treason._ In fact there is no crime so dark, so awful, as
treason. But in the history of the world, treason has meant many things,
and unfortunately treason has been made not only the instrument of those
who sought the destruction of the governments, but it has sometimes been
made the instrument of tyrants in suppressing the rights, and in crushing
the hopes of the people. It all depends on what is meant by treason.
In the olden days we find men charged with treason when the offense was in
fact very slight—perhaps a just resistance to the king, perhaps merely an
assertion of natural human right against the king.
The government of the United States being intended to protect the
liberties of the people, the Constitution put a bar against prosecution
for treason, except where the accused was actually an enemy of his
country, endeavoring to aid in the destruction of his country. We are here
told what treason is:
“_Treason against the United States, shall consist only in __ levying War
against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and
Comfort. No person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony
of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court._
“_The Congress shall have power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but
no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture
except during the Life of the Person Attainted_.”(89)
We see all through the Constitution a splendid spirit of justice, and a
spirit of charity, even toward the guilty. By this article of the
Constitution, not only is treason defined, but any conviction of a person
for treason must be upon the testimony of at least two witnesses to the
same act, or upon a confession in open court.
The innocent must not be punished; and the guilty, when convicted, shall
alone bear the punishment. Treason being such a grave offense, Congress
may, if it so desires, provide very severe penalties, but it cannot
attaint the blood, so that the children or the grandchildren of the guilty
person shall suffer as in the olden days; nor shall the right of
forfeiture of property obtain, except during the life of the person guilty
of treason.
No one objects to any penalty, however severe, where treason is proved,
but it is contrary to the spirit of America to brand the innocent
descendants of one who is guilty of a crime. Of course the children of the
guilty will always bear a certain degree of reproach from their fellowmen,
but it is not fair that they should be visited with penalties for an
offense which they themselves never committed. It is the spirit of America
that each person shall enjoy any position in life which he may win by
merit and honest endeavor, and no obstacle should be placed in his way by
the wrong of an unfortunate ancestor.
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS
1. America is a democracy. Why does this mean so much?
2. What does that phrase bring to mind?
3. Why did we abolish all titles of nobility?
4. What is treason?
5. Why is it limited so carefully?
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. What was the real purpose of abolishing all titles of nobility?
B. Why did the founders of the Constitution refuse to permit our
representatives to accept gifts from abroad?
C. What acts are treason to-day?
D. Show how these provisions make for democracy?
E. Write a paper on the following:
An Illustration of an Act of Treason During the World War
How A Person May Obtain a Responsible Position in Life
Laws Which Retard Advancement in Life
XXII. JURY, EXCEPT IN IMPEACHMENT
Criminal Trials, Except Impeachment, To Be By Jury—Equal Rights—No
Religious Test For Office
There are still three articles of the Constitution containing personal
guaranties but the substance of these articles has been considered in
connection with other articles already discussed. They are the following:
“_The trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by
Jury, and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes
shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the
Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have
directed._”(90)
“_The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and
Immunities of Citizens in the several States._”(91)
“_No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any
Office or public Trust under the United States._”(92)
Here again we see emphasized the right of trial by jury. I want you to
give some thought to this particular right, because it applies not only to
cases where persons are accused of a crime, but also to nearly all cases
involving property rights.
The ordinary lawsuit, where one person is suing another to recover money,
property, or damages, is triable by a jury. You understand of course the
purpose of a trial. As already explained the main thing in every trial is
to determine the truth as to the points in dispute, and the truth in such
cases under our Constitution is determined, not by judges, but by jurors,
men from the ordinary walks of life, your neighbors, men accustomed to
dealing with ordinary human affairs. This right is important in aiding a
person to have the truth properly established; but it is especially
important, as I have heretofore explained, because it emphasizes the fact
that this is a government by the people, and that in grave emergencies
when life, liberty, or property, is in danger, the representatives of the
common people, selected from the ranks of the common people, shall be the
judges.
Of course I have fully explained to you, and I do not wish to have any
confusion upon that point, that the judges themselves are also
representatives of the people, because they are elected by the people, or
appointed by those agents of the people who are elected by the people.
I have intentionally repeated, sometimes over and over, rules and reasons,
because we must have them in our minds so that they will never be
forgotten.
Now as above explained, the citizens of each State are guaranteed the
right to go to another State, and exercise in that other State the same
rights as the citizens of that State. This is in the spirit of America
which gives us all equal opportunity. A citizen of Massachusetts going to
the State of Minnesota has the same rights in Minnesota as the citizens of
Minnesota have. Minnesota could not discriminate against him because he
was a citizen of another State. Of course he could not exercise rights
which the citizens of Minnesota were not entitled to, but all rights of
the citizens of Minnesota are guaranteed to him while he is in that State.
Now as to the provision which forever bars any religious test as the
qualification for any office or place of public trust under the United
States. We have already given serious consideration to the great
fundamental human privilege which the Constitution guards, the right to
worship God according to the dictates of one’s conscience. We have already
found that regardless of church or creed each person stands before the law
equal in our country. The older you grow, the more fully you realize what
religion means to a great many people in this world, the more fully you
will appreciate the blessing which came to humanity in these provisions of
the Constitution. There are some of us who do not belong to any church
organization, and yet we are intensely interested, because there was a
time when every person was compelled by law to belong to a church
organization, to the state church, the state religion. I have already
explained that we find solemn statutes enacted by the British Parliament,
as an illustration, which provided for a death penalty for those who did
not believe in the religion of the state.
There is no religious test which can be made a qualification for any
office under the United States; nor for any office for any State in the
Union. There should be no individual discrimination in voting for public
officials because of the religion or church to which a candidate for
office may belong. These are sacred, individual rights. Men must be judged
by their conduct, by their character, by their ability, by their capacity
to serve the people and their country, not by the religion which one may
profess.
We must cultivate the spirit of charity toward our neighbors, charity
which means love, which enables us to maintain a proper spirit of
toleration for those who differ from us in matters of belief.
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS
1. Does a citizen have the same rights in California that he does in New
York?
2. Why is religious belief never made a qualification for office?
3. What is impeachment?
4. Are judges representatives of the people? Why?
5. Can the State of Nebraska enact a law imposing a tax upon merchandise
shipped into Nebraska from any other State?
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. What is impeachment?
B. Describe the manner of trial before trial by jury. Compare the justice
of the ordeal end wager of battle with the jury system.
C. Show how these provisions make for democracy.
D. Why is the spirit of charity necessary in a democracy?
E. Write a paper on the following:
The Ordeal
Wager of Battle
How Englishmen Won the Right to Trial by Jury
XXIII. WRONGS UNDER KING GEORGE
The Story Of The Colonists In The Declaration Of Independence
When we first read over the numerous guaranties of the Constitution
protecting the American people in their rights, we sometimes wonder why
certain provisions were inserted in the Constitution. Being born here in
America, never having been compelled to submit to the abuse of arbitrary
power, and always having lived under the Constitution, and always being
guarded by its provisions against the abuse of power, we can hardly
understand why it was necessary to make so many provisions against things
which we can hardly imagine ever happened in human government.
Whenever you have a chance, read somethings of the governments of the
world under kings or other absolute rulers. In fact, we cannot understand
the blessings of our government until we know something of what our
ancestors were compelled to submit to under the governments of the
different countries of the world a few centuries ago.
While we have in mind the guaranties of our Constitution, it is well for
us to have clearly in mind some of the definite things which the framers
of the Constitution had before them, some of the wrongs which the human
race had endured at the hands of government which the framers of the
Constitution were determined the people of America would never have to
endure. You can hardly imagine what little regard or consideration was
given to human rights in those old days now almost forgotten. I am not
going to undertake to discuss the problems of government in different
countries the world.(93) The purpose which I have in mind can be fully
served by a consideration of the government in this country under the king
of Great Britain during the years preceding the Revolutionary War. You
understand, of course, that even at that time a great advance had been
made in recognizing certain rights of the people. In fact, I think it is
generally recognized that England before the American Revolution had
attained nearer to a fairly just government than any other country in the
world up to that time. There had been many periods during its history when
the people had asserted themselves and had forced the recognition of
certain rights by the government—by the king, and yet it was still a
government by a king. It was a government under a king to which the
colonies owed allegiance. It was government under a king against which the
colonies finally revolted. It was government under a king which brought.
about the Revolution. It was resistance to government under a king which
inspired the heroes who won the liberty of the new world. It was the
brutality of a government under a king which inspired the framers of the
Constitution so carefully to guard against the abuses which the world had
known before liberty had been established on American soil. I will not
undertake to recite for you the things which the people were compelled to
endure under this government of a king. I will let the people of the
colonies tell their story. You remember that in 1776, after the beginning
of the Revolutionary War, the people of the Colonies adopted the
Declaration of Independence which recites in detail the abuses and wrongs
they had endured under a government by a king. It is one of the most
dramatic recitals in history. Let these colonies tell their own story. I
am not going to read the entire Declaration of Independence; I am simply
going to read the recital therein of the wrongs which came to the people,
the men, women, and children, the human beings, who up to that time were
compelled to live here in America under the government of a king.
The history of the present king of Great Britain is a history of
repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the
establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove
this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary
for the public good.
He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and
pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his
assent should be obtained, and, when so suspended, he has utterly
neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large
districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the
right of representation in the legislature—a right inestimable to
them, and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual,
uncomfortable, and distant from the repository of their public
records for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance
with his measures.
He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly for opposing,
with manly firmness, his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, to cause
others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of
annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their
exercise; the state remaining, in the mean time, exposed to all
dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for
that purpose obstructing the laws of naturalization of foreigners;
refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither and
raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.
He has obstructed the administration of justice by refusing his
assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.
He has made judges dependent on his will alone for the tenure of
their offices and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms
of officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, without
the consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the military independent of, and
superior to, the civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction
foreign to our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws, giving
his assent to their acts of pretended legislation—
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us;
For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any
murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these
states;
For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world;
For imposing taxes upon us without our consent;
For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury;
For transporting us beyond seas, to be tried for pretended
offenses;
For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring
province; establishing therein an arbitrary government, and
enlarging its boundaries, so as to render it at once an example
and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into
these colonies;
For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws,
and altering fundamentally the forms of our government;
For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves
invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated government here by declaring us out of his
protection and waging war against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns,
and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is, at this time, transporting large armies of foreign
mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and
tyranny, already begun, with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy
scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally
unworthy the head of a civilised nation.
He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the high
seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the
executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves
by their hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has
endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the
merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an
undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for
redress, in the most bumble terms; our repeated petitions have
been answered only by repeated injury. A prince whose character is
thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant is unfit to be
the ruler of a free people.
Now, if there be those who are not satisfied under the present government
of America, let them reflect. Let them compare their rights to-day with
the rights of the people subjected to the repeated “injuries and
usurpations” so eloquently recited by those who founded this government,
who adopted our Constitution which will forever bar any power from
exercising “a design to reduce them (the people) to absolute despotism”.
Read through this catalog of wrongs endured by the people of the colonies.
Then read through the guaranties of the Constitution. You will find that
in large part the guaranties of the Constitution were inspired by the
wrongs recited by the people when they proclaimed their independence.(94)
I said that this recital is dramatic. It is also pathetic. Listen: “_In
every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the
most humble terms; our repeated petitions have been answered only by
repeated injury._” Is it any wonder that the Constitution of the United
States should provide that “Congress shall make no law ... abridging ...
the right ... to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”?
Is it any wonder that we find in the Constitution guaranties of freedom of
worship, freedom of speech and of the press, the right of the people to
bear arms, the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
and papers, the right to a speedy jury trial when accused of crime, and
the right to a trial in the district where the offense was committed
instead of being sent beyond the seas? When we read of the wrongs endured
by the people under the government by a king we can readily understand why
the people put into their Constitution a guaranty that a person no matter
how poor shall have an attorney to defend him, shall have his witnesses
brought into court at government expense, that excessive bail shall not be
required, and cruel and unusual punishments shall not be inflicted, that
slavery is forever abolished on American soil, that the property of every
person, rich or poor is sacred, and that even the government of the United
States cannot take it for public use without just compensation, that every
person shall have equal protection of the law, and if wrongfully
imprisoned he can secure his release by writ of habeas corpus. You can
readily see that all these guaranties of the Constitution and many others
which we have been studying were intended to give protection to the people
from wrongs which the people had suffered throughout the world under the
different forms of government existing before America was born.
From the stirring story related by the people in the Declaration of
Independence of the injustice which they had to suffer under a king, you
can see how carefully future generations of people upon American soil were
guarded by the Constitution against the wrongs which our forefathers had
endured.
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS
1. When was the Declaration of Independence signed?
2. How long did the colonists of America continue under government by a
king?
3. How did it happen to be drawn up?
4. Compare each sentence of this quotation (pages 167, 168) with the
guaranties that you have discussed in class.
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. Discuss in detail the reasons for the coming of the American colonists.
B. Discuss in detail the contrasts noted in Note 2. Review the previous
study with reference to our Declaration of Independence.
C. Write a paper comparing the solution found in the Constitution with the
grievances noted in the Declaration.
D. Discuss a method by which this might be brought to the attention of the
Socialists, Anarchists, and Bolsheviki who are criticising our government
to-day.
XXIV. SHALL ANY PART BE REPEALED
What Provisions Would You Have Taken Out Of The Constitution
We have discussed the main personal guaranties of the Constitution. There
is a large part of the Constitution which we have not yet considered. Not
because I do not regard it as important—it is all important—but because
the personal guaranties are of the highest importance. They constitute a
Bill of Rights, a bill of individual rights, of your rights and my rights.
These rights are clearly defined and carefully guarded.
I heard a man say the other day that the Constitution ought to be
abolished, that it was an obstacle to human progress.(95) He did not say
why. That is the trouble with a lot of people in this world; they are ever
ready to destroy, but are never ready to aid in building up. Their purpose
is destruction, not construction. You will hear a great deal of complaint
about the Constitution. I have heard complaint about the Constitution.
This is our Constitution. We are directly interested in defending it
against all attacks if it is a good thing for us. If it is a bad thing we
are all interested in having it repealed. And of course you now fully
understand that the people have the power to repeal every line of the
Constitution if they want to.(96)
So this morning I wish to submit to you a fair question. _What is there in
the Constitution that you think should be taken out of the Constitution?
What is there that should be repealed?_ I do not ask you to answer that
question now. I want you to think it over carefully. Go over each and
every word of the Constitution carefully. Talk it over with your father
and your mother. Talk it over with your friends, the boys and girls who
are studying this subject with you, and some day present to your teacher
or to me a statement of the part of the Constitution that you think ought
to be repealed. Of course, to come to a just conclusion on this question
you must not only look at the language of the Constitution but you must
take into consideration the purpose of each provision of the Constitution.
That is why we have been studying the Constitution in detail. That is why
we have considered in a general way something of the problems of the human
race under the past governments of the world. It is after all a simple
question—what is good for the people, and what is not good for the people.
What is good for _all_ the people—not for any special class. The
Constitution has been in existence, most of it, for considerably more than
a hundred years. During that more than one hundred years what a wonderful
development there has been in this country, development not alone in
property and in wealth, because after all that is not the main thing, but
development in human opportunity! What a wonderful expansion there has
been of human rights! What a splendid example we have had of the
maintenance and protection of human liberty! What wonderful legislation
has been enacted by the people during those years to make life easier for
the average man!(97)
Consider all these things and then say frankly whether or not any
provision of the Constitution should be taken out. In other words, would
the repeal of any single personal guaranty, which we have been considering
in these lessons, help men, women, and children? Would it make life
easier? Would human liberty be better protected? Would the objects of
government, the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, be
more effective?
The Constitution is a sacred document, but there is nothing more sacred
than the right to life and liberty and happiness. Therefore do not
hesitate to deal fearlessly with the Constitution, but deal with it
reverently. It was intended as an aid to humanity. If it does not serve
that purpose it should be abolished. If any provision of the Constitution
is not an aid to humanity in America let us repeal that provision. Be
fearless; be also cautious. Be careful in any change to avoid the ills
which we have, that we do not invite other and more grievous ills that we
know not of.
The American people owe to themselves, to their children, and to their
country, the solemn duty to give earnest consideration to our
Constitution. They owe the solemn duty, if the Constitution is serving a
great purpose for the people of America, to defend it against all those
who may attack. They owe the duty to uphold it and to guard it. It is a
sacred trust and this trust cannot be executed except through
intelligence, earnestness, patriotism, and loyalty.
Therefore, if there be defects in the Constitution, pick them out and let
us unite in removing them, because the cause of humanity is greater than
the cause of fidelity to any law or constitution ever enacted by the
people.
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS
1. Why are we interested in the Constitution?
2. Why should we defend it from all attacks?
3. In what way can we best defend the Constitution?
4. Why should we wish to modify it?
5. Just how can the Constitution be modified?
6. What should be the spirit in which we should enter upon the
consideration of amendments to the Constitution?
7. Just what should be the argument for any changes?
8. Make a list of some of the modifications you think should be made.
9. Arrange a debate on each one of these.
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. What is the fallacy of the I. W. W. constitution?
B. How would you meet their argument?
C. List the standards which should be used to measure the worth of any
suggestion of amendments to the Constitution.
D. Discuss the process by which former amendments have been made.
E. Write a paper on any amendments which you think should be adopted to
take anything out of the Constitution.
XXV. AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION
The Power Of The People—What Provisions Should Be Added To It
This morning we are going to apply another test to the Constitution of the
United States. I have already asked you to analyze and study the
Constitution carefully, each provision of the Constitution, to see if
there be any portion that should be taken out. This morning I am going to
ask you to study the Constitution with a view of determining what, if
anything, you wish added to the Constitution. Do not assume that I em
imposing a duty which should only be undertaken by some learned lawyer or
statesman. This Constitution is a Constitution of the whole people and it
must be upheld and defended, not only by lawyers, judges, and public
officials, but by the people in every walk of life, by the children as
well as by fathers and mothers, by the poor as well as the rich.(98)
Therefore I come to you who are children to-day but who in a few short
years will be making the laws of this country through your votes at the
ballot box. I ask you to decide not only what, if anything, should be
taken out of the Constitution, but I ask what, if anything, should be
added to the Constitution; and again I want you to form your own opinions
about this after a careful study, after conference with your parents and
with your friends. It is a strange thing that we seldom hear any one
talking to his neighbor about the Constitution. People when they get
together talk about all sorts of things, serious and frivolous, but you
seldom hear them discussing the gravest problem in human life, which is
human government. Do not be afraid to take up the subject with your
friends. Do not be afraid to discuss with your friends some provision of
the Constitution. You are having a special advantage in being able to
study the Constitution while many of your neighbors never had such an
opportunity.(99)
What can we add to the Constitution which will make it more effective as
an instrument in the protection of life, liberty, and property for us here
in America?
Remember, we the American people can add anything to the Constitution that
we wish. Nineteen amendments to the Constitution have already been adopted
by the people. Do not feel discouraged because it takes a little time to
secure the adoption of an amendment. The Constitution should not be
amended hastily, but only after grave thought and earnest consideration.
If we can only think of something to add to the Constitution which would
be a good thing for the whole people of America, I will guarantee that we
will have no difficulty in having it added to the Constitution. Of course
it will take earnest effort, but shaping the destiny of more than
105,000,000 people is a grave matter. The Constitution is the protection
of the rights of each individual and therefore any change in the
Constitution merits most earnest consideration upon the part of each one
of us.
Think it over and advise me some day or inform your teacher of anything
that you can think of which, if added to the Constitution, would improve
this Nation as a country in which the people rule, anything which would
make the rule of the people more complete. That is the big thing after
all—the rule of the people, because when the people can rule themselves,
they ought to get out of life everything which they are entitled to by
their individual merits, ability, and effort. Always keep in mind that
there is no way by which a government of the people and by the people can
equalize opportunity for those who will not seek the advantages which are
open to them. No Constitution and no law can equalize industry and
idleness. No scheme of government can provide bread for those who will not
toil. It is impossible that human happiness can be guaranteed to those
whose lives are spent in wickedness and wrongdoing.
So, my friends, after due thought and deliberation, prepare your
amendments to the Constitution of your country. Do not hesitate because
you may think that you cannot put them in proper form. The form is not
important; the idea is the great thing. Perhaps it may be that out of the
mind and out of the heart of some pupil in this school may come some day a
great idea which, incorporated into the Constitution or the law, may bring
added blessings to the American people.(100) I know of no power on earth
which can tie the hands of the American people in any effort toward
enlarging the powers of the people, which will better guard life and
liberty. We have seen how many safeguards were adopted by the framers of
the Constitution to protect each and everyone of us against the abuse of
power by the government maintained by the people. We have seen how
earnestly the framers of the Constitution guarded each individual against
wrongful conduct on the part of any servant of the people in any official
position. _Perhaps some one in this class may discover an additional
guaranty which would be helpful. If so, duty demands that the same shall
be made part of the fundamental laws of our country, the Constitution of
the United States._
As you read of America, as you think of its Constitution and laws, don’t
you feel a sense of power, a sense of pride?
If Mr. Allen who owns the big department store on Main Street were to come
here some morning and make each one of you a gift of an interest in his
store, if he should make you partners with him in his entire business, you
would feel grateful and proud. What an intense interest you would take in
the store and all the details. You would talk about it at home and to your
neighbors and friends. Each of you would begin to study the business. You
would take pleasure in reading about merchandise, prices, and business
methods.
Well, we are all partners in this great Nation. Liberty is more valuable
than merchandise or profits. If someone stronger than you should undertake
to take away your liberty, you would fight for it and die for it if
necessary.
Being partners in America, won’t you study America? Won’t you talk about
the blessings of America at home and to your neighbors? Won’t you study
the problems of America so that each succeeding year it can pay greater
profits in freedom and justice and righteousness?
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS
1. What do your parents say about changes in our Constitution?
2. How would you advise them to act?
3. Can you tell them how changes in our Constitution can be made?
4. Why is it necessary that each one of us take a personal interest in OUR
Constitution?
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. How would you meet the argument of the radical who wants a revolution?
B. How would you show others that we have a great partnership in America?
C. What two ways are possible for constitutional amendments?
D. List a series of additions that you think should be made to the
Constitution.
E. Write a paper upon some one amendment to our Constitution that you
believe to be worthy of adoption.
XXVI. MACHINERY OF THE GOVERNMENT
The Agencies, Officers, And Methods For Exercising Powers Of The National
Government
Now my friends, we have reached the end of discussion of the personal
guaranties of the Constitution—the American Bill of Rights.
As I have heretofore stated, this is the real, important part of the
Constitution, because it is in a study of these guaranties that we fully
realize the blessings of our free American government. Any one who has
earnestly considered this great American Bill of Rights can readily answer
the question, “What has America done for me and for my children”?
But I would not have you feel that the other parts of the Constitution are
of small concern. Each provision of this great charter of human rights is
very important, and worthy of careful study.
Article I of the Constitution provides that all legislative powers granted
“shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist
of a Senate and House of Representatives”. Now you will understand of
course that up to the time the Constitution was adopted, the United States
had no power; in fact there was no United States. The colonists through
the Articles of Confederation had attempted to establish a Nation which
was designated “The United States of America”, but the result of their
efforts was really a confederation, and not a real union.(101) _The Nation
was formed by the adoption of the Constitution._ The Nation formed was in
the nature of a partnership. I suppose you know but little about
partnerships organized by individuals. A partnership is generally formed
by a written agreement signed by the partners. This agreement usually
contains provisions as to the share or interest of each partner, the power
of the partners and of the partnership, and the objects and purposes of
the partnership.
The United States is a partnership between the people and the Nation. The
Constitution is a partnership agreement binding upon all the parties to
the agreement. Before the adoption of the Constitution the people
possessed all the power of government and governmental action. The people
gave some of their power to the Nation, but only a small part of the power
of the people was given. Always bear in mind that the United States—the
Nation—has no power, and never had any except what the people granted in
the Constitution and in the amendments thereto.
You will see in Section 8 of Article I the specific powers granted to
Congress by the people. They include the following: lay and collect taxes;
pay debts; provide for defense and for the general welfare; borrow money;
regulate commerce among the States and with foreign nations; provide for
naturalization and uniform rules of bankruptcy; coin money, regulate the
value thereof, and fix the standard of weights and measures; punish
counterfeiting; establish post offices and post roads; protect authors and
inventors by copyrights and patents; establish courts; punish piracies and
felonies on the high seas; declare war, raise, and support armies; provide
and maintain a navy; provide for organizing armies, for disciplining the
militia, and for calling them to serge in certain emergencies; exercise
exclusive power of legislation “over such District (not exceeding ten
miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance
of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States”; make
all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing
powers “and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government
of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.”
So you see large powers were granted by the people to the new Nation.
However, the people were very careful. Nearly every government in the
world, before the organization of the United States, had at times proven
false to the people. Many governments were false to the people all the
time. Indignities and abuses were often heaped upon helpless men, women,
and children. Governments were more often maintained to serve royalty or
aristocracy than to protect the rights and liberties of the common people.
Therefore when it came to organizing this new Nation, the people were
careful to guard against the abuses of the past. Thus they not only
specified definitely the powers conferred upon the United States, but
(Sections 9 and 10 of Article I) positively stated certain things which
the United States could not do.
_The people also were suspicious._ The experience of the human race with
governments justified this suspicion. When the Constitution was submitted
to the people, many protested that the individual liberties of the people
were not sufficiently guarded; and before the people consented to ratify
the Constitution, it was necessary that they should be given assurance
that upon the ratification of the Constitution, amendments would be
proposed and submitted to the people, expressing clearly the guaranties
given to the people against improper exercise of power by the National
government and especially protecting the liberty of all the people. These
amendments, which constitute the Great American Bill of Rights, were
proposed by Congress in 1789 and were ratified by the States in 1791.
Now let us get the foregoing brief summary fixed in our minds.
The Constitution is a partnership between the people and the Nation in
which the people (1) grant to the Nation certain specific powers; (2)
restrain the Nation from exercising powers not granted; and (3) in many
particulars direct the manner in which the powers granted shall be
exercised. The Constitution also provides for what may be termed the
“machinery of government”. It separates the powers of government into
three divisions: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. It then
provides for the officers (the agents or servants of the people), who
shall exercise the powers of each department, and prescribes certain
qualifications for such officers, the methods of their selection, and the
terms of such officers.
In Article I we find certain qualifications for Senators and
Representatives—the length of their term of service. Senators are elected
for six years, Representatives for two years. There are also certain
provisions as to their election, the organization of the Senate and House,
to some extent the method of procedure, and direction as to the exercise
of certain powers.
Article II of the Constitution fixes certain qualifications for President
of the United States, the executive head of the Nation; provides the
manner of the election of the President and the Vice President, confers
certain powers and duties, provides that the term of office of President
and Vice President shall be four years, and designates the causes for
which they may be removed by impeachment.
Article III of the Constitution provides for courts and judges, and fixes
their jurisdiction—their power—and gives direction as to trial and penalty
in certain cases.
Thus we find that the Constitution guarantees a National government (a
republican form of government), confers certain powers formerly held by
the people, provides an executive to enforce the powers granted, a
legislative body to make laws under which the powers may be exercised, and
establishes courts to construe and apply the laws enacted, to the end that
human rights and liberties shall be protected.
Let us carry in our minds this picture of the people of the colonies, who
through generations had struggled with royalty to secure the blessings and
liberties for which they had come to the New World. In the local
government of the colonies much had been done to apply the principles of
liberty, but in their relation to the mother country they had endured
abuses and sufferings, which finally in 1776 found expression in the
Declaration of Independence.
In an effort to unite their strength they had formed a federation of the
thirteen States, but their dreams of a free country were not realized
until in the Constitution they had formed the “more perfect Union” which
was created to “establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide
for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the
Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity”.
Now let us bear in mind that the people reserved much of their power,
which under the plan of government adopted was to be used in their
respective States under Constitutions and laws expressing the will of the
people with relation to their domestic affairs. At our next meeting, we
shall consider briefly something of the Constitutions of the States, where
they come from, and the wonderful purpose they serve in carrying out the
scheme of the people in actual self government.
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS
1. Why are the individual guaranties of the Constitution so important?
2. What is meant by legislative power?
3. In whom is the legislative power of the United States vested?
4. When and how was the Nation formed?
5. What is a partnership? How is it usually formed?
6. From whom did the United States obtain its power?
7. State the terms of service of: (a) the President, (b) Senators, (c)
Representatives, (d) the Vice President?
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. Tell some of the powers conferred by the people upon the United States.
B. Into what departments does the Constitution separate the powers of
government?
C. At the time of the adoption of the Constitution, why were the people
suspicious?
D. Name some officers now in service of the National government: (a) in
the executive department, (b) in the legislative department, (c) in the
judicial department.
E. Write a statement of the attitude of the people of the States when the
Constitution was submitted to them for ratification, what was the subject
of public discussion, what parties were formed, and what was done to
secure the consent of the people to ratify the Constitution?
F. Write in 100 words or less a summary of what the United States
Constitution is.
XXVII. STATE CONSTITUTIONS
The Grant And Limitations Of Power Expressed By The People In The
Constitutions Of The States
Every human organization had a beginning. This is a large city in which we
now live, but there was a time within the memory of men still living, when
there was nothing here but an unbroken prairie. A log cabin was the first
building where the city now stands. Then came the cultivated fields. A
flour mill was erected down on the river bank, then a blacksmith shop, a
store, a livery stable, some modest dwellings, then a school house, and a
church. Thus came the little village which through the years has slowly
grown into the present city.
Thus came all the cities, and thus came the States. There was a time not
so long ago when there were no white people within what is now the borders
of our State. There was the “first white settler”, the first cultivated
patch of ground, the first log house, the little settlements, the lonely
log cabins in between, and then the State.
Thus were the thirteen colonies founded, and thus were founded the
thirty-five States which have been admitted to the Union since the
adoption of the Constitution.
Every human organization with any degree of permanence has something in
the nature of a constitution. It may be in writing, it may be oral, or it
may rest in a mutual understanding expressed only by acts and conduct. It
may be manifest from customs which have been observed by all the members
of the group.
The proud boast of America is that it was the first Nation in the world
which adopted a complete written Constitution binding upon the Nation and
upon the people, a Constitution which provides for courts with the power
of restraining the Nation and the individual from acts or conduct which
violate its provisions, designed to guard human rights.
Until the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the colonies in their joint
efforts for liberty and justice, were called the “United Colonies”; but
after independence was proclaimed, this title gave place to that of “The
United States”. Thereupon eleven of the thirteen States adopted
Constitutions. In two States—Connecticut and Rhode Island by an act of the
legislature, the existing charters were continued in force so far as
consistent with independence. These Constitutions all came into being
before the adoption of the Constitution of the United States. Of course
they were far from perfect, and all have been amended from time to time,
so that now the Constitution of each State provides a truly American
system of government.(102)
Nothing in the Constitution of the United States requires that each State
shall have a written Constitution, but the wonderful achievement of the
people in creating the Constitution of the United States has been a guide
and inspiration to the people of the States, and each State has adopted a
written State Constitution, following the method and spirit of the
colonists in the long ago, drafting the Constitution in a convention of
delegates and ratifying it by another special convention or by the vote of
all the people.
Then as each new State was admitted to the Union, a Constitution was
adopted.(103) By the Constitution of the United States, Congress has the
power to admit new States, thus by implication controlling the subject
matter of the original Constitution of each State admitted.
It is not my intention to consider in detail the Constitutions of the
various States. This is not essential to the purpose which I have in
talking to you. I am very anxious that you shall realize that each State
is a separate sovereignty; that when the people created the United States,
and adopted the Constitution of the United States, they give to the United
States limited power; that the plan of government contemplated that each
State should have its own Constitution; and that in each State the people
should enact their own laws governing the conduct of the people in their
respective States.
An examination of the Constitutions of all the States will show how
carefully the people of each State incorporated in their State
Constitution the great principles of government, and the guaranties of
liberty which were so carefully provided in the Constitution of the United
States.
Different language is used in the different State Constitutions, but in
each it will be found that the government of the State, as of the United
States, is divided into three departments—the executive, the legislative,
and the judicial; that the executive power in the States is vested in a
Governor; that the legislative power rests in what is usually termed a
“General Assembly” consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives,
modeled after the Congress of the United States; that the judicial power
is to be exercised by courts—a Supreme Court and other courts designated
as District Courts, Circuit Courts, and many other titles, varying in
different States.
Public officers, servants of the people, are provided for, and usually
their selection is by vote of the people at general elections for which
provision is made.
The really important thing in the State Constitutions, as well as in the
Constitution of the United States, is the Bill of Rights specifically
guarding the natural rights and liberties of the people.
The guaranties in the State Constitutions are not all uniform, but as a
general thing you will find that each State has incorporated in its
Constitution those sacred guaranties which in the Constitution of the
United States form the real foundation and protection of human liberty.
Always bear in mind that the Constitution in each State, as in the Nation,
is an instrument of fundamental law, or body of laws, which prescribes the
form of government, fixes the different departments of government,
provides the agencies of government, and declares and guarantees the
rights and liberties of the people.(104)
The Constitution of the United States is the Supreme law of the land, and
the Constitution of each State is the supreme law of the State. These
Constitutions must be respected, and must be obeyed; and any law enacted
by the legislature of a State or by the Congress of the United States
which is contrary to the provisions of the Constitution is null and void.
By their Constitution the people of a State proclaim and establish their
power superior to the power of the legislature of the State or any officer
of the State. The power expressed in the Constitution is the power of the
people. They have, by their solemn document—the Constitution—established
certain rules, regulations, principles, and guaranties, which cannot be
changed by ordinary legislation.(105) Of course the people can change and
modify the Constitution of State or Nation. Every Constitution provides
some method of amendment. Some States provide for a constitutional
convention from time to time, where the people through their
representatives selected for such a purpose assemble to consider the
question of change or modification. In other States the legislature may
propose amendments which must be submitted to the people for their
approval. In all States some procedure is provided which requires careful
deliberation and consideration by the people before the Constitution is
changed.(106)
Now it is very important that every citizen shall have a knowledge of the
Constitution of his State. It is of the highest importance that every man,
woman, and child shall know and feel the solicitude, the care, which has
been exercised in the framing of the Constitution to guard individual
rights.
As I have heretofore explained, the purpose of government is to guard
human rights and human liberty. This is true of the government of the
United States, and it is true of the government of each State. Always keep
in mind that in this country, what we call “the government” is merely an
agency of the people—an expression of the power of the people in a defined
way, agreed upon by them, through which they protect themselves against
wrong by the agencies of government which they have created, and against
wrong by their neighbors.
Inspiring indeed is it to contemplate the spirit in which the founders of
the American Nation and of the States of America studied the methods by
which human rights should be protected. They were unselfish; they were in
the highest degree inspired by a holy purpose to guard the people of
America against the wrongs, the abuses, the cruelty which their ancestors
in the past had suffered; and to accomplish their purpose they exercised
the greatest care to maintain the power of government in the people
themselves—the power to make laws and to enforce them.
I suppose it may be said that the highest achievement of the American
people in creating a National government and the governments of the States
is expressed in the words of Lincoln when he proclaimed this to be “a
government by the people”.
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS
1. What is a village?
2. What is a State?
3. When were the colonies first called States?
4. What States adopted Constitutions before the adoption and ratification
of the Constitution of the United States?
5. Can the people of the State of New York enact a law punishing a person
for coining silver dollars? Why?
6. Can Congress pass a law Sting the punishment of a person for stealing a
horse in the State of Michigan?
7. When was the State in which we live admitted to the Union?
8. Who framed the Constitution of this State?
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. What is a constitution?
B. Explain fully how a Constitution of a State comes into, being.
C. Must a constitution be in writing? If not, what may be its form?
D. State how the Constitution of the United States may be amended.
E. In what way may the Constitution of a State be amended?
F. Write briefly telling the advantages of a written constitution.
G. State in writing the power of the courts in exercising their power and
duty of defending the Constitution. Give an illustration.
H. Write an explanation of the power and influence of the Constitution of
the United States in guiding the people in framing the Constitutions of
their States, and in what things the Constitution of the States follow the
Constitution of the United States.
XXVIII. THE SUFFRAGE
The Significance Of The Nineteenth Amendment To The Constitution
This meeting was at night. Some of the parents who had attended the talks
from time to time had requested that the last meeting be held at night so
that some of the busy fathers and mothers might come. The assembly room
was crowded, and although extra chairs had been placed in the aisles,
there were a number of people standing. The principal said that it was the
largest crowd that he had ever seen in the room.(107)
First everybody arose and sang “The Star Spangled Banner”, and when the
meeting closed, the audience joined in singing “America”.(108) The judge
was greeted with loud applause. He said:
I am happy to-night. This meeting is an inspiration. It is a real
community meeting, a real American meeting. If meetings like this were
held once each week or once every two weeks in every school building in
the United States I should not fear socialism or bolshevism or anarchy.
Such ideas cannot live in a community where the people really know each
other. There are no class lines here to-night. You are too close together.
I see a banker over there whom I have known for thirty years. He was
brought up in this city, attended this school, and has spent his whole
life here. His success in life came to him among old friends in the
community where he was born. Near him I see a bricklayer. I have known him
and respected him since boyhood. We played on the same baseball team when
we were both younger and could run faster than we can now. He went to the
Washington school. The children of these men are in this school now. In a
few years they will be grown men and women doing the work that we shall
have to give up soon.(109)
So with most of the people in this room to-night. They were born here,
went to school here, and they have worked here all their lives. Some
followed one occupation, some another. This was a matter of their own
choice. Their children are now growing up, as they once grew up. Soon they
will be selecting their life work. Soon they will be voting and performing
other duties of citizenship. Soon you and I, fathers and mothers, will
pass off the stage of life. Soon we shall be forgotten by all except the
few who compose the family circle, who love us notwithstanding our faults.
For a few weeks I have been acting as teacher. I have been trying hard to
bring into the minds and hearts of the pupils in this school something of
the sacredness of human liberty, something of the cost of American
liberty, the sacrifices, the struggles, the bloodshed, the heartaches, and
heartbreaks which finally triumphed when our Constitution was adopted. I
have endeavored to explain that the Constitution is not a mere skeleton or
framework, defining the relation of the Nation and the States and
providing for the election of officers to carry out the plans of the
National government. I have repeatedly told the great truth that in
America there is more freedom, justice, charity, and kindness than in any
other Nation in the world. I have pointed out that in America we have in
our Constitution written guaranties of life, liberty, and property rights
such as no other Nation in the history of the world ever had. We have
found that this is a government by the people, that the people rule, that
the few cannot rule unless the many refuse to perform their duties as
citizens of this great republic. Oh! if we can only put in the hearts of
the American people a realization of the _power_ and the _duty_ of the
people!
To-night I wish to present briefly something of the manner in which the
people express their power, the method by which the people disclose their
wishes in public affairs. The Star Baseball Club, the Irving Literary
Society, the City Teachers Association, the Woman’s Club, the Charity
Guild, these are all mere organisations of people. _That is all that
America is._ These organizations have written constitutions. _So has
America._ These organizations must have laws or rules of conduct, aside
from their constitutions. _So must America._ These societies must have a
policy and transact business. _So must America._ In adopting laws or rules
of conduct these societies secure an expression of the wishes of their
members. These wishes are generally expressed by their votes, sometimes by
ballot and sometimes orally in a meeting.
America secures an expression of the wishes of the people by their votes.
The votes of the people either in writing or printed are cast on election
days fixed by laws enacted through the vote of the people. In no other way
can the wishes of the people be made known. It, is through the ballot that
the people exercise their powers. It is through the ballot that America is
governed.(110)
I wonder if the people of America generally realize what a wonderful thing
it is that a government as large as ours must depend entirely upon the
wishes of the people expressed by their vote on election day. I wonder if
they realize that in this way the people rule. On election day we see
something of the equality of the people. If you go near the polling place,
you will see the president of the bank, perhaps, or the president of the
railroad walking side by side with the hodcarrier or the brakeman on the
train. In the voting booth each has the same power in helping to shape the
destiny of their country.
In a way this is a new method of government. Only in a country where there
is a government by the people do we find such a thing as the right of all
men regardless of property, race, or creed to exercise the same power in
the ballot box.(111)
From the beginning America has led in granting the right of suffrage, the
right to vote. In the early days in some of the States a man had to own a
certain amount of property before he could vote, but this has not been
true for more than fifty years. _Now a new day has come._ After a struggle
for generations, the right to vote has been conferred upon all female
citizens, regardless of property, social position, religion, or race. It
has been a long struggle and now that victory has been won for equal
suffrage, is there anyone who will still contend that in this country the
people do not rule?
Who has conferred this great privilege upon the women of America? The
voters of America decided that every State should grant this privilege.
The amendment to the Constitution is as follows:
“_The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied
or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex._”
The people did not vote directly upon this constitutional amendment, but
they voted for the members of the House and the members of the Senate who
voted for the amendment and they voted for the members of the legislatures
of the different States which ratified the amendment. Thus the
responsibility rests with the people. This is true of course as to nearly
all the laws enacted by State and Nation—the people do not vote directly
upon them, but they select their agents, who, under the law, are
authorized to act for them.
Under this amendment we have the written guaranty in the Constitution that
so far as men and women are concerned they shall have equal rights to
vote.(112)
Perhaps you were not in favor of woman suffrage. Many good men and women
were opposed to it. Many are still opposed to it. This is a good
illustration of the way we do things in a democracy. We have different
temperaments, different dispositions. We are reared in different
surroundings. We have different interests. We look at life in different
ways. Each of us has a right to his opinion and each of us has the right
to express it by our vote. When we finally vote, a decision is made. If we
belong to the majority, we find that our wish is carried out. If we are in
the minority, we cheerfully follow what the majority of the people, what
most of the people in America desire.
The thing that I wish to impress to-night is that to vote on election day
is not only a right, it is a duty. Whether we were for woman suffrage or
not it has come. It is settled. It brings into power twenty-seven million
new voters. Each of these women, whether she desires it or not, must
assume this new share of the responsibilities of government. It is a
patriotic duty. At every election we must cast our votes. Before every
election we must study the issues, the problems to be met. Unless we do
that we are failing in patriotism and loyalty. Unless we vote we are not
good citizens.
Now I must close. I hope that the talks I have given in this school have
planted in the hearts of boys and girls, and possibly in the hearts of
grown men and women, something of the simple truth of American life,
something perhaps of the privileges of American citizenship and something
of the duties that we all owe in return.
I have promised the principal of this school that next term I will again
appear and present some new topics. I wish to talk to the boys and girls
about authority and obedience, the source of authority and the duty of
obedience. I wish also to talk about the making of laws, the origin of
laws, how they are put in form and finally enacted by the people. I wish
to talk about our public servants, because one of the important things for
each citizen to know is that from the President of the United States down
to the constable of the humblest village, all officers are mere servants
of the people and that no officer in America is in his official capacity
master of any man, woman, or child. I wish to impress as far as I am able
the great truth expressed by Chief Justice Marshall when he said long
years ago, “This is a government of laws and not of men.”
ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS
1. Show the ways in which the United States is just like a small club?
2. Why must we always vote?
3. Why is it right that women should vote?
4. Show that this is more than a privilege: it is a duty.
5. Imagine some person saying that America is only for the rich. Review
all the work that we have done, and show how it is just as fair to the
poor man as to the rich.
ADVANCED QUESTIONS
A. Re-read the questions to chapters one and two. Note the difference in
your answers.
B. Map out a program so that you can show to all critics of America the
ways in which the Constitution of the United States gives to all Americans
the rights to LIFE, LIBERTY, and the PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.
C. You can now answer fully the question, “Why is America the most free
and most just Nation on the globe?”
D. What did Chief Justice Marshall mean when he said, “This is a
government of laws, and not of men.”
E. Prepare in writing a constitution for the “Lincoln Debating Club”.
A WORD TO THE THE TEACHERS AND OTHERS
“The very essence of civil liberty certainly consists in the right of
every individual to claim the protection of the laws whenever he receives
an injury. One of the first duties of government is to afford that
protection. The Government of the United States has been emphatically
termed, a government of laws, and not of men. It will certainly cease to
deserve this high appellation, if the laws furnish no remedy for the
violation of a vested legal right.”
These words of Chief Justice Marshall in Marbury v. Madison, 1 Cranch,
137, are the most significant and far reaching in their effect upon human
government that were ever uttered by the lips of man.
“A government of laws and not of men.” This expresses the fundamental
difference between the government of this great American republic and all
other systems of government devised by man before the Constitution of the
United States came into being.(113)
Government has been the great problem of the human race throughout all the
ages since mankind first started out upon the great highway of life. The
greatest problem men have ever been called upon to solve is “how they
might live together in communities without cutting each others throats”.
As we look back at the warring world of yesterday, yea as we look at the
warring world to-day (1920), we are reminded that the history of the human
family tells a long, sad story of war and bloodshed and death. The path
which humanity has traveled stretches back into the dim distance, a long
gleaming line of white human bones. The flowers, the trees, and the shrubs
along the way have been nurtured by the red blood that flowed from human
hearts. All over the world the battle has waged; away down in Egypt where
the Nile scatters her riches; upon the banks of the Tiber which for
centuries has reflected the majesty of Rome; upon the heights above the
castle crowned Rhine; on the banks of the peaceful Thames; and upon the
prairies that sweep back from the Father of Waters, men have fought and
died. In the field and in the forest, by the sweet running brook, and upon
the burning sands, in the mountain pass, and in the stony streets of the
populous city, within the chancel rail of holy churches, and at the dark
entrance to the Bastile—in all these places, and in a thousand more, the
hand of the oppressed has been lifted against the oppressor, the right to
be free that God gave to men has struggled with the power which might has
given, and, alas! so often might has triumphed, and the slave, sick at
heart, has been scourged to his dungeon. On a thousand hillsides burning
fagots have consumed men who dared to dream of freedom, and in dark and
slimy prison cells where God’s sunlight seldom entered, men have rotten
with clanking chains upon their limbs because they dared to ask for the
rights of freemen.
In the olden days force ruled the world; the king, the crown, the scepter,
were the insignia of power. All about were the instruments of force, the
cannon, the moated castle, the marching armies of the king.
And so it was until the American Nation was born, a Nation founded by
exiles who were fleeing from oppression, from unrestrained power, exiles
who dreamed of establishing a Nation, exiles with stout hearts and with
strong hands with which to build it—a Nation where there would be no
master and no slaves, where the citizen would rule and not the soldier,
where the home and the school and not the castle would stand as the
citadel of the Nation, where the steel would at last be molded into
plowshares, and not into swords, where, instead of martial music, the song
of the plowboy and the hum of the spinning wheel would greet the ear,
where lust for power would be dethroned and brute force strangled, where
love would rule and not brutality, where justice and not vengeance would
be the end of judicial investigation, where the rights of men to live and
to enjoy the fruits of their labor would be recognized. This was the dream
of the fathers of the republic as they laid the foundation in the long
ago.
But this dream never would have been realized had it not been for the
recognition of that great constitutional principle, announced by Chief
Justice Marshall, that in this Nation the law is supreme; not supreme
alone with the citizen, but supreme with the Nation and the States that
compose the Nation; not supreme with the humble toiler, but supreme with
the richest and the strongest; not supreme in theory, but supreme in truth
and in fact.
This great principle of the supremacy of the law finds its origin in that
immortal document, the Constitution of the United States.(114)
Few there are in these modern days who fully appreciate the wonderful
blessings of a written Constitution which gives recognition to the
fundamental natural rights of man, and provides guaranties against the
invasion of these rights.
Gladstone, the eminent statesman, said:
It (the American Constitution) is the greatest work ever struck
off at any one time by the mind and purpose of man.
An eminent lawyer has said:
It has been the priceless adjunct of free government, the mighty
shield of the rights and liberties of the citizen. It has been
many times invoked to save him from illegal punishment, and save
his property from the greed of unscrupulous enemies, and to save
his political fights from the unbridled license of victorious
political opponents controlling legislative bodies; nor does it
sleep, except as a sword dedicated to a righteous cause sleeps in
its scabbard.
Horace Binney says:
What were the States before the Union? The hope of their enemies,
the fear of their friends, and arrested only by the Constitution
from becoming the shame of the world.
Sir Henry Maine gives the following estimate of the Constitution:
It isn’t at all easy to bring home to the men of the present day,
how low the credit of the Republic had sunk before the
establishment of the United States.... Its success has been so
great and striking, that men have almost forgotten, that if the
whole, or the known experiments of mankind in governments be
looked at together, there has been no form of government so
successful as the republican.
Justice Mitchell of Pennsylvania, some twenty odd years ago said:
A century and a decade has passed since the Constitution of the
United States was adopted. Dynasties have arisen and fallen,
boundaries have extended and shrunken ’till continents seem almost
the playthings of imagination and war; nationalities have been
asserted and subdued; governments built up only to be overthrown,
and the kingdoms of the earth from the Pillars of Hercules to the
Yellow Sea have been shaken to their foundations. Through all this
change and obstruction, the Republic, shortest lived of all forms
of government in the prior history of the world, surviving the
perils of foreign and domestic war, has endured and flourished.
And yet, it is true, “and pity ’tis, ’tis true”, that in these days there
seems to be a great lack of confidence, nay even a feeling of contempt
existing in the minds and hearts of many men for this great charter of
human liberty. Men born to the blessings of freedom, men who do not stop
to think about the cost of freedom, men who do not realize that this
Nation is not the child of chance, but that it is the outgrowth of
centuries of tears and blood and sacrifice in the cause of human
freedom—these men assume an attitude of criticism, and would, by
destroying the Constitution, fly from the “ills we have” and open their
arms to evils “we know not of”.
And this feeling, this unrest, this spirit of criticism, is not limited to
the ignorant, nor the lowly. Many men and women of education and culture
are prominent in the ranks of those who raise their voices in reckless
condemnation.
What is the source of this widespread feeling?
For several years before the World War, we were passing through a period
of readjustment in the political and social life of the Nation. Many
people felt that privilege was too strongly entrenched in governmental
favor. A noble feeling of sympathy for the weak and the unfortunate
created a demand for social justice. A great political party was thrown
out of power. Out of all this came appeals for legislation, most of it
inspired by the highest motives, but much of it impractical and visionary,
some of it so framed that in providing a benefit for a certain class, the
rights of some other class were forgotten. Often it became necessary to
recall the provisions of the Constitution, and some times it was used as a
bar to the enactment of measures which were inspired only by the loftiest
motives. Under such circumstances it is only natural that those intensely
interested, seeing only from one standpoint, not understanding perhaps the
far reaching effect of their favorite measures, should cry out at the
limitations imposed by the Constitution.
Then again courts are sometimes compelled, under their sworn duty to
defend the Constitution, to hold that a legislative enactment is
unconstitutional and void, because it violates some of the principles of
that great document, created, not by courts, not by presidents, but by the
people themselves for their own guidance and protection.
But Chief Justice White gives the strongest reason for this feeling of
contempt for the Constitution. He says:
There is great danger, it seems to me, to arise, from the constant
habit which prevails where anything is opposed or objected to, of
resorting without rhyme or reason, to the Constitution as a means
of preventing its accomplishment, thus creating the general
impression that the Constitution is but a barrier to progress,
instead of being the broad highway through which alone true
progress, may be enjoyed.
Not only is this true, but unfortunately it is also true that every base
murderer who begins to feel the rope tighten about his neck can find some
lawyer who can devise some alleged constitutional reason why his client
should not hang. The courts are constantly engaged in defending the
Constitution against these base and unworthy attempts to defeat justice.
Then upon every hand are those who hate authority, who despise law and
order, and who denounce the Constitution because it stands between them
and a realization of their greedy, vicious purposes.
Justice White further says that there is “a growing tendency to suppose
that every wrong that exists, despite the system, and which would be many
times worse if the system did not exist, is attributable to it, and
therefore that the Constitution should be disregarded or over-thrown”.
The foregoing are some, but not all of the causes which weaken the faith
of the people in the Constitution.
Now recognizing that there is in this Nation a lack of respect for the
Constitution, and knowing something of the causes which underlie this
feeling, and realizing that the Constitution is in very truth the fortress
and the glory of our republic, what is our duty?
The duty of every man, woman, and child in America is to defend the
Constitution with his life, if necessary, against those who condemn and
traduce and seek to destroy.
But how shall we defend it? Shall we oppose all amendments of the
Constitution? No, by its very terms it is subject to amendment; but in
contemplating its amendment, we should approach this sacred document in
the same reverent spirit we would have if we were entering upon some holy
shrine. It is the people’s Constitution; it is their right to amend it.
Yea, it is their duty to amend it, if upon due deliberation, the rights of
the whole people can be better protected or enforced.
Complaint is sometimes made because of the delay involved in its
amendment; but the provisions of the Constitution requiring deliberation
were wisely inserted. It was intended that fundamental principles should
not be changed under the inspiration of sudden passion. It contemplated
mature deliberation. The fathers of the Republic were mindful of the
storms which at times in the history of the world had swept the people to
destruction.(115)
Shall we rebuke the people who seek reforms? _Shall we decry progress or
change?_ No, we should be the leaders in all such reforms. We should aid
in guiding public sentiment along channels safe and sound and
constitutional. We should give recognition to the appeals of those who
would lighten the burdens of our brothers who may be heavy laden. We
should aid in convincing the people that the Constitution is no restraint
upon their aspirations for higher and better things; that it is in truth
the guide and inspiration to better things.
Shall we condemn those who through lack of knowledge do not appreciate the
great value of the Constitution? No, we should teach them. We should lead
them. We should inspire them with love and veneration for this great
bulwark of human freedom.
We must in very truth become teachers of all the people. We must carry to
them the light of our knowledge. We must point out to them the rocks upon
which other republics have been wrecked.(116)
We must teach them that in the Constitution we find an absolute guaranty
of protection for life, for liberty, and for property rights. That there
is no man so lowly, that he cannot point to the Constitution as his shield
from the acts of the tyrant, that he cannot point to his humble home as
his “castle”, and under the sacred guaranties of the Constitution defy all
the unlawful force of the world.
We must teach them that it guarantees the inviolability of contracts, that
it prevents even a great State from taking the life or property of its
humblest citizen without a trial under due process of law, that trial by
jury is preserved, and that no man can be convicted of a crime without the
privilege of being represented by counsel, and that no man can be
compelled to be a witness against himself.
We must recall to them the awful tragedies enacted in the days of old,
where, under Star Chamber proceedings, men were deprived of their property
and their lives upon charges of treason, which were never proven; and then
we must point out to them the burning words of the Constitution, which
provides that no man can be found guilty of treason without at least two
witnesses to the overt act.
We must impress upon them the great truth, that there is not now, and
never has been, a system of government which can abolish sorrow, or
sickness, or stay the hand of death. That no government can help men who
will not help themselves; that there is no way in which any government can
bring riches to the indolent, nor bread to those who will not toil. We
must combat the false philosophy which assumes that all men are equal in
all things, because men are not equal, except as under the Constitution
they are equal before the law. No system of legislation and no method of
government can equalize the strong with the weak, the wise with the
simple, the good with the bad. While God gives to some men wisdom and
shrewdness which others do not possess, while some are broad shouldered,
with muscles of steel, and others are frail, and tremble as they walk,
there will always be riches, there will always be poverty, and any scheme
for equalizing the possessions of men is but an idle dream which never can
be realized until men are made over into beings without passion or pride
or ambition or selfishness. Do not let them feel that its provisions are
intended to protect only the rich and powerful. If the right of a railway
corporation to certain lands is sustained under some constitutional
provision, do not allow the people to assume that this provision exists
only for corporations, but impress upon them that the same constitutional
provision which protects the railway company in its rights, may be invoked
in defense of the little homestead out upon the prairies.
If some desperado should be acquitted because he invoked the
constitutional requirement that he upon his trial must be confronted by
the witnesses against him, remind those who criticise that this same
provision is made for their sons who may to-morrow be unjustly charged
with a crime; impress upon them that it is impossible to have one law for
the guilty, and another for the innocent; and that under our Constitution,
every man is presumed to be innocent until proven to be guilty.
Then impress upon the people something of the wonderful growth of the
Nation, the development of the Nation, and the progress of the Nation—all
under the wise protection of the Constitution. To those who may be
discouraged in the battle of life, and who may attribute their failure to
the injustice of social conditions, point out what other men have done
under the same conditions, with no better opportunity, and ask them to
ponder the question as to whether their failure is not to be attributed
largely to their own lack of energy and determination.(117)
And if they point out abuses which do exist, ask them to aid in
eliminating these abuses. If half the energy which is exerted by earnest,
but misguided people, in efforts to tear down our form of government, were
honestly applied in an effort to remedy existing evils in a constitutional
way, these people would show that they were patriots, and at the same time
they would accomplish something for their country and their
fellowmen.(118)
_Too long have we been silent_ while the enemies of our country have
poisoned the minds of youth, yea, and of manhood and womanhood, with the
gospel of treason.
Those who despise and condemn the Constitution have in the past ten years
had more earnest students of their vicious doctrines than have those who
uphold the Constitution and prize their liberties which the Constitution
guards and protects.
All over the land earnest men and women are endeavoring to teach the great
truth of Americanism, and with substantial success; but those who
understand human nature realize that the faith of our fathers can only be
firmly established by lighting the fires of patriotism and loyalty in the
hearts of our children. Through them the great truths of our National life
can be brought into the homes of the land.
And the Nation will never be safe until the Constitution is carried into
the homes, until at every fireside young and old shall feel a new sense of
security in the guaranties which are found in this great charter of human
liberty, and a new feeling of gratitude for the blessings which it assures
to this, and to all future generations.
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to
dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and
to assume among the Powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to
which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent
respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the
causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to
secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their
just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of
Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the
People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its
foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as
to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should
not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all
experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while
evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to
which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and
usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to
reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty,
to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future
security.—Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such
is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems
of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a
history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object
the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this,
let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for
the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing
importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be
obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to
them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts
of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of
Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and
formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual,
uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records,
for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly
firmness his invasion on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others
to be elected; whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation,
have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State
remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from
without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that
purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to
pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the
conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to
Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their
offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of
officers to harass our People, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the
Consent of our legislature.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the
Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our
constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their
Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from Punishment for any Murders
which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province,
establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries
so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing
the same absolute rule into these Colonies.
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and
altering fundamentally the Forms of our Government:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested
with Power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection
and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and
destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to
compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with
circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely parallel in the most barbarous
ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to
bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their
friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to
bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages,
whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all
ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the
most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by
repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act
which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free People.
Nor have We been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have
warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend
an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the
circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to
their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the
ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would
inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have
been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must,
therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and
hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace
Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in
General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world
for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of
the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That
these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent
States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown,
and that all political connection between them and the State of Great
Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and
Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace,
contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and
Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of
this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the Protection of Divine
Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and
our sacred Honor.
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common
defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty
to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this CONSTITUTION
for the United States of America.
ARTICLE I.
Section 1. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a
Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House
of Representatives.