THE CITIZEN, HIS RIGHTS AND DUTIES
_The purpose of this chapter is to explain who are citizens, what
their rights and duties are, and how training for citizenship is
obtained._
[Sidenote: The old systems of oppression.]
=What Civil Liberty Means.=—One of the best ways to get an appreciation
or what civil liberty means is to read any book which describes the life
of the French people before the Revolution. In those days men could be
arrested without any reason, thrown into jail for months or years
without trial, and their property confiscated. No one could travel from
one part of the country to another without permission. There was no
freedom of religion, no freedom of speech, no freedom of the press.
Nothing could be printed without a license from the authorities. The
farmer who brought his produce into town had to pay a toll on it. The
workman, in order to follow his trade, was required to join a guild and
pay a fee. The amount of taxes which every farmer or workman had to pay
depended upon the will of the tax-collectors, who made a profit out of
the taxes. Soldiers were billeted or boarded in the homes of the people
and the king paid nothing for it. The masses of the people toiled hard
in order that princes and noblemen might live in luxury. That was the
Bourbon despotism of old France.
Things are very different in France today under a republican form of
government; they are different everywhere throughout Europe and America.
Despotic rule has given way to government by the people, and government
by the people has brought civil liberty.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
LIBERTY, FRATERNITY, EQUALITY. By Edward Simmons
_Copyright by Edward Simmons. From a Copley Print, copyright by Curtis
& Cameron, Boston. Reproduced by permission._
]
LIBERTY, FRATERNITY, EQUALITY
By Edward Simmons
In the New York Criminal Court House.
This mural decoration is placed above the pen in
which the prisoners are kept. Equality, holding
a globe and compasses, displays a sternness and
rigor which Fraternity, with a kindly grip of
the arm, is seeking to soften. Liberty, to the
right, has broken the chain which held him down,
in spirit as well as in body. These three words,
Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité, formed the motto
of the French Revolution, and they have been the
slogan of militant democracy ever since.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This civil liberty, as it exists in the United States, includes the
following rights:
[Sidenote: The general rights of citizens.]
1. To travel freely from place to place on any lawful errand, and
everywhere to be accorded the equal protection of the laws. The citizen
of New York who goes to California is not an alien there. He is entitled
to all the privileges which belong to an American citizen.
2. To own property, make contracts, and engage in any lawful trade or
labor.
3. To enjoy freedom of worship, freedom of speech, and freedom from
arbitrary arrest.
4. To have a fair trial when accused of any crime; to be protected in
the enjoyment of life, liberty, and property, and not to be deprived of
them without due process of law.
=Civil Rights were Won by Hard Struggles.=—Now these rights did not
descend upon mankind like manna from the skies. They were gained for the
people by prolonged struggles extending over many centuries. Thousands
of men, at various times in history, gave their lives in order that
these rights might be established. If you were writing a history of
civil liberty among English-speaking people, you would have to go back
at least seven hundred years to the days of Magna Carta, when King John
of England was forced to surrender in that famous document many of the
arbitrary powers which he had claimed the right to exercise. There, on
the historic field of Runnymede, the sullen king promised among other
things that no free man should be imprisoned or fined or outlawed or
otherwise penalized “save by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the
law of the land”. The winning of the Great Charter was merely the first
encounter in a long series of conflicts between the kings and the people
of England. Step by step the people wrested from the Crown the right to
control taxation, to punish royal officials for wrong-doing, to be
supreme in the making of laws, and even to change their entire form of
government should they so desire. It was a long and grim struggle,
hard-fought all the way.
“Lance and torch and tumult, steel and grey-goose wing
Wrenched it, inch and ell and all, slowly from the King”.
[Sidenote: The beginnings of civil liberty in America.]
The men who founded the American colonies brought these rights across
the Atlantic with them. In the new soil civic liberty grew and nourished
even better than in the old, so much so that Englishmen at home soon
became concerned over the strong emphasis which the colonies were
placing upon the civil rights of the individual. The gap between the
colonies and Great Britain steadily widened in this respect,—leading in
the end to the Declaration of Independence, which asserted the civil
rights of men to be natural and inalienable. When independence had been
established, after a long and difficult struggle, it is not surprising
that the people of the thirteen states should decide to write the
principles of civil liberty into their new state constitutions. They
took this means of demonstrating their conviction that the fundamental
rights of the citizen ought to be inscribed in a solemn document beyond
the power of legislatures to change. It would be absurd to think,
however, that civil liberty exists in the United States merely because a
list of civil rights is written into the constitutions of the states and
the nation. In the last analysis civil rights depend for their
maintenance and enforcement upon a realization of their value by the
whole people and the willingness of every citizen to grant to others the
rights which he claims for himself.
[Sidenote: Citizenship and allegiance.]
=Who are Citizens?=—The proudest boast of the Roman, in the days when
Rome dominated the world was _Civis Romanus sum_: “I am a Roman
citizen”. By this saying he meant that he was entitled to the protection
of the most powerful country on earth. Cicero, in one of his orations,
declared that these three words would protect any Roman citizen no
matter where he went, even among savage tribes. A Roman citizen was one
who owed allegiance to Rome. An American citizen is one who owes
allegiance to the United States.[19] Every man, woman, and child in
every part of the world bears a relation to some government, and this
relation we call allegiance. There is no such thing, in the eyes of the
law, as “a man without a country”. [Sidenote: Citizenship by birth.]
This allegiance, or citizenship, is acquired in the great majority of
cases by birth. The constitution of the United States declares that “all
persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the
jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the United States and of the state
wherein they reside”. This means that every child born in this country
and subject to its jurisdiction is a citizen, no matter who his parents
happen to be.[20]
[Sidenote: Citizenship by naturalization.]
The other method of acquiring citizenship is by naturalization.
Naturalization is the process by which an alien renounces his original
allegiance and swears allegiance to another country. All white aliens,
and those of African blood, are entitled to become citizens of the
United States by naturalization if they fulfil the legal requirements.
The chief requirement is that the alien who seeks to be naturalized must
have been continuously a resident of the United States for at least five
years. He must also be able to read and write, must have some knowledge
of American institutions, must be of good character, and must not be a
disbeliever in organized government. [Sidenote: The process in
naturalization.] The process of individual naturalization involves two
steps, first a formal declaration of intent to become a citizen, and,
second, the taking of final letters of citizenship. At least two years,
and not more than seven years, must elapse between these two steps. The
work of granting citizenship by naturalization is in the hands of such
regular courts as are designated by law for this purpose. Applications
must be on prescribed forms; evidence as to residence has to be
presented; and the oath of allegiance to the United States must be
taken. Many thousands of aliens are admitted to citizenship in this way
every year.[21] The naturalization of a husband also naturalizes his
wife without any action on her part. The naturalization of a father
makes all his minor children citizens.
=Can a Man have Double Citizenship?=—Is it possible for anyone to be a
citizen of two countries at once? Until recent years it was the practice
of some European countries to claim that when their citizens emigrated
and became naturalized elsewhere they still retained their original
allegiance. Germany, for example, maintained that German emigrants to
the United States did not lose their German citizenship by becoming
naturalized here. If they subsequently returned to Germany, even for a
short time, they were treated as German citizens, required to serve in
the army and to perform the other obligations of German citizenship.
This situation created a great deal of friction because the naturalized
citizens were in the habit of calling upon the United States to protect
them against their own original governments. All this has now been
straightened out by treaties between the United States and foreign
governments in which the latter have conceded the right of emigrants to
become naturalized in the United States and by so doing to renounce
their original citizenship. The United States, for its part, also
concedes the right of any American citizen to become naturalized in a
foreign country, thereby renouncing his allegiance as an American
citizen. These treaties sometimes provide, however, that if an
individual who has been naturalized in the United States goes back to
his native country and remains there a certain length of time, he shall
be deemed to have given up his American citizenship.
[Sidenote: The specific duties of citizens.]
=The Obligations of Citizenship.=—Many people seem to think that
citizenship involves only rights. They rarely place much emphasis upon
the _duties_ which citizenship involves. A government protects its
citizens both at home and abroad; it secures them all the benefits of
civil liberty. In return it lays on them the duty of obedience and the
obligation of service. It is the duty of every good citizen to know his
country’s history, to honor its flag, and to be true to its ideals. This
does not mean that he should despise or dislike people who are not of
his own race or allegiance. All men are brothers. Above all nations is
humanity. Yet no one can be a friend of mankind unless he is, first of
all, a friend of his own land.
It is also the duty of the citizen to know his country’s laws and to
obey them. No one knows all the laws, or needs to know them all, for
very few of them touch the daily life of any one individual. He should
know the laws in so far as he comes into contact with them. The merchant
must know the laws relating to business; there is no need for him to
learn the legal rules relating to the practice of medicine, for example.
The physician, on his part, must know the law in so far as it relates to
his own profession, but does not need to inform himself concerning the
laws which relate to the buying and selling of goods. Laws are made in
the common interest and if ignorance of the law were permitted to be an
excuse for disobedience, the whole system of government would soon break
down.
Finally, it is the duty of the citizen to serve his government when
called upon. This may take the form of military service in time of war,
or service in public office, or service on a jury. All these various
forms of service may involve great personal sacrifice; but a country
worth having is a country worth serving, and it is only through service
on the part of its citizens that a free government can be maintained.
=Training for Citizenship in the Schools.=—Training for citizenship
begins in the home and in the schools. The purpose of the school is not
merely to impart information. That is a small part of its work. Its main
function is to afford the sort of mental and moral training that will
enable every pupil to achieve the durable satisfactions of life,—to make
a good living, to be of high service to others, and to leave the world a
little better by reason of his having lived in it. Many of the best
fruits of education are not found listed on the school program.
Orderliness is one of them. Industry is another. Responsibility for
doing daily tasks well is a third. There are no special courses in these
things. They are part and parcel of the whole process of education. No
one should make the mistake of supposing that the schools train for
citizenship through instruction in American history, civics, and
economics alone. The whole organization of the school, its entire
program of studies, its assemblies, its discipline, its insistence on
punctuality, its organized athletics and other activities,—all these
things afford lessons in co-operation, responsibility, service, and
government.
[Sidenote: How the public schools teach democracy.]
The public school is a miniature democracy. It is free and open to all.
Its pupils have equal privileges and equal responsibilities. It makes no
distinction of race, creed, or wealth. The children of rich and poor
parents sit side by side and are given the same opportunities. Every
pupil who enrolls in a public school gets the same start and his
advancement depends upon his own efforts. In the course of time some
will lead and others fall behind, just as men and women do in the
outside world. Wherever individuals, young or old, are gathered
together, some will forge ahead of the rest by virtue of their natural
ability, their superior industry, or their qualities of leadership.
School experience should impress this great fact of democratic life upon
every pupil’s mind. The pupil who imagines that he can be regularly
behind in his studies, neglectful of his opportunities, unable to
command the respect of his teachers or his fellows in the school, and
yet hope to become a leader in the outside world is making a grave
mistake. It is not thus that the leaders of men are trained. The useful
citizen does not become so in a day or a year. He begins to develop his
qualities while he is young.[22]
=Training for Citizenship on the Playground.=—Recreation and play, when
properly carried on, afford not only exercise and amusement, but
education as well. Some useful lessons which cannot well be taught in
the class-room are learned by participation in organized athletics.
Everyone realizes, for example, that play in which there is no
leadership, no observance of rules, and no system, is a very poor sort
of play. It may give physical exercise in plenty, yet it satisfies
nobody. Anarchy on the playground is no more satisfying than anarchy in
any other branch of human activity. Hence, whenever a group of young men
or young women go to the athletic field, their first step is to organize
into teams or sides. Each team has its captain whose directions are to
be obeyed, not because he is an autocrat, but because the team cannot
hope to win unless it is provided with leadership. When play begins it
is conducted according to rules which everyone is supposed to know and
observe. If the contest is important, an umpire is selected to act as
arbitrator on questions involving an infraction of the rules. Now all
this is merely _government_ on a small scale. The element of leadership,
the team-play, the rules, the practice of obeying the umpire—these
things should suggest to us that officials, laws, government, and courts
also make for the best interests of the individual in the great
interplay of life.
[Sidenote: The spirit that rules the playground.]
What is it that secures co-operation, obedience, and good temper on the
playground? Is it the fear of punishment? No, it is the same force which
in organized society secures obedience to law and respect for the rights
of others, namely, the influence of public opinion. Public opinion, in
other words an inherent sense of fair play among the players, is what
really rules the playground. Bullying or meanness in any form results in
unpopularity. The player who sulks, who shirks his part in the game, or
who selfishly seeks his own way at all times is not preparing himself
rightly to win the confidence and respect of his fellow-citizens in
later life. On the other hand the boy or girl who gains on the
playground a reputation for fairness, good temper, and a readiness to
act in harmony with others is developing those qualities of character
which enable men and women to achieve success in any field of adult
activity. The Duke of Wellington once declared that the battle of
Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton,—a famous boys’ school in
England. What he meant was that this victory was won not by military
skill alone, but by those qualities of discipline and bull-dog tenacity
which the officers of his army had developed on the school athletic
fields in their boyhood days. Peace hath her victories not less renowned
than war. Good citizens as well as good soldiers can be trained on the
playgrounds of every community.[23]
[Sidenote: College education and citizenship.]
=Training for Citizenship in Later Life.=—Civic education is not
completed when one graduates from school. A man’s whole life is a
process of education, a process that is never finished until he dies. So
the work of self-improvement should not be interrupted at any stage. If
the pupil goes to college, it will be found that there the same
qualities of obedience, industry, and respect for the rights of others
will determine whether he stands high or low in the estimation of his
equals. In the college as in the school, everyone starts upon the same
plane with equal opportunities. The college also is an organization with
officials in authority, with rules, and with a vigilant public opinion
among its students. Compared with the school it rises a step nearer to
the ways of the world, giving its students greater latitude but also
placing more responsibility upon them. Its organized athletics develop
the same qualities as are encouraged upon the school playground; its
various other student activities help to make young men and women more
versatile and broader in their interests. Colleges try to make scholars;
they also endeavor to develop habits of industry in their students and
to impress upon them the duty of service to their fellow-men. On the
whole the colleges have succeeded in these things. It is significant
that the great majority of the nation’s leaders, in every branch of
life, are men and women who have had a college education.
Not all high school graduates, however, go to college. The majority go
directly out into the world as wage earners or home makers. They enter
the ranks of our great economic society and seek to move onward to the
top. For the most part all must begin at the bottom, or very near it. A
high school or college education does not relieve anyone from the
necessity of starting on a low rung of the ladder in his chosen trade or
profession. Neither the school nor the college can teach the actual
process of earning a living. This must be learned by direct contact with
the affairs of the world. But the school and the college can so prepare
young citizens that they will climb faster by virtue of the mental
training they have obtained and the habits of industry they have
acquired.
[Sidenote: Public service is a duty of the citizen.]
=Citizenship and Service.=—To make one’s own way successfully in the
world is a laudable ambition, but no one can be and remain a good
citizen if he devotes his entire time and thought to his own
self-advancement. It is well to be diligent in business and faithful to
the immediate duty in hand, but no inspiring career has ever been built
upon foundations of selfishness. If everyone is engrossed in his own
affairs, there will be none to serve and aid the state. On the other
hand a very small amount of public service freely and cheerfully given
by every citizen, results in great benefits to the community which
receives this service, and to the individuals who give it as well. In
this sense, as in all others, it is more blessed to give than to
receive.
[Sidenote: How this service may be rendered.]
The ways of service are manifold. Every community has its civic and
welfare organizations whose aim is the general good. They draw their
members and their active workers from among those citizens who are
public spirited. Boards of trade and chambers of commerce devote
themselves to advancing the economic interests of the community.
Municipal improvement leagues, citizens’ associations, men’s clubs, and
women’s societies are to be found in every large town or city; they have
various aims but all are guided by the same general aspiration, which is
to better the environment in which the people live. The opportunities
for women have been greatly increased by giving them the same
responsibilities as men in all public activities. There are
organizations for the care of the poor, for visiting the sick, and for
the prevention of cruelty in all its forms. All depend for the
effectiveness of their work, and even for their very existence, upon the
degree of interest given to them by public-spirited citizens. There is
no one so poor or so busy that he can give no money, no time, and no
sympathy to any public cause. The citizen who centers all his interest
upon his own personal affairs is not only missing one of the durable
satisfactions of life but is giving himself a schooling in selfishness.
He is not a good citizen in the proper sense of the term.
[Sidenote: The value of experience in public office.]
Service in public office is the best training for good citizenship,
although not all men and women can have this form of civic education.
Yet everyone has a right to aspire to it, and ought to welcome the
opportunity of such service if it comes. It does not usually come
unearned. Like most other opportunities, this one knocks at the doors of
those who have earned their right to it. Men and women who have
displayed no evidence of public spirit are rarely called upon to let
their names go on the ballot. The first step to honorable public office
is taken when one joins a civic or welfare organization and shows
ability to work with and for others. Thus a man’s acquaintance, or a
woman’s acquaintance, gradually broadens; the confidence of others is
gained; and in time the hand of the public beckons to those who have
demonstrated their spirit of service.
Public office is a public trust. The proffer of its opportunities to any
man or woman is a high compliment. Election to public office is the
highest honor a democratic community can bestow. As a means of becoming
well versed in public affairs and in the practical problems of
government there is no training which surpasses it.
General References
EVERETT KIMBALL, _National Government of the United States_, pp. 73-80;
W. B. MUNRO, _Government of the United States_, pp. 71-87;
J. A. WOODBURN and T. F. MORAN, _The Citizen and the Republic_, pp.
1-31;
S. W. MCCALL, _The Liberty of Citizenship_, pp. 1-31;
JAMES BRYCE, _The Hindrances to Good Citizenship_, especially pp. 43-74;
F. A. CLEVELAND, _Organized Democracy_, pp. 80-129;
S. E. BALDWIN, _The Relations of Education to Citizenship_, pp. 27-54;
W. H. TAFT, _Four Aspects of Civic Duty_, pp. 3-34.
Group Problems
=1. How aliens are naturalized.= The requirements. Who are excluded?
Steps in naturalization procedure, the papers, witnesses, oaths, fees,
etc., required. The tests which applicants must take. How aliens can
best be encouraged to become naturalized. What is being done to secure
the naturalization of aliens in your own community? =References=:
_Cyclopedia of American Government_, Vol. II, pp. 497-498; W. B. MUNRO,
_Government of American Cities_, pp. 107-111; H. M. BECK, _Aliens’ Text
Book on Citizenship_, especially pp. 9-26; PETER ROBERTS, _The Problem
of Americanization_, pp. 109-129; U. S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, BUREAU OF
NATURALIZATION, _Syllabus of the Naturalization Law_ (pamphlet).
=2. Education in its relations to good citizenship.= =References=:
IRVING KING, _Education for Social Efficiency_, pp. 90-176; JAMES BRYCE,
_The Hindrances to Good Citizenship_, pp. 33-42; S. E. BALDWIN, _The
Relations of Education to Citizenship_, pp. 1-26.
=3. The civic organizations of your community.= One or more
organizations, such as Chambers of Commerce, Boards of Trade, Citizens’
Associations, Men’s Clubs, Women’s Clubs, Civic Leagues, Local
Improvement Associations, City Clubs, Reform Associations, Family
Welfare Societies, etc., etc., may be found in every large community.
Their aims and activities may be studied in their annual reports and by
personal interviews with their officers.
Short Studies
1. =First steps in civil liberty.= JAMES H. TUFTS, _Our Democracy_, pp.
101-116.
2. =What are the “privileges and immunities” of citizens?= ARNOLD J.
LIEN, _Privileges and Immunities of Citizens of the United States_,
especially pp. 31-68.
3. =Expatriation.= G. B. DAVIS, _Elements of International Law_, pp.
143-151; W. E. HALE, _International Law_ (4th ed.), pp. 239-255.
4. =Freedom of speech and of the press.= _Cyclopedia of American
Government_, pp. 57-58; T. M. COOLEY, _Constitutional Limitations_, pp.
596-638.
5. =Freedom of worship.= JAMES BRYCE, _American Commonwealth_, Vol. II,
pp. 763-771; C. W. ELIOT, _American Contributions to Civilization_, pp.
18-21.
6. =The rights of the citizen against the government.= F. A. CLEVELAND,
_Organized Democracy_, pp. 80-96.
7. =The right to fair judicial process.= EMLIN MCCLAIN, _Constitutional
Law of the United States_, pp. 315-332.
8. =How the hindrances to good citizenship may be removed.= S. E.
BALDWIN, _The Relation of Education to Citizenship_, pp. 27-54.
9. =The playground as a place of education for citizenship.= JOSEPH LEE,
_Play in Education_, pp. 360-391.
10. =How the business man can help his community.= HENRY BRUÈRE, _The
New City Government_, pp. 384-400.
11. =How women can serve their community.= MARY R. BEARD, _Woman’s Work
in Municipalities_, especially pp. 319-337.
12. =May the obstacles to good citizenship be overcome?= JAMES BRYCE,
_The Hindrances to Good Citizenship_, pp. 105-134.
13. =School government as a training for citizenship.= _U. S. Bureau of
Education Bulletin No. 8_ (1915), pp. 7-31; IRVING KING, _Education for
Social Efficiency_, pp. 158-176.
Questions
1. What is the difference between the following: citizens, subjects,
nationals, residents, denizens, aliens?
2. What is meant by the expression to “swear allegiance”? To “forswear
allegiance”? Repeat the oath of allegiance. When is the oath taken (_a_)
by aliens; (_b_) by citizens?
3. Are the following American citizens by birth: (_a_) a boy born
abroad, of alien parentage, whose parents came to the United States and
were naturalized after he was over twenty-one years of age; (_b_)
children of Chinese parents, born in the United States; (_c_) children
of American parents, born in the Philippines; (_d_) children of Porto
Rican parents, born in Europe since 1917?
4. Name four important civic rights. Arrange in each case a set of facts
which would constitute a violation of a civic right.
5. The constitution provides that the people shall have the right to
assemble peaceably. Would it be a violation of this right to require
that a permit from the police must be had in order to hold any meeting
in the streets or in the public parks?
6. Discuss the extent to which the public school is a “miniature
democracy”. Is it organized like a democratic government? To what extent
and under what circumstances can school pupils be entrusted with
self-government or given a share in the maintenance of discipline?
7. To what extent can public opinion be relied upon to enforce the rules
(_a_) in athletics; (_b_) in the class-rooms; (_c_) in business; (_d_)
in government? Would laws be effective if there were no penalties but
the censure of public opinion to enforce them? If not, why not?
8. What is the value of a high school or college education in training
young men and women (_a_) to make a living; (_b_) to become leaders;
(_c_) to help their fellow-citizens; (_d_) to hold public office?
Towards which of these things does education contribute the most?
9. Can any one be a good citizen without knowing how government is
carried on? Without knowing American history? Without belonging to any
social or civic organization? Without voting at elections? Without being
at all interested in social or political questions?
Topics for Debate
1. No one who is not a citizen should be permitted to become a voter.
2. The obligation of military service ought to be imposed upon aliens as
well as upon citizens.
3. The teaching of civics should be made compulsory in all grammar and
high schools.
-----
Footnote 13:
The monotony of labor, however, is to some extent a matter of
temperament. Some workers find even routine tasks interesting because
they are constantly trying to attain greater expertness at the
particular job. Others find work of a very varied character to be
monotonous.
Footnote 14:
There are two other forms of productive organization, neither of them
very common. One is the co-operative association, with or without
capital stock; the other is the organization of production under the
direct management of the public authorities. The organization of the
postal service is an example.
Footnote 15:
The Lockwood Committee, which made its investigations during 1920 in
New York, found that excessive costs of building construction were due
in considerable measure to the existence of artificial monopolies
among producers of building materials.
Footnote 16:
It has been suggested that instead of giving inventors the exclusive
right to make and sell their appliances, this right should be given to
everybody with a provision that a fixed rate of royalty should be paid
to the inventor. This would afford an incentive to the inventor while
preventing the creation of legal monopolies.
Footnote 17:
The doctrine of the divine right of rulers was based upon certain
Biblical texts, particularly Romans xiii, 1-7, and was put forth in
the Middle Ages to support the secular rulers against the Church. The
Bourbon kings of France, especially Louis XIV, asserted it, as well as
the Stuart kings of England. The House of Hohenzollern in Germany
maintained the doctrine, and the former Kaiser on more than one
occasion alluded to himself as a ruler by divine right. Those who are
interested in pursuing this topic further will find a great deal about
it in J. N. Figgis, _The Divine Right of Kings_ (London, 1896) and in
_The Political Writings of James I_ (ed. C. H. McIlwain, Cambridge,
1915).
Footnote 18:
For example, E. L. Godkin, _Unforeseen Tendencies of Democracy_ (N.
Y., 1898), p. 46; Emile Faguet, _The Cult of Incompetence_ (N. Y.,
1911), pp. 35-36; A. M. Kales, _Unpopular Government in the United
States_ (Chicago, 1914); A. B. Cruikshank, _Popular Misgovernment in
the United States_ (N. Y., 1920), and Alleyne Ireland, _Democracy and
the Human Equation_ (N. Y., 1921), pp. 75-79.
Footnote 19:
Corporations, as well as individuals, are citizens in the eyes of the
law. The Standard Oil Company of New Jersey is a citizen of New Jersey
and as such is entitled to all the “privileges and immunities of
citizens of the United States”.
Footnote 20:
Some children although born in the United States are not subject to
American jurisdiction. The children of a foreign ambassador, serving
in the United States, are for this reason not citizens, even though
born here. Children born on board a foreign warship in an American
harbor are not deemed to be “subject to the jurisdiction” of the
United States. But with a few unimportant exceptions of this sort all
persons born in the United States are born within its jurisdiction,
and hence are citizens by birth.
One may be an American citizen by birth, moreover, without having been
born in the United States. The children of American parents, even
though born outside the territory of the United States, have the right
to claim this citizenship. Children of American parents, born on the
high seas, or on American war vessels in foreign ports, or children of
American ambassadors born abroad, are citizens of the United States by
virtue of their parentage. Children of American parents, born on
foreign soil, have the right to choose between American citizenship
and citizenship of the country in which they were born.
Footnote 21:
On rather rare occasions a large body of people, not citizens by
birth, have become citizens of the United States by what is called
collective naturalization. When Louisiana (1803), Florida (1819) and
Alaska (1867) were acquired, for example, the treaties which provided
for their acquisition stipulated that all inhabitants of these
territories should be admitted to American citizenship without
becoming individually naturalized. On the other hand, when Porto Rico
and the Philippine Islands were ceded to us by Spain in 1898 there was
no such provision. In the case of the Porto Ricans, citizenship was
conferred by an act of Congress in 1917; in the case of the Filipinos
the full status of American citizenship has not yet been granted. The
Filipinos are called “nationals” of the United States, which means
that they have the protection of the federal government, but are not
entitled to all the other privileges and immunities of citizenship as
provided in the constitution. Collective naturalization may thus be
provided for by treaty or granted by act of Congress.
Footnote 22:
The leisure hours of pupils may also be utilized to secure excellent
lessons in good citizenship. Unfortunately they are not always so
used. Many of the recreations which are now popular with the young
people of the United States afford neither physical exercise nor
mental inspiration, neither do they conduce to the strengthening of
character.
Footnote 23:
Attention should be called to the inducement which in some schools is
given to broad civic training by awarding to pupils a rank which is
based upon proficiency in all their activities, scholarship,
athletics, debating, good influence upon others, qualities of
leadership, and so on. Student self-government may also be used in
schools to afford training in the fundamentals of good citizenship.