Introduction to the Science of Government, and Compend of Constitutional and Civil Jurisprudence

Excerpt from Introduction to the Science of Government, and Compend of Constitutional and Civil Jurisprudence

It is the peculiar fortune of the people of the United States, to live under a government that secures to them, in an extraordinary degree, the blessings of civil and religious liberty. It is believed that no other form of government is capable of conferring upon its citizens an equal amount of happiness.

Under our constitution, sovereignty resides with the people: in other words, they have the power of governing themselves. Consequently, it is of the first importance, that the depositories of political power should know how to apply this power intelligently and judiciously. The power to make and to administer the laws, is delegated to the representatives and agents of the people; the people should therefore be competent to judge when, and how far, this power is constitutionally and beneficially exercised.

Distinguished as the American people are for their comparative general intelligence, a large portion of them, it must be confessed, are greatly wanting in political knowledge. And while so many books have been prepared to facilitate the means of instruction, and so much has been done in various ways to promote the interests of education generally, it is remarkable that the science of government has received so little attention.

Multitudes in this republic arc annually arriving at that period of life, when they are to exercise, for the first time, their privileges as citizens. In the state of New York alone, the number is about fifteen thousand, and is composed, chiefly, of those whose education docs not embrace even the first principles of political science.

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