itself. Every State, therefore, and the United States as well, has a written constitution as its fundamental law. Cities likewise are governed by charters (p. 75) which in some respects are like written constitutions. Thus government in America is everywhere conducted according to the written word; it is everywhere constitutional.

General Features of a Constitution. The special provisions of constitutions will receive notice from time to time as we proceed. At present it is necessary to call attention only to their broad features. The strong resemblance which the forty-five constitutions of the States bear to one another and to the Constitution of the United States makes it possible to describe all in outline by describing one in outline. The essentials of a constitution are:

(1) A preamble (1) stating the general purpose for which the government is instituted.

(2) A Bill of Rights' guaranteeing to the people republican principles of government, personal security, private property, freedom of conscience, freedom of speech and of the press, and other fundamental rights of citizenship.

(3) Provisions for the organization of the three departments of government, and a description of the powers to be exercised by each.

(4) Miscellaneous provisions relating to such topics as corporations, public debt, education, taxation, suffrage, amendments, revisions.

(5) A schedule describing how and when the constitution shall go into effect.

How Constitutions obtain their Authority. The first American constitutions were promulgated in the name of the people, yet they were not as a rule the direct creations of the

1 The constitution of Michigan has no separate bill of rights; the rights of the citizen are mentioned here and there throughout the document.

people. The statesmen of 1776 did not have a very strong faith in the wisdom of the people, and were not quite willing to submit a fundamental law to a popular vote. As democracy grew more fashionable, and as the people came to be more fully recognized as the real masters of government, the custom of submitting constitutions to voters for their approval became general. At the present time a constitution is usually ratified by the people at the polls before it is put into operation. This popular ratification clothes the constitution with all the authority that a law can possibly have, for it is a law passed by the people themselves acting as legislators. A constitution, therefore, is a solemn and deliberate expression of the popular will, and as such it is a fixed, permanent law which all the branches of a government must obey. If the legislature should pass a law conflicting with the provisions of the constitution, such a law would cease to have effect if it should be tested in the courts and should be declared unconstitutional; and if a judge or the executive should act in violation of the constitution, such action would be illegal and possibly punishable.

The Amendment and Revision of Constitutions. Although a constitution is a fixed, unchanging law, it may not remain unchanged and unchangeable forever. A provision in a constitution which was wise and just fifty years ago may be harmful now. Every constitution recognizes this fact, and provides for making changes, when these may seem necessary. These changes or amendments are effected in various ways, the usual procedure being as follows:1 the amendment that is thought to be desirable first passes the legislature of the State and is then submitted to the people for their approval. If it receives the required number of votes-frequently a majority of all the votes of the State is necessary-it becomes a part of the constitution. amendment, it will be seen, is simply a law passed by the For the subject of amendments to the Constitution of the United States, see page 53.

An

people and placed in the constitution; but it is a law that cannot be repealed by the legislature.

Constitutions provide not only for their own amendment, but also for their own complete revision. They provide for the calling of a constitutional convention, which shall have power to revise the old constitution and frame a new one. A general revision of a State constitution is usually accomplished in the following way: The legislature submits to the people the question whether or not a convention shall be called to frame a new constitution. In several States this question must be submitted to the voters every twenty years; in Michigan it must be submitted every sixteen years; in Iowa every ten years. If the vote is in favor of a convention, delegates are elected, and the work of revision begins. It is the custom to submit the revised constitution to the people for their approval, although this is not always done.

Whatever may be the regulation for amendment and revision the constitution cannot be suddenly altered. Usually two or three years must elapse before a proposed change can be fully effected. This necessary delay has its disadvantages, but upon the whole it results in good. It gives time for discussion and reflection. A constitution would not be worthy of its name if caprice or passion could change it in a day.

Constitutions the Safeguard of Liberty. We may now answer the questions asked at the beginning of this chapter: The people may protect themselves from themselves, and from their rulers, by means of a constitutional government. They may formally and solemnly declare their will in a written constitution, and demand that government be conducted according to the terms of this document. When a person maps out for himself a course of right conduct, and rigidly abides by the rules he makes for himself, he is a free and self-governing being; and likewise, if a people will impose upon themselves a fundamental law, a constitution,

and will abide faithfully by its terms, civil liberty and selfgovernment will be assured.

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT

1. What was a colonial charter?

2. Give an account of the first charter of Connecticut.

3. What place did the charter occupy in the political life of the colony?

4. How did the charters become constitutions?

5. To what extent are written constitutions employed in the United States?

6. What are the general features of a written constitution?

7. From what source does a constitution obtain its authority?

8. How may a constitution be amended?

9. How may a new constitution be secured?

10. Show that constitutional government is a safeguard of liberty.

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

1. Describe the three types of charters under which the colonies were governed.

2. What is the derivation of the word charter? constitution?

3. Compare the constitution of your State in outline with the outline indicated in the text.

4. Give briefly the constitutional history of your State, stating when the first constitution was adopted, what revisions have been made, the date of the adoption of the present constitution and the amendments that have been added.

5. Mr. Bryce, an Englishman, imagines that the American people could govern themselves without written constitutions. Give reasons why an American would hardly be able to imagine such a thing.

6. Give reasons why in a democracy the people should vote upon a constitution. Has the present constitution of your State been ratified by the people?

7. Explain fully the following sentence: The United States is a democratic, representative, constitutional republic.

8. Is it generally understood that the constitution of your State needs revision or amendment? If so, how may it be revised? How may it be amended?

9. Draw up a constitution for the government of a debating society. (In preparing this exercise remember that a constitution describes only the outline of government, and states only general principles.)

10. Would it be wise for your State to exchange constitutions with a neighboring State? Give reasons for your answer.

Hints on Reading.-For a description of State constitutions read Bryce, Vol. I, 413-457; also Schouler's "Constitutional Studies,'

VI

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

The Different Kinds of Political Unions. An alliance is an agreement between two or more sovereign states to cooperate in the accomplishment of some mutually desirable purpose. A state entering into an alliance does not surrender or impair its sovereignty. Since an alliance may be dissolved at the pleasure of any of the contracting parties, it is the weakest of all political unions. Another kind of union between states is the confederation or league. A confederation is formed by two or more states uniting and establishing a central government, vesting it with certain powers, but withholding from it the right of exercising authority over individuals. In exercising its power the central government of a confederation must operate through the agency of the states which compose the union. The confederation, therefore, is a "band of states" (Staatenbund) united more firmly than they would be by an alliance, but not so closely and so intimately as to form an indestructible and indivisible union.

The strongest of all political associations is the federal union. In the federal union the uniting states establish a central (federal) government which is independent of themselves, and which operates with organs of its own, its power extending even to individuals. In the formation of the federal union, or the federal state, as it may very properly be called, the federal government is made sovereign, in respect to matters which concern all the states taken collectively, while each separate state retains its sovereignty in respect to those matters which concern only itself. The