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 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
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ELEMENTS 
 
 OF 
 
 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 
 
 LOCAL, STATE, AND NATIONAL 
 
 A BRIEF COURSE FOR UNGRADED, GRAMMAR, AND 
 
 HIGH SCHOOLS 
 
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 V 
 WILLIAM A. MOWRY, Ph.D. 
 
 Editor of " Education " ; for Twenty Years the Senior Principal of 
 
 THE English and Classical School, Providence, R.I. ; and 
 
 Author of "Studies in Civil Government" 
 
 s;e^5> |rtwf 
 
 SILVER, BURDETT & CO., PUBLISHERS 
 New York BOSTON Chicago 
 
 1892 
 
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 Copyright, 1890, 
 By WILLIAM A. MOWRY. 
 
 Typography by J. S. Gushing & Co.. Boston. 
 Presswork by Berwick & Smith, Boston 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 One of the most gratifying signs of the times is the 
 increasing interest of late manifested in different parts 
 of the country in the study of our Civil Government. 
 This growing interest is seen in the multiplicity of 
 books relating to this subject, its general discussion in 
 the daily and weekly press and the monthly and quar- 
 terly magazines, the formation of Societies for Promoting 
 Good Citizenship, and especially in the great increase" 
 in the introduction of the study of Civil Government 
 into the public and private schools, academies, and 
 colleges in all parts of the country. It is doubtless 
 true to-day that the study is carefully pursued in many 
 high, grammar, and ungraded schools in every state in 
 the Union. It should be, in every school in the country 
 where there are pupils above thirteen years of age. 
 
 Our public school system is maintained upon the 
 principle that the safety of free institutions demands 
 intelligence on the part of every citizen. If the property 
 of the state is to be taxed to educate the children of the 
 state, it surely follows of necessity that the principles, 
 methods, powers, and duties of the government, and the 
 relation of the parts to each other and to the whole, 
 
 3 
 
4 PREFACE. 
 
 as well as the duties and privileges of the citizen, 
 should be studied in these schools. 
 
 We have many treatises upon the Constitution of 
 the United States, and text-books of a higher grade for 
 the study of Civil Government in high schools, acad- 
 emies, and colleges, — books so extended and complete 
 that a full year is required to master them ; but it is 
 everywhere felt that a suitable book is very much 
 needed for ungraded and grammar schools, and for high 
 schools in the smaller towns and cities, where time 
 cannot be found for an extended study of the subject. 
 Moreover, it is found that many of the text-books are 
 written for older and more mature pupils, thus being 
 entirely above the reach of the younger and more im- 
 mature minds in the schools just mentioned. 
 
 It is the hope of the author that this book will be 
 found well adapted for the purpose above indicated. It 
 attempts to discuss, in a brief and elementary manner, 
 the foundation principles and general facts of our gov- 
 ernment, local, state, and national, in language easily 
 understood by pupils from twelve to sixteen years of 
 age, and at the same time without making the silly 
 and futile attempt to degrade the dignity of the subject 
 to the language and style of the primer, the first or the 
 second reader. This subject can scarcely be studied to 
 advantage by primary scholars, but it can be pursued 
 with entire success by nearly all boys and girls who 
 have studied arithmetic to percentage, and who can 
 comprehend the good English of a fourth reader. 
 
PREFACE. 5 
 
 It is believed that the plan of this elementary treatise 
 will commend itself to teachers everywhere. It is 
 analytical and topical. It includes,. — 
 
 1. Town Governments. 
 
 2. City Governments. 
 
 3. County Governments. 
 
 4. State Governments. 
 
 5. The National Government. 
 
 It introduces the history of the early settlements and 
 the colonies, the formation of the state and national 
 governments, and the rapid and marvellous growth of 
 the republic. 
 
 It gives topical analyses for blackboard work, and 
 general outlines for reviews. 
 
 This book is not designed to take the place of the 
 author's " Studies in Civil Government," but its purpose 
 is to furnish a shorter course, which can be used in 
 schools where younger pupils can spend from three to 
 six months in the study of an elementary book, but 
 would find the larger and more mature treatise too 
 extensive and too difficult. 
 
 The author takes this opportunity to express his 
 grateful appreciation of the cordial reception and ex- 
 tended introduction given to his former book, entitled 
 *' Studies in Civil Government," which in two years has 
 passed through four editions, and is now in extensive 
 use in all sections of our common country. That book 
 has just been thoroughly revised, and the necessary 
 
b PREFACE. 
 
 changes made to adapt it to the present condition of 
 our state and national governments. 
 
 It may not be improper to add that these two books 
 have not been made at the study table merely, but 
 have grown out of twenty-five years of practical teach- 
 ing, in which the author has had a class every year in 
 this subject, and that not a few men now prominent in 
 both public and business life have expressed the con- 
 viction that this study has proved of greater interest 
 and of more practical value to them than that of any 
 other subject of their entire school curriculum. 
 
 The author desires to express the hope that this 
 brief treatise may serve to promote a higher apprecia- 
 tion of, and a stronger love for, our free institutions and 
 our liberal government ''of the people," to the end that 
 
 they may be perpetual. 
 
 WILLIAM A. MOWRY. 
 
 Dorchester, May i, 1890. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 -♦o*- 
 
 PART I. 
 
 LOCAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS. 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Introductory . . ii 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Local Government . . . . . . .17 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 State Governments '39 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Colonial and Revolutionary History . » . .55 
 
 7 
 
8 CONTENTS. 
 
 PART 11. 
 
 THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Legislative Department 75 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 The Executive Department 10 1 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The Judicial Department . . . . . .137 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Miscellaneous Provisions 145 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Amendments to the Constitution . ' . -155 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 •The Growth of our Country 163 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 Rules of Procedure for Deliberative Assemblies . 173 
 
ELEMENTS OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 
 
BLACKBOARD OUTLINE^ 
 
 GOVERNMENT. 
 
 1. Local. 
 
 Town, Township, or County. 
 
 2. State. 
 
 At first thirteen states, now forty-four. 
 
 3. National. ' 
 
 A true republican government of confederated states. 
 
 10 
 
PART FIRST. 
 
 LOCAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 We live in a republic. Our country is called 
 the United States of America. It extends from 
 the Atlantic Ocean on the east, across the Valley 
 of the Mississippi River, over the Rocky Moun- 
 tains to the Pacific Ocean on the west. On the 
 south is the Gulf of Mexico and the republic of 
 Mexico; on the north is British America; then 
 far to the northwest beyond British Columbia is 
 Alaska, which also belongs to the United States. 
 We have forty-four states, six territories, and the 
 District of Columbia in which is the city of 
 Washington, the capital of our country. 
 
 All the people in this broad country are citizens 
 under one eovernment. This is called the Na- 
 
 II 
 
12 mTRODUCTORY. 
 
 tional Government. This National Government 
 is divided into three parts, called the Legislative, 
 the Executive, and the Judicial departments. 
 
 The legislative department consists of a Con- 
 gress of the United States, which includes two 
 branches, the Senate and the House of Repre- 
 sentatives. 
 
 The executive power is invested in one man 
 called the President of the United States. 
 
 The judicial department comprises a series 
 of Courts, including the United States District 
 Courts, the United States Circuit Courts, and 
 the Supreme Court of the United States. 
 
 There are in this country subject to this one 
 government more than sixty millions of people. 
 This is the largest, most prosperous, and most 
 powerful republic in the world. We ought to 
 be thankful that we live under a good govern- 
 ment and that our nation is large, and strong, 
 and powerful. 
 
 By and by we shall want to study the history 
 of this government, when and how it began, and 
 how it has grown to its present prosperous con- 
 dition; but before taking up this subject, let us 
 consider some other matters. We live not only 
 in a republic but in a commonwealth. We are 
 not only citizens of the United States, but we 
 are citizens of the state of 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 1 3 
 
 Every state has a government of its own. This 
 government consists, Hke the National Govern- 
 ment, of the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial 
 departments. The legislative department, usu- 
 ally called the State Legislature, includes a 
 Senate and a House of Representatives. The 
 executive officer of the state is called the Gov- 
 ernor. The courts of the state include local 
 courts, — that is, Police Courts or Justice Courts, 
 — County Courts, for the trial of civil and crim- 
 inal cases, and the Supreme Court of the State. 
 
 Again, we are not only citizens of the United 
 States, and citizens of our state, but we are citi- 
 zens of the town or city in which we live. So 
 we have a third kind of government, a local gov- 
 ernment, that is, the government of our town or 
 city. It will be necessary, therefore, in our study 
 of Civil Government, to keep constantly in mind 
 that we are subject to our local government, to 
 the laws of the state and to the law^ of the 
 United States. In all matters that relate to 
 local affairs the town or city government has full 
 power; in another set of subjects, relating to the 
 general good of the people of the commonwealth, 
 the state government has full control ; but in 
 everything which concerns the nation at large, 
 the authority is vested in the National Govern- 
 ment. 
 
1 4 INTRO D UCTOR V. 
 
 In Emerson's beautiful little poem of the 
 mountain and the squirrel, he makes the little 
 rodent say to the mountain, " If I cannot carry 
 a forest on my back, neither can you crack a 
 nut." Each has its place and its duties and the 
 other cannot interfere. 
 
 The term " state sovereignty " is a misnomer. 
 There is no such thing, and cannot be in a 
 republic. Indeed there is — in the true sense of 
 the word — no "sovereignty" in a republic, for 
 there is no " sovereign." It is only by a figure 
 of speech that we say " the people are sovereign." 
 The township cannot interfere with the state or 
 the nation, neither has the state or the nation 
 the right to infringe upon the powers or preroga- 
 tives of the town. 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 1 5 
 
 QUESTIONS, TOPICS, AND SUGGESTIONS FOR 
 
 REVIEW. 
 
 Designed to recall what has been learned and to suggest further 
 thought, reading, and study. 
 
 1. What is a republic? 
 
 2. Describe the republic we live in. 
 
 3. How many square miles does it contain? 
 
 4. Citizens of towns, city, or county, of state and of nation, 
 
 5. Legislative department — law-making. 
 
 6. Executive department — enforcing. 
 
 7. Judicial department — interpreting. 
 
]',LACKBOARD OUTLINE. 
 
 TOWN OFFICERS. 
 
 1. Moderator. 
 
 2. Town Clerk. 
 
 3. Town Treasurer. 
 
 4. Selectmen. 
 
 5. Assessors. 
 
 6. Constable. 
 
 7. School Committee. 
 
 8. Overseers of the Poor. 
 
 9. Highway Surveyors, or Road Commissioners. 
 
 CITY OFFICERS. 
 
 1. Mayor. 
 
 2. Aldermen. 
 
 3. Councilmen. 
 
 4. School Committee. 
 
 5. Overseers of the Poor. 
 
 6. City Clerk. 
 
 7. City Treasurer. 
 
 8. City Solicitor. 
 
 9. City Auditor. 
 
 10. City Marshal, and others. 
 
 COUNTY OFFICERS. 
 
 1. County Commissioners. 
 
 2. County Treasurer. 
 
 3. County Auditor. 
 
 4. County Registrar. 
 
 5. County Sheriff. 
 
 6. Coroner. 
 
 7. District Attorney. 
 
 8. County Assessors. 
 
 9. County School Commissioner, and others. 
 
 16 
 
CHAPTER 11. 
 
 LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Section I. — The Town. 
 
 The town is the local unit of government. 
 The town government in this country originated 
 in New Ensfland. In the new states of the west 
 different circumstances have produced a differ- 
 ent condition of local government. In the early 
 settlements of New England a town included a 
 little territory, generally with a central village 
 and outlying farms scattered here and there. 
 The people of this territory formed a compact 
 settlement by itself and constituted a little de- 
 mocracy, where all the people came together in 
 town meeting and made laws for themselves, 
 assessed taxes, ordered roads built, schools to be 
 supported, and determined by a majority vote 
 whatever seemed best for the well-being of the 
 little settlement. 
 
 These towns were grouped together in a col- 
 ony, and the colonists were, at that time, subject 
 to Great Britain. The first town meeting in 
 America was held in Dorchester, Massachusetts, 
 
 17 
 
1 8 LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 
 
 in the year 1633. It was then estabHshed as an 
 institution for that town. The citizens voted 
 that the meeting should be held monthly, and 
 that all matters relating to the welfare of the 
 town were to be determined by a majority vote, 
 the minority yielding their preferences and agree- 
 ing to be governed by the majority. Other towns 
 followed this example and established town meet- 
 ings the next year, 1634. 
 
 The establishment thus early in the history of 
 our country of the town meeting has proved the 
 source of much of our freedom at the present time 
 in state and nation. In the newer settlements 
 in the west covering greater areas of territory, 
 generally without the nucleus of a village, the 
 township, as the people call it there, is of less im- 
 portance, while much of the local government is 
 necessarily administered by counties. 
 
 Section II. — Town Officers. 
 
 A town meeting must be legally called. No- 
 tices are posted in accordance with law, stating 
 distinctly the business, article by article, which is 
 to be transacted by the voters of the town in the 
 meeting. At the annual town meeting the vari- 
 ous officers of the town are elected. In some states 
 the voting for the principal town officers must be 
 
LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 1 9 
 
 by ballot. The meeting is called to order by the 
 town clerk, then the warrant is read and a mod- 
 erator is elected. It is the duty of the moderator 
 to preside at the meeting, to put all motions, de- 
 clare the vote, to see that everything is done in 
 proper legal form, and to preserve order. The 
 principal officers of a town are mentioned below. 
 
 Who are Voters. — In most of the states the 
 requisites for voting in town, county, state, and 
 national elections are as follows: — The person 
 must be a citizen of the United States, twenty-one 
 years of age ; must have resided within the state, 
 and county or town, the time required by law. 
 Some states require a poll or registry tax. Some 
 do not require citizenship. More than twenty 
 states permit women to vote for School Com- 
 mittee ; and in Wyoming, for all officers and on 
 all questions, the same as men. Kansas has mu- 
 nicipal suffrage for women. 
 
 Besides the appointment of town officers the 
 voters assembled in town meeting levy taxes, 
 and make apportionments of money for school 
 purposes, highways, the support of the poor, and 
 for such other purposes as may seem necessary, 
 such as street lights in thickly settled portions of 
 the town, fire engines, bridges, and various other 
 matters. 
 
 Town Clerk. — It is the duty of the Town 
 
20 LOCAL GOVERNMENT, 
 
 Clerk to keep the records of all business done 
 in the town meetings during the year for which 
 he was elected, to keep records of births, mar- 
 riages, and deaths in the town, and perform such 
 other duties of a like nature as the law requires. 
 
 Town Treasurer. — It is the duty of the Town 
 Treasurer to keep safely all moneys intrusted to 
 him, receiving the town's money from the Collec- 
 tor of Taxes, from the debtors of the town in 
 payment of bills due to the town, moneys re- 
 ceived from the state for specified purposes and 
 from any other sources from which the town may 
 receive money. He is to pay out this money on 
 the orders of the proper town officers in accord- 
 ance with law, and in payment of bills against 
 the town when certified or audited by the proper 
 officers. The Town Treasurer is also required 
 to look after the invested funds of the town, re- 
 ceiving the interest or income from such funds, 
 and making a report as occasion may require 
 from time to time to the town meeting or to the 
 Selectmen. 
 
 Selectmen, ^ The Selectmen or Town Council, 
 or, as they are called in some states, trustees 
 of townships, have the general charge of the ex- 
 ecutive business of the town. They call the 
 town meetings. In many states they receive 
 and count the votes for state and national offi- 
 
LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 21 
 
 cers, they act as a board of health, where a board 
 has not been appointed, they lay out highways, 
 appoint certain minor officers, they represent the 
 town in suits at law, they draw jurors, in some 
 cases grant licenses, and do many other things, 
 some of which differ in different states. 
 
 Assessors of Taxes. — It is the duty of the 
 Assessors of Taxes to make an inventory of all 
 the real estate in the town with the names of 
 the owners thereof, of all personal property and 
 owners, and make a list of the names of all per- 
 sons against whom a poll tax is levied. The 
 town having voted the amount of tax to be 
 raised, the assessors will subtract from this sum 
 the amount of all poll taxes, and then determine 
 the percentage which is necessary to raise the 
 remainder of the required tax from the total tax- 
 able property of the town. The tax list is then 
 turned over to the Collector, whose duty it is to 
 notify each person what his tax is and demand 
 payment thereof. This notice usually states when 
 and where the tax may be paid, and if not paid 
 within the time allowed by law, then the Collec- 
 tor must institute measures in accordance with 
 law for its collection from the property assessed. 
 
 Constable. — It is the duty of the Constable, 
 like a police officer, to make arrests in accordance 
 with law of persons charged with crime. A Con- 
 
22 LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 
 
 stable having arrested a person will hold him as 
 prisoner and convey him to a safe place of deten- 
 tion, keeping him in custody until he shall have 
 a trial and be acquitted or sent to jail. It is the 
 duty of the Constable also to serve warrants and 
 writs, summon witnesses, and to perform all such 
 duties as are laid upon him by law. 
 
 School Committee. — Our people maintain in 
 all the states and in all the territories a system of 
 free schools. These schools are not established 
 and maintained by national authority, but by 
 state and territorial laws. In some states the 
 schools are sustained by the state government, 
 under uniform state laws, the state holding in its 
 hands absolute control of all public schools within 
 its jurisdiction. In such cases the state provides 
 for the appointment generally of county superin- 
 tendents and county school boards, the township 
 having but little jurisdiction in the matter. In 
 most of the older states, in the eastern part of the 
 country, the township system prevails. In this 
 section the state usually has a Board of Education 
 and makes laws concerning the schools and their 
 general management, but leaves the particular 
 care of them to the towns. In such cases there 
 is usually a state appropriation for school pur- 
 poses, and another appropriation by each town, 
 according to its needs. In this case the schools 
 
■ LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 23 
 
 of the town are placed under the control of the 
 School Committee elected by that town. This 
 Committee usually consists of three or more per- 
 sons, generally an odd number, who, in accordance 
 with the laws of the state, have the entire manage- 
 ment and control of the public schools. In most 
 states having School Committees they examine 
 the teachers, grant them certificates, fix the rate 
 of wages, approve the bills for payment, build, 
 repair, and keep in order the school-houses, 
 arrange courses of study, examine the schools, 
 determine rules and regulations for them, etc. In 
 some states women, as well as men, vote for 
 members of the School Committee. 
 
 Overseers of the Poor. — These officers have 
 charge of the poor people belonging in the town, 
 who have no relatives to support them, making 
 proper arrangements for their support, either in 
 the almshouse — sometimes called the poor-house 
 
 — or boarding them in private families. In some 
 cases this duty is assigned to the Selectmen. 
 
 Road Commissioners or Highway Surveyors. 
 
 — These officers have charge of all the necessary 
 repairs on the highways and of the building of 
 new roads when ordered by the town. The duties 
 of other town officers need not be specified. 
 
 Herrick's " Powers and Duties of Town Offi- 
 cers in Massachusetts " gives the following as the 
 law in that state concerning town meetings : 
 
24 LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 
 
 " Every town meeting shall be held in pursu- 
 ance of a warrant under the hand of the select- 
 men, directed to the constables or to some other 
 persons appointed by the selectmen for that pur- 
 pose, who shall forthwith notify such meeting in 
 the manner prescribed by the by-laws or by a vote 
 of the town. The selectmen may by the same 
 warrant call two or more distinct town meetings 
 for distinct purposes. 
 
 " The warrant shall express the time and place 
 of the meeting, and the subjects to be there acted 
 upon ; the selectmen shall insert therein all sub- 
 jects which may, in writing, be requested of them 
 by any ten or more voters of the town, and noth- 
 ing acted upon shall have a legal operation, un- 
 less the subject-matter thereof is contained in the 
 warrant." 
 
 The following is the form of the warrant for 
 calling the Annual Town Meeting in the state 
 of Massachusetts : — 
 
 Warrant for calling the Annual Town Meeting. 
 
 E , ss. To either of the Constables of the town 
 
 of B , in the said county, Greeting : 
 
 In the name of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 
 you are directed to notify the inhabitants of the town of 
 
 B qualified to vote in elections and in town affairs, 
 
 to meet at the Town Hall in said B , on the 
 
LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 25 
 
 day of next, at o'clock in the forenoon, 
 
 then and there to act on the following articles : — 
 
 1. To choose a moderator to preside in said meeting. 
 
 2. To choose all necessary town officers for the year 
 ensuing. 
 
 3. To hear the annual report of the selectmen, and 
 act thereon. 
 
 4. To raise such sums of money as may be necessary 
 to defray town charges for the ensuing year, and make 
 appropriations of the same. 
 
 And you are directed to serve this warrant, by post- 
 ing up attested copies thereof, one at the Town Hall, 
 and one at each of the public meeting-houses in the said 
 town, fourteen days at least before the time for holding 
 
 said meeting. The polls will open at o'clock, a.m., 
 
 and will close at o'clock, p.m. 
 
 Hereof fail not, and make due return of this warrant, 
 with your doings thereon, to the Town Clerk, at the 
 time and place of meeting as aforesaid. 
 
 Given under our hands this day of , in the 
 
 year one thousand eight hundred and . 
 
 Selectmen of B 
 
 [Note to the Teacher. — Object lessons are the most effective 
 of all lessons. It is the practice of some of our best teachers to 
 have the scholars conduct a mock town meeting. Previous to the 
 day on which the town meeting is held, the teacher should write 
 off, or have written, a warrant, which should be posted in some 
 convenient place in the school-house, signed by the selectmen, 
 previously appointed from the scholars by the teacher. A town 
 constable and a town clerk should also be previously appointed •, — 
 the constable to post the warrant and make returns thereon, and 
 the town clerk should call the meeting to order, and preside until 
 a moderator be elected. 
 
26 LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 
 
 On the day the town meeting is held, the school should organize 
 and carry through the forms of such a meeting according to the 
 warrant already posted. If it be an Annual Town Meeting, let the 
 town officers be elected by ballot, let the business of the town, as 
 embodied in the warrant, be conducted in order, and the meeting 
 finally adjourned. 
 
 Any skilful teacher who has a few bright scholars in the school 
 (and what school has not?) will find this practice of holding town 
 meetings or of holding mock courts, or a Legislative Assembly, as 
 the House or the Senate, to be of much interest and of great value 
 to the school.] 
 
 Section III. — Cities. 
 
 When the population of the town becomes so 
 large that it would be difficult to transact public 
 business in the town meeting, it is customary 
 all over the country for the town, by a majority 
 vote, to apply for a city charter. In some states 
 a special act of the Legislature is necessary to 
 grant a charter for the new city. In other states 
 a charter may be obtained, under circumstances 
 defined by law, from the officers of the state in 
 accordance with a general statute for the incor- 
 poration of cities. This charter must be ac- 
 cepted by a majority of the legal voters at the 
 town meeting called for that purpose. The 
 charter defines the powers and duties of the 
 several officers to be chosen under it. 
 
 The City Government. — The City Govern- 
 ment is vested in the Mayor and the City Coun- 
 cil. The Council may consist of two bodies, (i) a 
 
LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 2/ 
 
 Board of Aldermen and (2) a larger board called 
 a Common Council, or it may consist of but 
 one body, a Board of Aldermen and no Council, 
 or a Council and no Board of Aldermen. 
 
 The Mayor is elected by the voters of the whole 
 city. The Aldermen are in some cases elected 
 by wards or districts, and in others on a general 
 ticket for the whole city. The members of the 
 Common Council are usually elected by wards. 
 
 The city, like the town, has its school commit- 
 tee, assessors of taxes, overseers of the poor, clerk, 
 treasurer, collector of taxes ; and it usually has 
 a superintendent of streets, officers of the fire 
 department, a city solicitor, a city physician, au- 
 ditor, city marshal or chief of police, and some- 
 times other officers. Many of these officers are 
 appointed by the City Council rather than elected 
 by the people. 
 
 Mayor. — The Mayor is the executive officer 
 of the city. He must see that the laws are en- 
 forced, and that subordinate officers are faithful 
 in their duties. He makes recommendations to 
 the City Council. Usually he has a veto power 
 over the Council similar to the veto power of the 
 Governor over the legislature. . The Mayor in 
 some cases is considered as a member of the 
 Board of Aldermen, and presides over them. In 
 other cases he presides over them but has only 
 
28 LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 
 
 the casting vote. In still other cases he is not 
 connected with the Board of Aldermen. 
 
 The Aldermen. — The Board of Aldermen 
 have powers and duties corresponding to those 
 of the selectmen in the towns. They draw 
 jurors, issue warrants for ward meetings, and in 
 legislative matters have joint power with the 
 Common Council. 
 
 City Council. — The City Council, whether 
 consisting of one body or of two, have the power 
 to fix the salaries of officers, to levy taxes, borrow 
 money, make appropriations for the various de- 
 partments of the City Government, and in gen- 
 eral to care for the public interests of the city. 
 The City Council pass what are called ordi- 
 nances relating to public matters, like the con- 
 struction of sewers, the erection of buildings, 
 obstruction of streets, prevention against fires, 
 punishing vagrancy and truancy, and whatever 
 is needful for the preservation of property, the 
 public health, and the general well-being of the 
 city. 
 
 The town organization, as has been seen, is a 
 democracy, while the City Government is repre- 
 sentative. The executive power of the mayor 
 and aldermen in the city corresponds to that of 
 the selectmen in the town. The legislative power 
 in the city is found in the City Council instead 
 
LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 29 
 
 of the whole body of voters as in the town. The 
 City Council elects inferior officers instead of the 
 people as in the town. In the city, voters meet 
 in districts or wards for the election of officers, 
 while in towns all the voters usually meet in one 
 body. In some instances, however, large towns 
 have been divided into voting precincts. 
 
 Section IV. — Counties. 
 
 The state is divided for convenience in local 
 government into counties, or into counties and 
 towns. In the south and some portions of the 
 west, the states are divided into counties only. 
 In New England and some of the Middle and 
 Western States, the counties are sub-divided into 
 tov/ns or townships. The division into counties 
 is found in every state except Louisiana, which 
 is divided into parishes. 
 
 In all states where the counties are divided 
 into towns, the town is the unit of government, 
 and in some states more important than the 
 county. Where the counties are not thus di- 
 vided, the county is the unit of government. 
 Where towns exist, the local government is 
 divided between the county and the town. Both 
 counties and towns are corporations. 
 
 County Commissioners. — In most of the states, 
 but especially in those states where the local gov- 
 
30 LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 
 
 ernment is vested in the county rather than the 
 town, the chief executive officers for the counties 
 are called County Commissioners. In some states 
 there are officers called supervisors, and the super- 
 visors of the several towns in the county form a 
 board of supervisors for that county. These 
 boards have the care of the public property of 
 the county and attend to all matters of building 
 or repairing public buildings, such as the court- 
 house and county jail. In those states where no 
 towns are found, or where the county officers 
 have more political power than those of the 
 towns, these county boards or county commis- 
 sioners exercise large powers with regard to 
 schools, taxes, highways, bridges, etc. 
 
 County Treasurer. — Each county has a Treas- 
 urer who has the custody of all moneys belonging 
 to the county, receiving the funds and paying 
 them out as required. 
 
 County Auditor. — In some states there are 
 officers called County Auditors, whose duty it is 
 to examine and certify bills against the county. 
 
 Recorder or Registrar of Deeds. — In most 
 states each county has a Recorder or Registrar 
 of Deeds, whose duty it is to keep permanent 
 records of all deeds, mortgages, and other written 
 instruments which are required by law. In a few 
 states these records are kept by the town clerks 
 in the several towns. 
 
LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 31 
 
 Sheriff. — Each county has a Sheriff, or, as 
 in some states, a Deputy Sheriff, to distinguish 
 him from the High Sheriff. It is the duty of 
 the Sheriff to execute all warrants, writs, and 
 other processes intrusted to him by the courts, 
 to arrest persons accused of crime, and to have 
 charge of the county jail and its prisoners. 
 
 Coroner. — It is the duty of the Coroner to 
 inquire into the causes of the death of persons 
 who have died suddenly or by violence. The 
 Coroner summons a jury, who examine witnesses 
 and give their opinion in writing as to the man- 
 ner and cause of the person's death. This is 
 called a Coroner's inquest.^ 
 
 District Attorney. — It is the duty of the Dis- 
 trict Attorney to conduct the prosecution in all 
 courts of the county in which persons are tried 
 for crimes. He is sometimes called the prosecut- 
 ing attorney or the state's attorney. 
 
 Assessors. — Wherever the taxes are assessed 
 and collected by counties instead of by towns, the 
 counties have Assessors and Collectors of Taxes. 
 Their duties have already been described. There 
 are also county Surveyors and other ofBcers differ- 
 ing in different states. 
 
 School Commissioners or Superintendents. — 
 In a large number of states the public schools are 
 managed by counties. In such cases the county 
 
 ^ In Massachusetts, where there is no Coroner, the inquiry is made by 
 a " Medical Examiner," and the inquest is held by a court or trial justice. 
 
32 LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 
 
 has a School Commissioner or a Superintendent 
 of Schools, whose duty it is to examine teachers, 
 visit the schools, and attend to general matters 
 relating thereto, but only as directed by the laws 
 of the state. In some states there are county 
 boards of education, differently constituted, who 
 have under their care the interests of the public 
 schools. 
 
 These various county officers may be consid- 
 ered as belonging to two classes in respect to 
 their jurisdiction. Some of them are the repre- 
 sentatives of the county only, while others are 
 considered as state officials, but exercise their 
 power only in their own county. The County 
 Sheriff arrests a man for crime, but as the crime 
 is fixed by state law, it is considered that the state 
 arrests the man ; yet this arrest is made by the 
 agent of the county. So when the district attorney 
 prosecutes him, it is in the name of the state whose 
 law he has violated. But the county commission- 
 ers, or the recorder, or county treasurer act only 
 for their county, and in no sense in the name of 
 the state 
 
 Section V. — Education. 
 
 Perhaps no department of our government is 
 of more importance than our system of public 
 schools. Although these are supported and regu- 
 
LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 33 
 
 lated by the state, yet they are substantially local 
 institutions and may properly be treated in this 
 
 place. 
 
 Monarchies do not necessarily rely on the in- 
 telligence of the people for the preservation of 
 their form of government, but a republic is made 
 secure only by the intelligence and morality of all 
 the people. It is generally agreed that intelli- 
 gence, enterprise, thrift, and virtue are essential 
 elements for a popular government. It would be 
 unwise and dangerous to the state for us to allow 
 any portion of our people to bring up their chil- 
 dren in ignorance or vice. 
 
 The public school began its history in this 
 country in New England. The Boston Latin 
 School dates from 1635. Harvard College was 
 founded, partly by private gifts and partly by the 
 government of Massachusetts Bay, in 1636. The 
 town of Dorchester established the first public 
 school which was supported by taxation in 1639. 
 From this time onward the district school in New 
 England became an important institution, so that 
 Ions: aeo it was considered one of the boasted 
 products of New England. 
 
 When the territory northwest of the Ohio River 
 was first settled, many of the pioneers went from 
 the Eastern States. They carried with them and 
 established in that section the New England 
 
34 LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 
 
 system of public schools. This institution has 
 since prevailed in all the great northwest and in 
 the states upon the Pacific coast, and since the 
 late war it has been established by law in every 
 southern state. All the organized territories have 
 also established for themselves public schools. We 
 have then to-day a system of public schools pre- 
 vailing in every state of the Union, in every organ- 
 ized territory, and in the District of Columbia. 
 The laws relating to the schools, as well as their 
 management, differ greatly in different states. 
 In New England, where they first started, much 
 is left to the people of each town. The state has 
 a Board of Education and a Superintendent of 
 Public Instruction. In some states this officer is 
 called a Commissioner of Education, in others he 
 is termed the Secretary of the Board of Educa- 
 tion. The state makes laws for the government 
 of the schools, and apportions a certain sum of 
 money among the several towns, but each town 
 levies a tax upon its inhabitants and their property 
 for school purposes. 
 
 In the west and the south the states have a more 
 direct management of the schools, exercising a 
 more immediate control over them. Many states 
 have school funds to aid in supporting their public 
 schools. In those states where the counties are 
 not divided into townships, the schools are county 
 
LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 35 
 
 schools, usually divided into districts for schools 
 of the lower grades, but having one or more 
 county high schools. 
 
 In some states public schools are largely ele- 
 mentary in their character, but a majority of the 
 states carry public instruction through a high 
 school course. Many of the Western States main- 
 tain also state universities, in which any young 
 person belonging in the state can have free in- 
 struction through a liberal course of college or 
 university study. 
 
 Private Institutions of Learning. — In addi- 
 tion to the public schools, all sections of our 
 country maintain many private institutions of 
 learning. There are private schools — primary, 
 grammar, and high — in most of our large towns 
 and cities. Many academies and seminaries have 
 been founded and endowed by benevolent per- 
 sons, where an excellent education can be ob- 
 tained at moderate expense. Colleges and uni- 
 versities are numerous in all parts of our country. 
 Many of them are well endowed with large funds, 
 enabling them to give a liberal education at a 
 small part of its actual cost. Of late, parochial 
 schools have been established by the Roman 
 Catholic Church in large numbers in different 
 sections of the country. The different Protes- 
 tant denominations have, to a greater or less 
 
36 LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 
 
 extent, denominational schools here and there, 
 of various grades. Perhaps there is no country 
 in the world where the opportunities for every 
 one to obtain a good education are more wide- 
 spread than in the United States of America. 
 
 QUESTIONS, TOPICS, AND SUGGESTIONS FOR 
 
 REVIEW. 
 
 Designed to recall what has been learned and to suggest further 
 thought, reading, and study. 
 
 TOWNS. 
 
 1. Give an account of the early New England town. 
 
 2. Western towns. Why are the towns in some sections 
 of less relative importance than in New England ? 
 
 3. Town meeting — importance. 
 
 4. Town officers — how elected. 
 
 5. Duties of Town Clerk. 
 
 6. Duties of Town Treasurer. 
 
 7. Duties of Selectmen. 
 
 8. Duties of Assessors. 
 
 9. Duties of Constable. 
 
 10. Duties of School Committee. 
 
 11. Duties of Overseers of the Poor. 
 
 12. Duties of Road Commissioners. 
 
 13. What preliminaries are needed before a town meeting 
 can be legally organized? 
 
 14. What can be done legally in a town meeting? 
 
 CITIES. 
 
 15. What is a city charter? 
 
 16. How obtained? 
 
LOCAL GOVERMMENT. 37 
 
 17. Difference between a town government and a city 
 government. 
 
 18. How is the Mayor elected? 
 
 19. Duties of Mayor. 
 
 20. Duties of Aldermen. 
 
 21. Duties of Councilmen. 
 
 COUNTIES. 
 
 22. Where are counties of the most importance? Why? 
 
 23. What state has no counties? 
 
 24. When are counties units of government? 
 
 25. Duties of County Commissioners. 
 
 26. Duties of County Treasurer. 
 2 7. Duties of County Auditor. 
 
 28. Duties of Recorder. 
 
 29. Duties of Sheriff. 
 
 30. Duties of Coroner. 
 
 31. Duties of District Attorney. 
 
 32. Duties of Assessors. 
 
 2,2i' Duties of School Commissioners. 
 
 34. Write an essay upon our system of pubHc schools. 
 
 [Let different pupils take different topics concerning public schools, 
 e.g. : (i) Why is it right or just to tax all the property to support public 
 schools? (2) The necessity of compulsory education. (3) Should the 
 state support high schools? (4) Should it support colleges? (5) Advan- 
 tages and disadvantages of private schools. (6) Advantages of graded 
 schools. (7) Why should we learn to read? (8) Is it a disgrace to be a 
 poor speller? (9) Is it any credit to be a good speller?] 
 
BLACKBOARD OUTLINE. 
 
 DEPARTMENTS OF GOVERNMENT. 
 
 I. Legislative | 2. Executive. 
 
 3. Judicial. 
 
 LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 I. The House. | 2. The Senate. 
 
 EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 I. The Governor. | 2. The Lieutenant-Governor. 
 3. The Council. 
 
 OTHER EXECUTIVE OFFICERS. 
 
 1. Secretary of State. 
 
 2. Treasurer. 
 
 3. Auditor. 
 
 4. Attorney-General. 
 
 5. Surveyor-General. 
 
 6. Commissioner of Public 
 
 Schools. 
 
 7. State Librarian, and others. 
 
 THE STATE COURTS. 
 
 1. Justice Courts. I 3. County Courts. 
 
 2. Police Courts. I 4. Supreme Court. 
 
 38 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 STATE GOVERNMENTS. 
 
 Section I. — Their Origin. 
 
 When the War of the Revolution commenced, 
 it united thirteen EngHsh colonies, which were 
 located along the Atlantic coast of North Amer- 
 ica, in rebellion against the British government. 
 On the 4th of July, 1776, these colonies, through 
 their delegates assembled in the Continental 
 Congress, declared themselves independent of 
 the mother country, and published to the world 
 their intention of taking their place as one of 
 the nations of the earth. The several colonies 
 at that moment became states. They immedi- 
 ately adjusted their government in accordance 
 with the new conditions under which they were 
 placed. On that same day began the new nation 
 of the United States of America, and the separate 
 existence of each state as a state in the Union. 
 One after another of these states formed a written 
 constitution for itself, some just before, the others 
 after the Declaration. These were termed state 
 constitutions. Every one of the present forty- 
 
 39 
 
40 STATE GOVERNMENTS. 
 
 four states has a written constitution, which wat 
 formed by a convention of the people, and which 
 has been adopted by a majority vote. 
 
 Virginia was the first state to adopt a consti- 
 tution, June 29, 1776. On the 2d of July, New 
 Jersey adopted a constitution. These two were 
 prior to the Declaration of Independence. Be- 
 fore the end of that year, Maryland, Delaware, 
 Pennsylvania, and North Carolina had adopted 
 constitutions. In 1777 Georgia, New York, and 
 Vermont adopted constitutions, although Ver- 
 mont w^as not admitted into the Union as a state 
 until 1 79 1. South Carolina adopted her consti- 
 tution in 1778, Massachusetts in 1780, and New 
 Hampshire in 1784. 
 
 Connecticut and Rhode Island continued their 
 governments under their former charters received 
 from the king. The charter of Connecticut dated 
 from April 20, 1662, and it served as a constitu- 
 tion for that state until the year 18 18. The 
 charter of Rhode Island went into operation 
 July 8, 1663, and that little state retained it as 
 her constitution until the year 1842, when she 
 adopted a state constitution. At the time that 
 charter was superseded by the new constitution 
 (1842), it was the oldest written constitution then 
 in force in the world. 
 
 These various state constitutions all contained 
 substantially : — 
 
STATE GOVERNMENTS 4! 
 
 1. A Bill of Rights. 
 
 2. An Executive Department. 
 
 3. A Legislative Department. 
 
 4. A Judicial Department. 
 
 Section II. — The Legislative Department. 
 
 The Legislative Department makes the laws 
 for the state, but the state laws must not conflict 
 with the constitution of the state nor the consti- 
 tution of the nation. The state laws relate to 
 matters of justice, equity, and rights, concerning 
 the dealings of the citizens with each other and 
 with the state. They provide for the organiza- 
 tion of corporations, the establishment and sup- 
 port of educational and charitable institutions, 
 and make all needed regulations for the prosecu- 
 tion and punishment of crime. In general, the 
 aim of the Legislature in all laws is to promote 
 the general welfare of the people of the state. 
 
 It was but natural that these English colonists 
 should follow in many things the notions and cus- 
 toms which they had received from the mother 
 country. In Great Britain the Legislative De- 
 partment of the government included the House 
 of Commons and the House of Lords. The 
 American states severally, and the United States 
 in its constitution, all followed the British system 
 of two houses. 
 
42 STATE GOVERNMENTS. 
 
 The House of Representatives. — Each state 
 has a House of Representatives, although not 
 always called by that name. The Representa- 
 tives are chosen in nearly all of the states on the 
 basis of population. For this purpose the state 
 is divided into representative districts. A few 
 states elect representatives for one year, but more 
 elect for two years ; while some elect for three 
 years, and a few for four years. 
 
 The Senate.— -The Senate is considered the 
 upper house of the Legislature. The oflBce of 
 Senator is supposed to be of higher honor than 
 that of Representative. The Senators are cho- 
 sen from senatorial districts, which in all of the 
 states are larger than the representative dis- 
 tricts, making the Senate a smaller body than 
 the House. Each house has a list of standing 
 committees, and most of the business of the two 
 houses is considered, examined, digested, and re- 
 ported to the house by the appropriate commit- 
 tees ; so that much of the ordinary business of 
 the house is to pass a formal sanction upon what 
 has been done by the committees. In this way 
 the transaction of business is greatly facilitated, 
 and the result is probably wiser than if every de- 
 tail came before the full house. 
 
 When, however, some matter of importance 
 upon which there is a diversity of opinion comes 
 
STATE GOVERNMENTS. 43 
 
 from a committee, the house discusses the sub- 
 ject, the members who are specially interested in 
 that particular question debate it with all the 
 strength of their decided convictions ; and then, 
 when the majority has decided the point, the 
 minority yield gracefully, and the law is passed or 
 defeated, as the case may be. 
 
 The Making of a Law. — Before any bill can 
 become a law it must be presented to one of these 
 two houses, usually reported upon favorably by a 
 committee, passed to a second reading, generally 
 laid over until another day, then being called up 
 it takes its third reading, and if adopted by the 
 requisite vote, is sent to the other house. Here 
 it goes through the same form as before, and on 
 a favorable report from the proper committee it 
 passes to its three readings. If at the third read- 
 ing it obtains a majority vote, it is ordered to be 
 engrossed and sent to the Governor for his signa- 
 ture. In most states the Governor has a veto 
 over all bills passed by the Legislature. If he 
 signs the bill, thereby indicating his approval of 
 it, it becomes a law, and it is then sent to the 
 Secretary of State to be placed on file for pres- 
 ervation. If the Governor disapproves of the 
 bill he refuses to sign it, or in other words he 
 "vetoes" the bill, and returns it with his objec- 
 tions to the house where it originated. In this 
 
44 STATE GOVERiSfMENTS. 
 
 case it must pass the two houses of the Legisla- 
 ture again, and in nearly all the states a two- 
 thirds vote is necessary. If it fails to receive 
 this vote in either house, the bill is killed. In 
 some states a majority vote only is necessary to 
 pass the bill over the Governor's veto. 
 
 Each house is the judge of the election and 
 qualifications of its own members, chooses its 
 own officers, and establishes its rules of proced- 
 ure. In some of the states the House of Repre- 
 sentatives only can originate bills looking toward 
 taxation or the expenditure of money. 
 
 Section III. — The Executive Department. 
 
 The Governor. — The chief executive officer 
 of the state is the Governor. It is a common 
 custom to apply to him the title of " His Excel- 
 lency." In the early history of the states New 
 Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and South 
 Carolina called the executive ofiicer the Presi- 
 dent. All other states from the outset gave him 
 the name of Governor. 
 
 In a monarchy the chief executive ofiicer is the 
 monarch himself. In him is the source of power, 
 and other officers are responsible to him. Under 
 a republican form of government, as in the sev- 
 eral states, the executive ofiicer holds inferior ofii- 
 
STATE GOVERNMENTS. 45 
 
 cers responsible to him, but he in turn is respon- 
 sible to the people, who are the source of all 
 political power. 
 
 Term of Office. — The Governor is elected by 
 the people ; in some states annually, in others for 
 the period of two, three, or four years. The ten 
 dency at present seems to be toward biennial 
 elections. 
 
 Qualifications. — The qualifications necessary 
 for a Governor differ in the different states. The 
 qualifications for a Governor in every state are 
 determined by the constitution of that state. 
 These constitutions commonly agree that to be 
 eligible for the office of Governor a person must 
 have been for a certain number of years a citizen 
 of the United States, and for a term of years im- 
 mediately preceding his election a resident of the 
 state. He must also be above a certain age, 
 which in most of the states is thirty years. 
 
 Powers and Duties. — The executive powers 
 and duties of the Governor are important and 
 various. It is his duty to represent the state on 
 public occasions and in its dealings with other 
 states and the United States. He is Commander- 
 in-Chief of the military forces of the state, and has 
 the power to call out the militia of the state in 
 time of insurrection. It is his especial care as 
 the chief executive to see that the laws be faith- 
 
4.6 STATE GOVERNMENTS. 
 
 fully executed. He has power to call upon the 
 different executive officers under him for informa- 
 tion concerning the condition of affairs in their 
 respective departments. He communicates infor- 
 mation of the condition of the state by message 
 to the Legislature when in session, and is accus- 
 tomed to recommend to that department of the 
 government such measures as he considers neces- 
 sary and desirable. He usually has the power to 
 call together the Legislature on extraordinary 
 occasions. In most states he has the veto power. 
 The Governor has certain judicial powers. In 
 most states the power is granted to him by the 
 constitution to reprieve or pardon criminals. To 
 reprieve a criminal is to postpone or delay for a 
 certain time the execution of the sentence which 
 has been already pronounced upon him. To par- 
 don is to free the criminal entirely from the exe- 
 cution of the sentence. A pardon forgives the 
 offence and releases the offender. Most states 
 also give the Governor the power to commute a 
 sentence ; that is, to change the penalty or pun- 
 ishment for a less severe one. For instance, when 
 a person has been sentenced to capital punish- 
 ment, the Governor may commute that sentence 
 to imprisonment for life. In some states the par- 
 doning power is not given to the Governor, but 
 is retained in the hands of the Legislature, or the 
 Senate, or the Governor's Council. 
 
 / 
 
STATE GOVERNMENTS. 47 
 
 The Governor has also in all states more or 
 less appointing power. He appoints many ex- 
 ecutive officers and sometimes judicial officers. 
 This power of appointment differs greatly in the 
 different states. In some states he appoints all 
 the principal executive and judicial officers, such 
 as the Secretary of State, the Attorney-General, 
 and the judges of the courts. In other states 
 these officers are elected by the people, and the 
 Governor appoints only officers of a lower grade. 
 In none of the states has he the power to ap- 
 point legislative officers. In some states the 
 Governor is intrusted with powers and duties 
 which it is not necessary to mention here. Some 
 states provide for a " Governor's Council," or, as 
 it is sometimes called, an " Executive Council." 
 The members of this council are usually elected 
 by the people, and their duty is to advise the 
 Governor, especially in regard to certain matters 
 definitely stated in the laws. 
 
 Lieutenant-Governor. — Most of the states 
 have an officer called a Lieutenant-Governor. 
 In one-quarter of the states this office does not 
 exist. Usually he has but few duties. In most 
 of the states which have such an officer he pre- 
 sides in the Senate. The principal reason for 
 having a Lieutenant-Governor is to guard against 
 a vacancy in the office of Governor. Should the 
 
48 • STATf GOVERNMENTS. 
 
 Governor die, or by any reason be removed or 
 become incompetent to discharge the powers and 
 duties of his office, these would devolve upon 
 the Lieutenant-Governor; but in every instance 
 only in accordance with the constitution of the 
 state. 
 
 Executive Officers. — The executive officers 
 vary in the different states. In most of them 
 the constitution provides for a secretary of state, 
 an auditor or comptroller, a treasurer, and an 
 attorney-general. Some states have an officer 
 called a surveyor-general, whose duty it is to 
 look after the lands belonging to the state ; a 
 superintendent of schools, or superintendent of 
 public instruction, or commissioner of public 
 schools ; state printer ; a state librarian, and 
 others. 
 
 Some states have boards of education whose 
 duty it is to exercise supervision over the normal 
 schools of the state, if there are such ; prescribe 
 forms for registers and blank-books for school 
 statistics ; to direct or advise the superintendent 
 of public instruction ; and to make annual re- 
 port to the Legislature of the state concerning 
 education within its limits, with recommenda- 
 tions for necessary legislation or appropriations. 
 
 Some states have a board of agriculture, a 
 board of health, a board of prison commission- 
 
STATE GOVERNMENTS. 49 
 
 ers, a board of railroad commissioners, harbor 
 commissioners, insurance commissioners, commis- 
 sioners of savings banks, and the like. 
 
 Section IV. — The Judicial Department. 
 
 The constitutions of the several states provide 
 for the establishment of courts of justice and 
 carefully define their powers. In some states the 
 judges are appointed, and in others they are 
 elected by the people. The legislative depart- 
 ment makes laws, the executive department en- 
 forces them, but the judicial department interprets 
 the laws and decides cases of law, making the 
 proper application so as to insure justice to indi- 
 viduals. The names and powers of the different 
 courts differ greatly among the several states. In 
 no two states is the judicial department exactly 
 alike. All that can be done here is to give a 
 tolerably correct idea of the judicial system to be 
 fpund in most of the states. 
 
 Justices of the Peace. — In the various towns 
 or counties in the different states officers are 
 chosen, termed Justices of the Peace. The justice 
 will hold a petty court, in which he has the power 
 to try civil cases which involve small amounts. 
 Some states limit this amount to one hundred 
 dollars, and others to fifty dollars. He has also 
 
50 STATE GOVERNMENTS. 
 
 the power to try persons charged with small 
 crimes. Sometimes he has the power to make a 
 preliminary examination and bind over criminals 
 for trial in the higher courts. 
 
 Police Courts. — In the cities the lowest order 
 of courts, similar to the justice courts in the towns, 
 is usually termed police courts. 
 
 County Courts. — In most of the states the 
 courts next above justice courts or police courts, 
 which are organized for the trial of civil cases 
 and of crimes, are held by counties, and are called 
 by various terms, such as district courts, county 
 courts, courts of common pleas, superior courts, 
 etc. Many of the states outside of New England 
 call these courts circuit courts. 
 
 Supreme Court. — The highest court in the 
 state is usually called the supreme court of such 
 a state. This is usually not a court of original 
 jurisdiction, but only for the trial of cases ap- 
 pealed from the lower courts. 
 
 Probate Courts. — The term probate court is 
 used in most of the states with a uniform mean- 
 ing. Usually there is one probate court in every 
 county, which has generally but a single judge. 
 These courts are quite different in character from 
 the courts just described. They are not for the 
 trial of disputes between citizens, nor for the trial 
 of persons charged with crime, but their powers 
 
STATE GOVERNMENTS. 51 
 
 and duties relate exclusively to the settlement of 
 the estates of deceased persons. They act upon 
 wills, appoint administrators, and empower execu- 
 tors to act in accordance with the wills. When 
 a person dies, leaving property, but not having 
 made a will, it is said that he dies intestate. In 
 that case it is the duty of the probate court to 
 appoint administrators, whose duty it is to settle 
 the estate, paying all lawful bills brought against 
 it, and to divide the property among the relatives 
 to whom it would belong by law. Strictly speak- 
 ine, the administrator has no jurisdiction over the 
 real estate of a person deceased. The lawful 
 heirs can take possession of that without authority 
 from the court. 
 
 When a person dies leaving a will, he usually 
 names in that will an executor or executors, whose 
 duty it shall be under the will to dispose of his 
 property in accordance with the provisions of the 
 will. The probate court has power to remove 
 executors or administrators who fail in the dis- 
 charge of their duty, to settle their accounts, and 
 to decide questions of dispute which may arise in 
 the distribution of the estate. Probate courts are 
 sometimes called orphans' courts, because they 
 have the power to take charge of the estates of 
 minors whose parents have died, and to appoint 
 guardians for them. 
 
52 STATE GOVERNMENTS. 
 
 Questions of dispute which may arise concern- 
 ing decisions of probate courts may be appealed 
 to the county courts or the supreme court of the 
 state. 
 
 Judges of the various courts are sometimes 
 appointed by the Governor, sometimes by the Leg- 
 islature, and sometimes elected by the people. 
 Their terms of office differ in the different states. 
 Frequently the term is from six to ten years. 
 Justices of the peace are usually elected for one 
 or two years. It is common in the New England 
 States for the judges of the higher courts to hold 
 office for life. All the officers under the judicial 
 department, as well as those in the legislative and 
 executive departments, receive salaries which are 
 fixed by state laws. 
 
 There are many other matters of various kinds 
 relating to the state governments, which might 
 be considered with propriety here, but which 
 may better be omitted, especially for the reason 
 that most of them will be fully explained and 
 better understood under the department of our 
 national government. The subordination of the 
 parts to the whole, of the inferior to the superior, 
 must be kept in mind. The town and the county 
 are portions of the state, are inferior to the state, 
 and are subject to its power and its law, but only 
 so subject in matters over which the state by the 
 
STATE GOVERNMENTS. 53 
 
 constitution has autliority vested in it. vSo in 
 like manner it nuist he: reineinhered that the 
 states are j)arts of the nation, and as sucli arc 
 in siil)ordination to the national authority, but 
 only in sueh matters as the nation has power 
 l^iven to it j)y its constitution. 
 
 V 
 
 9liI';S'l'l()NS, TOI'ICS, AND SI H )( i IIS'IK )NS l-OK 
 
 RE VJKW. 
 
 T)<'si^n(:(l to recall wlial lias Ix-cn learned and Id siij'jm:sI furllicr 
 llioiijdil, reading, a,nd study. 
 
 1. Wli.'il, w.is th(; I )(.;c,l.'i,ni,ti()ii of IiHl('|)cn(I(;iic.(,' ? 
 
 2. How (lid llic colonics Ixm.cjiiu: sUitcs? 
 
 3. Write; n. paper of one hundred words or more, describ- 
 ing the legislative dc|)arlMi(iit o( a stale. 
 
 /]. i)i(r(;r(;n( (• between the " House" and Hie " Sena.t(.\" 
 
 cj. I )(■',< libi' how a, law is nia,(l(.'. 
 
 6. I )idi( :■ ol the ( iovemor. 
 
 7. Is a I jeiitenant-( )ov(;rnor like a " fiflli wheel to a coach " ? 
 .S. What executive oltieers a,re there in th(; states? 
 
 9. justice; (Courts. 
 
 10. Police Courts. 
 
 I I . ( lounty (!ourls. 
 
 I 2. Su|)r(;m(; ( 'ourts. 
 
 13. l*ro])at(; ( !ourts. , 
 
 \r\. What is meant l)y intestate? 
 
 15. What is meant by (;xecutor? 
 
 16. What is meant by administrator? 
 
 17. State Judges — how a[>poiuted or ele( ted? 
 
BLACKBOARD OUTLINE. 
 
 SETTLEMENTS. 
 
 1 Spanish. ) 2. French. 
 
 3. English. 
 
 COLONIAL AND REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY. 
 
 ^' The Supreme Moment in 
 the History of America. 
 2. First Continental Congress. 
 
 3. Second Continental Congress. 
 
 4. Articles of Confederation. 
 
 5. Plan of the Confederation. 
 
 6. The Federal Convention. 
 
 54 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 COLONIAL AND REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY. 
 
 Section I. 
 
 The Contest of the Kings for North America. 
 
 ■ — After the discovery of America by Columbus 
 Spain claimed the right to the new world. It 
 was not long, however, before Great Britain, 
 France, and other nations sent over vessels on 
 exploring expeditions, each claiming the right to 
 the country along whose ^ coast they sailed. A 
 little later settlements were attempted here and 
 there from Quebec to St. Augustine, in Mexico, 
 Central and South America. 
 
 Spanish Settlements. — Spain made the first 
 permanent settlement in what is now the United 
 States, at St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565. Spain 
 at an early date took possession of Mexico, Cen- 
 tral Amicrica, and a large part of the Atlantic 
 coast of South America. So it came to pass 
 that the Spanish Provinces were all further south 
 than the country which at a later date became 
 the United States of America. 
 
 55 
 
56 COLONIAL HISTORY. 
 
 French Settlements. — The French people 
 are entitled to great praise for their early explo- 
 rations and settlements in North America, and 
 for the devoted efforts of French priests to in- 
 struct and Christianize the North American 
 Indians. Father Marquette, Chevalier De La 
 Salle, Joliet, and many others penetrated into the 
 wilderness, traced the course of the principal 
 rivers, navigated the Great Lakes, and explored 
 the entire valley of the St. Lawrence and the 
 Great Basin of the Mississippi. 
 
 They had possession of what is now the British 
 Provinces at the north of us, and of the entire 
 country between the Alleghanies and the Rocky 
 Mountains. 
 
 English Settlements. — Great Britain was at 
 an early date very active in sending out expedi- 
 tions for discovery and explorations. The Cabots, 
 Sir Francis Drake, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, Capt. 
 John Smith, Gosnold, and others sailed along the 
 Atlantic coast, taking possession of the country 
 in the name of the king of Great Britain. Set- 
 tlements were effected at Jamestown, Plymouth, 
 Salem, Boston, Hartford, New Haven, and later 
 still Philadelphia, and along the coast of the Caro- 
 linas and Georgia. 
 
 The Contest for Supremacy. — Thus it hap- 
 pened that these three great European nations, 
 
COLONIAL HISTORY. 57 
 
 to say nothing of Portugal, Holland, Sweden, 
 and other minor powers, had before the middle 
 of the last century planted flourishing settle- 
 ments and organized governments for prosperous 
 colonies along the coast and in the interior from 
 Quebec to the Isthmus of Darien. 
 
 If the map of North America were made in 
 three colors, showing the several parts of this 
 continent held by these three great powers from 
 1740 to 1750, the lines would be somewhat as fol- 
 lows: The green color, which might represent 
 Spain, would cover Florida, Mexico, and Central 
 America. The yellow shade, representing France, 
 would include all of the present British America 
 and the entire valley of the Mississippi River. 
 The red, which we will have represent the British 
 power, will cover only the few feeble colonies along 
 the coast from Maine to Florida, and extending 
 westward to the Alleghany Mountains. 
 
 Section II. — The Contest Ended. 
 
 The Supreme Moment in the History of 
 America. — In the year 1754 hostilities broke out 
 between the English colonies in North America 
 and the French. During several years preceding 
 this date the French had established a line of 
 posts along the Ohio River and near the Alle- 
 
58 COLONIAL HISTORY. 
 
 ghany Mountains, intending to prevent the Eng- 
 lish from extending themselves beyond the moun- 
 tains to the westward. Washington, at the head 
 of troops from Virginia, was sent to dislodge the 
 French from Fort Duquesne. In the next year, 
 1755, occurred the defeat of General Braddock 
 near this fort. In 1756 Lord Loudon was sent 
 to command the British troops in America. The 
 contest went on with the battle of Louisburg, 
 Fort William and Henry, and the capture of Fort 
 Frontenac. The English were defeated at Fort 
 Ticonderoga, and fought other battles, until Gen- 
 eral Wolfe was sent by the British to take Que- 
 bec, and there defeated the French army under 
 Montcalm. 
 
 The Battle of Quebec. — During the night the 
 British forces climbed the steep precipice from the 
 river up to the " Plains of Abraham." A fierce 
 battle ensued. It was. the turning-point in the his- 
 tory of America. If the French should be able to 
 compel the forces to retreat, France might reason- 
 ably expect to hold permanent possession of both 
 the French and the English colonies of North 
 America. If, on the other hand, the English 
 should capture the city of Quebec, France would 
 be beaten, and she would be obliged to surrender 
 her vast possessions in this new world to Great 
 Britain. The English were successful. Wolfe 
 
COLONIAL HISTORY. 59 
 
 and Montcalm were both killed. Montcalm, when 
 dying, said, " I am happy that I shall not live to 
 see the surrender of Quebec." Wolfe, after re- 
 ceiving his mortal wound, being told that the 
 French were fleeing everywhere, said, " Now God 
 be praised ! I die in peace." This was in the 
 year 1 760, and soon after the English completed 
 the capture of Canada. 
 
 Had the French succeeded in this contest, the 
 English colonies would have been obliged to sur- 
 render themselves to the domination of France. 
 The French language, French customs, French 
 laws, would have controlled America ; but, on the 
 other hand, as the English were victorious, France 
 was swept from the continent of America, and not 
 till the beginning of the present century did she 
 again secure any foothold here. The treaty of 
 1763 between England and France was a great 
 triumph for the English-speaking race. 
 
 One historian says, " England, proudly impe- 
 rious, drunk with success, dictated humiliating 
 terms to France, and robbed her of all her pos- 
 sessions in North America." Great Britain took 
 possession of the entire valley of the St. Law- 
 rence, — which carried with it all the country 
 which we now know as British America, — and 
 all the territory east of the Mississippi River. 
 France was permitted to cede to Spain the terri- 
 
6o COLONIAL HISTORY. 
 
 tory west of the Mississippi River, lying between 
 that river and the Rocky Mountains, which was 
 known as the " Province of Louisiana." This 
 may well be called the supreme moment in the 
 history of North America. From this time on- 
 ward it was manifest that England and the Eng- 
 lish-speaking people must dominate this country. 
 Count De Vergennes, a distinguished French 
 statesman, was at that time the French minister 
 at Constantinople. As soon as he heard what 
 the English demands had been, and that the 
 French had lost all in North America, he said, 
 " The English have overshot the mark. - Their 
 next step will be to tax their American colonies 
 to help defray the expenses of this war. The 
 Americans, then no longer needing the protec- 
 tion of England, will refuse to pay the tax, and 
 strike off all dependence upon the mother coun- 
 try." This was in 1763. How true his prophecy 
 was will readily appear when we observe that the 
 Declaration of Independence was passed only 
 thirteen years later. The British did tax the 
 colonies, the colonies did refuse to pay the tax, 
 and, the French power being entirely swept away, 
 and the Spanish being far off beyond the Missis- 
 sippi, they no longer feared any foreign nation, so 
 that their own independence was only a question of 
 time. The Stamp Act alienated the Americans, 
 
COLONIAL HISTORY. 6 1 
 
 the tax on tea exasperated them ; hostiHties were 
 commenced, the Declaration of Independence was 
 put forth, the war ensued, and the thirteen British 
 colonies became an independent republic. 
 
 The surrender of Cornwallis upon the plains 
 of Yorktown occasioned the resignation of Lord 
 North, and an entire change in the British min- 
 istry. Yet it was more than a year before terms 
 of peace could be agreed upon, and two years 
 before the definitive treaty was signed. 
 
 The First Continental Congress. — Sept. 5, 
 1774, on the recommendation of Massachusetts, 
 a Continental Congress consisting of delegates 
 from twelve colonies assembled in Philadelphia. 
 The youngest colony, Georgia, was not repre- 
 sented. This gathering came to be known as 
 the First Continental Congress. Many distin- 
 guished men were members of it, such as John 
 Adams and Samuel Adams of Massachusetts, 
 Roger Sherman of Connecticut, John Jay of New 
 York, Peyton Randolph, Richard Henry Lee, 
 Patrick Henry, and George Washington of Vir- 
 ginia. Peyton Randolph was chosen president. 
 The Congress adopted the following resolution: 
 " That in determining questions in this Congress, 
 each colony or province shall have one vote ; the 
 Congress not being possessed of, or at present 
 able to procure, proper materials to ascertain the 
 importance of each colony." 
 
62 REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY. 
 
 The adoption of this rule proved to be a mat- 
 ter of great importance subsequently, inasmuch 
 as it continued in force through the entire Revo- 
 lutionary War, and until the Federal Constitu- 
 tion went into effect in 1789. 
 
 The Congress drew up four papers, — an ad- 
 dress to the king, another to the people of Great 
 Britain, a third to the inhabitants of the colonies, 
 and a fourth to the peopfe of the province of 
 Canada. They recomm.ended that another Con- 
 gress be called for the tenth of the following 
 May, in case the grievances complained of were 
 not previously redressed. No good results were 
 obtained from these addresses to Great Britain, 
 although several British statesmen, including 
 Lord Chatham, spoke of them in terms of high- 
 est admiration. 
 
 Section III. — The Revolution. 
 
 Second Continental Congress. — In accord- 
 ance with the vote of the First Congress, the 
 Second Continental Congress assembled at Phil- 
 adelphia on the loth of May, 1775. This Con- 
 gress continued in session until March, 1781, and 
 after that date it had annual sessions till the 
 Federal Constitution went into effect in 1789. 
 This Second Continental Congress was in reality 
 the national government through the Revolu- 
 

REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY. 63 
 
 tionary War. It appointed Washington as com- 
 mander-in-chief of the army of the United Colo- 
 nies; it adopted the Declaration of Independence; 
 it assumed the power to carry forward all neces- 
 sary measures for the defence of the country ; it 
 created a continental currency ; it issued bills of 
 credit; it established a treasury department and 
 a general system of post-offices. It recommended 
 that the several colonies should establish for them- 
 selves such forms of government as promised best 
 to secure good order during the continuance of 
 the controversy with Great Britain. 
 
 Articles of Confederation. — No sooner had 
 independence been determined upon than it be- 
 came obvious that the states would need some 
 written articles which should bind them together 
 and give proper authority to the Congress. A 
 committee was therefore appointed to prepare 
 " Articles of Confederation." These Articles were 
 agreed upon by Congress on the 15th of Novem- 
 ber, 1777. They were to go into operation when 
 ratified by all the states. Eleven states ratified 
 them in the year 1778, Delaware in 1779, and 
 Maryland March i, 1781, at which time they went 
 into effect. But this was nearly ^n^ years after 
 the Declaration of Independence. During all 
 this time the Continental Congress constituted 
 the national government, and had made the treaty 
 
64 REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY. 
 
 between the United States and France. The 
 Articles of Confederation made but Httle differ- 
 ence in the management of affairs. The Conti- 
 nental Congress went right on with its work in 
 the same order as before, and about six months 
 later the surrender of Cornwallis virtually closed 
 the war. Prior to the adoption of these Articles 
 the government had been revolutionary, the Con- 
 gress governing by common consent of the peo- 
 ple of the states. These Articles were the first 
 attempt to draw the line between the powers of 
 the national government and those to be exercised 
 by the states severally. The tendency for state 
 supremacy was strong. The colonies had been 
 heretofore independent of each other, with only 
 one common bond, — the common subjection to 
 the mother country. It was the central govern- 
 ment of Great Britain which had made arbitrary 
 demands upon their rights and liberties. They 
 were naturally timid of authority and fearful of 
 centralized power. The Articles were therefore 
 drawn up with the intention of leaving the largest 
 possible powers with the several states, and of 
 giving to the National Congress just as little 
 power and authority as possible. They were " as 
 erroneous in theory as they were inefficient in 
 practice." The object aimed at by them was to 
 confederate the several states together for general 
 
REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY. 65 
 
 purposes of mutual assistance, especially in mat- 
 ters of protection against foreign foes. 
 
 Plan of the Confederation. — The Articles 
 provided for one house of Congress composed of 
 delegates from the several states. Each state was 
 to pay its own delegates, and the voting on all 
 questions was to be by states. 
 
 Matters of war and peace, treaties and alliances, 
 were left with the Congress. This body could 
 decide disputes between states, had charge of all 
 postal matters, and power to regulate the value 
 of money; but an affirmative vote of two- thirds of 
 all the states was necessary for any important 
 action to be taken. There was no executive de- 
 partment and no judiciary. Congress could ap- 
 portion taxes among the states, but had no power 
 to collect them. Each state could lay duties and 
 imposts. Congress had not even power to en- 
 force its own laws. It could borrow money, but 
 could make no provision for its payment. It 
 could appoint ambassadors, but could not defray 
 the necessary expenses. It could declare war, 
 but could not raise a single soldier. " In short, 
 it could declare everything, but do nothing." 
 The Congress ratified the treaty of peace be- 
 tween the United States and Great Britain, but 
 this treaty was violated by the states, and Con- 
 gress was powerless to prevent such violations. 
 
66 REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY. 
 
 The Confederation was merely a league between 
 the states, embodying the greatest weakness when 
 considered as a national government. Wash- 
 ington at an early day saw the difficulty and 
 danger, and that a new constitution was the great 
 problem of the time. Alexander Hamilton, one 
 of the ablest statesmen of that day, as early as 
 1 780 sketched the outline of a system of govern- 
 ment which he thought to be necessary, and 
 which embodied most of the essential features of 
 our present constitution. 
 
 Federal Convention. — It had become entirely 
 evident both to Congress and the people that the 
 Confederation as a government was a failure. 
 The states were issuing more and more paper 
 money. Congress repudiated the national debt, 
 and the states repudiated their debts. The coun- 
 try was rapidly becoming bankrupt. There were 
 but few manufacturing establishments in Amer- 
 ica, and the coin of the country was constantly 
 transferred to England in payment for vast quan- 
 tities of manufactured goods sent over from that 
 country to this. The several states were stripped 
 of money. The credit of the states and of the 
 Congress was gone, and the absolute collapse of 
 the United States government was imminent. 
 
 Washington wrote to a member of Congress, 
 " You talk, my good sir, of employing influence 
 
REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY. 6y 
 
 to appease the present tumults in Massachusetts. 
 Influence is not government. Let us have a gov- 
 ernment by which our lives, liberties, and proper- 
 ties will be secure, or let us know the worst at 
 once." 
 
 Delegates from five states met in January, 1786, 
 at Annapolis, Maryland, with reference to a uni- 
 form system of commercial regulations. They 
 reported to Congress their unanimous conviction 
 that a general convention of delegates from the 
 several states should be called to take such action 
 as would render " the Constitution of the Federal 
 Government adequate to the exigencies of the 
 Union." On the 21st of February, 1787, Congress 
 adopted the following resolution : — 
 
 " Resolved, That, in the opinion of Congress, 
 it is expedient that, on the second Monday in 
 May next, a convention of delegates, who shall 
 have been appointed by the several States, be 
 held at Philadelphia, for the sole and express pur 
 pose of revising the Articles of Confederation, 
 and reporting to Congress and the several legis- 
 latures such alterations and provisions therein as 
 shall, when agreed to in Congress and confirmed 
 by the States, render the Federal Constitution 
 adequate to the exigencies of government and 
 the preservation of the Union." 
 
 Delegates from all the states except Rhode 
 
68 REVOLUTIOATARV HISTORY. 
 
 Island met at Philadelphia, Monday, May 14th, 
 1787. On the 25th, George Washington was 
 unanimously elected President of the Convention. 
 This Convention was without doubt the most 
 celebrated gathering of able men ever seen in 
 America. 
 
 Among the thirty-nine members of the Con- 
 vention who subscribed their names to the Con- 
 stitution, five, viz., Sherman, Franklin, Robert 
 Morris, Read, and Washington, were signers of 
 the Declaration of Independence; Washington 
 and Madison were afterwards Presidents ; Rut- 
 ledge and Ellsworth became Chief Justices ; 
 Gerry was Vice-President, and Hamilton, Secre- 
 tary of the Treasury ; Livingston had been eleven 
 times elected governor of his state ; Wilson was 
 famed in four universities and was esteemed the 
 greatest constitutional lawyer of the Convention ; 
 and Dr. Franklin, then more than eighty years of 
 age and very near the grave, rounded out his full 
 life as a philosopher, statesman, diplomatist, by 
 giving to his country at this her most critical 
 period the great benefit of his own political expe- 
 rience. All of these men had been " identified 
 with the heroic and wise councils of the Revo- 
 lution." 
 
 The Convention had been called "for the sole 
 and express purpose of revising the Articles of 
 
REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY. 69 
 
 Confederation." It soon, however, became evi- 
 dent that the only way of rendering this instru- 
 ment "adequate to the exigencies of government 
 and the preservation of the Union " was to throw 
 it entirely away and frame a completely new docu- 
 ment. At the very beginning of their discus- 
 sions great differences of opinion were manifest. 
 The members were generally divided into two 
 classes, one favoring a strong national govern- 
 ment, and the other opposed to anything which 
 would tend to weaken state sovereignty or impair 
 in any degree what they considered as state rights. 
 Here then was the origin of the two great polit- 
 ical parties, which have divided the American 
 people from that day to this, — the states rights 
 party and the national or federal party. 
 
 But there were other questions of no small dif- 
 ficulty which they were also obliged to meet at 
 the outset : . such as the diverse interests and jeal- 
 ousies of large and small states, of free and slave 
 states, of states agricultural and commercial ; and 
 should the states have equal power in the national 
 government, or should that power be proportional 
 to the population of the several states. 
 
 Washington almost despaired, Franklin was 
 seriously alarmed; but influenced by a spirit of 
 mutual forbearance and concessions, various com- 
 promises were proposed and agreed to concerning 
 
70 REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY. 
 
 slavery, and especially in providing for an equal- 
 ity of the states in the Senate, and representation 
 by population in the House. The present Con- 
 stitution of the United States was agreed to by 
 the convention, and received the signatures of 
 members from all the participating states. This 
 result was reached only by the most consummate 
 wisdom, the most lofty patriotism, and such a 
 degree of skill and ability as has seldom, if ever, 
 elsewhere been witnessed in any assemblage of 
 men. Washington said, " It appears to me little 
 short of a miracle." 
 
 The Constitution was finally agreed to by all 
 the states present on the 15th of September, 1787. 
 This was on Saturday. On the following Mon- 
 day it was signed by the members, and submitted 
 to the Congress. The votes throughout the whole 
 time of the Convention had been by states, as in 
 the Continental Congress. The Congress trans- 
 mitted the new Constitution to each state, recom- 
 mending its ratification. Although the Articles 
 of Confederation provided that no change should 
 be made in them except by a vote of every state, 
 yet the Constitution provided that the new gov- 
 ernment should go into effect when ratified by 
 conventions of the people of nine states. 
 
 For a long time it was uncertain whether the 
 Constitution would be adopted or rejected. Most 
 
REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY. Jl 
 
 of the smaller states were in its favor. Its adop- 
 tion was closely contested in New York, Massa- 
 chusetts, and Virginia. In a little less than one 
 year from its adoption by the Convention, it had 
 been ratified by eleven of the states. Congress 
 then took measures to put the new government 
 into operation. Elections of presidential electors, 
 and of senators and representatives in Congress, 
 were held in January, 1789. The presidential 
 electors voted for President on the first Wednes- 
 day of February ; and the first Wednesday of 
 March was decided upon by Congress as the 
 time when the new Constitution should go into 
 effect. 
 
 George Washington was unanimously elected 
 President, and John Adams was elected Vice- 
 President. On the 4th of March the senators 
 and representatives assembled in New York, the 
 new Constitution went into legal operation, and 
 proceedings were commenced under it. It was 
 not, however, until the first day of April that a 
 quorum of members in both houses was obtained, 
 and on that day Congress began the transaction 
 of business. W^ashington took the oath of ofiice, 
 and delivered his inaugural address, on Thurs- 
 day, April 30th. On May ist John Adams took 
 his seat as president of the Senate. North Caro- 
 lina ratified the Constitution in November, 1789; 
 and Rhode Island, in May, 1790. 
 
72 
 
 REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY. 
 
 Dates of Ratification. — The following are the 
 dates of the ratification of the Constitution by 
 each of the thirteen original states : 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 6 
 
 7 
 8 
 
 (lo: 
 (II 
 
 (12 
 
 (13 
 
 Delaware, Dec. 7, 1787. 
 Pennsylvania, Dec. 12, 1787. 
 New Jersey, Dec. 18, 1787. 
 Georgia, Jan. 2, 1788. 
 Connecticut, Jan. 9, 1788. 
 Massachusetts, Feb. 6, 1788. 
 Maryland, April 28, 1788. 
 South Carolina, May 23, 1788. 
 New Hampshire, June 21, 1788. 
 Virginia, June 26, 1788. 
 New York, July 26, 1788. 
 North Carolina, Nov. 21, 1789. 
 Rhode Island, May 29, 1790. 
 
 Thus was put into operation the Constitution 
 of the United States of America, which Glad- 
 stone, who is considered by many the greatest 
 statesman of this age, has pronounced to be "the 
 most wonderful work ever struck off at a given 
 time by the brain and purpose of man." 
 
 It may truly be said that it embodies profound 
 political wisdom and far-reaching statesmanship, 
 while it jealously guards the rights of the people, 
 providing various checks and safeguards against 
 unjust, unwise, or dangerous legislation ; and yet 
 " in its words it is plain and intelligible, and is 
 
REVOLUTION-ARY HISTORY. 73 
 
 meant for the homebred, unsophisticated under- 
 standings of our fellow-citizens." 
 
 QUESTIONS, TOPICS, AND SUGGESTIONS FOR 
 REVIEW. 
 
 Designed to recall what has been learned and to suggest further 
 thought, reading, and study. 
 
 1. What was the " Contest of the Kings "? 
 
 2. Where was the first permanent Spanish settlement in 
 the United States? 
 
 3. Where the first permanent English settlement? 
 
 4. Draw a map of North America, showing Spanish, 
 French, and English control at the middle of the eighteenth 
 century. 
 
 5. Draw a map showing the English and Spanish territory- 
 after 1763. 
 
 6. Describe the battle of Quebec. 
 
 7. What was the ''Supreme Moment in American History," 
 and why so called ? 
 
 8. First Continental Congress. 
 
 9. What important rule did it adopt? 
 
 10. When did the Second Continental Congress convene? 
 
 11. Name the essential points of weakness in the Articles of 
 Confederation. 
 
 12. Describe the Federal Convention. 
 
 13. When did the Convention submit the Constitution to 
 Congress ? 
 
 14. When did the Constitution go into effect? 
 
BLACKBOARD OUTLINE. 
 
 THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT.-THE CONGRESS. 
 
 THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 
 
 The Number of Representatives, i Territorial Delegates. 
 Qualifications. | Officers. 
 
 Impeachments. 
 
 THE SENATE. 
 
 Senators, how chosen. 
 Qualifications. 
 
 Presiding Officer. 
 Officers of the Senate. 
 
 The Trial of Impeachments. 
 
 PROVISIONS RELATING TO BOTH HOUSES. 
 
 Sessions of Congress. 
 
 Salaries of Senators and Representatives. 
 
 THE POWERS OF CONGRESS. 
 
 Duties on Imports. 
 
 Naturalization. 
 
 Bankruptcies. 
 
 Coin Money. 
 
 Weights and Measures. 
 
 The "Sweeping Clause." 
 
 RESTRICTIONS UPON THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 
 
 74 
 
PART SECOND. 
 
 THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 Section I. — The Congress. 
 
 The Preamble. — The purpose of the Consti- 
 tution of the United States is fully stated in the 
 preamble. It is as follows : — 
 
 1. To form a more perfect union. 
 
 2. To establish justice. 
 
 3. To insure domestic tranquillity. 
 
 4. To provide for the common defence. 
 
 5. To promote the general welfare. 
 
 6. To secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves 
 
 and our posterity. 
 
 The National Element of Slow Growth.— 
 
 The beginning of the nation was July 4th, 1776. 
 During the Revolution and under the Articles 
 of Confederation, great diversities prevailed among 
 the people as to the proper limits of state rights 
 and the proper extent of the Federal power. 
 The weakness of the Articles of Confederation 
 
 75 
 
76 THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 rendered it very clear that the national govern- 
 ment must have conferred upon it more extended 
 powers. The Constitution was a compromise in 
 many respects between divergent parties, but on 
 the question of national supremacy there was no 
 compromise. The Articles of Confederation con- 
 stituted an agreement or bond between the several 
 states which were specified by name. The Con- 
 stitution, on the other hand, was not a league of 
 states, but a fundamental law adopted by the 
 people of the whole country. Its first sentence, 
 called the preamble, is especially significant : — 
 
 '' We, the people of the United States, in order to form 
 a more perfect union, estabhsh justice, insure do- 
 mestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, 
 promote the general welfare, and secure the bless- 
 ings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do 
 ordain and establish this Constitution for the United 
 States of America." 
 
 Section II. — The House of Representatives. 
 
 By the Constitution all legislative powers for 
 the national government are vested in a Congress 
 of the United States, which consists of two 
 houses, the Senate and the House of Representa- 
 tives. As has already been stated, the people 
 were influenced largely in organizing their new 
 government by the plans and methods which they 
 
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 I i 
 
 l^^^^^i 1^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^1 
 
 EASTERN DOOR "^ 
 
 I 
 
 J, 
 
 i 
 
 ^ 
 
 I 
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 ^din 
 
 ^^ 
 
 1 
 
 WESTERN DOOR 
 
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THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 77 
 
 had been familiar with in the mother country. 
 Hence it was simply natural that following the 
 example of the British Parliament, which con- 
 sisted of the House of Lords and the House of 
 Commons, two separate houses should here be 
 provided for. 
 
 During the revolutionary government and 
 under the Articles of Confederation, the Conti- 
 nental Congress had consisted of but one house. 
 The states, however, in forming constitutions for 
 themselves had, without exception, introduced 
 the plan of two houses. 
 
 The House of Representatives. — 
 
 "The House of Representatives shall be composed of 
 members chosen every second year by the people 
 of the several states." 
 
 Under the Confederation the members of Con- 
 gress were chosen annually, and in such manner 
 as the legislature of each state should authorize. 
 The Constitution provides that representatives 
 shall serve for two years, and that they shall be 
 elected by " the people." Each state prescribes by 
 law how the members of the state legislature shall 
 be elected, and who shall have power to vote for 
 such members. The Constitution prescribes that 
 any one who can vote for a m.ember of the House 
 of Representatives in that state, can vote for a 
 member of the National House of Representatives. 
 
78 THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 Qualifications. — Three qualifications, and only 
 three, are required for a representative in Congress. 
 
 1. He must be at least twenty-five years of age. 
 
 2. He must have been seven years a citizen of the 
 
 United States. 
 
 3. He must, when elected, be an inhabitant of that 
 
 state in which he shall be chosen. 
 
 The Number of Representatives. — Every ten 
 years after the census returns have been made, 
 Congress provides by law for the number of 
 representatives for the next ten years which each 
 state shall be entitled to. It first determines how 
 many members there shall be in the House, and 
 it then apportions these members according to 
 the population of the several states. The number 
 of representatives for the different decades and 
 the number of inhabitants for one representative 
 during the last one hundred years have been as 
 follows : — 
 
 Period. 
 
 No. of 
 Members. 
 
 Ratio of 
 Population. 
 
 I 789-1 793 
 
 65 
 
 
 I 793-1803 
 
 105 
 
 33,000 
 
 1803-1813 
 
 141 
 
 33,000 
 
 1813-1823 
 
 181 
 
 35.000 
 
 1823-1833 
 
 212 
 
 40,000 
 
 1833-1843 
 
 240 
 
 47,700 
 
 1843-1853 
 
 223 
 
 70,680 
 
 1853-1863 
 
 234 
 
 93.500 
 
 1863-1873 
 
 241 
 
 127,941 
 
 1873-1883 
 
 292 
 
 130.533 
 
 1883-1893 
 
 325 
 
 151.911 
 
 1893-1903 
 
 356 
 
 173,902 
 
THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 79 
 
 Sometimes the actual number of representa- 
 tives has been greater than the number here given 
 on account of the admission of new states. By 
 the above table, it will be observed that at the 
 present time the required number of inhabitants 
 for one representative is 173,902, but every small 
 state is entitled to one representative even if its 
 population is less than the above number. 
 
 Territorial Delegates. — Each organized ter- 
 ritory is allowed by law of Congress to send one 
 delegate to the House. He may participate in 
 the discussions, but he is not allowed to vote. 
 
 In the fifty-first Congress (1890), Washington, 
 Montana, Dakota, Idaho, and Wyoming having 
 been admitted as states, and Oklahoma organized 
 as a territory, there were four territorial dele- 
 gates. 
 
 Officers. — 
 
 "The House of Representatives shall choose their 
 Speaker and other officers." 
 
 The Speaker is the presiding officer of the 
 House. The Speaker is chosen from the mem- 
 bers of the House and can vote on every question 
 like any other member. The other ofiicers of the 
 House are: — 
 
 1. Clerk. 3- Door-keeper. 
 
 2. Sergeant-at-arms. 4- Postmaster. 
 
 5. Chaplain. 
 
8o THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 At the organization of each new Congress, the 
 clerk of the preceding House presides till a 
 Speaker is chosen. 
 
 Impeachment. — The House of Representa- 
 tives has the sole power to impeach civil ofhcers 
 of the United States. When an ofhcer is im- 
 peached, the House brings impeachment, specify- 
 ing the charges against him, before the Senate. 
 The method of impeachment is as follows : the 
 House appoints a committee to inquire into the 
 conduct of the oilficer who has been charged with 
 improper acts. If this committee reports in favor 
 of impeachment, the House votes upon the ques- 
 tion. If the majority vote that the officer shall 
 be impeached, articles are prepared specifying the 
 charges, and action is taken upon each article. 
 Then a committee is appointed to conduct the 
 prosecution before the Senate. It is noticeable 
 that but few officers have ever been subject to im- 
 peachment. Indeed, in one hundred years but 
 seven cases of impeachment have occurred. They 
 are as follows : — 
 
 1. William Blount, Senator. 1799. Acquitted. 
 
 2. John Pickering, Judge. 1803. Convicted and 
 
 removed from office. 
 
 3. Samuel Chase, Judge. 1804. Acquitted. 
 
 4. James H. Peck, Judge. 1830. Acquitted. 
 
 5. West H. Humphreys, Judge. 1862. Convicted 
 
THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 8 1 
 
 and disqualified from holding any office of 
 honor, trust, or profit under the United States. 
 
 6. Andrew Johnson, President. 1868. Acquitted. 
 
 7. W. W. Belknap, Secretary of War. 1876. Ac- 
 
 quitted. 
 
 Thus It will be seen that of these seven cases 
 of impeachment there have been only two con- 
 victions, one of whom was simply removed from 
 ofhce, and the other was disqualified from holding 
 office. 
 
 Section III. — The Senate. 
 
 The Senate consists of two members from each 
 state. The peculiar composition of the Senate 
 was occasioned by the natural jealousy which ex- 
 isted between the states. It has already been 
 seen that the several colonies became states, pre- 
 serving their original boundaries. During the 
 entire time of the Continental Congress all votes 
 were taken by states, each state having but one 
 vote. When the convention was framing the 
 Constitution, the jealousy between the small 
 states and the larger was strongly apparent. The 
 larger states very naturally felt that they should 
 have a strons^er voice in leo^islative matters than 
 the smaller states. On the other hand, the 
 smaller states were unwilling to yield the equal 
 power which had hitherto been accorded to them. 
 
82 THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 A compromise was effected by which the House 
 of Representatives should be constituted upon a 
 basis of population, and in the Senate the equality 
 of the states should be retained. The Constitu- 
 tion provides that, — 
 
 "The Senate of the United States shall be composed 
 of two senators from each state, chosen by the leg- 
 islature thereto for six years ; and each senator 
 shall have one vote." 
 
 This clause contains four distinct provisions: — 
 
 1. There shall be two senators from each state. 
 
 2. They shall be chosen by the legislature of the 
 
 state. 
 
 3. They shall be chosen for the term of six years 
 
 4. Each senator shall have one vote. 
 
 Senators : how chosen. — In regard to the 
 mode in which the legislatures are to choose the 
 senators, the Constitution is silent. 
 
 By an act of Congress passed July 25, 1866, it 
 is provided that when the legislature of any state 
 is to elect a senator in Congress, it shall proceed 
 to the election of such senator on the second 
 Tuesday after the organization of the legislature, 
 and, the election shall be conducted as follows : — 
 
 Each house shall, by a viva voce vote, name a 
 person for senator, and the name of the person 
 who receives a majority vote shall be entered in 
 
xaaoi NUEiisva 
 
 IMOOU N0li.d303a 
 
THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 83 
 
 the journal of the house. If the house fails to 
 give such a majority to any person, that fact shall 
 be entered on the journal. On the next day at 
 twelve o'clock the members of the two houses 
 shall convene in joint assembly, and the journal 
 of each house shall be read, and if the same per- 
 son has received a majority of all the votes in 
 each house, he shall be declared fully elected 
 senator. If no one has such a majority, the joint 
 assembly shall choose, by a viva voce vote of each 
 member present, a person for senator. The per- 
 son having a majority of all the votes of the joint 
 assembly shall be declared elected. If there is 
 no election that day, the joint assembly shall 
 meet at twelve o'clock on each succeeding day, 
 and shall take at least one vote each day until 
 a senator is elected. 
 
 The senators are divided into three classes, 
 and, as they are chosen for six years, one-third 
 of the whole number is chosen every second 
 year. The representatives are chosen for two 
 years, which is the length of time covered by one 
 Congress. Whenever a new Congress convenes, 
 one-third of the senators are either new members, 
 or have- been re-elected for a new term. It will 
 be observed, that as one-third of the senators go 
 out of office every two years, the Senate is a 
 continuous body ; while the members of the 
 
84 THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 House are all swept off at once, and a new elec- 
 tion brings in a new House every second year. 
 
 Qualifications. — The qualifications of the 
 senator are three : — 
 
 1. He must be at least thirty years of age. 
 
 2. He must have been nine years a citizen of the 
 
 United States. 
 
 3. He must, when elected, be an inhabitant of the 
 
 state in which he is chosen. 
 
 Presiding Officer. — It will be seen farther on, 
 that the executive ofHcer of the United States is 
 the President. The Vice-President is chosen for 
 the purpose of taking the place of the President 
 when a vacancy in that office occurs ; but unless 
 some other duties were placed upon him, the 
 Vice-President would have nothing to do so long 
 as the President held his of^ce ; hence the con- 
 vention determined to make him presiding officer 
 of the Senate, which is done in the following 
 clause: — 
 
 "The Vice-President of the United States shall be 
 president of the Senate, but shall have no vote 
 unless they be equally divided." 
 
 The speaker of the House is a member of the 
 House ; but as the equality of the states is pre- 
 served in the Senate, it would seem best to select 
 the presiding officer from outside that body. 
 
THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 85 
 
 V 
 
 The Vice-President would be likely to be less 
 partial as a presiding officer than a senator would 
 be, since he is elected by the whole country and 
 not by a single state. 
 
 Officers of the Senate. — The Senate shall 
 choose their officers, and also a President pro 
 tempore, in the absence of the Vice-President, or 
 when he shall exercise the office of President of 
 the United States. The officers of the Senate 
 
 are : 
 
 1. The Secretary. 4. Sergeant-at-arms. 
 
 2. Chief Clerk. 5. Door-keeper. 
 
 3. Executive Clerk. 6. Chaplain. 
 
 The Trial of Impeachments. — When the 
 
 Senate is to try an impeachment, it sits as a 
 
 court, and every senator must be on • oath or 
 affirmation. 
 
 '' When the President of the United States is tried the 
 chief-justice shall preside, and no person shall be 
 convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of 
 the members present. 
 
 ''Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend 
 further than to removal from office, and disquaUfi- 
 cation to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, 
 or profit under the United States ; but the party 
 convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject 
 to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, ac- 
 cording to law." 
 
86 THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 Section IV. — Provisions relating to Both 
 Houses of Congress. 
 
 Sessions of Congress. — 
 
 " The Congress shall assemble at least once in every 
 year and such meeting shall be on the first Monday 
 in December, unless they shall by law appoint a 
 different day." 
 
 Although the new Congress comes Into exist- 
 ence on the fourth of March in each odd year, 
 yet the first regular session will begin on the first 
 Monday of December following. This first ses- 
 sion may hold through an entire year, but if the 
 business be completed Congress may adjourn at 
 any time during the year. The second regular 
 session begins on the first Monday of December 
 following, and must close by the fourth of the 
 next March, at which time the new Congress 
 comes into existence. 
 
 "Each house is the judge of the elections, returns and 
 qualifications of its own members, and a majority of 
 each shall constitute a quorum to do business." 
 
 Each house also determines, — 
 
 " The rules of its proceedings, punishes its members for 
 disorderly behavior and with the concurrence of 
 two-thirds may expel a member." 
 
THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 8/ 
 
 Salary of Senators and Representatives. — 
 
 The senators and representatives are paid out of 
 the treasury of the United States. Congress has, 
 from time to time, increased the compensation of 
 its members from six dollars a day in the House, 
 and seven dollars a day in the Senate, until, by 
 a law passed in 1874, the compensation of each 
 representative and each senator was fixed at five 
 thousand dollars per annum. The pay of the 
 Speaker of the House and of the Vice-President, 
 or if there is none, the President of the Senate 
 pro tempore, is eight thousand dollars per annum. 
 In addition to his salary every member of either 
 house is allowed mileage, in coming and going 
 between his home and Congress, twenty cents 
 per mile for every mile of travel by the usual 
 route. 
 
 " All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House 
 of Representatives ; but the Senate may propose 
 or concur with amendments as on other bills." 
 
 This clause is adopted from the custom of the 
 British Parliament. There, revenue bills must 
 originate in the House of Commons. There is 
 very little necessity in our present circumstances 
 for this restriction. Raising revenue is under- 
 stood to be confined to levying taxes. It is the 
 custom for the Senate to originate bills which 
 
88 THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 imply the raising of money, or which will require 
 the raising of money, as for example, bills to estab- 
 lish post-ofhces, the mint, to regulate the sale of 
 public land, etc. 
 
 Section V. — The Powers of Congress. 
 
 We come now to the consideration of the 
 powers vested by the Constitution in the Con- 
 gress. It should be remembered that when the 
 Constitution was framed, the controversy was 
 sharp and spirited between those who favored be- 
 stowing large powers upon the national govern- 
 ment, and those who, fearing that evils would 
 result from such a course, were strenuous in their 
 belief that large powers should be retained by the 
 governments and the people of the several states. 
 In consequence of this controversy, the Constitu- 
 tion defines somewhat minutely special subjects 
 upon which Congress shall have power to legis- 
 late. It does not, however, contain an exhaustive 
 enumeration of the powers of Congress, and does 
 not mean that Congress shall not legislate on 
 any subjects not here enumerated. This is evi- 
 dent from the fact that power is given to Con- 
 gress 
 
 " To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper 
 for carrying into execution the foregoing powers 
 and all other powers vested by this Constitution in 
 
THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 89 
 
 the government of the United States, or in any de- 
 partment, or, officer thereof." 
 
 Elsewhere, the Constitution requires of Congress 
 the exercise of powers not particularly mentioned ; 
 and in different places it implies that Congress 
 must do certain things, which are not expressly 
 provided for in the section specifying its particu- 
 lar powers. 
 
 The Constitution expressly enumerates the fol- 
 lowing powers : — 
 
 The Congress has power 
 
 "To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises 
 to pay the debts and provide for the common de- 
 fence and general welfare of the United States ; 
 but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform 
 throughout the United States." 
 
 This gives to Congress the power to levy taxes 
 for three purposes : — 
 
 1. To pay the public debt. 
 
 2. To provide for the common defence. 
 
 3. To provide for the general welfare. 
 
 The general government may levy a tax in 
 three ways : — 
 
 1. A direct tax upon persons, which may be either 
 a poll tax or a property tax. 
 
 2. An indirect tax upon goods imported into the 
 country from abroad. 
 
90 THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 3. An indirect tax upon goods manufactured and 
 used here. 
 
 Previous to the civil war a direct tax had been 
 laid but four times — in 1798, 181 3, 18 15, 18 16. 
 These taxes were levied upon lands, houses, and 
 slaves. To pay the debt incurred in the civil 
 war, direct taxes were again levied in 1861 and 
 subsequently. 
 
 Duties on Imports. — This government, during 
 most of its existence, has been committed to the 
 policy of laying duties on goods manufactured 
 abroad and imported into this country. These 
 duties on imports are of two kinds : — 
 
 I. Specific duties. 2. Ad valorem Am\a^^. 
 
 A specific duty is a tax levied on goods by 
 weight, measure, or bulk ; as, for example, a duty 
 of fifty cents a yard on broadcloth, one dollar a 
 ton on iron, or twenty cents a gallon on molasses. 
 
 An ad valorem duty is levied according to the 
 value or cost of the goods, as, ten per cent on 
 iron, fifty per cent on the cost of brandy. These 
 duties are collected under the direction of the 
 treasury department. 
 
 Naturalization. — Another power committed 
 to Congress is, " to establish a uniform rule of 
 naturalization." 
 
THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT, 9 1 
 
 Naturalization is an act by which a foreigner, 
 called an alien, becomes a citizen of the United 
 States. Under the confederation, each state 
 passed laws naturalizing aliens. 
 
 It is to be noticed that there has been a con- 
 stant growth of national power. At first the 
 several states were unwilling to give up their 
 power to the federal government. Through the 
 whole history of the nation, the dividing line 
 between political parties has been upon this prin- 
 ciple. One party has favored large state rights, 
 and a minimum national power. The other party 
 has advocated a strong national power. Here is 
 an illustration : The laws upon the subject of 
 naturalization, and the qualifications requisite in 
 the different states were so various, that confusion 
 and controversy resulted. To remedy these evils 
 the Constitution gives Congress full power over 
 the subject of naturalization, so that the laws 
 shall be uniform throughout all the states. An 
 alien coming to this country from a foreign land 
 must make application for citizenship ; this is 
 called his " declaration of intention." This decla- 
 ration must be made at least two years before he 
 can receive his naturalization papers. In this 
 declaration he must declare on oath or affirma- 
 tion that it is his intention to become a citizen of 
 the United States, and to renounce all allegiance 
 
92 THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 to the government of which he is at the time or 
 has been a subject. 
 
 Before he can receive his naturahzation papers 
 he must have resided in this country at least five 
 years. There is one exception to this law. By 
 an act passed in 1862, a soldier of the age of 
 twenty-one years and upward, regularly discharged 
 from the army of the United States, may be ad- 
 mitted to citizenship without a previous declara- 
 tion of intention and with a single year's residence. 
 The children of a naturalized foreigner, who are 
 under twenty-one years of age, residing in this 
 country at the time the father received his 
 naturalization papers, are considered citizens. 
 The children of a citizen, who are born abroad, 
 are citizens of the United States. 
 
 When foreign territory has been incorporated 
 into the Union, by treaty or otherwise. Congress 
 has exercised the power of granting naturalization 
 without previous residence. When territory is 
 annexed to this country, the President and Senate 
 have naturalized the inhabitants of such territory 
 en masse. 
 
 Bankruptcies. — The Congress also has power 
 to make " uniform laws on the subject of bank- 
 ruptcies throughout the United States." 
 
 In England, the term bankrupt is generally 
 hmited to traders who fail to pay their debts, 
 
THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 93 
 
 while the word insolvent was applied to those not 
 paying their debts who were not engaged in trade. 
 The general usage, however, in the United States, 
 has been to make the words bankrupt and mi'^'/- 
 z;^/^/ synonymous. In reality, a person is insolvent 
 when he cannot pay his debts. He becomes a 
 bankrupt by legal proceedings under a bankrupt 
 law. Congress has exercised this power to pass 
 uniform laws on bankruptcies at three different 
 times. The first bankrupt law was passed in 
 1800, and repealed three years later. The second 
 was passed in 1841, and repealed within two 
 years. The third was in effect from 1867 to 
 1878. No national bankrupt laws are in force 
 now. It is held that if Congress does not exer- 
 cise its power to pass a bankrupt law, the several 
 states can do so. The state laws are usually 
 termed insolvent laws. 
 
 Coin Money. — The Congress has power, — 
 
 ''To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of 
 foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and 
 measures." 
 
 An Act of Congress passed in 1873 provided 
 for the following coins : — 
 
 I. Gold : The dollar piece ; the two-dollar-and-a-half 
 piece, or quarter-eagle ; the three-dollar piece ; the five- 
 dollar piece, or half-eagle ; the ten-dollar piece, or eagle ; 
 and the twenty-dollar piece, or double-eagle. 
 
94 THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 2. Silver : The dollar, half-dollar, quarter-dollar, and 
 dime. 
 
 3. The '' minor coins " are the five-cent piece and 
 three-cent piece and one-cent piece. Two-cent pieces 
 ire not now coined. 
 
 Weights and Measures. — This clause gives 
 to Congress power " to fix the standard of 
 weights and measures." It is proper that the 
 standard of weiofhts and measures should be con- 
 nected with money. The price or value of any 
 commodity is fixed in money terms ; but this 
 commodity is either weighed or measured, and, 
 therefore, the power which coins the money 
 should fix the standard of weights and measures. 
 Our weights and our measures have come to us 
 through the ancient usages of Great Britain. It 
 appears strange that the world should not have 
 earlier established a uniform system. That twelve 
 inches should make a foot, and three feet a yard, 
 and that five and a half of this denomination 
 should make a rod, and that/br/y of this is called 
 a furlong, and that eight furlongs are a mile, is 
 not complimentary to the civilization of our 
 ancestors. 
 
 We made a great gain when this government 
 established our coins on the decimal system : ten 
 cents make a dime, and ten dimes a dollar, and 
 ten dollars an eagle. It will be a greater gain 
 
THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 95 
 
 when the metric system for all weights and meas- 
 ures shall have come into universal use. The 
 metric system has been legalized by an act of 
 Congress ; but it is to be feared that the day is 
 somewhat distant when it shall have come into 
 general use in this country. 
 
 Various Powers. — Congress has power, — 
 
 *'To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the 
 
 securities and current coin of the United States. 
 *'To establish post-offices and post-roads." 
 
 Congress has power to grant copy rights to 
 authors and patent rights to inventors. 
 
 *'To define and punish piracies and felonies committed 
 
 on the high seas, and offences against the law of 
 
 nations. 
 " To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and 
 
 make rules concerning captures on land and water. 
 " To raise and support armies ; but no appropriation of 
 
 money to that use shall be for a longer term than 
 
 two years. 
 "To make rules for the government and regulation of 
 
 the land and naval forces." 
 
 '*The Sweeping Clause/' — The final clause, 
 enumerating the powers conferred by the Con- 
 stitution upon Congress, reads as follows: — 
 
 *' To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper 
 for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, 
 
96 THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 and all other powers vested by this Constitution in 
 the government of the United States, or in any de- 
 partment or officer thereof." 
 
 This clause is what Patrick Henry called "the 
 sweeping clause," by which, as he thought. Con- 
 gress was to overthrow the states. Great op- 
 position to this clause was manifested by the 
 state-rights party during the time in which the 
 Constitution was under discussion by the people 
 and by state conventions prior to its adoption. 
 
 Nothing is plainer than that the government 
 has under this Constitution full national powers, 
 and is Hmited only by the restrictions imposed by 
 the Constitution itself. Judge Story says : " It 
 would be almost impracticable, if it were not use- 
 less, to enumerate the various instances in which 
 Congress, in the progress of the government, has 
 made use of incidental and imphed means to ex- 
 ecute its powers. They are almost infinitely 
 varied in their ramifications and details." 
 
 Chief-Justice Marshall says : " A power vested 
 carries w^ith it all those incidental powers which 
 are necessary to its complete and efiicient execu- 
 tion." 
 
 This principle has been acted upon by the 
 general government from 1789 to the present 
 day. 
 
THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 97 
 
 Section VI. — Restrictions upon the National 
 
 Government, 
 
 The Constitution provides, that the slave trade 
 could be prohibited by the Congress after the 
 year 1808. At that time a law of Congress went 
 into effect imposing heavy penalties upon persons 
 engaged in the slave trade. In 1820 the slave 
 trade was declared to be " piracy," to be punished 
 with death. 
 
 Since the late civil war, our nation has happily 
 been freed from the incubus of human slavery. 
 
 The Constitution expressly prohibits any ex 
 post facto law and any bill of attainder. 
 
 It is also provided that direct taxes levied by 
 the national government shall be in proportion 
 to the population, and that no title of nobility 
 shall be granted by the United States, and also 
 that " No money shall be drawn from the treasury 
 but in consequence of appropriations made by 
 law." 
 
 Restrictions upon the States. 
 
 It may also be stated just here that the Consti- 
 tution places the following restrictions upon the 
 several states : — 
 
 I. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or 
 confederation. 
 
98 THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 2. Grant letters of marque and reprisal. 
 
 3. Coin money. 
 
 4. Emit bills of credit. 
 
 5. Make anything but gold and silver coin a tender 
 in payment of debts. 
 
 6. Pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or 
 law impairing the obligation of contracts. 
 
 7. Or grant any title of nobility. 
 
 Note. — Who can Vote. On page 'j'j it is stated, "Each state 
 prescribes by law how the members of the state legislature shall be 
 elected, and who shall have power to vote for such members." 
 
 Every state, either by its Constitution or its statutes, prescribes 
 the limit of suffrage. In general, this limit has heretofore been 
 what is called " manhood suffrage " ; i.e. every male citizen, twenty- 
 one years old, not a pauper or an idiot, could vote. Within a few 
 years many states have extended the privilege of suffrage to women. 
 The state of Wyoming gives the same political rights to women as 
 to men. In Kansas women have municipal suifrage, and also, in 
 unincorporated towns, the right to vote on the question of liquor 
 licenses. In twenty-three states women have the right (more or less 
 restricted in some states) to hold ofifice in connection with the man- 
 agement of public schools. Twenty states have conferred upon 
 woman power to vote for school officers. In fifteen of these states 
 a woman can both vote upon school questions and hold office. 
 These fifteen states are as follows : Colorado, Massachusetts, Michi- 
 gan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North 
 Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, Montana, Vermont, Washington, 
 Wisconsin, Wyoming. 
 
 The additional states giving women the right to vote upon 
 school questions are the following: Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, 
 Nebraska, Oregon. 
 
 Those additional where women can hold office are the following : 
 California, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Pennsyl- 
 vania, Rhode Island. 
 
THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT, 99 
 
 QUESTIONS, TOPICS, AND SUGGESTIONS FOR 
 
 REVIEW. 
 
 Designed to recall what has been learned and to suggest further 
 thought, reading, and study. 
 
 1. What are the purposes of the Constitution? 
 
 2. Describe the growth of the national element. 
 
 3. What advantages from having two houses of Congress? 
 
 4. How are the representatives to Congress chosen? 
 
 5. Qualifications. 
 
 6. Number of representatives. 
 
 7. Territorial delegates — how many? What for? 
 
 8. Officers of the House — what are they and how chosen ? 
 
 9. Who is liable to impeachment, and how is impeachment 
 brought about? 
 
 10. Senators — how chosen? 
 IT. Quahfications of senators. 
 
 12. Presiding officer in Senate and other officers. 
 
 13. The trial of impeachments — how carried on? 
 
 14. What is meant by a " session " of Congress? 
 
 15. What is meant by a " Congress "? 
 
 16. Are the salaries of senators and members of Congress 
 the same ? Why should they be ? 
 
 17. Tell us all about "national taxes." 
 
 18. Meaning of ad valorem and specific. 
 
 19. Describe the process for becoming naturalized. 
 
 20. Discriminate the meaning of the words " bankrupt" and 
 " insolvent." 
 
 21. What was Patrick Henry's objection to the "sweeping 
 
 clause "? 
 
 22. Name some restrictions upon Congress. Where are they 
 found in the Constitution ? Read in full the section. 
 
 23. Name the restrictions here placed upon the several states. 
 What section and article in the Constitution is this ? 
 
BLACKBOARD OUTLINE. 
 
 THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 The President. 
 
 The Vice-President. 
 
 How Elected. 
 
 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS. 
 
 How many. 
 How elected. 
 When elected. 
 
 Vote when. 
 
 Votes counted when. 
 
 President inaugurated when. 
 
 President's Qualifications. 
 President's Duties. 
 
 Presidential Succession. 
 Executive Departments. 
 
 lOO 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 In the natural order of things, we have con- 
 sidered, first the legislative department of our 
 national government. We now proceed to exam- 
 ine the second great department, the executive 
 power. This is treated of under the second article 
 of the Constitution which begins as follows : — 
 
 " The executive power shall be vested in a President of 
 the United States of America. He shall hold his 
 office during the term of four years, and, together 
 with the Vice-President, chosen for the same term, 
 be elected as follows : " 
 
 By this clause we observe that, — 
 
 1. The executive power is vested in one person. 
 
 2. He is elected for the term of four years. 
 
 3. The Vice-President is elected for the same term. 
 
 The following is the list of the Presidents, with 
 their terms of office : — 
 
 1. George Washington, two terms, 1789 to 1797. 
 
 2. John Adams, one term, 1797 to 180 1. 
 
 3. Thomas Jefferson, two terms, 1801 to 1809. 
 
 4. James Madison, two terms, 1809 to 18 17. 
 
 lOI 
 
102 THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 
 
 5. James Monroe, two terms, 1817 to 1825. 
 
 6. John Quincy Adams, one term, 1825 to 1829. 
 
 7. Andrew Jackson, two terms, 1829 to 1837. 
 
 8. Martin Van Buren, one term, 1837 to 1841. 
 
 9. William Henry Harrison, one month, 1841. 
 
 10. John Tyler, three years and eleven months, 1841 
 
 to* 1845. 
 
 11. James K. Polk, one term, 1845 to 1849. 
 
 12. Zachary Taylor, one year and four months, 1849 
 
 to 1850. 
 
 13. Millard Fillmore, two years and eight months, 
 
 1850 to 1853. 
 
 14. Franklin Pierce, one term, 1853 to 1857. 
 
 15. James Buchanan, one term, 1857 to 1861. 
 
 16. Abraham Lincoln, four years and one month, 
 
 1861 to 1865. 
 
 17. Andrew Johnson, three years and eleven months, 
 
 1865 to 1869. 
 
 18. Ulysses S. Grant, two terms, 1869 to 1877. 
 
 19. Rutherford B. Hayes, one term, 1877 to 1881. 
 
 20. James A. Garfield, four months, 1881. 
 
 21. Chester A. Arthur, three years and eight months, 
 
 1881 to 1885. 
 
 22. Grover Cleveland, one term, from 1885 to 1889. 
 
 23. Benjamin Harrison, from 1889 to — 
 
 It will be seen by the above table that we have 
 had twenty-two Presidents in one hundred years. 
 Of these, seven have been elected for a second 
 term. Four Vice-Presidents have succeeded to 
 the presidency by the death of the President. 
 
B O 
 
 w 
 
THE _ EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT I03 
 
 Presidential Electors. — The Constitution 
 says that, — 
 
 " Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the legis- 
 lature thereof may direct, a number of electors 
 equal to the whole number of senators and repre- 
 sentatives to which the state may be entitled in the 
 Congress ; but no senator or representative, or per- 
 son holding an office of trust or profit under the 
 United States, shall be appointed an elector." 
 
 The several points embodied in this clause are 
 as follows : — 
 
 1. The President is appointed by electors, and not 
 by the immediate vote of the people. 
 
 2. The number of electors in each state. 
 
 3. Any person holding a United States office is 
 prohibited from being an elector. 
 
 It was thought by the framers of the Constitu- 
 tion, that, if the direct choice of the President 
 was taken from the people, and placed in the 
 hands of electors chosen by the people, who would 
 unquestionably be selected from the ablest and 
 most trustworthy men of the nation, a wiser 
 choice of President would be insured than if the 
 people of the whole country were to vote directly 
 for this officer. It was evidently the thought of 
 the framers of the Constitution, that, after the 
 electors had been appointed, they should meet 
 and discuss the question and then determine for 
 
104 THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, 
 
 whom their votes should be cast. The result, 
 however, has proved that the election of Presi- 
 dent is not left in the hands of the electors, but 
 is, in reality, determined by the people when they 
 elect the presidential electors. 
 
 According to the custom which now prevails, 
 the electors are practically pledged beforehand to 
 vote for a certain candidate, who has been pre- 
 viously nominated in a national convention of a 
 political party. The electors therefore exercise 
 no discretion in their vote. 
 
 Number of Electors. — The number of elect- 
 ors is determined by the Constitution. 
 
 1. In the first place, each state is entitled to 
 two electors corresponding to the equality of the 
 states in the Senate. 
 
 2. In addition to these two, the number of 
 electors to which each state is entitled, is fixed 
 in accordance with the population of the state. 
 We have seen that Congress determines once in 
 ten years the number of representatives to which 
 each state is entitled in the Congress. Each 
 state is then entitled to as many electors as it 
 has representatives in Congress. The whole 
 number of electors therefore for each state is 
 equal to the whole number of representatives 
 and senators which that state sends to the Con- 
 gress. 
 
THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 105 
 
 Time of choosing Electors. — The day for 
 
 choosing the electors was fixed by an act of Con- 
 gress, passed in 1845, as the Tuesday next after 
 the first Monday in November. All the states 
 choose their electors on the same day. The 
 legislature of each state directs the manner in 
 which these electors shall be elected. There 
 have been heretofore four different modes of 
 electing the electors : — 
 
 1. By joint ballot of the state legislatures. 
 
 2. By a concurrent vote of the two branches of the 
 legislature. 
 
 3. By the popular vote of the state on one joint ticket. 
 
 4. By the people voting in districts. 
 
 The method now adopted by all the states is 
 that of the people of the whole state voting by 
 general ticket. By this method the vote of no 
 state is divided, but the entire state vote is 
 counted for the electoral college as nominated by 
 one party or another. 
 
 Electors Vote. — In accordance with an act 
 passed by Congress, February 3d, 1887, the elect- 
 ors meet in their respective states on the second 
 Monday in January, to give their votes for Presi- 
 dent and Vice-President. 
 
 The electors give separate votes for the Presi- 
 dent and Vice-President by ballot. They then 
 make three certificates of all the votes given. 
 
lo6 THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 These certificates they must sign and seal, and 
 certify on each certificate that there is contained 
 within a Hst of the votes of the electors of such a 
 state (naming it), for President and Vice-Presi- 
 dent. One of these certificates is delivered to 
 the judge of the United States District Court for 
 that district in which the electors are assembled. 
 A second certificate is forwarded forthwith, by 
 mail, to Washington, directed to the President 
 of the Senate. The electors appoint a person as 
 special messenger to take the third certificate, 
 carry it to Washington and deliver it to the 
 President of the Senate. This special messenger 
 is paid a sum fixed by law, on the mileage princi- 
 ple. The three certificates of the election of 
 these electors are transmitted with the certificates 
 of their votes. 
 
 Votes Counted. — The votes for President 
 and Vice-President are counted on the second 
 Wednesday of February in the hall of the House 
 of Representatives in presence of both houses of 
 Congress, the President of the Senate presiding. 
 On that day the Senate marches in a body from 
 the senate chamber to the other wing of the 
 Capitol, and enters the hall of the House, the 
 members of the House standing to receive them. 
 All being seated, the President of the Senate 
 opens the certificates in the presence of the two 
 
THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. lO/ 
 
 houses, and hands them to the tellers, previously 
 appointed by the two houses respectively, who 
 count the votes, state by state, in alphabetical 
 order, beginning with the letter A, and each vote, 
 together with the aggregate vote, is declared by 
 the presiding officer. This method gives dignity 
 and insures fairness in the proceeding. 
 
 Election by the House. — In case no person 
 receives a majority of the votes cast by the elect- 
 ors for President, the choice of a President is 
 referred to the House of Representatives. The 
 House must immediately proceed to the election 
 of President, and the members are restricted in 
 their votes to the three highest candidates in the 
 vote by the electors. In thus voting for the 
 President, the vote must be taken by states, the 
 representatives from each state having one vote. 
 The vote cannot be taken except a quorum shall 
 be present, and this quorum is determined by the 
 Constitution to be one or more representatives 
 present from two-thirds of the states. It is pos- 
 sible that the House might be so divided as to 
 be unable to elect any one of these three highest 
 candidates. The Constitution provides for this 
 emergency. The House must continue voting 
 until the fourth day of March, when the session 
 and the Congress expires. In case they make no 
 choice prior to that date, then the Constitution 
 
I08 THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 provides, .that " The Vice-President shall act as 
 President, as in the case of death, or other consti- 
 tutional disability of the President." 
 
 Vice-President elected by the Senate. — If 
 
 there is no election of Vice-President by the 
 electors, the Senate, immediately after the vote has 
 been counted, — that is, on the second Wednesday 
 in February, — proceeds to choose a Vice-Presi- 
 dent. There must be a quorum present for this 
 purpose; and the Constitution fixes that quorum 
 as two-thirds of the whole number of senators, 
 and a majority of the whole number shall be 
 necessary to a choice. The senators must choose 
 the Vice-President from the two highest numbers 
 on the list voted for by the electors. 
 
 As the Vice-President may become President, 
 the Constitution wisely provides that, — 
 
 '' No person constitutionally ineligible to the office 
 of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President 
 of the United States." 
 
 Qualifications. — The qualifications for Presi- 
 dent are as follows : — 
 
 1. He must be a native-born citizen. 
 
 2. He must have attained to the age of thirty-five 
 years. 
 
 3. He must have been for fourteen years a resident 
 within the United States. 
 
THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. IO9 
 
 No other qualifications than these three are 
 fixed by the Constitution. The quahfications for 
 the Vice-President are the same as for the Presi- 
 dent. 
 
 Observe the quahfications requisite for repre- 
 sentatives to Congress, for senators, and for the 
 President and Vice-President. 
 
 1. A representative must be twenty-five years of age ; 
 a senator, thirty; and a President or Vice-President, 
 thirty-five. 
 
 2. A representative must have been a citizen of the 
 United States seven years ; a senator, nine years ; and 
 a President or Vice-President must be native born. 
 
 3. A representative must be an inhabitant of the 
 state for which he is chosen ; a senator the same ; and 
 a President must have resided within the United 
 States fourteen years. 
 
 The Vice-President. — So long as the Presi- 
 dent performs the duties of his ofhce, the Vice- 
 President has no connection with the executive 
 department, biit is merely President of the Senate. 
 In the case of the removal, resignation, or inability 
 of the President, the Vice-President becomes Pres- 
 ident for the remainder of the presidential term. 
 
 The Vice-President has filled the presidential 
 chair in four instances : — 
 
 I. After the death of President Harrison, Vice-Presi- 
 dent John Tyler filled the office of President from 1841 
 to 1845. 
 
no THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 2. On the death of President Taylor, Millard Fillmore 
 was President from 1850 to 1853. 
 
 3. Andrew Johnson, after the death of Abraham Lin- 
 coin, was President from 1865 to 1869. 
 
 4. Chester A. Arthur succeeded to the presidency on 
 the death of President Garfield, and held that office 
 from 1881 to 1885. 
 
 No Vice-President who had become President 
 has died during his term of office. Congress has, 
 however, by a law passed January, 1886, provided 
 that in case of the removal, death, resignation, 
 or inability of both the President and Vice-Presi- 
 dent of the United States, the Secretary of State, 
 if there be one, shall become President, and hold 
 the office during the remainder of the presidential 
 term of four years ; and in case there is no Sec- 
 retary of State, or in case of his removal, death, 
 resignation, or inability, then the Secretary of the 
 Treasury, and next in order the Secretary of War, 
 the Attorney-General, the Postmaster-General, the 
 Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of the 
 Interior. 
 
 If either of the foregoing officers does not have 
 the three qualifications requisite for a President, 
 he is not eligible to fill the vacancy, and the next 
 officer in order who is eligible would become 
 President for the remainder of the the term. 
 
THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT III 
 
 Salary. — The salary of the President was 
 originally fixed at twenty-five thousand dollars a 
 year. Since 1873 it has been fifty thousand dol- 
 lars a year. The salary of the Vice-President is 
 eight thousand dollars a year. 
 
 The Powers of the President. — 
 
 1. "The President shall be commander-in-chief of 
 the army and navy of the United States and of the 
 militia of the several states when called into actual 
 service of the United States." 
 
 2. *' He shall have power to grant reprieves and par- 
 dons for offences against the United States, except in 
 cases of impeachment." 
 
 3. He makes treaties with foreign nations with the 
 advice and consent of the Senate. 
 
 4. He appoints " ambassadors, foreign ministers and 
 consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other 
 officers of the United States whose appointments are 
 not herein provided for, and which shall be established 
 by law." 
 
 5. He has power to make temporary appointments 
 of officers of the United States when vacancies happen 
 during the recess of the Senate. 
 
 Impeachment. — "The President, Vice-Presi- 
 dent, and all civil officers of the United States 
 shall be removed from office on impeachment for 
 and conviction of treason, bribery, or other high 
 crimes and misdemeanors." 
 
112 THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 Executive Departments. — The executive bus- 
 iness of the government is divided among eight 
 executive departments as follows : — 
 
 1. The Department of State. 
 
 2. The Department of the Treasury. 
 
 3. The Department of War. 
 
 4. The Department of the Navy. 
 
 5. The Department of the Post-Office. 
 
 6. The Department of the Interior. 
 
 7. The Department of Justice. 
 
 8. The Department of Agriculture. 
 
 The Constitution places the full executive 
 power in the hands of one man, the President. 
 It makes no provision for the Cabinet ; but it 
 gives the President authorit)^.* to " require the 
 opinion in writing of the principal officer in each 
 of the executive departments upon any subject 
 relating to the duties of their respective offices." 
 This implies that executive departments will be 
 established so that the various and multiform 
 duties pertaining to the executive work of the 
 national government may be efficiently and 
 systematically performed. The eight depart- 
 ments just mentioned have been established by 
 Congress, and several of them have been sub- 
 divided into bureaus. The heads of all these 
 departments are appointed by the President, by 
 and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 
 
THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. II3 
 
 The salaries of these officers are eight thousand 
 dollars each per annum. 
 
 The Department of State. — Originally this 
 was styled the Department of Foreign Affairs. 
 The Secretary of State is generally considered 
 the highest officer in rank of the executive de- 
 partments under the President. It is his duty to 
 keep the seal of the United States, and to affix it 
 to all commissions granted by the President. He 
 issues all proclamations in the name of the Presi- 
 dent, and furnishes copies of papers and records 
 of his office when required. 
 
 He keeps the correspondence with foreign 
 powers and preserves the original of all laws, 
 public documents and treaties with foreign 
 nations. It is his duty to conduct the corre- 
 spondence with our ministers and consuls to other 
 countries, with foreign ministers accredited to our 
 government, and in general he has charge of mat- 
 ters pertaining to our foreign relations. He issues 
 passports to our citizens visiting foreign countries, 
 and warrants for the extradition of criminals to be 
 delivered up to foreign governments. 
 
 The Department of State has a diplomatic 
 bureau, a consular bureau and a domestic bureau. 
 
 Public Ministers and Consuls. — All persons 
 who are sent abroad to represent our government 
 are connected with the Department of State. 
 
114 THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 The different ranks of our ministers are as 
 follows : — 
 
 1. Ambassadors. 
 
 2. Envoys Extraordinary and Ministers Plenipoten- 
 tiary. 
 
 3. Ministers Resident. 
 
 4. Charges d' Affaires. 
 
 5. Secretaries of Legation. 
 
 The Ambassador and the Envoy Extraordi- 
 nary, and Ministers Plenipotentiary have the 
 same pay and appear to be of the same rank. 
 Strictly speaking, we never send ambassadors to 
 foreign governments. The salaries of our foreign 
 ministers range from ten thousand dollars to 
 seventeen thousand five hundred dollars a year. 
 
 Charges d' Affaires receive five thousand dollars 
 each. The Secretary of Legation is the clerk to 
 the Foreign Embassy. Consuls are not diplo- 
 matic agents of our government, but are com- 
 mercial agents residing abroad, whose duty it is 
 to watch over the interests of our commerce and 
 of our citizens, in the ports of the different coun- 
 tries. They are charged also with protecting the 
 rights of our seamen. The salaries of Consuls- 
 General and commercial agents range from one 
 thousand dollars to six thousand dollars per 
 annum. Many consuls are paid principally by 
 fees. 
 
THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. I15 
 
 The Treasury Department. — Of late years 
 the importance of this department has gradually 
 increased. During the Civil War the govern- 
 ment issued bank bills, termed " greenbacks," 
 and established a system of national banks, which 
 have increased materially the number of officers 
 and employees in this department. Under the 
 Secretary of the Treasury are the following 
 officers : — 
 
 1. The Comptroller. 
 
 2. Auditor. 
 
 3. Treasurer. 
 
 4. Register. 
 
 5. Assistant Secretary. 
 
 This department has charge of the revenue, 
 superintends its collection, grants warrants for 
 money to be issued from the treasury, in pursu- 
 ance of appropriations made by law, and gener- 
 ally performs all needful services relative to the 
 finances of our country. In the Treasury Depart- 
 ment are the following bureaus : — 
 
 1. The Bureau of the First Comptroller. 
 
 2. The Bureau of the Second Comptroller. 
 
 3. The Bureau of the First Auditor. 
 
 4. The Bureau of the Second Auditor. 
 
 5. The Bureau of the Third Auditor. 
 
 6. The Bureau of the Fourth Auditor. 
 
 7. The Bureau of the Fifth Auditor. 
 
 8. The Bureau of the Sixth Auditor. 
 
Il6 THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 9 
 10 
 
 II 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 
 14 
 
 15 
 i6 
 
 Treasurer. 
 
 Register. 
 
 Commissioner of Customs. 
 
 Comptroller of Currency. 
 
 Commissioner of Internal Revenue. 
 
 Bureau of Statistics. 
 
 The Mint. 
 
 Bureau of Engraving and Printing. 
 
 Coast Survey. — The ofifice of the Coast Sur^ 
 vey is connected v^ith the Treasury Department. 
 This office prepares charts from actual surveys 
 of the seacoast of the United States. The sur- 
 veys of the Great Lakes are under the control of 
 the War Department. 
 
 Light -Houses. — The light-houses of the 
 United States were formerly under the control 
 of the Treasury Department, but for nearly forty 
 years past have been committed " to the Light- 
 House Board of the United States." This board 
 consists of three officers of the army, three of the 
 navy, and two civilians noted for their scientific 
 attainments, with the Secretary of the Treasury 
 president of the board ex officio. This board has 
 in charge between one thousand and two thou- 
 sand light-houses, besides light-vessels, beacons 
 and buoys innumerable. 
 
 Under this department also is the Supervising 
 Architect, who has general charge of the plans 
 and construction of all United States buildings, 
 
THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 11/ 
 
 such as custom-houses, court-houses, post-offices, 
 etc. 
 
 The War Department. — This department has 
 various subdivisions as follows : — 
 
 The Office of Adjutant-General. 
 
 The Ofifice of the Quartermaster-General. 
 
 The Office of the Commissary-General. 
 
 The Office of the Paymaster-General. 
 
 The Office of the Chief of Engineers. 
 
 The Ordnance Office. 
 
 The Signal Office. 
 
 The Bureau of Military Justice. 
 
 The Bureau of Military Justice is in charge of 
 an officer with the rank of a Brigadier-General, 
 called a Judge-Advocate-General. Under this 
 department is the United States Military Acad- 
 emy at West Point. This school was estab- 
 lished for the education of officers for the army. 
 
 West Point. — The students are termed cadets, 
 and number between three and four hundred. 
 They are appointed as follows: One from each 
 congressional district, one from each of the 
 organized territories, one from the District of 
 Columbia, and ten from the United States at 
 large. These are all appointed by the President, 
 but each member of the national House of Rep- 
 resentatives nominates the candidate for his dis- 
 trict. The President appoints the ten candidates 
 
Il8 THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 at large. Candidates for appointment must not 
 be less than seventeen nor more than twenty-two 
 years of age, and they are expected to serve in 
 the army eight years, unless sooner discharged. 
 
 The examination for admission to West Point 
 is careful and accurate upon the elements of a 
 good education. In arithmetic, geography, Eng- 
 lish grammar, reading, writing, spelling, and the 
 history of the United States, thoroughness and 
 accuracy are required. 
 
 It has become customary of late for congress- 
 men to hold competitive examinations, and to 
 nominate for vacant positions at West Point 
 those who have passed the best examinations in 
 respect to mental qualifications and scholarship, 
 with good physical health, strength, and develop- 
 ment. 
 
 The superintendent and principal members of 
 the faculty are regular officers in the army. 
 
 Each cadet receives an allowance during his 
 term of study sufficient to pay his necessary 
 expenses for clothing, board, etc. The entire 
 expense of the academy is met by the United 
 States government. Congress makes annually 
 for this purpose an appropriation of three hun- 
 dred thousand dollars or more. 
 
 The Department of the Navy. — This depart- 
 ment is divided into eight bureaus, as follows : — 
 
THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. II9 
 
 1. The Bureau of Yards and Docks. 
 
 2. The Bureau of Equipment and Recruiting. 
 
 3. The Bureau of Navigation. 
 
 4. The Bureau of Ordnance. 
 
 5. The Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. 
 
 6. The Bureau of Provisions and Clothing. 
 
 7. The Bureau of Steam Engineering. 
 
 8. The Bureau of Construction and Repairs. 
 
 Naval Academy. — Under the charge of this 
 department is maintained, at Annapolis, Md., a 
 naval academy similar to the military academy at. 
 West Point. To enter this academy as cadet- 
 midshipman, the student must not be less than 
 fourteen, nor more than eighteen, years of age. 
 The same number is allowed as at West Point, 
 and by the same method of appointment. The 
 course of study embraces six years, and the student 
 on graduating becomes midshipman, subject to 
 promotion as vacancies occur. This academy re- 
 quires an annual appropriation from the govern- 
 ment of two. hundred thousand dollars or more. 
 
 The Department of the Post-Office. — Proba- 
 bly this is the oldest department under our gov- 
 ernment. Prior to the Revolution the British 
 government had established a system of mails 
 through these colonies, and Dr. Benjamin Frank- 
 lin was the superintendent of this system. In 
 July, 1775, only a month later than the battle of 
 
120 THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 Bunker Hill, Doctor Franklin received from the 
 Second Continental Congress the appointment of 
 Postmaster-General of the United Colonies. 
 
 In September, 1789, the first Congress under 
 the Constitution made provision for the establish- 
 ment of the post-office system, and appointed a 
 Postmaster-General. As a matter of fact, the 
 Federal government never passed an act estab- 
 lishing the Post-Office Department. It was as- 
 sumed to be in existence, and various acts were 
 passed for regulating its management. There 
 are three assistant postmasters-general : The 
 first assistant is in charge of the Appointment 
 Office, the secon4 of the Contract Office, the third 
 of the Finance Office. There is also a Superin- 
 tendent of Foreign Mails. 
 
 The chief officer of the Money-Order Bureau is 
 styled the Superintendent of the Money-Order 
 System. 
 
 It will readily appear that great care, prompt- 
 ness, and accuracy is needed in assorting mail- 
 matter and preparing it for delivery. Especially 
 is this true of the principal lines of railroads 
 leading to large cities ; for example, between New 
 Haven and New York, or between Philadelphia 
 and New York ; and a large number of mail- 
 agents are required in the mail-cars, whose busi- 
 ness it is to assort the mail-matter, and deposit it 
 
THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 121 
 
 in proper pouches, carefully marked, so that on 
 arrival at New York the matter can at once be 
 placed in the proper boxes in the post-office and 
 delivered with the least possible loss of time. 
 
 Distributing Of&ces. — Formerly, in all large 
 cities, there was a distributing post-office. Into 
 this department the mail-pouches had to be 
 broueht from all directions, which contained mat- 
 ter to be forwarded to distant points. All this 
 matter had to be overhauled, arranged, and put 
 into the proper pouches for further transportation ; 
 for example, at New York, mail-matter from New 
 England, designed for the South and West, would 
 be all poured out upon large tables, assorted, di- 
 vided, and thrown into proper pockets for carrying 
 to Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Baltimore, Washing- 
 ton, etc.; while at the same time, and at the same 
 distributing office, would be received the mails 
 from the South and West, to be overhauled in 
 like manner, and forwarded to the East. 
 
 Much time was consumed by this frequent 
 change and examination of mail-matter. Time 
 has now become so important a factor in the 
 transaction of business that every facility must 
 be employed for the rapidity of transmission. 
 Hence most of the distributing offices have been 
 abolished, and mail-pouches are now made up in 
 Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and all large 
 
122 THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 cities, to be forwarded through to the most dis- 
 tant points, Hke San Francisco, Portland, Mon- 
 treal, and Quebec. 
 
 Cheap Postage. — Formerly, but within the 
 recollection of persons now living, it cost five 
 cents to transmit an ordinary letter to any post- 
 office within thirty miles, ten cents for a longer 
 distance, and from that up to twenty-five cents 
 across the continent. 
 
 All postage was then paid by the receiver at 
 the end of the route. Fifty years ago there was 
 no prepayment of postage, and more than forty 
 years ago a law was passed by Congress estab- 
 lishing the postage of a single letter at three 
 cents for any distance within our country, pro- 
 vided the sender should pay the postage ; if not 
 prepaid, the postage should be ^n^ cents. 
 
 In this way people became accustomed to pre- 
 paying postage, so that after a few years another 
 act was passed by Congress, requiring prepay- 
 ment of postage on all letters, establishing the 
 rate at three cents for an ordinary letter without 
 regard to distance. At the present time the 
 postage on letters not exceeding an ounce in 
 weight is two cents to any part of our country, 
 and includino^ the British Provinces of North 
 America. 
 
 Some years ago a postal league was entered 
 
THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 1 23 
 
 into by the principal civilized nations of the earth, 
 establishing the uniform rate of five cents as the 
 postage for all letters, of proper weight, from any 
 one of the countries within the postal league to 
 any other. 
 
 The experiment of cheap postage, which was 
 first introduced into Great Britain, a generation 
 or more ago, has proved entirely successful. In 
 that country the contest for this improvement 
 was severe and protracted. Rowland Hill and 
 others devoted themselves with great energy to 
 the philanthropic enterprise of bringing about 
 this much-needed reform. 
 
 When the reduction of rates had proved suc- 
 cessful in the mother country, it was quickly 
 introduced by our government, and from time to 
 time, as the rate of postage has been diminished, 
 it has been found that the receipts of the Post- 
 Office Department have increased. At the present 
 time the Post-Office Department more than pays 
 for itself, excepting in the more sparsely popu- 
 lated districts of some sections of our country. 
 
 The Department of the Interior. — This de- 
 partment was established in 1849. Under it 
 are : — 
 
 1. The Patent Office. 
 
 2. The Pension Office. 
 
 3. The Land Office. 
 
124 THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 4. The Science Bureau. 
 
 5. The Bureau of Indian Affairs^ 
 
 6. The Bureau of Education. 
 
 The business of the Patent Office is conducted 
 under the direction and control of the Commis- 
 sioner of Patents, who receives appHcations and 
 superintends the granting and issuing of patents 
 in accordance with the various acts of Congress 
 passed at different times on this subject. The 
 business of the office is to grant letters-patent to 
 
 "inventors or discoverers of any new or useful art, ma- 
 chine, manufacture or composition of matter, or 
 any new and useful improvement on such, which 
 had previously been unknown, and which had not 
 been used by others, and which had not been on 
 sale or in public use for more than two years prior 
 to the application for a patent." 
 
 The Patent Office employs many clerks called 
 examiners, who investigate the claims of every 
 invention for which a patent is solicited. The 
 patent itself is the official document issued in the 
 name of the United States, and is granted for 
 the period of seventeen years. Its actual cost is 
 thirty dollars. 
 
 Each article offered for sale by the patentee 
 must have stamped upon it the word " patent " 
 with the date when the patent was issued. 
 
THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 1 25 
 
 The Pension Office. — Since the Civil War, this 
 office has grown to gigantic proportions. It has 
 in charge the entire matter of granting pensions 
 and keeping the accounts thereof in accordance 
 with the laws passed by Congress at different 
 times upon this subject. The Pension Office in 
 Washington is an immense building, filled with 
 clerks who are constantly employed in keeping 
 the records and attending to the accounts of pen- 
 sions and pensioners. The business of this office 
 has grown from year to year, and the amount of 
 money disbursed by it has increased, until, at the 
 present time, the aggregate amount of pensions 
 paid is in the neighborhood of one hundred mil- 
 lion dollars a year. 
 
 The Land Office. — The chief officer of this 
 bureau is styled the Commissioner of the General 
 Land Office. Under the commissioner are the 
 following officers : — 
 
 1. Surveyors-General. 
 
 2. Registers of Land Offices. 
 
 3. Receivers of Land Offices. 
 
 Many years ago the United States adopted a 
 system of survey for the public lands. This sys- 
 tem provides that the immense tracts of western 
 lands belonging to the United States government 
 should be divided into ranges, townships, sec- 
 
126 
 
 THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 tions, and fractions of sections. The ranges are 
 bounded by meridian lines six miles apart, and 
 are nmnbered from a standard or principal meri- 
 dian east and west. These ranges are divided 
 into townships of six miles square, and numbered 
 from a given parallel north and south. 
 
 The townships are divided into thirty-six see- 
 tions, each one mile square, and hence embrac- 
 ing six hundred and forty acres. These sections 
 are divided, as may be needed, into halves, quar- 
 ters, eighths, and in some cases sixteenths. The 
 sections in a township are numbered as indicated 
 in the following diagram : — 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 II 
 
 12 
 
 i8 
 
 17 
 
 16 
 
 15 
 
 14 
 
 13 
 
 19 
 
 20 
 
 21 
 
 22 
 
 23 
 
 24 
 
 30 
 
 29 
 
 28 
 
 27 
 
 26 
 
 25 
 
 31 
 
 32 
 
 ZZ 
 
 34 
 
 35 
 
 Z^ 
 
 This system of marking the division of lands makes 
 the description of any individual tract very simple. 
 
THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 127 
 
 If one should purchase a section, the deed 
 would specify the number of the section, — in 
 such a township and such a range ; or if a quar- 
 ter-section were purchased, the description might 
 be as follows : — 
 
 The northeast quarter of section twenty-four, 
 township seventeen north, range nine east of 
 third principal meridian. The government sells 
 this land and issues a patent, which is signed by 
 a secretary appointed by the President, and also 
 signed by a proper recorder of the land office. 
 
 The quarter-section is one hundred and sixty 
 acres. These quarter-sections are divided into 
 lots of forty acres each. If one lot was sold, it 
 would be indicated as follows : — 
 
 The northwest quarter of northeast quarter of 
 section seventeen. 
 
 
 
 B 
 
 A 
 
 
 
 C 
 
 D 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Section 17, 
 
 In the above diagram the description just given 
 applies to lot B. 
 
128 THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 The Bureau of Indian Affairs. — This bureau, 
 established in 1832, is in charge of a Commis- 
 sioner of Indian Affairs, and has the management 
 of all matters arising out of the relation of the 
 government to the Indians. It cares for, pays to, 
 or expends for, their benefit, all moneys due on 
 account of lands ceded by Indians to the national 
 government ; looks after their interests in lands 
 reserved ; has begun the work of allotting and 
 patenting a certain portion to each member of 
 the tribe individually; preserves order upon In- 
 dian reservations through Indian police and 
 Indian courts ; employs agents, farmers, and 
 mechanics to live among the Indians and teach 
 them the occupations and customs of civilized 
 life ; assists the Indians in building houses, open- 
 ing farms, and getting a start in civilization ; and 
 educates their children. 
 
 Indian Schools. — On Indian reservations are 
 many day schools; but as a rule, Indian children 
 are educated in industrial boarding schools. 
 Most of these are on reservations ; but the gov- 
 ernment supports also large schools off reserva- 
 tions among white communities, where the pupils 
 have special opportunities for acquiring civilized 
 habits and customs. In addition to these schools, 
 which are wholly sustained by the government, 
 the Indian Office makes contracts for the educa- 
 
THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 1 29 
 
 tion of Indian youth in various private or denom- 
 inational schools. The work of the Indian Bureau, 
 and especially of the Indian schools, is growing in 
 importance and in public interest. Many think 
 that all tribal relations should cease, and that the 
 Indians should be treated as individuals, the same 
 as all other races are treated. 
 
 The Bureau of Education. — This bureau was 
 established by Congress nearly twenty-five years 
 ago for the purpose of collecting statistics relat- 
 ing to educational matters in the different states 
 and territories of the Union, and of promoting 
 the progress of education throughout the nation. 
 It is especially designed as a central medium of 
 communication on educational subjects between 
 the various states of the Union and between 
 this country and foreign nations. It is placed in 
 charge of an officer styled the United States 
 Commissioner of Education. This bureau has 
 proved itself of great educational value to the 
 country. 
 
 The Department of Justice. — The office of 
 Attorney-General was created by the first Con- 
 gress in 1789, but the Department of Justice was 
 not established until 1870. This officer, however, 
 has always been recognized as a member of the 
 Cabinet. Under the Attorney-General are: — 
 
130 THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 1. The Solicitor-General. 
 
 2. An Assistant Attorney-General. 
 
 3. An Assistant Attorney-General for the Court of 
 
 Claims. 
 
 4. An Assistant Attorney-General in the Department 
 
 of the Interior. 
 
 5. An Assistant Attorney-General in the Post-Office 
 
 Department. 
 
 6. A Solicitor of Internal Revenue. 
 
 7. Naval Solicitor. 
 
 8. Examiner of Claims. 
 
 9. Solicitor of the Treasury. 
 10. An Assistant Solicitor. 
 
 All of these officers are appointed by the 
 President and Senate. Besides these officers, in 
 this department are employed many persons as 
 clerks, copyists, etc. 
 
 Money and Banking. — We have already con- 
 sidered the coins of our country. Our money 
 system is bi-metalHc, both gold and silver coins 
 being legal tender. The gold and silver coins 
 are the ordinary and legitimate legal tender in 
 payment of debts. This is customary among the 
 nations generally. 
 
 The rapid growth of our country, with the cor- 
 responding increase of business and population, 
 has made it impossible for us to secure a sufficient 
 amount of coin to carry on the necessary business 
 of the country. Moreover, bank bills are far 
 
THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. I3I 
 
 more convenient than either gold or silver for 
 large business transactions. 
 
 Banks were early established under charters 
 from the various states. This is not prohibited 
 by the Constitution. Prior to the Civil War, the 
 bank notes issued by the various state banks in all 
 parts of the country amounted to a very large 
 sum, and were an important aid in carrying for- 
 ward the immense business of the country. 
 
 The exigencies of the times during the Civil 
 War, especially the need for very large sums of 
 money by the government to carry on the war, 
 gave occasion- for new legislation by the national 
 government upon this subject. 
 
 In 1864 a bill was passed by Congress, provid-. 
 ing for a bureau of currency in the Treasury 
 Department under the direction of an officer 
 called the Comptroller. This bill provides that 
 national banks may be formed by voluntary asso- 
 ciations, with power to issue bills, receive deposits, 
 loan money, and perform the ordinary functions 
 of banks. 
 
 A year or two later Congress passed another 
 act, levying a tax of ten per cent upon all notes 
 issued by state banks used for circulation after 
 August I, 1866. Practically, this, of course, ex- 
 cluded the bills of the state banks from circulation, 
 so that nearly all of those banks throughout the 
 
13^ THE EXECUTTVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 country either closed their business, or transferred 
 it to national banks, which were formed to take 
 the place of the old state banks. 
 
 Treasury Notes. — During the war the gov- 
 ernment issued a paper currency, usually denomi- 
 nated treasury notes, or, as they were called in 
 common language, " greenbacks," from the cir- 
 cumstance that the engraved back of the note 
 was printed in green ink. The government 
 made these greenbacks legal tender in payment 
 of debts, and paid them out from time to time for 
 army supplies, soldiers' pay, and other current 
 expenses. 
 
 Large amounts of these greenbacks continued 
 to circulate throughout the country with a some- 
 what uncertain and fluctuating value until 1879, 
 when the government began to redeem them in 
 gold at par. Since then their circulation has 
 been continued on a par value with gold and the 
 national bank notes. The government, however, 
 has redeemed and retired them to such an extent 
 that the amount in circulation is now very small. 
 It will thus be seen that the Treasury Depart- 
 ment of government acts in some sense as a 
 bank of issue. It does not loan the money as 
 other banks do, but pays out its bills for current 
 expenses. 
 
 The Constitution provides that the national 
 
THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 133 
 
 government shall absolutely control the coinage 
 of money. It prohibits the states severally from 
 making anything but gold and silver coin a legal 
 tender in payment of debts, and now, by bringing 
 into operation this system of national banks, 
 which has proved so eminently successful, our 
 federal government, as it would appear, has 
 established the principle that all forms of money 
 and currency should be under its control. 
 
 The Department of Agriculture. — This 
 department was formerly a bureau under the 
 Department of the Interior. By a recent Act of 
 Congress, on account of its growing importance 
 and the rapidly increasing value of its work, it 
 has been made into a distinct department, under 
 the direction of a chief officer styled the Secretary 
 of Agriculture, who is a member of the Presi- 
 dent's Cabinet. 
 
134 '^'^^^'^ executjvil department. 
 
 QUESTIONS, TOPICS, AND SIJ(;GESTI0NS FOR 
 
 REVIEW. 
 
 Designed to recall what has ];een learned anfl to suggest further 
 thought, reading, and study. 
 
 1. Qualifications for President and Vice-President. 
 
 2. When are presidential electors elected? 
 
 3. Who can vote for presidential electors? 
 
 4. When do the presidential electors cast their votes? 
 
 5. When, where, and how are their votes counted? 
 
 6. When does the President take his seat, and what is the 
 length of his term of office? 
 
 7. Describe the new law for the presidential succession. 
 
 8. Enumerate the powers and duties of the President. 
 
 9. What is the President's salary? 
 
 10. How are treaties made with foreign nations? 
 
 11. How do the qualifications for representative, senator, 
 and President differ? 
 
 1 2. If there is no choice for the President by the vote of 
 the electors, how is the President to be chosen? 
 
 13. If the electors make no choice for Vice-President, how 
 is the Vice-President to ])e chosen? 
 
 14. How can a President be removed? 
 
 15. What officers constitute the President's Cabinet? 
 
 16. Write out in order the executive departments, and give 
 the official title for the chief officer in these several depart- 
 ments. 
 
 17. Name the principal duties of the Secretary of State. 
 
 18. (iive some account of our ministers to foreign govern- 
 ments. 
 
 19. Give a brief account of the Military Academy at West 
 Point. 
 
 20. Of the Naval Academy at Annapolis. 
 
THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 1 35 
 
 21. Write an account of the national system of surveying 
 and plotting public land. 
 
 22. Give some account of the Post-Office Department. 
 
 23. Of money and banking. 
 
 24. How is mail matter transported and distributed? 
 
 25. Give some account of the bureau of Indian affairs. 
 
 26. The Bureau of Education. 
 
 27. The Pension Office. 
 
BLACKBOARD OUTLINE. 
 
 THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 
 
 I. The Supreme Court. | 2. The Circuit Court. 
 
 3. The District Court. 
 
 SPECIAL COURTS. 
 
 1. Court of Claims. 
 
 2. Supreme Court of the District of Columbia. 
 
 3. Supreme Courts in the Territories. 
 
 4. District Courts in the Territories. 
 
 136 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 
 
 The Constitution provides that there shall be 
 " one Supreme Court and such inferior courts as 
 Congress may from time to time ordain and 
 establish." In accordance therewith, Congress 
 has established the following system of United 
 States courts : — 
 
 1. The Supreme Court. 
 
 2. The Circuit Court. 
 
 3. The District Court.i 
 
 Besides these there are : — 
 
 1. Court of Claims, established in 1855. 
 
 2. Supreme Court of the District of Columbia. 
 
 3. Supreme Courts in the Territories. 
 
 4. District Courts in the Territories. 
 
 The Supreme Court at the present time con- 
 sists of a Chief Justice and eight associate jus- 
 tices. These nine justices correspond to the num- 
 ber of circuits, and one of them is assigned to 
 each circuit. There are nine Circuit Courts, with 
 nine judges of these courts. Appeals may be 
 taken from the Circuit Court to the Supreme 
 Court. The Circuit Courts are presided over by a 
 
 1 In 1 89 1 Congress established a new court, called the Circuit Court of 
 Appeals, with circuits and judges corresponding to the Circuit Court. 
 
 137 
 
138 THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 
 
 Circuit Judge, a District Judge, a Justice of the 
 Supreme Court, or any two of them. These Cir- 
 cuit Courts are again divided into districts, every 
 state having at least one District Court. Some of 
 the larger states are divided into two or more 
 districts. 
 
 The salaries of the district judges vary from 
 thirty-five hundred dollars to five thousand dol- 
 lars. The judges of the Circuit Courts receive a 
 salary of six thousand dollars. The associate 
 justices of the Supreme Courts have a salary of ten 
 thousand dollars ; and the Chief Justice of this 
 court receives ten thousand five hundred dollars. 
 
 Only certain kinds of cases can be brought 
 before the United States courts. These courts 
 have jurisdiction in the following cases : — 
 
 1. All cases in law and equity arising under the Con- 
 stitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties 
 made, or which shall be made, under their authority. 
 
 2. All cases affecting ambassadors, other public 
 ministers, and consuls. 
 
 3. All cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction. 
 
 4. Controversies to which the United States shall be 
 a party. 
 
 5. Controversies between two or more states. 
 
 6. Controversies between a state and the citizens of 
 another state. 
 
 7. Controversies between citizens of different states. 
 
 8. Controversies between citizens of the same state, 
 claiming lands under grants of different states. 
 
THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 1 39 
 
 9. Controversies between a state or the citizens 
 thereof and foreign states, citizens, or subjects. 
 
 The judicial power of the United States is here 
 extended to controversies between a state and 
 citizens of another state. This clause gave much 
 discussion at the time the Constitution was 
 adopted, and the states were unwilling to be 
 subjected to lawsuits brought in the federal 
 courts by citizens of other states. Accordingly, 
 an amendment to the Constitution was proposed, 
 and on the 8th of January, 1798, the President 
 announced to the Congress that the amendment 
 had been adopted by three-fourths of the states, 
 and was, therefore, a part of the Constitution. 
 This constitutes the eleventh of the amendments, 
 and is as follows : — 
 
 "The judicial power of the United States shall not be 
 construed to extend to any suit in law, commenced 
 or prosecuted against one of the United States by 
 citizens of another state, or by citizens or subjects 
 of any foreign state." 
 
 Such cases must be brought before the state 
 courts. 
 
 The Constitution provided that whether in the 
 United States courts or in the courts of any state 
 
 ''The trial of any crimes, except in cases of impeach- 
 ment, shall be by jury; and such trials shall be 
 held in the state where the said crimes shall have 
 
I40 THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 
 
 been committed ; but when not committed within 
 any state the trial shall be at such place or places 
 as Congress may by law have directed." 
 
 A jury consists of twelve men, selected accord- 
 ing to law, to determine matters of fact in a legal 
 trial. The right of trial by a jury of one's peers 
 was a right highly esteemed by the people of 
 Great Britain, which they a long time ago com- 
 pelled their king to yield to them. This right is 
 here made a part of the Constitution of our coun- 
 try, and although not yielding all the good fruit 
 which might be desired, yet is considered as one 
 of the guaranties of a fair trial to any one accused 
 of crime. 
 
 This clause provides that all trials for crime 
 shall be held in the state where such crime has 
 been committed. 
 
 Treason. — 
 
 "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 testi- 
 mony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on 
 confession in open court." 
 
 This clause defines treason as consisting of 
 only two things : — 
 
 I. In levying war against the United States. 
 
THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 14I 
 
 2. In adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and 
 comfort, and it provides that, 
 
 " 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 the 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." 
 
 The terms here used refer to an English cus- 
 tom. The old English law provided certain con- 
 sequences as to the mode of execution of one who 
 had been convicted of treason. He was to be 
 put to death in a cruel manner, and his conviction 
 involved what was called attainder, and this worked 
 corruption of blood, or forfeiture. 
 
 There was no judgment of attainder, but the 
 attainder was incident to the conviction as a mat- 
 ter of course. This attainder, as a natural conse- 
 quence, was supposed to include corruption of 
 blood, or forfeiture. His property of every kind 
 was forfeited. His children could not inherit 
 property from his ancestors through him. What 
 was termed " corruption of blood " destroyed the 
 power to inherit property. 
 
 Our Constitution prescribes that the offender 
 himself shall bear the punishment. It shall not 
 descend to his children. There may be forfeiture, 
 
142 THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 
 
 but this is rather in the nature of a fine, made at 
 his conviction. This clause does not mean that 
 the forfeiture shall extend only during the life of 
 the person. The forfeiture or fine once made, of 
 course the property or fine goes to the govern- 
 ment permanently and not temporarily. 
 
THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT, I43 
 
 QUESTIONS, TOPICS, AND SUGGESTIONS FOR 
 
 REVIEW. 
 
 Designed to recall what has been learned and to suggest further 
 thought, reading, and study. 
 
 1. Describe the organization of the Supreme Court of the 
 United States. 
 
 2. What is the salary of the justices ? 
 
 3. Describe the United States Circuit Courts. 
 
 4. Who may preside in a Circuit Court? 
 
 5. Describe the District Courts. 
 
 6. Name the salary of a judge of the Circuit Court. 
 
 7. What are the limits of the salary of the district judges? 
 
 8. What cases may be brought before the United States 
 District Courts? 
 
 9. Circuit Courts? 
 
 10. The Supreme Court? 
 
 11. What courts try ordinary cases of crime, and suits be- 
 tween citizens of any one state ? 
 
 12. Should a crime be committed in a post-office building, 
 or a custom-house building owned by the United States, in 
 what court would the case be tried? 
 
 13. Discuss the question of " trial by jury." 
 
BLACKBOARD OUTLINE. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONSr 
 
 ''Records." 
 
 "Judicial Proceedings." 
 
 ^'FuU Faith and Credit." 
 "Public Acts." 
 
 144 
 
 New States. 
 Territories. 
 
 Republican Government. 
 Amendments. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 
 
 The Constitution provides that : — 
 
 " Full faith and credit shall be given to the public acts, 
 records, and judicial proceedings of every other 
 state, and the Congress may, by general laws, pre- 
 scribe the manner in which said acts, records, and 
 proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof." 
 
 1. " Full faith and credit." By these words 
 are meant that the other state shall give the 
 same credit, which the state itself gives to the 
 acts, etc., when these have been proven. 
 
 2. " Public acts." By these are meant the 
 laws of the state, or the action of the legislature. 
 
 3. " Records." These refer to general matters 
 of legal record, such as laws, real estate records, 
 legislative journals, etc. 
 
 4. " Judicial proceedings." The reference here 
 is to the acts of the courts, judgments, orders, 
 proceedings. In obedience to the last part of 
 the clause. Congress, at an early date, passed an 
 act specifying that the acts of the legislature of a 
 state shall be authenticated by its seal. The 
 same act also specifies the form of proof neces- 
 
 145 
 
146 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 
 
 sary for the records of a court, and the attesta- 
 tion of the clerk together with the certificate of 
 the judge. Such records and proceedings must 
 receive full faith and credit in the courts of other 
 states. 
 
 New States. — 
 
 " New states may be admitted by the Congress into this 
 Union ; but no new state shall be formed or erected 
 within the jurisdiction of any other state, or any 
 state be formed by the junction of two or more 
 states, without the consent of the legislatures of 
 the states concerned, as well as of the Congress." 
 
 The first added state was Vermont, which was 
 admitted into the Union by an act of Congress 
 in 1 79 1. 
 
 In .^ 792, Kentucky was admitted. 
 
 In 1796, Tennessee was admitted. 
 
 In 1803, Ohio was admitted. 
 
 In 181 2, Louisiana was admitted. 
 
 In 18 1 6, Indiana was admitted. 
 
 In 181 7, Mississippi was admitted. 
 
 In 18 1 8, Illinois was admitted. 
 
 In 18 19, Alabama was admitted. 
 
 In 1820, Maine was admitted. 
 
 In 182 1, Missouri was admitted. 
 
 In 1836, Arkansas was admitted. 
 
 In 1837, Michigan was admitted. 
 
 In 1845, Florida was admitted. 
 
MISCELLANEO US PR O VISIONS. 
 
 147 
 
 In 1845 
 In 1846 
 In 1848 
 In 1850 
 In 1858 
 In 1859 
 In 1861 
 In 1863 
 In 1864 
 In 1867 
 In 1876 
 In 1889 
 In 1889 
 In 1889 
 In 1889 
 In 1890 
 In 1890 
 
 Texas was admitted, 
 Iowa was admitted. 
 Wisconsin was admitted. 
 California was admitted. 
 Minnesota was admitted. 
 Oregon was admitted. 
 Kansas was admitted. 
 West Virginia was admitted, 
 Nevada was admitted. 
 Nebraska was admitted. 
 Colorado was admitted. 
 North Dakota was admitted. 
 South Dakota was admitted. 
 Montana was admitted. 
 Washington was admitted. 
 Idaho was admitted. 
 Wyoming was admitted. 
 
 It will thus be seen that by the recent admis- 
 sion of the six states last mentioned, we now 
 have in our federal Union forty-four states. 
 
 Territories. — 
 
 "The Congress shall have power to dispose of, and 
 make all needful rules and regulations, respecting 
 the territory or other property belonging to the 
 United States, and nothing in this Constitution 
 shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of 
 the United States, or of any particular state." 
 
148 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 
 
 In accordance with this provision, Congress 
 has from time to time passed laws regulating the 
 organization of the territories and providing for 
 territorial governments. We have at the pres- 
 ent time, in addition to the forty-four states just 
 mentioned, the District of Columbia, the Indian 
 Territory, the unorganized Territory of Alaska, 
 and four territories with regularly organized tep 
 ritorial governments as follows : — 
 
 1. New Mexico. 3. Utah. 
 
 2. Arizona. 4. Oklahoma. 
 
 Republican Government. — 
 
 " The United States shall guarantee to every state in 
 this Union a republican form of government, and 
 shall protect each of them against invasion, and, on 
 application of the legislature, or of the executive 
 ■ when the legislature cannot be convened, against 
 domestic violence." 
 
 By this section a republican government is 
 made obligatory upon all the states. No partic- 
 ular department of the United States government 
 is charged with this duty. It would seem reason- 
 able that Congress should decide what govern- 
 ment is the established one in a state, and this 
 has been sanctioned by a decision of the Supreme 
 Court. It would seem necessary also that the 
 
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 1 49 
 
 President, as the executive officer of the national 
 government, and commander-in-chief of the 
 armies of the nation, should see that the provi- 
 sions of this section should be enforced. 
 
 Amendments. — 
 
 "The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses 
 shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments 
 to this Constitution, or, on application of the legis- 
 lature of two-thirds of the several states, shall call 
 a convention for proposing amendments, which, in 
 either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, 
 as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the 
 legislatures of three-fourths of the several states, 
 or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the 
 one or the other mode of ratification may be 
 proposed by Congress : provided that no amend- 
 ment which may be made prior to the year one 
 thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any man- 
 ner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth 
 section of the first article, and that no state, with- 
 out its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage 
 in the Senate." 
 
 Two modes of proposing amendments are here 
 given, and there may be two modes of ratifica- 
 tion : — 
 
 I. Amendments to the Constitution may be proposed 
 to the several states by a two-thirds vote of both 
 houses in CongresSo 
 
150 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 
 
 2. Amendments may be proposed by a convention, 
 on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of 
 the states. 
 
 Whenever amendments have been proposed to 
 the states by either of these methods, there are 
 two ways in which they may be ratified : — 
 
 1. By the legislatures of three-fourths of the several 
 states. 
 
 2. By conventions in three-fourths of the several 
 states, as the one or the other mode of ratification may 
 be proposed by Congress. 
 
 As a matter of fact, all the amendments which 
 have been hitherto made have been proposed to 
 the states by Congress ; and they have all been 
 ratified by the legislatures. It is probable that 
 this method, which has proved satisfactory in the 
 past, will not be departed from in the future.. 
 
 Supreme Law of the Land. — 
 
 "This Constitution, and the laws of the United States 
 which shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all 
 treaties made, or which shall be made, under the 
 authority of the United States, shall be the supreme 
 law of the land ; and the judges of every state shall 
 be bound thereby, anything in the constitution or 
 laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding." 
 
 This clause is of paramount importance in 
 showing that the government of the United 
 
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 151 
 
 States is supreme, and must be, not merely over 
 the people, but over the land of the whole country, 
 in all places belonging to this nation. 
 
 The Constitution, laws, and treaties are here 
 made the supreme law of the land ; and the state- 
 ment is explicit and emphatic, that " the judges 
 of every state shall be bound thereby, anything 
 in the constitution or laws of any state to the 
 contrary notwithstanding." 
 
 " The ratifications of the conventions of nine states shall 
 be sufficient for the establishment of this Constitu- 
 tion between the states so ratifying the same." 
 
 As a matter of fact, the adoption of this Con- 
 stitution was a peaceful revolution. 
 
 The Articles of Confederation provided as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 " And the Articles of this Confederation shall be inviola- 
 bly observed by every state, and the union shall be 
 perpetual ; nor shall any alteration at any time here- 
 after be made in any of them, unless such alteration 
 be agreed to in a Congress of the United States, 
 and be afterwards confirmed by the legislatures of 
 every state." 
 
 They further provide, — 
 
 " That the articles thereof shall be inviolably observed 
 by the states they respectively represent, and that 
 the union shall be perpetual." 
 
152 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 
 
 Contrary, then, to these provisions of the Arti- 
 cles of Confederation, which were emphatically the 
 supreme law of the land, this Constitution pro- 
 vides that it should go into effect between nine 
 states as soon as ratified by that numben 
 
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISION'S. 1 53 
 
 QUESTIONS, TOPICS, AND SUGGESTIONS FOR 
 
 REVIEW. 
 
 Designed to recall what has been learned and to suggest furthei 
 thought, reading, and study. 
 
 I. What is meant by " full faith and credit "? 
 
 2o "Public acts"? 
 
 3. "Records"? 
 
 4o " Judicial proceedings " ? 
 
 5o How may new states be admitted? 
 
 6. What power has Congress over the territories? 
 
 7. What has been the uniform method of proposing amend- 
 ments to the Constitution? 
 
 8. What has been the uniform method of adopting amend- 
 ments to the Constitution? 
 
BLACKBOARD OUTLINE. 
 
 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 
 
 First Ten Amendments. — A Bill of Rights. 
 
 Eleventh Amendment. — Judicial Department. 
 
 Twelfth Amendment. — The Election of President. 
 
 Thirteenth Amendment. — Slavery. 
 
 Fourteenth Amendment. — Citizenship, Congressional Represen- 
 tation, Inability to hold Office under the United States, the 
 Public Debt. 
 
 Fifteenth Amendment. — Shall not deny or abridge the right to 
 vote. 
 
 Putting the Constitution into Operation. 
 
 154 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 
 
 Conventions were called in the several states 
 to discuss and adopt, or reject, this Constitution. 
 After a time it was adopted by all of the thirteen 
 original states, yet in several conventions there 
 was a strong desire for certain modifications to 
 satisfy the evident will of the people. 
 
 Conp-ress, at its first session under the Consti- 
 tution, proposed to the states twelve articles of 
 amendment. Of these articles ten were ratified 
 by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states, 
 and became part and parcel of the Constitution 
 from the fifteenth day of December, 1791. These 
 constitute the first ten of the amendments to the 
 Constitution. They, in general, relate to the 
 rights of the people and to limitations of govern- 
 ment. (The teacher is advised to turn to the 
 Constitution, and read these amendments, dis- 
 cussing them in an informal way with the class.) 
 
 The Eleventh Amendment was proposed at the 
 first session of the Third Congress, in 1794, and 
 was declared adopted as a part of the Constitu- 
 tion January 8, 1798. 
 
 155 
 
156 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 
 
 This amendment, which has been ah*eady con- 
 sidered, restricts the judicial power of the United 
 States in suits at law between one of the United 
 States and citizens of another state. 
 
 The Twelfth Amendment relates to the manner 
 of electing President and Vice-President, and has 
 already been considered. It was proposed by the 
 first session of the Eighth Congress, in 1803, and 
 was adopted by the requisite number of states the 
 next year. At present there are three other 
 amendments, the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and 
 Fifteenth, all of which have grown out of the 
 Civil War. 
 
 The Thirteenth Amendment. — 
 
 " 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. 
 
 " Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
 appropriate legislation." 
 
 This amendment was proposed by Congress in 
 1865, and ratified by the constitutional number of 
 states the same year. 
 
 The Fourteenth Amendment. — 
 
 " 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 
 
AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION, 1 5/ 
 
 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 with- 
 out due process of law, nor deny to any person 
 within its jurisdicti@n the equal protection of the 
 laws. 
 
 " Representatives shall be apportioned among the sev- 
 eral states, according to their respective numbers, 
 counting the whole number of persons in each state, 
 excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right 
 to vote at any election for the choice of electors for 
 President and Vice-President of the United States, 
 representatives in Congress, the executive and 
 judicial officers of a state, or the members of the 
 legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male 
 inhabitants of such state, being twenty-one years of 
 age, and citizens of the United States, or in any 
 way abridged, except for participation in rebellion 
 or other crime, the basis of representation therein 
 shall be reduced in the proportion which the num- 
 ber of such male citizens shall bear to the whole 
 number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in 
 such state. 
 
 " No person shall be a senator or representative in 
 Congress, or elector of President or Vice-President, 
 or hold any office, civil or military, under the 
 United States, or under any state, who, having 
 previously taken an oath as a member of Congress, 
 or as an officer of the United States, or as a mem- 
 ber of any state legislature, or as an executive or 
 judicial officer of any state, to support the Consti- 
 
158 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 
 
 tution of the United States, shall have engaged in 
 insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given 
 aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Con- 
 gress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each house, 
 remove such disability. 
 
 "■ The validity of the public debt of the United States, 
 authorized by law, including debts incurred for 
 payment of pensions and bounties for services in 
 suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be 
 questioned. But neither the United States nor 
 any state shall assume or pay any debt or obligation 
 incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against 
 the United States, or any claim for loss or emanci- 
 pation of any slave ; but all such debts, obligations 
 and claims shall be held illegal and void. 
 
 '' The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appro- 
 priate legislation, the provisions of this article." 
 
 This amendment v^as proposed by Congress in 
 1866, and was declared to be a part of the Con- 
 stitution in July, 1868. 
 
 Fifteenth Amendment. — 
 
 '* 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. 
 
 "The Congress shall have power to enforce this article 
 by appropriate legislation." 
 
 The object of this article was to secure suffrage 
 to the colored race, especially to the freed men of 
 
AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 1 59 
 
 the South. It specifies three points, in respect to 
 which the right of citizens of the United States 
 to vote shall not be denied or abridged, either by 
 the national or state governments : — 
 
 1. On account of race. 
 
 2. On account of color. 
 
 3. On account of previous condition of servitude. 
 
 It was at first proposed to add two other points, 
 nativity and religion, but these were stricken out 
 before the proposed amendment was sanctioned 
 by Congress. 
 
 This amendment was proposed by Congress in 
 1869, and was declared to be ratified in 1870. 
 
 Putting the Constitution into Operation.— 
 
 In July, 1788, a committee was appointed by the 
 Congress to report an act for putting the Consti- 
 tution into operation. This committee reported 
 an act which was adopted on the 13th of Sep- 
 tember, as follows : — 
 
 " Resolved, that the first Wednesday in January next be 
 the day of appointing electors in the several states, 
 which before the said day shall have ratified the 
 said Constitution; that the first Wednesday in Feb- 
 ruary next be the day for the electors to assemble 
 in their respective states, and vote for a President ; 
 and that the first Wednesday in March next be the 
 time, and the present seat of Congress the place, 
 for commencing proceedings under the said Consti- 
 tution." 
 
l6o AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 
 
 The first Wednesday in March, 1 789, happened 
 to be the fourth day of the month, and as one 
 presidential term and two Congresses occupies, 
 by the Constitution, exactly four years, it follows 
 that the inauguration of the President is to take* 
 place on the fourth day of March every fourth 
 year, beginning with 1789. 
 
 Washington was elected President by unani- 
 mous vote. John Adams was declared elected 
 Vice-President, and the new government went 
 into operation quietly and with the general sanc- 
 tion of the people of the country. It is not a 
 little remarkable that the first President should 
 have been elected unanimously, and re-elected 
 unanimously. No President since his day has 
 received a unanimous vote of all the electorSo 
 
AMEND MEN-TS TO THE CONSTITUTION: i6i 
 
 QUESTIONS, TOPICS, AND SUGGESTIONS FOR 
 
 REVIEW. 
 
 Designed to recall what has been learned, and to suggest further 
 thought, reading, and study. 
 
 1 . When were the first ten amendments adopted ? 
 
 2. Why are they called a " Bill of Rights " ? 
 
 3. What is the Eleventh Amendment? 
 
 4. Give a brief history of the Twelfth Amendment, and 
 state its object. 
 
 5. Tell the story of the Thirteenth Amendment. 
 
 6. Also the Fourteenth. 
 
 7. What was the object of the Fifteenth Amendment? 
 
 8. What measures were taken by the Congress for putting 
 the Constitution into operation? 
 
BLACKBOARD OUTLINE. 
 
 THE GROWTH OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 The Treaty of Paris. 
 Weakness of the Articles of 
 
 Confederation. 
 Purchase of Louisiana. 
 Purchase of Florida. 
 Spanish Boundary. 
 
 Annexation of Texas. 
 
 Mexican Provinces. 
 
 Discovery of Gold. 
 
 The Oregon Country. 
 
 Alaska. 
 
 Our Present Condition. 
 
 162 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE GROWTH OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 The original thirteen English colonies which 
 secured their independence by the revolutionary 
 war, extended from the St. Croix River on the 
 eastern borders of Maine to the southern boun- 
 dary of Georgia. The settlements in these colo- 
 nies were invariably near the sea-coast. At the 
 beginning of the revolution, but few settlers were 
 to be found more than a hundred miles from the 
 Atlantic. These colonies in the main extended 
 westward to the Alleghany Mountains, but sev- 
 eral of them claimed, under their grants and 
 charters from the British crown, westward to the 
 Mississippi River. 
 
 The Treaty of Paris. — The treaty of peace 
 between the new Republic and Great Britain was 
 negotiated at Paris. The preliminary treaty was 
 signed in 1782, and the definitive treaty was exe- 
 cuted the year following. Our commissioners in 
 the negotiation of this treaty, to whom this coun- 
 try owes great gratitude for their patriotism and 
 sagacity, were John Adams, John Jay, and Benja- 
 min Franklin. In spite of strong opposition 
 
 163 
 
l64 GROWTH OF OUR COUNTRY, 
 
 they succeeded in securing for us the entire terri- 
 tory as far north as the Great Lakes, and west- 
 ward to the Mississippi River, and southward to 
 latitude 31°, the northern Hmit of Florida. This 
 immense territory comprised more than eight 
 hundred thousand square miles, and was from 
 three to four times as large as France, or Spain, 
 or Italy. 
 
 Weakness of Articles of Confederation. — 
 
 But the national government was weak and in- 
 efficient. The Articles of Confederation provided 
 only for a Congress of delegates from the differ- 
 ent states sitting as one house only, with no 
 executive and nc judicial department. This Con- 
 gress had all po .jer in advising and recommend- 
 ing, but no power to oblige the various States to 
 perform their requisite duties. In 1787, on the 
 recommendation of the Congress, a convention 
 composed of delegates from the several states, 
 assembled in Philadelphia, and framed the United 
 States Constitution. This Constitution was sub- 
 mitted to the several states, and finally adopted 
 by them all. Washington was unanimously 
 elected the first President, and the new govern- 
 ment went into effect on the fourth of March, 
 1 789. The country soon began to rally, business 
 improved, agriculture flourished, and manufac- 
 tures increased. The new Republic was now on 
 
GROWTH OF OUR COUNTRY. 1 65 
 
 a strong basis with a vigorous government, and 
 it entered upon a career of unexampled growth 
 and prosperity. 
 
 Purchase of Louisiana. — The extent of terri- 
 tory remained unchanged until the year 1803. 
 Three years before this, Napoleon Bonaparte, 
 then the First Consul of France, had secured 
 from Spain that territory called the Province of 
 Louisiana, which extended from the Gulf of Mex- 
 ico on the south, northward as far as the Lake 
 of the Woods, and from the Mississippi River 
 westward to the Rocky Mountains. Early in the 
 year 1803, Napoleon, finding himself on the eve 
 of a war with Great Britain, proposed to sell this 
 immense territory to the United States, in order 
 to prevent its capture by Great Britain, and to 
 replenish the treasury of France. In April of 
 the year just mentioned, the treaty was executed 
 by Napoleon and his secretary of the treasury, 
 Barbe Marbois, for the Republic of France, and 
 Robert R. Livingston and James Monroe for 
 the United States of America. By this peace- 
 ful treaty, the entire territory, called the Province 
 of Louisiana, was conveyed to the United States, 
 we paying therefor the sum of fifteen million dol- 
 lars. It was an accession so great that, compris- 
 ing as it did nine hundred thousand square miles, 
 it more than doubled our former territory. The 
 
l66 GROWTH OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 result has proved that it was of great importance 
 to our country. 
 
 The Purchase of Florida. — Having obtained 
 a foothold upon the Gulf of Mexico, our states- 
 men naturally desired to secure the coast from 
 the Atlantic to New Orleans. Consequently, in 
 1819, we negotiated a treaty with Spain by which, 
 for the sum of five million dollars, she ceded to 
 us her provinces of East and West Florida. This 
 treaty completed our title to the territory from 
 the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains, and from 
 the Gulf to the Great Lakes. 
 
 Spanish Boundary. — The third article of the 
 Florida treaty related to the boundary line be- 
 tween the United States and the Spanish prov- 
 inces of North America. It established this line 
 as follows : — 
 
 Beginning on the Gulf of Mexico at the mouth 
 of the Sabine River, and following up that river 
 to a certain point, thence due north, on the line 
 which is now the boundary line of Texas, to 
 the Red River ; thence up the Red River to lati- 
 tude one hundred ; thence due north to the 
 Arkansas River, and up the Arkansas to its 
 source ; thence due north to latitude forty-two, 
 and westward upon that parallel to the Pacific 
 Ocean. Spain relinquished all claim to the terri- 
 
GROWTH OF OUR COUNTRY. 167 
 
 tory north and east of this Hne, and the United 
 States relinquished to her all claim to the territory 
 west and south of the line. This treaty gave us 
 a stronger claim to the Oregon country, while we 
 relinquished to Spain whatever claims we might 
 have had to Texas. 
 
 Annexation of Texas. — Texas declared her- 
 self independent of Mexico in 1836; and in 1845, 
 by joint resolution of Congress, ratified by the 
 government of Texas, she was annexed to the 
 United States. 
 
 Purchase of Mexican Provinces. — The war 
 
 with Mexico followed; and at the conclusion of 
 that war, our army being entirely victorious, and 
 having captured the city of Mexico, a treaty was 
 made between us and that country by which 
 Mexico relinquished to us her provinces of New 
 Mexico and Upper California, for which we paid 
 the sum of fifteen million dollars. In 1853, 
 through General Gadsden, we purchased from 
 Mexico an additional strip of territory called the 
 Masilla Valley, south of the Gila River, and now 
 known as the Gadsden Purchase. For this strip 
 we paid Mexico the sum of ten million dollars. 
 
 The Discovery of Gold. — Almost simultane- 
 ously with the news of the treaty with Mexico 
 came the report of the discovery of gold in 
 
1 68 GROWTH OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 California. The "gold fever" spread rapidly 
 throughout the country, and in 1849 and 1850 
 thousands of persons flocked from all sections 
 to the California coast in search of gold. 
 
 The state government was organized, and 
 California was admitted as one of the states of 
 the Union in 1850. 
 
 The Size of these Additions. — The annexa- 
 tion of Texas, with her original boundaries, gave 
 us about three hundred thousand square miles ; 
 and the purchase of the Mexican provinces gave 
 us six hundred thousand square miles more, so 
 that our territory by this means was increased 
 to the extent of another nine hundred thousand 
 square miles. 
 
 The Oregon Country. — Our title to Oregon 
 is based upon several claims, as follows : — 
 
 1. By right of discovery (Captain Gray in 1792). 
 
 2. By exploration (Lewis and Clark in 1805-6). 
 
 3. By first settlement (Astoria in 181 1). 
 
 4. By purchase from France in 1803 of whatever 
 claim she might have had to the country. 
 
 5. By purchase from Spain, in the Florida treaty, 
 1 8 19, of all her right to this territory north of latitude 
 forty-two. 
 
 6. By treaty with Great Britain in 1846, by which 
 she yielded to us all her claim to the country south of 
 latitude forty-nine. 
 
GROWTH OF OUR COUNTRY. 169 
 
 This country included what to-day is com- 
 prised in the states of Oregon, Washington, and 
 Idaho, and embraces about three hundred thou- 
 sand square miles. Many parts of it are of the 
 greatest fertility, with a mild and equable climate, 
 forming in all respects one of the most delightful 
 countries in the world. 
 
 Alaska. — In 1867 our government, through 
 Secretary Seward, negotiated a treaty with the 
 Russian government by which we obtained the 
 entire territory of Alaska, comprising, in round 
 numbers, about six hundred thousand square 
 miles. We paid for this territory the sum of 
 seven million two hundred thousand dollars. 
 This is our latest addition. 
 
 Our Present Whole Country. — Our country 
 now embraces about 3,600,000 square miles. Its 
 eastern limits are the Atlantic Ocean ; its west- 
 ern, the Pacific Ocean ; its southern boundary 
 is upon the Gulf of Mexico, and its northern 
 is the Arctic Ocean. It extends through about 
 one hundred and thirty degrees of longitude, and 
 about forty-five degrees of latitude. It may be 
 considered as embraced in four nearly equal divi- 
 sions. The first part, being a little less than a 
 quarter of the whole, includes the original terri- 
 tory east of the Mississippi River ; the second 
 
I/O GROWTH OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 quarter, of about 900,000 square miles, embraces 
 the Province of Louisiana ; the third quarter con- 
 sists of the original Texas, about 300,000 square 
 miles, and the Mexican cessions of about 600,000 
 more ; the fourth quarter includes the Oregon 
 country, about 300,000 square miles, and Alaska, 
 about 600,000 more. 
 
 Our Present Condition. — The entire extent 
 of our country at the present time is 3,603,884 
 square miles. This is divided into forty-four 
 states, six territories, and one federal district. 
 The states proper include about 2,800,000 square 
 miles, and the territories 800,000 square miles. 
 The aggregate population is not far from 64,000,- 
 000, of which about 63,000,000 are in the states, 
 and nearly 1,000,000 in the territories, including 
 the District of Columbia. The densest popula- 
 tion is in the State of Rhode Island, which 
 averages about two hundred and fifty per square 
 mile. If the entire country had a population as 
 dense as Rhode Island, it would contain over 
 900,000,000, or about three-fifths of the present 
 population of the globe. 
 
GROWTH OF OUR COUNTRY. I/I 
 
 QUESTIONS, TOPICS, AND SUGGESTIONS FOR 
 
 REVIEW. 
 
 Designed to recall what has been learned and to suggest further 
 thought, reading, and study. 
 
 1. What was the original extent of the United States 
 territory ? 
 
 2. Describe the Treaty of Paris. 
 
 3. Discuss the weakness of the Articles of Confederation. 
 
 4. Write a brief account of the purchase of the Province 
 of Louisiana. 
 
 5. When was Florida purchased, of whom, and for what 
 price ? 
 
 6. Describe the third article of the Treaty of Florida. 
 
 7. Give some account of the annexation of Texas. Of the 
 purchase of New Mexico and California. 
 
 8. Tell something about the discovery of gold in California, 
 and its effects upon the country. 
 
 9. Upon what various grounds did we lay claim to the 
 Oregon country? 
 
 10. When was Alaska purchased; by whom, of whom, at 
 what price, and what was its extent ? 
 
 11. Describe the present extent of our whole country: its 
 aggregate size and its aggregate population. 
 
BLACKBOARD OUTLINE. 
 
 RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR DELIBERATIVE ASSEMBLIES. 
 
 Formation of a Society. 
 
 Form of a Constitution. 
 Election of Officers. 
 
 Officers and their Duties. 
 
 Transaction of Business. 
 
 172 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR DELIBERATIVE 
 ASSEMBLIES. 
 
 Section I. 
 
 FORMATION OF A SOCIETY. 
 
 This is a country of majorities. The funda- 
 mental principle of our government is that the 
 majority vote shall dominate. Deliberative as- 
 semblies are numerous throughout the land, from 
 the Senate of the United States to the boys' de- 
 bating society in the school. Every pupil in the 
 upper classes of the grammar school should learn 
 how to transact business in an orderly manner in 
 an organized meeting. 
 
 The Senate of the United States, the National 
 House of Representatives, the State Senate and 
 House, the town meeting, the agricultural and 
 the historical society, the county convention, the 
 village lyceum, all are governed by " Rules of 
 Order." The rules of the Senate are fixed and 
 well known. The rules of the House are adopted 
 by each Congress. 
 
 173 
 
174 RULES OF PROCEDURE. 
 
 " Cushing's Manual," "Jefferson's Manual," and 
 Barclay's " Digest of the Rules and Practice of 
 the House of Representatives, U. S.," are well- 
 known treatises on " Rules of Procedure." 
 
 Let us suppose that the pupils of a certain 
 school are about to form a debating society. 
 The proper method would be for a number of 
 persons interested in the matter to sign and post 
 in the school-house a call for a meeting to organ- 
 ize such a society. Notice might, however, be 
 given in some other manner ; for example, at the 
 request of several pupils, the teacher could give 
 notice that all persons interested in effecting such 
 an organization are requested to meet at such a 
 time and place. If a written notice were posted, 
 then the time having arrived, and the company 
 being assembled, some one who had signed the 
 call should call the meeting to order. Then the 
 call may be read. Next a chairman should be 
 chosen, on nomination, and a majority vote. A 
 majority vote means a majority of all votes cast. 
 A plurality means a larger number than any other 
 one candidate has received. Blank ballots are not 
 votes, and should not be counted as such. The 
 chairman, being elected, takes the chair, and calls 
 for the nomination of a secretary. When the sec- 
 retary is elected, the meeting is duly " organized." 
 
 It would then be proper to call for the appoint- 
 
RULES OF PROCEDURE. 1 75 
 
 ment of a committee to draft a " Constitution " 
 and " By-Laws." The meeting might then ad- 
 journ to a certain time and place, or to the call 
 of the chairman, or to the call of the committee. 
 
 Report of the Committee. — At the next meet- 
 ing the " Committee on Constitution " reports a 
 draft for constitution and by-laws, which, after 
 discussion and amendments, may be adopted. 
 
 Form of a Constitution. — The following will 
 indicate the ordinary form of a constitution. Of 
 course every constitution will have some dis- 
 tinguishing features differing from every other 
 one. 
 
 CONSTITUTION OF THE CHICKATAWBUT 
 DEBATING CLUB. 
 
 Article I. 
 
 NAME. 
 
 The name of this organization shall be the Chickataw- 
 but Debating Club. 
 
 Article II. 
 
 OBJECT. 
 
 The object of the club shall be to improve its mem- 
 bers in the art of public speaking and conducting affairs 
 in a deliberative assembly. 
 
176 RULES OF PROCEDURE. 
 
 Article III. 
 
 MEMBERS. 
 
 Section i. Membership in this club is confined 
 exclusively to the members of the senior class in the 
 Grammar School, in the town (or city) of } 
 
 Section 2. Any member of said class in said school 
 desiring to become a member of this club, should make 
 application to the Executive Committee, and, being 
 recommended by said committee, and receiving a two- 
 thirds vote .of the members of the club present at any 
 regular meeting shall be constituted a member by sign- 
 ing the constitution. 
 
 Article IV. 
 
 OFFICERS. 
 
 Section i. The officers of the club shall consist of a 
 President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, 
 and an Executive Committee, composed of the above- 
 named officers and three other members. 
 
 Section 2. All officers shall be elected by ballot at 
 the first meeting of each school year. 
 
 Section 3. The Executive Committee shall have the 
 general management of the affairs of the club. 
 
 Section 4. It shall be the duty of the President, 
 Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer faithfully to 
 discharge the duties usually required of such officers in 
 an association of this character. The President shall 
 be chairman of the Executive Committee. 
 
 1 This draft of a constitution is designed to fit a large graded grammar 
 school. For a high school, or an ungraded school, the necessary changes 
 from this form will readily suggest themselves to suit the particular 
 school. 
 
RULES OF PROCEDURE. 1 7/ 
 
 The Secretary shall give notice of the regular meet- 
 ings, and of any special meetings called by the Presi- 
 dent, by posting upon the bulletin board in the school- 
 house a written notice at least twenty-four hours prior 
 to the time for said meeting. 
 
 Article V. 
 
 FINANCE. 
 
 Section I. The annual membership fee shall be , 
 
 which shall be payable at the first meeting in each 
 school year. 
 
 Section 2. Any member who shall not have paid 
 his dues on or before the first regular meeting in De- 
 cember shall be notified by the treasurer that unless 
 such, dues are paid by the date of the first meeting in 
 January his name shall be dropped from the member- 
 ship of the club. 
 
 Section 3. No bills shall be paid by the treasurer 
 till they are audited by the president. ^ 
 
 Article VI. 
 
 MEETINGS. 
 
 Section i. The regular meetings of this club shall 
 be on the second and fourth Friday evenings of each 
 month, during term time. 
 
 Section 2. Special meetings may be called by the 
 president, and he shall call a special meeting at the 
 request in writing of three members of the club. 
 
 1 In societies where the treasurer handles large sums of money, it is 
 common to have an auditor, as a special officer of the society. 
 
1/8 RULES OF PROCEDURE. 
 
 Article VII. 
 
 AMENDMENTS. 
 
 This constitution may be altered or amended by a 
 two-thirds vote of the members present at any regular 
 meeting of the club, notice of such alteration or amend- 
 ment having been given in vi^riting at a previous regular 
 meeting. 
 
 The above will serve as a model by which the 
 pupils in any school may frame a constitution to 
 suit their own wants. 
 
 When the constitution has been reported by 
 the committee, it should be read throughout, and 
 then discussed article by article. When each 
 article has been duly considered, and such amend- 
 ments as might be proposed have been adopted 
 or rejected, the article should be adopted, and 
 then the next, and so on, until the entire consti- 
 tution has been adopted by articles. It should 
 then be adopted as a whole. 
 
 Election of Officers. — After the adoption of 
 the constitution, the first business in order will 
 be the election of officers. As each officer is 
 elected, he replaces the temporary one, and when 
 they are all elected the organization is completed. 
 
 In most cases the constitution provides some 
 form for the admission of members. It is quite 
 common for associations to require that each 
 member shall sign his name to the constitution. 
 
RULES OF PROCEDURE. Ijc^ 
 
 Section II. 
 
 OFFICERS AND THEIR DUTIES. 
 
 Chairman or President. — It is the duty of 
 the Chairman to call the meeting to order at the 
 appointed time, to preside at all the meetings, to 
 announce the business before the assembly in its 
 proper order, to state and put all questions prop- 
 erly brought before the assembly, to preserve 
 order and decorum, and to decide all questions of 
 order (subject to an appeal). When he " puts a 
 question " to vote, and when speaking upon an 
 appeal, he should stand ; in all other cases he can 
 sit. In all cases where his vote would affect the 
 result, or where the vote is by ballot, he can vote. 
 When a member rises to speak, he should say, 
 " Mr. Chairman," and the Chairman should reply, 
 " Mr. A." He should not interrupt a speaker 
 so long as he is in order, but should listen to his 
 speech, which should be addressed to him and 
 not to the assembly. The Chairman should be 
 careful to abstain from the appearance of par- 
 tisanship, but he has the right to call another 
 member to the chair while he addresses the 
 assembly on a question; but when speaking to 
 a question of order he does not leave the chair. 
 
 The Clerk, Secretary, or Recording Secretary, 
 
 as he is variously called, should keep a record of 
 
l80 RULES OF PROCEDURE. 
 
 the proceedings of the convention, society, or as- 
 sociation, whose officer he is. It is not his duty 
 to record discussions, but only the resolutions, 
 motions, orders, or whatever the action of the soci- 
 ety may be called. He should record every vote, 
 stating whether the motion or resolution which 
 had been offered was adopted or rejected. 
 
 It is sometimes customary in the records to 
 say that the question was discussed by Messrs. 
 A., B., and C. in the affirmative, and D., E., and 
 F. in the negative. 
 
 It is necessary for an inexperienced secretary 
 to keep constantly in mind in making his records 
 the fact that he is to record not what was said 
 but what was done. Above all, he should never 
 make in his minutes any criticism, favorable or 
 unfavorable, upon anything that was said or done 
 in the meeting. 
 
 The Form of the Minutes can be as follows : — 
 
 ''The regular meeting of the Chickatawbut Club was 
 held in the school-room, on Friday evening, May 9, 1890. 
 The president was in the chair, and in the absence of 
 the secretary, Mr. A. was chosen secretary pro tem. 
 The minutes of the previous meeting were read and 
 approved. The following persons were admitted by 
 vote as members of the club, Messrs. A. B., C. D., 
 E. F., and Misses G. H., I. J., and K. L." 
 
RULES OF PROCEDURE. l8l 
 
 The question for the evening was the follow- 
 ing:— 
 
 ^'Resolved, That the explorations of Henry M. Stan- 
 ley will prove of greater value to the world than the 
 Arctic voyages of Dr. Kane. 
 
 "The disputants upon the affirmative were Messrs. 
 M. N., O. P., and R. S., and in the negative Mr. T. U., 
 and Misses V. W., and X. Y. 
 
 "The question was decided by a large majority in the 
 affirmative. 
 
 " At five minutes before nine o'clock the club ad- 
 journed. 
 
 " S E C , Secretary!' 
 
 The constitution, and, if there are any, the by- 
 laws, rules of order, and standing rules should be 
 written in a book with blank pages, writing only 
 on the right-hand page. The left-hand page 
 should be left blank, on which amendrnents to the 
 articles opposite may be entered, if there should 
 be any. Each amendment should have recorded 
 with it a reference to the date and page of the 
 minutes where the action of the society adopting 
 such amendment is recorded. It is customary to 
 insert the constitution, etc., in the first part of 
 the society's book, after which would be recorded 
 the names of the members. Following these 
 names the page can be used for the record of the 
 minutes of the society. 
 
1 82 RULES OF PROCEDURE. 
 
 Treasurer. — It is the duty of this officer to 
 collect and hold the funds belonging to the 
 society, and to pay out money on the order of 
 the proper officer. 
 
 The treasurer should make a report annually 
 to the society, which report should contain a 
 statement of the amount of money on hand at the 
 beginning of the year and amount received dur- 
 ing the year, including the sources through which 
 the money has come ; and a statement in brief of 
 the amount of money paid out by order of the 
 society and the balance on hand at the end of the 
 year. This report is usually referred to an audit- 
 ing committee, consisting of one or more persons, 
 whose duty it is to examine the treasurer's books 
 and vouchers, and make a certificate as to the 
 correctness of his report. The form of auditor's 
 report is usually something like the following : — 
 
 " I hereby certify that I have examined the accounts 
 
 and vouchers of the above report of T R , the 
 
 treasurer of the Chickatawbut Club, and find them cor- 
 rect, and that the balance on hand is," etc., stating the 
 amount on hand. 
 
 It is usual after the auditor's report has been 
 read to accept the treasurer's report. 
 
 Committees. — In small societies there is less 
 need of committees, but in permanent organiza- 
 tions, like the National or State Senate or House, 
 
RULES OF PROCEDURE. 1 83 
 
 Common Council in a city, or school committee, 
 nearly all matters of business should be referred 
 to appropriate committees. These sub-commit- 
 tees examine the matters referred to them and 
 report to the entire body. When a committee 
 thus reports, it is usual for the body to accept its 
 report, and unless special objections appear, to 
 adopt its recommendations. 
 
 The first-named member of a committee is 
 usually its chairman. It is his duty to call the 
 committee together and to preside at their meet- 
 ings. If he is absent it is customary for the next 
 member in order to preside. A majority of a 
 committee should constitute a quorum. The 
 committee should not act unless a quorum be 
 present. The committee may make a majority 
 and minority report if the members do not agree. 
 When a majority and a minority report have 
 been presented to a body, it is competent for any 
 member to move the acceptance of the majority 
 report. It is proper for some other member to 
 move to substitute the minority for the majority 
 report. The minority report cannot be acted 
 upon except by such motion to substitute it for 
 the majority. When the committee's report has 
 been read and accepted, the committee is dis- 
 charged, without further motion, unless their 
 report be a report of progress. 
 
1 84 RULES OF PROCEDURE, 
 
 Section III. 
 
 TRANSACTION OF BUSINESS. 
 
 Every order, resolution, or motion to be sub- 
 mitted to a deliberative assembly should be in 
 writing, and having been read should be handed 
 to the president. 
 
 The following will illustrate the form of a reso- 
 lution : — 
 
 ''Resolved. — That the thanks of the Chickatawbut 
 Club are hereby tendered to the principal of our school, 
 Mr. A. B., for his timely, interesting, and useful address, 
 to which we have just listened." 
 
 The person desirous of offering this resolution 
 should rise from his seat and address the chair- 
 man by his title, thus " Mr. President," or " Mr. 
 Chairman," who immediately recognizes him and 
 announces his name. He, then, having the floor, 
 says " I move the adoption of the following reso- 
 lution," which he reads and hands to the chair- 
 man. Some one else seconds the motion, and the 
 chairman says, " It has been moved and seconded 
 that the following resolution be adopted." He 
 then reads the resolution, and, says, " Are there any 
 remarks upon the resolution } " Here will follow 
 a discussion of the resolution pro and con, if the 
 members should be so disposed. If no one rises 
 
RULES OF PROCEDURE. 1 85 
 
 to speak when the question is thrown open for 
 discussion, or it having been discussed and the 
 president thinks the debate is closed, he says, 
 " Are you ready for the question ? " If no one 
 rises to speak, he puts the question in a form 
 similar to the following : " The question is upon 
 the adoption of the resolution which you have 
 heard read. Those of you who are in favor of 
 adopting this resolution will manifest it by saying 
 ' Aye ' ; those contrary minded, ' No.' It is a vote, 
 and the resolution is adopted." If the majority 
 vote in the negative, the chairman will state that 
 the resolution is lost. If he is in doubt, he will 
 say, " The chair is in doubt, those in favor of the 
 adoption of the resolution will rise and stand 
 until counted." The president or the secretary 
 makes the count. Those opposed will rise." 
 The chairman announces the result. 
 
 A debating society like the one proposed above 
 will prove of great service to young persons at 
 school. They will not only improve themselves 
 in the ability to speak before others, and present 
 their thoughts in a clear and forcible manner, but 
 they will rapidly improve their power to think 
 upon any question which may be presented to 
 their minds for consideration. Not the least 
 advantage willbe found to consist in their be- 
 coming familiar with proper methods of transact- 
 
1 86 RULES OF PROCEDURE. 
 
 ing business in a deliberative assembly. Every 
 such young person should familiarize himself with 
 all points connected with rules of order, and such 
 persons are specially advised to make themselves 
 familiar with some one or more of the books 
 heretofore recommended on this subject. 
 
 QUESTIONS, TOPICS, AND SUGGESTIONS FOR 
 
 REVIEW. 
 
 Designed to recall what has been learned and to suggest further 
 thought, reading, and study. 
 
 1. Why is this a country of " Majorities " ? 
 
 2. Describe the method of forming a society. 
 
 3. What are the essential officers? 
 
 4. Method of electing officers. 
 
 5. Duties of President. 
 
 6. Duties of Secretary. 
 
 7. Duties of Treasurer. 
 
 8. Why have an Auditor? 
 
 9. Write a form for auditing the Treasurer's annual report- 
 
 10. Write a form of " Minutes " of a meeting. 
 
 11. Write a "Resolution/' extending the thanks of the 
 society for a lecture. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED 
 STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 We the People of the United States, in order to form a more 
 perfect Union, estabhsh Justice, insure domestic Tranquillity, 
 provide for the common defence, promote the general Wel- 
 fare, 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, i. 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. 
 
 Section. 2. '^'^The House of Representatives shall be com- 
 posed of Members chosen every second year by the People of 
 the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have 
 the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous 
 Branch of the State Legislature. 
 
 ■^^^ No person shall be a Representative who shall not have 
 attained to the Age of twenty five years, and been seven Years 
 
 [Note. — The small figures in brackets are not in the original, but 
 have been added subsequently, to mark the different clauses in a section. 
 In reprinting the constitution here, the spelling, punctuation, and capitali- 
 zation of the original have been preserved.] 
 
 187 
 
1 88 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 2l Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when 
 elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be 
 chosen. 
 
 1^^^ Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned 
 among the several States which may be included within this 
 Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be 
 determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, 
 including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and 
 excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. 
 The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after 
 the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and 
 within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as 
 they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives 
 shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State 
 shall have at Least one Representative ; and until such enum- 
 eration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be 
 entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and 
 Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New- York six, 
 New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland 
 six, Virginia ten. North Carolina five. South Carolina five, and 
 Georgia three. 
 
 f^^^ When vacancies happen in the Representation from any 
 State, 'the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Elec- 
 tion to fill such Vacancies. 
 
 ■^^^The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker 
 and other officers ; and shall have the sole Power of Impeach- 
 ment. 
 
 Section. 3. "^^^The Senate of the United States shall be 
 composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the 
 Legislature thereof, for six Years ; and each Senator shall have 
 one Vote. 
 
 ■^^^ Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence 
 of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be 
 into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 189 
 
 shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the 
 second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the 
 third class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one-third 
 may be chosen every second Year ; and if Vacancies happen 
 by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legis- 
 lature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary 
 Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which 
 shall then fill such Vacancies. 
 
 ■^^^ No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained 
 to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of 
 the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an In- 
 habitant of that State for which he shall be chosen. 
 
 •^^^ The Vice Presideiajt of the United States shall be President 
 of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally 
 divided. 
 
 ^^^The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a 
 President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, 
 or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United 
 States. 
 
 ^^^ The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeach- 
 ments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath 
 or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is 
 tried, the Chief Justice shall preside : And no Person shall be 
 convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Mem- 
 bers present. 
 
 ^'^ Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend fur- 
 ther than to removal from Office, and Disqualification to hold 
 and enjoy any Office of honour. Trust or Profit under the 
 United States : but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be 
 liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punish- 
 ment, according to Law. 
 
 Section. 4. "^^^The Times, Places and Manner of holding 
 Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed 
 in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may 
 
190 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as 
 to the places of chusing Senators. 
 
 1^^^ The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, 
 and such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, 
 unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day. 
 
 Section. 5. '^^^Each House shall be the Judge of the Elec- 
 tions, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a 
 Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business ; but 
 a smaller Number may adjourn from day to day, and may be 
 authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in 
 such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may 
 provide. 
 
 •^-^ Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceed- 
 ings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with 
 the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member. 
 
 ^"^ Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and 
 from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as 
 may in their Judgment require Secrecy ; and the Yeas and 
 Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, 
 at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the 
 Journal. 
 
 ■^^^ Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, 
 without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three 
 days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses 
 shall be sitting. 
 
 Section. 6. ^^^ The Senators and Representatives shall receive 
 a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, 
 and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They 
 shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the 
 Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at 
 the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and 
 returning from the same ; and for any speech or debate in 
 either House, they shall not be questioned in any other 
 Place. 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 19 J 
 
 •^^^No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for 
 which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under 
 the Authority of the United States, which shall have been 
 created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased 
 during such time ; and no Person holding any Office under the 
 United States, shall be a Member of either House during his 
 Continuance in Office. 
 
 Section. 7. ^^^ All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in 
 the House of Representatives ; but the Senate may propose or 
 concur with Amendments as on other Bills. 
 
 ^^^ Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Repre- 
 sentatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be 
 presented to the President of the United States ; If he approve 
 he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections 
 to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter 
 the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to recon- 
 sider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that 
 House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together 
 with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall like- 
 wise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that 
 House, it shall become a Law. But in all such cases the Votes 
 of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and Nays, and the 
 Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be 
 entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any 
 Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days 
 (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, 
 the same shall be a law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, 
 unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, 
 in which Case it shall not be a Law. 
 
 '^•"'^ Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concur- 
 rence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be 
 necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be 
 presented to the President of the United States ; and before 
 the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being 
 
192 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the 
 Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules 
 and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill. 
 
 Section. 8. The Congress shall have Power 
 
 ■^^^ To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to 
 pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and gen- 
 eral Welfare of the United States ; but all Duties, Imposts and 
 Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States ; 
 
 ^-'^ To borrow Money on the credit of the United States ; 
 
 ■^•"^ To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among 
 the several States, and with the Indian Tribes ; 
 
 •^■^^To establish an uniform Rule of Naturahzation, and uni- 
 form Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the 
 United States ; 
 
 ■^^^ To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign 
 Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures ; 
 
 •^•"^To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the 
 Securities and current Coin of the United States ; 
 
 ^^'^ To estabhsh Post Offices and post Roads ; 
 
 ■^^^To promote the progress of Science and useful Arts, by 
 securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclu- 
 sive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries ; 
 
 ■^^^ To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court ; 
 
 ■^^"^ To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on 
 the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations ; 
 
 ^^^^To declare War, grant letters of Marque and Reprisal, 
 and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water ; 
 
 i^^-^To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of 
 Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years ; 
 
 ■^^^^ To provide and maintain a Navy ; 
 
 '^^'^^ To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of 
 the land and naval Forces ; 
 
 ^^^'^ To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws 
 of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions ; 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 1 93 
 
 ■^^^^To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the 
 Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be em- 
 ployed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the 
 States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the 
 Authority of training the Militia according to the Discipline 
 prescribed by Congress ; 
 
 ^^'^^ To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, 
 over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, 
 by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Con- 
 gress, become the Seat of the Government of the United 
 States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased 
 by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the 
 Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, 
 Dock- Yards, and other needful Buildings ; — And 
 
 ^^^^ To make all Laws which shall be 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. 
 
 Section. 9. '^^^The Migration or Importation of such Persons 
 as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, 
 shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one 
 thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or Duty may be 
 imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for 
 each Person. 
 
 ■^-^ 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. 
 
 ■^^^ No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed. 
 
 ^^^ No Capitation, or other direct. Tax shall be laid, unless 
 in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before 
 directed to be taken. 
 
 •^^^No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from 
 any State. 
 
 [6] ]sJq Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Com- 
 
194 CONSTlTUTiON OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 merce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of 
 another : nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be 
 obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another. 
 
 '^''^ No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Con- 
 sequence of Appropriations made by Law ; and a regular State- 
 ment and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all 
 public Money shall be published from time to time. 
 
 ^^J 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 what- 
 ever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State. 
 
 Section, io. '^^^ No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, 
 or Confederation ; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal ; coin 
 Money ; emit Bills of Credit ; make any Thing but gold and 
 silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts ; pass any Bill of 
 Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation 
 of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility. 
 
 ■^^^ No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay 
 any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what 
 may be absolutely necessary for executing it's inspection Laws : 
 and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any 
 State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the 
 Treasury of the United States ; and all such Laws shall be sub- 
 ject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress. 
 
 ■^^^ No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any 
 
 Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of 
 
 Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another 
 
 State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually 
 
 invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of 
 
 Delay. 
 
 ARTICLE. II. 
 
 Section, i. "^^^The executive Power shall be vested in a 
 President of the United States of America. He shall hold his 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 1 9 5 
 
 Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the 
 Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as fol- 
 lows 
 
 ■^^^ Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legisla- 
 ture thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the 
 whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the 
 State may be entitled in the Congress : but no Senator or Rep- 
 resentative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under 
 the United States, shall be appointed an Elector. 
 
 * ^^'^ The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and 
 vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not 
 be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And 
 they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the 
 Number of Votes for each ; which List they shall sign and cer- 
 tify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the 
 United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The 
 President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and 
 House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the 
 7otes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest 
 Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a 
 Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed ; and if 
 there be more than one who have such Majority and have an 
 equal number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall 
 immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President ; and if 
 no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the 
 List the said House shall in like manner chuse the President. 
 But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by 
 States, the Representation from each State having one Vote ; a 
 Quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Mem- 
 bers from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the 
 States shall be necessary to a choice. In every Case, after the 
 Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number 
 
 * This clause has been superseded by the 1 2th amendment, on page 8o. 
 
T.96 CONSTITUTIOISr OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if 
 there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the 
 Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President. 
 
 "^^^The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the 
 Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes ; 
 which Day shall be the same throughout the United States. 
 
 [5] No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of 
 the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitu- 
 tion, shall be eligible to the Office of President ; neither shall 
 any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained 
 to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resi- 
 dent within the United States. 
 
 •^•^^ In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or 
 of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers 
 and Duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the 
 Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the 
 Case of Removal, Death, Resignation, or Inability, both of the 
 President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then 
 act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until 
 the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected. 
 
 '^''^The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his ser- 
 vices, a Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor 
 diminished during the Period for which he shall have been 
 elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other 
 Emolument from the United States, or any of them. 
 
 ^^'^ Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall 
 take the following Oath or Affirmation : — 
 
 " I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully exe- 
 '' cute the Office of President of the United States, and will to 
 '•' the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Con- 
 "stitution of the United States." 
 
 Section. 2. "^^^The President shall be Commander in Chief 
 of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia 
 of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE IIIVITED STATES. 1 97 
 
 United States ; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the 
 principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon 
 any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, 
 and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for 
 Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeach- 
 ment. 
 
 ■^"^ He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Con- 
 sent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the 
 Senators present concur ; and he shall nominate, and by and 
 with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Am- 
 bassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the 
 supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, 
 whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and 
 which shall be established by Law : but the Congress may by 
 Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they 
 think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or 
 in the Heads of Departments. 
 
 ^^'^ The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that 
 may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Com- 
 missions which shall expire at the End of their next Session. 
 
 Section. 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress 
 Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their 
 Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and 
 expedient ; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both 
 Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement be- 
 tween them, with Respect to the time of Adjournment, he may 
 adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall 
 receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers ; he shall take 
 Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commis- 
 sion all the officers of the United States. 
 
 Section. 4. The President, Vice President and all civil Offi- 
 cers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Im- 
 peachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other 
 high Crimes and Misdemeanors. 
 
198 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 ARTICLE. III. 
 
 Section, i. The Judicial Power of the United States, shall 
 be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as 
 the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The 
 Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold 
 their Offices during good Behavior, and shall, at stated Times, 
 receive for their Services, a Compensation which shall not be 
 diminished during their Continuance in Office. 
 
 Section. 2. "^^^The Judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, 
 in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws 
 of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be 
 made, under their Authority; — to all Cases affecting Ambassa- 
 dors, other public Ministers and Consuls ; — to all Cases of ad- 
 miralty and maritime Jurisdiction ; — to Controversies to which 
 the United States shall be a Party ; — to Controversies between 
 two or more States ; — between a State and Citizens of another 
 State ; — between Citizens of different States, — between Citi- 
 zens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different 
 States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign 
 States, Citizens or Subjects. 
 
 ^-^ In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers 
 and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the 
 surpreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the 
 other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have 
 appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Ex- 
 ceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall 
 make. 
 
 ■^^^ 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. 
 
 Section. 3. '^^^ Treason against the United States, shall con- 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 199 
 
 sist 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. IV. 
 
 Section, i. Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each 
 State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of 
 every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws 
 prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records, and Pro- 
 ceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof. 
 
 Section. 2. ^^^The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to 
 all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. 
 
 "^2^ A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or 
 other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another 
 State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State 
 from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State 
 having Jurisdiction of the Crime. 
 
 [3] ;no Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under 
 the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence 
 of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Ser- 
 vice or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party 
 to whom such Service or Labour may be due. 
 
 Section. 3. ^^^ New States may be admitted by the Congress 
 into this Union ; but no new State shall be formed or erected 
 within the Jurisdiction of any other State ; nor any State be 
 formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, 
 without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned 
 as well as of the Congress. 
 
 ■^2^ The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all 
 
200 CONSTlTUTroN' OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other 
 Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this 
 Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims 
 of the United States, or of any particular State. 
 
 Section, 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State 
 in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall pro- 
 tect each of them against Invasion, and on Application of the 
 Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot 
 be convened) against domestic Violence. 
 
 ARTICLE. V. 
 
 The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem 
 it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, 
 on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the sev- 
 eral States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, 
 which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, 
 as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of 
 three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three 
 fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification 
 may be proposed by the Congress ; Provided that no Amend- 
 ment which may be made prior to the Year one thousand eight 
 hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth 
 Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article ; and that no 
 State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage 
 
 in the Senate. 
 
 ARTICLE. VI. 
 
 •^^^ All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before 
 the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as vahd against the 
 United States under this Constitution, as under the Confeder- 
 ation. 
 
 ^-^This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which 
 shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or 
 which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, 
 shall be the supreme Law of the Land ; and the Judges in every 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 20I 
 
 State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or 
 Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding. 
 
 ■^^"^The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and 
 the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive 
 and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the sev- 
 eral States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support 
 this Constitution ; but no religious Test shall ever be required 
 as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United 
 
 States. 
 
 ARTICLE. VIL 
 
 The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be 
 sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the 
 States so ratifying the Same. 
 
 Done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States 
 present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of 
 our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven 
 and of the Independence of the United States of America 
 the Twelfth. In Witness whereof We have hereunto 
 subscribed our Names, 
 
 G° WASHINGTON — 
 
 Presidt and deputy fi'oin Vi?'ginia 
 
 NEW HAMPSHIRE. 
 John Langdon Nicholas Oilman 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS. 
 Nathaniel Gorham Rufus King 
 
 CONNECTICUT. 
 Wm Saml Johnson Roger Sherman 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 Alexander Hamilton 
 
 NEW JERSEY. 
 WiL Livingston David Brearley 
 
 Wm Paterson Jona Dayton 
 
202 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 
 
 B Franklin 
 RoBT Morris 
 Tho Fitzsimons 
 James Wilson 
 
 Geo Read 
 John Dickinson 
 Jaco Broom 
 
 James M' Henry 
 Danl Carroll 
 
 John Blair 
 
 Wm Blount 
 Hu Williamson 
 
 J Rutledge 
 
 Charles Pinckney 
 
 William Few 
 Attest : 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 Thomas Mifflin 
 Geo Clymer 
 Jared Ingersoll 
 Gouv Morris 
 
 DELAWARE. 
 
 Gunning Bedford, Jun'r 
 Richard Bassett 
 
 MARYLAND. 
 
 Dan of St Thos Jenifer 
 
 VIRGINIA. 
 
 James Madison, Jr 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA. 
 
 Rich'd Dobbs Spaight 
 
 SOUTH CAROLINA, 
 
 Charles Cotesworth Pinckney 
 Pierce Butler 
 
 GEORGIA. 
 
 Abr Baldwin 
 
 WILLIAM JACKSON, Secretary. 
 
 Articles in Addition to, and Amendment of, the 
 Constitution of the United States of America, 
 
 Proposed by Congress, and i-atified by the Legislatures of the 
 several States, pursuant to the fifth article of the original 
 Constitution. 
 
 (ARTICLE L) 
 
 Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of 
 religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging 
 
AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION 203 
 
 the freedom of speech, or of the press ; or the right of the peo- 
 ple peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a 
 redress of grievances. 
 
 (ARTICLE 11.) 
 
 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.) 
 
 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.) 
 
 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 prob- 
 able cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly 
 describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things 
 to be seized. 
 
 (ARTICLE 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 MiHtia, when in actual service in time of War or pub- 
 He danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence 
 to be twice put in jeopardy of life or hmb ; nor shall be com- 
 pelled in any Criminal Case to be a witness against himself, nor 
 be deprived of Hfe, liberty, or property, without due process of 
 law ; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without 
 
 just compensation. 
 
 (ARTICLE 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 
 
204 
 
 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 
 
 district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be 
 informed of the nature and cause of the accusation ; to be con- 
 fronted with the witnesses against him ; to have Compulsory 
 process for obtaining Witnesses in his favour, and to have the 
 Assistance of Counsel for his defence. 
 
 (ARTICLE VII.) 
 
 In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall 
 exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be pre- 
 served, 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.) 
 
 Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines im- 
 posed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 
 
 (ARTICLE IX.) 
 
 The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall 
 
 not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the 
 
 people. 
 
 (ARTICLE X.) 
 
 The powers not delegated to the United States by the Con- 
 stitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the 
 States respectively, or to the people. 
 
 (ARTICLE XI.) 
 
 The Judicial power of the United States shall not be con- 
 strued to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or 
 prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of an- 
 other State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State. 
 
 (ARTICLE XII.) 
 
 The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote 
 by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at 
 
AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 20 5 
 
 least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with them- 
 selves ; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as 
 President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice- 
 President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted 
 for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, 
 and of the nmnber of votes for each, which lists they shall sign 
 and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of 
 the United States, directed to the President of the Senate ; — 
 The President of the Senate shall, in presence of the Senate 
 and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the 
 votes shall then be counted ; — The person having the greatest 
 number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such 
 number be a majority of the whole number of Electors ap- 
 pointed ; and if no person have such majority, then from the 
 persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the 
 list of those voted for as President, the House of Representa- 
 tives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But 
 in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, 
 the representation from each state having one vote ; a quorum 
 for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from 
 two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be 
 necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives 
 shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall 
 devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next follow- 
 ing, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case 
 of the death or other constitutional disability of the President. 
 — The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-Pres- 
 ident, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority 
 of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person 
 have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, 
 the Senate shall choose the Vice-President ; a quorum for the 
 purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of 
 Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be neces- 
 sary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to 
 
2o6 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President 
 of the United States. 
 
 (ARTICLE XIII.) 
 
 Section i. 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. 
 
 Sect. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
 appropriate legislation. 
 
 (ARTICLE XIV.) 
 
 Section i. 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. 
 
 Sect. 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the 
 several States, according to their respective numbers, counting 
 the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians 
 not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the 
 choice of electors for president and vice-president of the United 
 States, representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial 
 officers of a State, or the members of the legislature thereof, is 
 denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being 
 twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in 
 any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion or other 
 crimes, the basis of representation shall be reduced in the pro- 
 portion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to 
 the whole number of male citizens, twenty-one years of age, in 
 such State. 
 
 Sect. 3. No person shall be a senator or representative in 
 
AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 207 
 
 Congress, or elector of president or vice-president, or hold any 
 office, civil or military, under the United States or under any 
 State, who having previously taken an oath as a member of 
 Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member 
 of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of 
 any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall 
 have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or 
 given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress 
 may by a vote of two-thirds of each house remove such disa- 
 bihty. 
 
 Sect. 4. The vahdity of the public debt of the United States, 
 authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pen- 
 sions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or 
 rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United 
 States, nor any State, shall assume or pay any debt or obliga- 
 tion incurred in aid of insurrection or rebelhon against the 
 United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any 
 slave ; but all such debts, obligations, and claims shall be held 
 illegal and void. 
 
 Sect. 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce by appro- 
 priate legislation the provisions of this article. 
 
 (ARTICLE XV.} 
 
 Section i. 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 servi- 
 tude. 
 
 Sect. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this arti- 
 cle by appropriate legislation. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Agriculture, Department of, 133. 
 Aldermen, 28. 
 Alaska, 169. 
 
 Amendments to U. S. Constitu- 
 tion, 149, 155. 
 Annexation of Texas, 167. 
 Auditor, County, 30. 
 Articles of Confederation, 6;^. 
 Assessors, County, 31. 
 Assessors of Taxes, 21. 
 Attorney, District, 31. 
 
 Bankruptcies, 92. 
 Battle of Quebec, 58. 
 Boundary, Spanish, 166. 
 Bureau of Education, 129. 
 Bureau of Indian Affairs, 128. 
 
 Charges d'Aflfaires, 114. 
 
 Chairman, 179. 
 
 Cheap Postage, 122. 
 
 Cities, 26. 
 
 City Council, 28. 
 
 City Government, 26. 
 
 Clerk, 179. 
 
 Coast Survey, 116. 
 
 Commissioners, Road, 23. 
 
 Committees, 182. 
 
 Coin Money, 93. 
 
 Congress, 75. 
 
 Congress, Powers of, 88. 
 Congress, Sessions of, 86. 
 Consuls, 113. 
 Committee, School, 22. 
 Confederation, Articles of, 6^. 
 Confederation, Plan of, 65. 
 Confederation, Weakness of 
 
 Articles of, 164. 
 Contest for Supremacy, 56. 
 Continental Congress, Second, 
 
 62. 
 Convention, Federal, 66. 
 Contest of the Kings, 55. 
 Continental Congress, First, 61. 
 Coroner, 3. 
 Counties, 29. 
 County Auditor, 30. 
 County Commissioners, 29. 
 County Courts 50. 
 County Treasurer, 30. 
 Courts, PoHce, 50. 
 Court, Probate, 50. 
 Court, Supreme, 50. 
 
 Dates of Ratification, (Constitu- 
 tion U. S.,) 72. 
 Deeds, Recorder of, 30. 
 Deeds, Registrar of, 30. 
 Delegates, Territorial, 79. 
 Department of Agriculture, 133 
 208 
 
INDEX. 
 
 209 
 
 Department of Justice, 129. 
 Department of State, 113. 
 Department of Navy, 118. 
 Discovery of Gold, 167. 
 Distributing Post Offices, 121. 
 District Attorney, 31. 
 Duties on Imports, 90. 
 
 Education, 32. 
 
 Election by the House (Presi- 
 dent), 107. 
 
 Election of Officers, 178. 
 
 Electors, Number of, 104. 
 
 Electors, Presidential, 103. 
 
 Electors, Time of Choosing, 
 105. 
 
 Electors Vote, 105. 
 
 English Settlements, 56. 
 
 Executive Department, National, 
 loi, 112. 
 
 Executive Department, State, 
 44. 
 
 Executive Officers, 48. 
 
 Federal Convention, 66. 
 Fifteenth Amendment, 158. 
 First Continental Congress, 61. 
 Florida, Purchase of, 166. 
 Formation of a Society, 173. 
 Form of a Constitution, 175. 
 Form of Minutes, 180. 
 Fourteenth Amendment, 156. 
 French Settlements, 56. 
 
 Gold, Discovery of, 167. 
 Governor, 44. 
 
 " Term of Office, 45. 
 
 ** Qualifications, 45. 
 
 Governor, Powers and Duties, 
 
 45- 
 Growth of Our Country, 163. 
 
 Highway Surveyors, 23. 
 
 House, Officers of, 79, 
 
 House of Representatives, Na- 
 tional, 76. 
 
 House of Representatives, State, 
 42. 
 
 Impeachment, 80, iii. 
 Impeachments, Trial of, 85. 
 Imports, Duties on, 90. 
 Indian Bureau, 128. 
 Indian Schools, 128. 
 Interior Department, 123. 
 
 Judicial Department, National, 
 
 137- 
 Judicial Department, State, 49. 
 Justices of the Peace, 49. 
 
 Land Officer, 125. 
 
 Law, the Making of, 43. 
 
 Legislative Department, Na- 
 tional, 75. 
 
 Legislative Department, State, 
 41. 
 
 Lieutenant-Governor, 47. 
 
 Lighthouses, 116, 
 
 Louisiana, Purchase of, 165. 
 
 Making a Law, 43. 
 
 Mayor, 27. 
 
 Mexican Provinces, Purchase of, 
 
 167. 
 Minutes, Form of, 180. 
 
2IO 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Ministers, Public, 113. 
 Money and Banking, 130. 
 Money, Coin, 93. 
 
 Naturalization, 90. 
 Naval Academy, 119, 
 Navy, Department of, 118. 
 National Element of Slow 
 
 Growth, 75. 
 New States, 1460 
 Number of Electors, 104. 
 Number of Representatives, 
 
 National, 78. 
 
 Officers, Election of, 178. 
 Officers of House, National, 79. 
 Officers of Senate, National, 85. 
 Oregon Country, 168. 
 Overseers of the Poor, 23. 
 
 Pension Office, 125. 
 
 Plan of the Confederation, 65. 
 
 Police Courts, ^o. 
 
 Poor, Overseers of, 23. 
 
 Post Office Department, 119. 
 
 Powers of Congress, 88. 
 
 Powers of President, in. 
 
 Powers, Various (Congress), 95. 
 
 Present Condition of our Coun- 
 try, 170. 
 
 President, 179. 
 
 Presiding Officer, National Sen- 
 ate, 84. 
 
 Presidential Electors, 103. 
 
 Private Schools, 35. 
 
 Probate Court, 50. 
 
 Public Ministers and Consuls, 
 113- 
 
 Purchase of Florida, 166. 
 
 Purchase of Mexican Provinces, 
 167. 
 
 Purchase of Louisiana, 165. 
 
 Putting Constitution into Opera- 
 tion, 159. 
 
 Qualifications (National Senate), 
 
 ^84. 
 
 Qualifications of President, 108. 
 
 Qualifications, Representatives, 
 
 '^78. 
 
 Quebec, Battle of, 58. 
 
 Ratification (Constitution U.S.), 
 Dates of, 72. 
 
 Recorder of Deeds, 30. 
 
 Recording Secretary, 179. 
 
 Registrar of Deeds, 30. 
 
 Report of Committee, 175. 
 
 Representatives, House of (Na- 
 tional), 76. 
 
 Representatives, Qualifications 
 of, 78. 
 
 Representatives, Number of, 78. 
 
 Republican Government, 148. 
 
 Restrictions upon National Gov- 
 ernment, 97. 
 
 Restrictions upon States, 97. 
 
 Road Commissioners, 23. 
 
 Rules of Procedure, I'j'ii- 
 
 Salary of President, in. 
 Salary, Senators and Represen- 
 tatives, Z']. 
 School Commissioner, 31. 
 School Committee, 22. 
 School Superintendent, 31 o 
 
INDEX. 
 
 21 T 
 
 Second Continental Congress, 
 62. 
 
 Secretary, 179. 
 
 Selectmen, 20. 
 
 Senate (National), 81. 
 
 Senate (State), 42. 
 
 Senators, How Chosen, 82. 
 
 Settlements, French, 56. 
 
 Sessions of Congress, 86. 
 
 Settlements, English, 56. 
 
 Sheriflf, 3. 
 
 Size of Additions to U. S., 168. 
 
 Slow Growth of National Ele- 
 ment, 75. 
 
 Spanish Boundary, 166. 
 
 Spanish Settlements, 55. 
 
 State Governments, 39. 
 
 Superintendent of Schools, 31. 
 
 Supremacy, Contest for, 56. 
 
 Supreme Court, 50. 
 
 Supreme Law of the Land, 150. 
 
 Supreme Moment in N. A., 57. 
 
 Surveyors, Highway, 23. 
 
 "Sweeping Clause," 95. 
 
 Taxes, Assessors of, 21. 
 Territories, 147. 
 
 Territorial Delegates, 79. 
 Texas, Annexation, 167. 
 Thirteenth Amendment, 156. 
 Time of Choosing Electors, 105. 
 Town, the, 17. 
 Town Clerk, 19. 
 Town Officers, 18. 
 Town Treasurer, 20. 
 Treason, 140. 
 Treasurer, 181, 
 Treasurer, County, 30. 
 Treasury Department, 115. 
 Treasury Notes, 132. 
 Trial of Impeachments, 85. 
 
 Various Powers (Congress), 95. 
 Vice-President, 109. 
 Vice-President elected by Senate, 
 108. 
 
 War Department, 117. 
 Warrant for Town Meeting, 24. 
 Weakness of Articles of Con- 
 federation, 164. 
 Weights and Measures, 94. 
 West Point, 117. 
 Whole Country at Present, 169. 
 
ELEMENTS OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 STATE OF MICHIGAN 
 
ELEMENTS 
 
 OF 
 
 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 State of Michigan 
 
 ANDREW c. Mclaughlin 
 
 
 V 
 
 SILVER, BURDETT & COMPANY 
 
 New York BOSTON Chicago 
 1892 
 
 e 
 
 <^4iM/ 2- 
 
Copyright, 1892, 
 By silver, BURDETT & COMPANY. 
 
 Typography by J. S. Cushing & Co., Boston. 
 
 Presswork by Berwick & Smith, Boston. 
 
PREFATORY NOTE. 
 
 The subject-matter of this volume gives a clear outline of the 
 history and government of the State of Michigan, stated in 
 language that can be easily understood. The aim has been to 
 provide a text that can be profitably used in the high schools, 
 the advanced grades of grammar schools, and in the more 
 advanced classes in rural schools. 
 
 The purpose of the book, then, is to furnish to the youth of 
 this state facilities for gaining a knowledge of its governmental 
 history and of the workings of its governmental policy, — such 
 a knowledge as shall prepare them for intelligent action under 
 the government, and inspire them with a love for our republican 
 institutions. 
 
 Let it not be overlooked that every youth, every citizen, is 
 equally interested with every other. It is not in this state as in 
 monarchical countries, where the few rule by hereditary right, 
 and the many must submit to be governed. In Michigan 
 every citizen is a ruler, who not only has a voice in the govern- 
 ment, through his ballot, but may properly aspire to the highest 
 position of honor and trust within the gift of the people. Such 
 possibilities and privileges involve correspondingly large and 
 weighty responsibihties. 
 
 3 
 
4 PREFATORY NOTE. 
 
 As applied to human government, it may be said of this 
 country more than of any other on the face of the globe, that 
 all power resides with the' people and emanates from them ; 
 and since government depends upon the will of the people for 
 its support, direction, and development, it is of vital importance 
 not only that the forms be understood, through which that 
 government is administered, but that the history of its estab- 
 hshment and growth be fully known. The people should be 
 imbued with the spirit of American institutions, inhaling and 
 exhaling loyalty with every breath. What more fitting period 
 than that of youth in which to lay the foundations of this 
 intelligence, to foster the growth of this allegiance, and to fix 
 indehbly in mind and heart the principles that control good 
 citizenship? Let the subject of civil government find place in 
 some form in the regular work of every school in the state. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 -*<>•- 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Early History . .7 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 British Occupation of the Northwest . . . .13 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 The Revolutionary War 16 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 The Organization of the Northwest . . . .21 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Michigan before the War of 18 12 24 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 The War of 1812 . ^. 27 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Development of the Territory : Admittance to the 
 
 Union -30 
 
 5 
 
6 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 History since Admittance to the Union: Analysis 
 OF THE Constitution 34 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 The Legislative Department 40 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 The Executive Department 44 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 The Judicial Power 47 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 Administrative Machinery: State Militia . . .50 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 County Government . • -55 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 Township Government 59 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 Cities and Villages . 63 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 Education 68 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 Election Laws . . . • • • » • • 74 
 
THE HISTORY AND CIVIL GOVERNMENT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 STATE OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 >>®<oo- 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 EARLY HISTORY.. 
 
 The State. — Michigan is naturally divided into two 
 parts known as the upper and lower peninsulas. These 
 two divisions are unlike in many ways, but together they 
 form a state which has a great variety of resources and 
 can support a large population with diversified indus- 
 tries. The lower peninsula, especially its southern half, 
 is covered with fine farms. The northern half has been 
 covered with immense forests which have furnished the 
 best of white pine lumber or have given hard woods for 
 the furniture factories and other industries of the state. 
 The northern peninsula is one of the richest mineral 
 regions of the world. Iron ore of unusual richness is 
 mined in immense quantities. The state furnishes over 
 one-third of all the iron ore produced in the United 
 States, its value being nearly one-half of the total prod- 
 uct. In its output of copper Michigan stands second 
 in the Union. The two peninsulas have an area almost 
 
 • 7 
 
8 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 exactly the same as that of England and Wales — more 
 than that of New York or Pennsylvania. The long 
 coast line of the state, — not far from sixteen hundred 
 miles, — with its numerous harbors and places of refuge, 
 gives facilities for shipping which will make Michigan 
 one of the great commercial centers of the world. As 
 regards population, Michigan stands ninth in the roll of 
 states, and has now nearly as many inhabitants ^ as had 
 the thirteen colonies when they declared their indepen- 
 dence from Great Britain. The history and the govern- 
 ment of the commonwealth are, then, worthy thoughtful 
 study. 
 
 We will try to notice the growth of methods of gov- 
 ernment and of ideas about government. Thoughts on 
 political matters show themselves in institutions and 
 laws. We shall need to study, therefore, laws and the 
 machinery of government in order to understand the 
 people as they are organized ; and we must study 
 the people and notice their history if we would appre- 
 ciate the present government and the condition of 
 society. 
 
 The French Discoverers. — The early history of Mich- 
 igan is part of that of Canada. We know that early 
 in the seventeenth century, one year after the English 
 founded Jamestown, the French made a permanent set- 
 tlement at Quebec.^ At once the hardy French priests 
 and adventurous traders began to find their way into the 
 interior of the continent. The priest was eager to con- 
 vert the Indians to Christianity. The trader wished to 
 barter for the hides of the beaver. Before the Pilgrim 
 Fathers had landed on Plymouth Rock, Champlain had 
 
 '^ Population 2,093,889 by census of 1890. 2 1608. 
 
EARLY HISTORY. 9 
 
 stood on the shores of Lake Huron. From that time 
 there were a number of expeditions into the northwest, 
 and soon a profitable fur trade with Indians of the lake 
 region was established. Many of the French colonists 
 along the St. Lawrence, naturally of a roving, free-and- 
 easy disposition, broke away from the restraints of the 
 colony and wandered off into the western country. 
 These cotireurs de bois} or bush-rangers, carried on irreg- 
 ular traffic with the savages. 
 
 Early Settlements. — While the English were spread- 
 ing their settlements along the Atlantic coast and slowly 
 making their way back into the country, clearing away 
 the forest for farm and homestead, the French were 
 exploring the great west and taking up positions of ad- 
 vantage on lake and river. These places were mission- 
 ary stations or centers of the fur trade ; but they were 
 also outposts against English, or especially Dutch, ad- 
 vance into the northwest. They were chosen so care- 
 fully with reference to the geography of the country 
 that they became towns and cities of importance when 
 the Americans in this century came to build up their 
 states. Father Marquette, a bold French priest, as 
 early as 1668 established a Christian mission at the 
 Falls of St. Mary {Saidt de Ste. Marie). This is the 
 oldest town in the northwest and older than many of 
 the early settlements of the east, — fourteen years older 
 than Philadelphia. 
 
 La Salle. — About ten years later ^ the brave La Salle 
 launched the '' Griffin," the first sailboat on Lake Erie. 
 He sailed through the Detroit River, christened Lake 
 St. Clair in picturesque fashion, and made his way even 
 
 1 Literally "rangers of the wood." ^ 1679. 
 
10 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 to Green Bay. In 1682 he floated in his canoe down 
 the Mississippi, and at its mouth took possession of the 
 country in the name of the king of France.^ 
 
 Settlements of Bush-rangers. — Before the end of the 
 seventeenth century the wandering bush-rangers made 
 stragghng and irregular settlements where fancy and 
 trade directed or in places that would prevent the en- 
 trance of the English into Michigan, which was the home 
 of the beaver. The wandering Frenchmen often forgot 
 all the restraints of civilized life when they escaped into 
 this western wilderness. They took upon themselves 
 the habits of the savages with whom they associated, 
 often married Indian wives, and lived a listless, happy, 
 careless life. Their settlements were of little moment 
 in building up the country or winning it for civilization, 
 but the descendants of these bush-rangers, or the re- 
 tired watermen who had traversed with their canoes the 
 western lakes and rivers, formed an element of no little 
 importance in the early history of Michigan as an 
 American province. 
 
 Detroit. — The center, however, from which Michigan 
 grew was Detroit. It was founded by the French under 
 La Motte Cadillac. He had noted the many advan- 
 tages of the place, and in 1701 brought a company of 
 artisans and soldiers to occupy it. Cadillac seems to 
 have had the English, rather than the French, notion 
 about civilization. He did not desire that Detroit should 
 
 1 Parkman, the great historian of New France, thus describes La Salle. 
 " He was a tower of adamant, against whose impregnable front hardships 
 and danger, the rage of man and the elements, the southern sun, the 
 northern blast, fatigue, famine, and disease, delay, disappointment, and 
 deferred hope emptied their quivers in vain." — " La Salle and the Discovery 
 of the Great West," p. 407. 
 
EARLY HISTORY. II 
 
 be a mere military outpost or a trading station. He 
 wanted an agricultural colony, which could support it- 
 self and develop its own life. Although he was disap- 
 pointed by the trials which beset him, and although the 
 town grew at a snail's pace, Detroit was soon the most 
 important colony in the west. Its founder had been 
 impressed with the beauty of the site. He spoke of 
 "the living and crystal waters" of the river, "the 
 ambitious vine, which has never wept under the prun- 
 ing-knif e, — with its large leaves and heavy clusters, 
 weighing down the top of the tree which receives it." 
 He did not praise too highly the attractions of the place. 
 A hundred years later, the beautiful orchards^ of the 
 simple French farmers near Detroit surprised the in- 
 coming "Yankees." Spite of difficulties, therefore, and 
 the easy-going methods of farming, the place grew 
 through the eighteenth century and at the close of the 
 French and Indian war some authorities say there were 
 as many as twenty-five hundred inhabitants in the fort 
 and its vicinity. 
 
 The French and Indian War. — Although the French 
 explorers and traders had known the great west long 
 before the Englishman had pushed his way west to the 
 Alleghanies, yet after all the hold of the French on the 
 country was feeble. The English colonies on the At- 
 
 1 " Many a thrifty Mission Pear 
 Yet o'erlooks the blue St, Clair, 
 Like a veteran, faithful warden; 
 And their branches, gnarled and olden, 
 Yield their juicy fruit and golden. 
 In the ancient Jesuit garden, 
 Still, each year, their blossoms dance, 
 Scent and bloom of sunny France." 
 
12 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 lantic border had grown freely and naturally. They 
 had thrust out new settlements as they felt the impulse 
 or as the needs of the people seemed to demand. They 
 had learned how to govern themselves, and learning 
 how had done so. Without being bound and fettered 
 by the mother country, they had prospered. They were 
 sturdy, strong, self-reliant. The French of Canada, on 
 the other hand, had not been allowed to grow naturally. 
 They were not practised in self-government. They had 
 been kept ignorant and were, as a result, not self-reliant, 
 though sometimes wilful. The trade and business of 
 Canada had not grown naturally, but had been shaped 
 by the policy and wishes of the home government. 
 The colony was not vigorous and healthy, but weak, 
 therefore, from the nature of things. Its hold on the 
 west was far from strong ; for there were only widely 
 separated settlements and military outposts. When the 
 English colonists began in the middle of the last cen- 
 tury to wish for a home in the Ohio valley, the contest 
 between the two great powers, France and England, 
 was sure to come. Of the outcome there could be 
 little doubt. France was powerful, but her colonies 
 were weak and nerveless ; for they had been para- 
 lyzed by too much care. The English colonies were 
 strong wdth the energy of self-confidence and hope ; for 
 they had been neglected and had strengthened them- 
 selves. 
 
 Its Results. — The struggle decided to whom the vast 
 territory in America then claimed by the French should 
 belong. More than that, it decided whether the self- 
 governing American colonist or the over-governed 
 Frenchman should take possession of the country. 
 
BRITISH OCCUPATION. 1 3 
 
 The victory of Wolfe on the Plains of Abraham ^ was 
 the last great decisive battle of the war. France lost 
 as a result all hold upon the continent. Canada and 
 the whole northwest passed into the hands of England. 
 When we consider the extent of the land thus gained 
 by England and the meaning of the victory, we are 
 impressed with its importance. '' The triumph of Wolfe 
 marks the greatest turning point as yet discernible in 
 modern history." ^ North America was open for the 
 English colonist with his civilization, his regard for law, 
 and his love of liberty. The country now known as 
 Michigan became British territory. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 BRITISH OCCUPATION OF THE NORTHWEST. 
 
 The Indians and the British. — In the latter part of 
 1760, the English took possession of Detroit. They 
 ruled without intermission in Michigan for about thirty- 
 six years, and in that time succeeded neither in concili- 
 ating the French nor in winning the respect and 
 affection of the Indians. The French had the faculty 
 of making friends of the Indians ; his courtesy did not 
 wound them, his easy, affable manners charmed them. 
 The Englishman, on the other hand, was stiff, stern, 
 
 1 Battle of Quebec, September 9, 1759. One of the great decisive battles 
 of the world. 
 
 2 Fiske's "American Political Ideas," p. 56. 
 
14 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 and cold. His manner was repellant, and he seemed 
 to dole out the presents with a certain caution which 
 partook of stinginess and destroyed the very effect he 
 sought. The Indian's regard for the Englishman must 
 needs be purchased with beads, baubles, and drink. 
 The Frenchman's good-humor had still its charm when 
 his presents of gewgaws or brandy were gone. We 
 might expect, under such circumstances, that, when 
 Michigan was turned over to its new masters, the 
 Indians would not remain quiet and peaceful. 
 
 Pontiac. — At this time the Indians had a great leader. 
 Pontiac, a noted chief of the Ottawas,' had power and 
 influence throughout the northwest. He was a man of 
 great vigor of mind. He was keen, wary, and ambi- 
 tious. He seemed to see clearly what the English 
 occupation meant. The Indian, no longer wooed by 
 the two contestants, was now at the mercy of one. 
 Unless there was a bold, determined stand against the 
 English, they would push on into the country, driving 
 the Indians from their homes and hunting grounds. 
 
 Siege of Detroit. — Pontiac decided to make a grand 
 effort to throw off the yoke of the intruders. He 
 secured the alliance of a number of tribes, and early in 
 1763 was ready for action. His plan included attacks 
 upon all the outposts of the English even as far east as 
 Niagara. The plot for surprising Detroit was a shrewd 
 one. The Indians, with their guns hidden beneath their 
 blankets, were to repair to the fort and demand a coun- 
 cil. This being granted, upon a given signal from Pon- 
 tiac, the braves were to draw their rifles and attack the 
 unsuspecting garrison. Providentially, the plot was dis- 
 closed to the English by a young squaw, who seems to 
 
BRITISH OCCUPATION. 1 5 
 
 have taken an interest in the commander. Upon com- 
 ing to the council, Pontiac discovered that he had been 
 foiled, and he was at last compelled to order an attack 
 upon the fortress from without. Beaten in their assault, 
 the Indians held the town in a state of siege for months. 
 Not until the middle of the next summer (1764) was 
 the weary garrison relieved by the arrival of ample rein- 
 forcements from the east.^ 
 
 Mackinaw. — At other posts in the west the English- 
 men had been surprised and had felt the fury of the 
 Indian hatred. The romantic story of the massacre at 
 Michilimacinac^ has been often told, and is one of the 
 most dramatic and terrible episodes in the long history 
 of border warfare. 
 
 The Indians^ Last Effort. — The length and bitterness 
 of this contest mark the power and earnestness of 
 Pontiac. This was the last great spontaneous effort of 
 the Indians to throw off the English domination. Pon- 
 tiac's ambition was gone. '' His hope of seeing the 
 empire of France restored in America was scattered to 
 the winds, and with it vanished every rational scheme 
 of resistance to English encroachment."^ 
 
 ^ Note. — Teachers will find interesting accounts of this great con- 
 spiracy in Cooley's " Michigan," p. 54 fl., and in Parkman's " Conspiracy of 
 Pontiac." 
 
 2 Now spelled Mackinaw. 
 
 ^ Parkman's " Conspiracy of Pontiac," p. 566. 
 
1 6 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 
 
 The Northwest. — As long as the French held so 
 much of the American continent, they were the ever 
 present rivals of the English. Now that they had been 
 overpowered, England was beyond all doubt the greatest 
 of maritime and colonial powers. But, free from rivalry 
 and drunk with her own glory, she began the taxation of 
 her colonies. The result was the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence and the American Revolution. We are 
 interested here chiefly in the fate of the western coun- 
 try. We must remember that the colonists had scarcely 
 any hold upon it. A few pioneers had struggled over 
 the Alleghanies into Kentucky and Tennessee, but in the 
 northwest the old French settlements were simply held 
 by English garrisons. The thriftless voyageurs or the 
 happy-go-lucky French farmers took no interest in a 
 struggle over taxation or political privileges. To them 
 the Revolution was a mystery. Unless the Americans 
 could occupy the country, even if they should be suc- 
 cessful in the war, there would be no ground for claim- 
 ing a boundary north of the Ohio. But, as we shall 
 see, largely through the zeal and energy of one man, 
 the United States was able to lay claim to all the terri- 
 tory north of the Spanish Floridas and south of the 
 Great Lakes. 
 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 1 7 
 
 Lieutenant-Governor Hamilton. — At the outbreak of 
 the Revokition the British commander at Detroit was 
 Colonel Henry Hamilton. His position was favorable 
 for influencing the Indians, and he entered upon the 
 task with great zest and unbecoming vigor. In the 
 French and Indian war both the contending nations 
 had made use of the savages when they could obtain 
 their services. Now the English began to seek their 
 aid, and the American Congress was ready to use a 
 small force. Hamilton, by offering rewards for scalps, 
 won for himself the title of ''hair-buyer." From his 
 post at Detroit he planned expeditions against the out- 
 lying settlements of Pennsylvania and Kentucky, and 
 prompted the horrible attacks on the scattered settlers 
 along the Ohio. The amount of rum which bought the 
 aid of Indians was prodigious. It was measured out by 
 the thousand gallons. Detroit was the scene of great 
 activity through the whole war. Often it was aroused 
 by the death whoop of the returning war bands, which 
 announced success and the number of the slain ; riot 
 and drunken debauchery followed, when the braves were 
 paid for the scalps they had brought back. These atroc- 
 ities encouraged some of the settlers of Kentucky to 
 make an attack upon the English garrisons in the north- 
 west. Kentucky was then considered part of Virginia. 
 
 Clark's Expedition. — In 1778, George Rogers Clark, 
 with a small band of about one hundred and eighty men, 
 marched across the country and seized Kaskaskia, an 
 old settlement in what is now the state of Illinois. 
 Other posts soon surrendered to the Americans. Hamil- 
 ton, however, marching from Detroit to Vincennes,^ took 
 
 1 In what is now Indiana. 
 
1 8 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 possession of that town and seemed for the moment to 
 have put a stop to Clark's successful career. But the 
 brave Virginians were not thus to be outdone. Clark 
 immediately started on a long march across the country. 
 The time was the middle of winter. Part of the way 
 was over low lands which had been flooded by recent 
 rains, and the soldiers marched through water that was 
 often as high as their necks. This was a memorable 
 expedition. Upon its result depended, in all likelihood, 
 the ownership of the vast territory which now forms 
 five American states. The men kept up their courage 
 in spite of the hardships. " The drummer of the party 
 was a jovial little Irishman, with a rich voice and a 
 memory well stored with comic songs. When the men 
 were wading through mud and water, Colonel Clark 
 would seat the drummer on his drum, on which he 
 floated and sang, keeping up the spirits of the men 
 with his lively melodies."^ Vincennes surrendered and 
 Hamilton himself was captured. 
 
 The Northwest American' — Clark was desirous of at- 
 tacking Detroit, but was not enabled to do so. Never- 
 theless, the northwest had practically passed into the 
 hands of the Americans, and by the treaty of 1783, 
 which closed the war, the boundary of the United States 
 was fixed at the Mississippi on the west and the Great 
 Lakes on the north. Michigan was American territory. 
 
 The British Retain the Northwest. — Not until thir- 
 teen years after the treaty was signed did the English 
 give up Detroit. We can discover several reasons for 
 this. In the first place they were loath to give up more 
 than they were compelled to, and thus disliked to ac- 
 
 1 Farmer's " History of Detroit and Michigan," p. 52. 
 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. IQ 
 
 knowledge fully that our country had won her inde- 
 pendence even from petty annoyances. Moreover, if 
 the western posts were retained, the English were as- 
 sured of a continuing influence over the Indians, and in 
 case of another war these savage allies would be useful. 
 The English long persisted in the hope that the revolted 
 colonies would be unable to form a strong general gov- 
 ernment or to live side by side in harmony ; and, in case 
 of a war between the states, it was thought that some 
 would seek the protection of the mother country, and 
 perhaps all would be so weak that they could easily be 
 brought into submission. We need not conceal from 
 ourselves that there was some basis for such hope. 
 Until our Constitution was adopted, the fate of the 
 American nation seemed trembling in the balance. 
 Beyond all, England was unwilling to renounce her last 
 hold on the country until she had her full rights under 
 the treaty, — and this, for some time, America seemed 
 unable to give. The chief source of annoyance arose 
 from the fact that the states, in a selfish, domineering 
 way, did not offer English merchants a fair chance to 
 collect their debts by suits in the state courts. Michi- 
 gan remained, therefore, in the hands of the English 
 until the two countries came to a settlement of their 
 difficulties. 
 
 Indian War. — The Indians who had sided with Eng- 
 land in the late war continued to threaten the American 
 settlements on the frontier. They claimed all the land 
 north of the Ohio and insisted that the Americans must 
 not trespass upon this territory. They seem to have 
 been encouraged in their claims by some of the English 
 commanders. It was at least evident that, so long as 
 
20 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 the English retained possession of Detroit, the task of 
 overcoming the Indians was a difficult one. By 1790, 
 there were settlements of importance across the moun- 
 tains in the Ohio valley, and the Americans of the eastern 
 states were only awaiting assurance of safety to make 
 their way in numbers into the new country. Failing at 
 last in all efforts at conciliation, our government tried 
 to force the Indians to cease their annoyances. Two 
 armies, which were sent out for this purpose, were com- 
 pletely routed, and the savages were more insolent and 
 terrible than ever. Not till General Wayne, in 1794, 
 met and defeated them, almost under the guns of a new 
 British fort which had been built upon the Maumee, was 
 the northwest really thrown open for American settlers. 
 Jay*s Treaty. — President Washington sent John Jay 
 to England to try to come to an agreement on the mat- 
 ters in dispute between the two countries. This he suc- 
 ceeded in doing. By the terms of his treaty the western 
 posts were to be given up June i, 1796. On July 11, 
 1796, the American flag for the first time floated over 
 the soil of Michigan. Two great powers had claimed 
 and in turn had possessed Detroit and the outlying set- 
 tlements. Now the third took control, and American 
 laws were extended to the line of the Great Lakes. 
 Thus it may be said that the Revolution was not made 
 complete in Michigan till twenty years after the Decla- 
 ration of Independence. 
 
ORGAmZATlON OF THE NORTHWEST. 21 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE NORTHWEST. 
 
 The Land Cessions. — Even before the end of the Rev- 
 olutionary war, and before it was determined whether 
 or not England would relinquish her claim to the land 
 between the Alleghany Mountains and the Mississippi, 
 there was considerable rivalry between the different 
 states about the ownership of this territory. Virginia 
 claimed not only the country that is now Kentucky, but 
 insisted also that both because of her charter from King 
 James and the conquest of Clark the territory north of 
 the Ohio was rightfully hers. 
 
 On the other hand New York laid claim to it, while 
 Massachusetts and Connecticut maintained that they 
 had rights in strips of this territory lying directly west 
 of them and extending through to the Mississippi. For- 
 tunately a spirit of generous patriotism finally overcame 
 these selfish disputes, and all the states ceded to Con- 
 gress for the benefit of the United States their interests 
 or titles in the territory. Connecticut retained her claim 
 to a portion of country south of Lake Erie, a section 
 which in consequence became known as the Western 
 Reserve of Connecticut. 
 
 Ordinance of 1787. — It was desirable to form some 
 sort of government for this territory, to lay down at 
 least general propositions which would show the rela- 
 
22 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 tions between the general government and this newly 
 acquired province. The fundamental Ordinance, as 
 finally adopted by the Congress of the Confederation 
 July 13, 1787, is one of the most important documents 
 of our history. It is a monument of wise statesmanship. 
 The free and vigorous life of the old northwest owes much 
 to the liberality of this fundamental law. So, carefully 
 was it framed, so wise and judicious were its leading 
 principles, that it has proved in many ways a model for 
 the regulation of territories, and it has moulded the 
 history of the whole west and influenced the political 
 thought of our country. The people of Michigan may 
 well consider it their primary constitution ; for upon 
 this foundation we rose to statehood and by it our polit- 
 ical life has been largely shaped. " I doubt," said Web- 
 ster, " whether one single law of any lawgiver, ancient or 
 modern, has produced effects of more distinct, marked, 
 and lasting character than the Ordinance of 1787." 
 Bancroft declares that it influenced the " character and 
 destiny of the United States," and says that its passage 
 was a " fact, sublime and humane and eventful in the 
 history of mankind." 
 
 Slavery Forbidden. — The truth of such eulogies as 
 these may be seen from even a hurried study of the 
 Ordinance.^ The most famous portion is the sixth 
 clause, a part of which reads as follows : *' There shall 
 be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said 
 territory, otherwise than in the punishment of crime, 
 whereof the party shall have been duly convicted." 
 
 1 The teacher will find it profitable to spend some time in studying this 
 Ordinance with the class. Copies can be obtained without much difficulty. 
 The Ordinance is published in cheap form in the Old South Leaflets. 
 
ORGAmZATION OF THE NORTHWEST. 2^ 
 
 These words dedicated the northwest to freedom. 
 When the hour of trial came and the slaveholding 
 states attempted to secede, the free northwest stood 
 ready to battle for the Union and to help wipe out the 
 curse of slavery from the land. The wonderful growth 
 and prosperity of the country are due in no small degree 
 to this famous prohibition. Foreign immigrants who 
 came to the New World to win their way to comfort 
 would not seek homes in states where the laborer was a 
 slave and labor degrading, and so nearly the whole tide 
 of immigration flowed into the country north of the Ohio. 
 Other Provisions. — The broad and generous educa- 
 tional system of Michigan no doubt takes its rise in the 
 third clause of the Ordinance : " Religion, morality, 
 and knowledge being necessary to good government, 
 and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means 
 of education shall forever be encouraged." This clause 
 has been of enormous influence in directing the ener- 
 gies of the people toward the support of free schools. 
 Another clause declared that not less than three nor 
 more than five states should be formed from the terri- 
 tory, and that these states could be admitted to the 
 Union with republican constitutions whenever they had 
 sixty thousand inhabitants. Thus it will be seen that 
 before the Constitution of the United States was framed 
 in full this Ordinance mapped out the policy to be fol- 
 lowed toward territories, indicating that they should not 
 be held as colonies, but should be given the right of 
 self-government as members of the American Union. 
 The Ordinance also outlined great principles of civil 
 liberty, and these were a constant source of education to 
 the people of the territory. They served as guides to 
 
24 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN 
 
 liberal government and good law when state constitu- 
 tions were forming. Not of least importance was the 
 fact that this wise Ordinance emphatically stated that 
 the territory and states that might be formed from it 
 must remain forever a portion of the American Union 
 and obedient to its laws. Moreover, any intolerant 
 policy that might spring from state selfishness was con- 
 demned, for the highways of commerce, the great navi- 
 gable waters, must be left freely open for all citizens of 
 the United States. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 MICHIGAN BEFORE THE WAR OF 1812. 
 
 The Organization of the Territory. — The northwest 
 territory remained undivided until 1800. At that time 
 it was divided into two portions, the western one 
 being called Indiana, and the eastern the northwest 
 territory. The dividing line ran from the mouth of 
 the Kentucky River nearly due north through the 
 middle of the lower peninsula of Michigan. In 1802 
 Ohio formed a state constitution, and all of what is 
 now Michigan became a part of Indiana territory. By 
 an act of Congress passed January 11, 1805, and to 
 take effect June 30, Michigan was formed as a separate 
 territory. It was to include all of Indiana north of a 
 line drawn east from the southern end of Lake Michi- 
 gan until it intersects Lake Erie and east of a line 
 drawn from the southern end of Lake Michigan through 
 
MICHIGAN BEFORE THE WAR .OF 1812. 25 
 
 the middle of the lake to its northern end, and then 
 north to the northern boundary of the United States. 
 These were the legal limits of Michigan for a number 
 of years. But" we may anticipate a little by saying that 
 from 1 8 18, when Illinois was admitted to the Union, till 
 the time when Michigan was admitted to the Union 
 (1837), Michigan territory included all the land north 
 of Illinois and east of the Mississippi, embracing there- 
 fore the northern peninsula, Wisconsin, and the north- 
 eastern part of Minnesota. Between 1834 and 1836 
 the western limit of the territory was the Missouri 
 River, the southwestern boundary being the southern 
 line of Iowa. Thus we see that Michigan territory 
 had many forms and sizes before the state was created 
 with its present limits. 
 
 Description of the Territory. — At the beginning of 
 this century the inhabitants of Michigan were nearly all 
 French. A few Scotch and English had settled in 
 Detroit, but the French language and French customs 
 and ideas prevailed. The Americans came in slowly. 
 To the people of the Atlantic coast Detroit seemed a 
 long way off. Few persons at that time had any con- 
 ception of the importance of the acquisition of the 
 northwest from England, and not until the century was 
 well advanced was there any great migration into Michi- 
 gan from the eastern states. 
 
 The territory had improved but little, though it had 
 now been settled a hundred years. The great virgin 
 forest still hemmed in the people to the river bank, 
 along which they had settled. There was a settlement, 
 a poor affair, at Frenchtown,^ and long, narrow farms 
 1 Where Monroe now stands. 
 
26 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 stretched back from the river below and above Detroit. 
 There were no roads to the interior save the winding 
 Indian trails. When the American did come at last to 
 make his solitary home in the oak openings, or to cut 
 his clearing out of the forest, he found few more aids 
 to travel than he would have found had he been brought 
 to the shores of Michigan by the ''Griffin" one hundred 
 and fifty years before. 
 
 Detroit Burned. — Detroit was a small place, mostly 
 gathered within a snug stockade. Narrow streets, from 
 twelve to twenty feet in width, sloped to the river, and 
 were lined with the houses of the sociable Frenchmen.^ 
 There were, perhaps, some two hundred houses crowded 
 within the pickets. They were built of oak or cedar 
 logs and with stone chimneys. In 1805 a fire broke 
 out and completely destroyed the town, leaving but one 
 house standing. Because of this fire it was possible to 
 lay out the city anew on a more liberal plan. Broad 
 avenues took the places of the narrow streets, and 
 finally Judge Woodward's cobweb plan was put into 
 effect, a veritable snare for the feet of the unwary 
 stranger. 
 
 Form of Government. — The first form of territorial 
 government was outlined in the Ordinance. It con- 
 sisted of a governor, a secretary who performed the 
 duties of the governor in the latter' s absence, and, lastly, 
 three judges who constituted the judicial department. 
 All were appointed by the president. The legislative 
 department was made up of the governor and judges. 
 
 1 For a picture of the life of the French farmers of early Michigan, see 
 Cooley's " Michigan," p. 233 fl.; McLaughlin's " Lewis Cass," Chap. I.; 
 Hubbard's "Memorials of a Half Century," p. 117. 
 
THE WAR OF i8i2. 27 
 
 The government, therefore, did not spring from the 
 people of the territory, but was given them by the 
 United States government. 
 
 Governor HulPs Administration. — The first governor 
 of th^ territory was William Hull (1805-18 13). His 
 administration was not a successful one in all respects. 
 There was a great deal of quarreling between the gov- 
 ernor and one or two of the judges. Moreover, from 
 about 1807 on, there was some uneasiness caused by 
 the restlessness of the Indians, who had never* felt any 
 friendliness toward the Americans. They were still 
 influenced by the presents and blandishments of the 
 British. As our country and England were evidently 
 drifting into war, the Indians became more openly 
 hostile. In case of a war the situation at Detroit was 
 very perilous. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 THE WAR OF 1812. 
 
 Tecumseh. — A noted chieftain, fit to rank by the side 
 of Pontiac for ability and generalship, had for some 
 time been preparing a great confederacy of tribes to 
 resist the encroachments of the Americans. The 
 Indians were defeated in the battle of Tippecanoe 
 (181 1) and Tecumseh's hopes seemed shattered; but 
 when war broke out the next year between England 
 and the United States, he was ready to join the English 
 with a large force. 
 
28 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 The Surrender of Detroit. — Detroit was separated 
 from the settlements in Ohio by about two hundred 
 miles of uninhabited forests. The British had a fort 
 on the Canadian side of the Detroit River. As war was 
 imminent, Governor Hull was given command of a force 
 in Ohio, and he marched to the protection of Detroit. 
 Before he reached his destination war had been declared 
 against Great Britain (June, 1812). Hull almost imme- 
 diately crossed the river, and for a time seemed to be 
 in a condition to hold western Canada with his troops. 
 But he soon lost heart in the enterprise and crossed back 
 to Detroit. The British fort at Maiden had an advanta- 
 geous position, and its garrison was strengthened by 
 troops from Lower Canada under the command of Isaac 
 Brock. This general acted with great vigor and bold- 
 ness. On the sixteenth of August he caused his army 
 to be transported to the American side of the river. He 
 then marched upon Detroit. Hull surrendered the place 
 without striking a blow or firing a gun in its defence. 
 
 Criticism of HulPs Action. — Hull's conduct has been 
 severely criticised. Many persons at the time charged 
 him with treason. A court-martial which met at Albany 
 found him guilty of cowardice and unofficer-like conduct. 
 He was sentenced to be shot, but the president pardoned 
 him. Few who have studied the situation now think 
 that he was guilty of treason, and some even think his 
 action was justifiable. It seems reasonable, however, to 
 believe that he was overcome by a sense of responsibil- 
 ity and by dread of the vengeance of the Indians. He 
 certainly did not show true courage and manly bearing. 
 
 Detroit Taken. — An army from Kentucky, which 
 came in the winter of 181 3 to recapture Detroit, was 
 
THE WAR OF i8i2. 29 
 
 massacred at the river Raisin by the Indians. On 
 September 10, Commodore Perry won his famous victory 
 in the battle of Lake Erie. This gave the control of the 
 western lakes to the Americans. The British, who 
 had held Detroit since Hull's surrender, retreated into 
 Canada, but were overtaken by the army of General 
 Harrison and defeated at the battle of the Thames. 
 Michigan was once more in the hands of the Americans. 
 
 Troubles from the Indians. — Although Michigan was 
 no longer under the control of the British, there were 
 still many perils to be encountered. The Indians were 
 a continual menace to the settlements and for some time 
 Detroit was almost in a state of siege. Many of the 
 people, afraid to stay upon their farms, crowded into 
 the town. It was a difficult matter to bring order out of 
 the panic and to restore confidence. General Lewis Cass 
 had been left by General Harrison in charge of the place, 
 and he was soon (18 13) made civil governor of Michi- 
 gan. He succeeded finally in defeating and overawing 
 the Indians, but at the close of the war the territory of 
 Michigan was in a most distressed and pitiful condition. 
 
 Results of the War. — The people of the outlying 
 settlements had been impoverished by the pillage and 
 destruction. Many were reduced to want and almost to 
 starvation. All the horrors of border warfare had been 
 visited upon the unfortunate province. Aid was re- 
 ceived from the general government, but only gradually 
 did an air of prosperity take the place of the prevailing 
 desolation. 
 
30 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 DEVELOPMENT OF THE TERRITORY: ADMITTANCE 
 
 TO THE UNION. 
 
 Development. — From this time on, however, the in- 
 dustrial development of the territory was continuous. 
 The listless, happy-go-lucky French farmers, who tilled 
 their small farms in contentment, knew nothing of scien- 
 tific tillage. Their implements were crude and heavy. 
 Their happiness seemed to crush out rivalry or ambi- 
 tion. As the Americans came into the territory, they 
 brought their thrifty New England habits. Their well- 
 made modern tools began to displace the mediaeval tools 
 of the Frenchmen, who long, however, clung to their 
 simple methods of life. American enterprise slowly 
 made headway in changing the province into a prosper- 
 ous, vigorous state. 
 
 The French Farmers. — Even fifteen years after the 
 war, Detroit and its vicinity were strongly French. Be- 
 low and above the town for miles the river was lined 
 with farms, each having its own water frontage and 
 stretching back in a long, narrow ribbon of land. Big 
 apple trees and giant pear trees crowded the slender 
 farms. Old-fashioned houses, with steep roofs and 
 dormer-windows, gave a quaint and curious aspect. The 
 Frenchman remained contentedly on his little home- 
 stead, looking with some amazement upon the pushing 
 
DEVELOPMENT OE THE TERRITORY. 3 1 
 
 Yankee trader or the farmer who made his way into the 
 forest to hew out a clearing and build a home. 
 
 Changes in Government. — In 18 19, Michigan was 
 given the privilege of sending a delegate to Congress. 
 Until 1823 the legislative power was vested in the gov- 
 ernor and judges. In that year Congress passed a law 
 transferring this power to the governor and a council of 
 nine. The members of the council were selected by 
 the president and confirmed by the senate out of 
 eighteen elected by the people of the territory. Two 
 years later the number in the council was increased to 
 thirteen, and in 1827 the people were allowed to choose 
 all its members without restriction. The judicial system 
 of the territory also was altered from time to time to 
 meet the growing needs of the people. General Cass 
 remained governor until the middle of 1831. 
 
 The Work of Governor Cass. — The second governor 
 of Michigan did a great work in building up the terri- 
 tory. He studied the character of the Indians and was 
 wonderfully successful in controlling them and in hold- 
 ing their confidence. He entered into nearly a score of 
 treaties with them and secured, for our government, title 
 to a very large portion of the northwest. He explored 
 the territory and endeavored to make its attractions 
 known to the people of the east. Moreover, he was 
 desirous of introducing local self-government, and he 
 encouraged the people to participate in the political 
 affairs of the territory. During his administration a 
 number of counties were formed and preparation was 
 thus made for the later political organization of the 
 state. *' Permanent American settlement may be said 
 to have begun with him ; and it was a great and lasting 
 
32 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 boon to Michigan when it was given a governor at once 
 so able, so patriotic, so attentive to his duties, and so 
 worthy in his pubUc and private life of respect and 
 esteem."^ By the end of his administration Michigan 
 was forging rapidly ahead. 
 
 Growth of the State. — In 1818 the first steamboat, 
 '' Walk-in-the-Water," appeared at Detroit. By the 
 opening of the Erie Canal (1825) an easy means of com- 
 munication was given with the east, and the territory 
 was rapidly peopled, largely by hardy New Englanders 
 and New York people. Especially between 1830 and 
 1838 was Michigan settled by people from the eastern 
 states. Those were the years when all over the coun- 
 try there was great interest in the development of 
 the new west. The character of the immigration into 
 Michigan during these years permanently influenced 
 the development of the state and shaped its political 
 institutions. 
 
 Admittance of the State. — By the Ordinance of 1787 
 a territory with sixty thousand inhabitants had the right 
 to be admitted as a state into the Union. Michigan^ 
 (1835) began earnestly to demand that privilege. A 
 boundary controversy with Ohio now arose. Michigan 
 claimed that the line dividing her territory from that of 
 Ohio was one drawn direct from the southern end of 
 Lake Michigan until it intersected Lake Erie. Such 
 was the division of the northwest contemplated by the 
 Ordinance. Ohio claimed, however, that Congress had, 
 upon her admission to the XJnion, recognized a boun- 
 dary farther to the north, including the mouth of the 
 
 1 Cooley's " Michigan," p. 204. 
 
 2 A census taken in 1834 showed over eighty-five thousand people. 
 
ADMITTANCE TO THE UNION. 33 
 
 Maumee and. the town of Toledo. At one time there 
 seemed danger of war between the two states. Each 
 ordered out its militia to protect its interests. A com- 
 promise was, however, suggested by Congress and ac- 
 cepted by the people of Michigan. The state was to 
 be admitted to the Union with limits which included the 
 northern peninsula. In exchange for the addition of 
 this large portion of territory, all claim was to be surren- 
 dered to the Toledo strip. The people after some hesi- 
 tation accepted the terms and Michigan was admitted 
 to the Union January 26, 1837. 
 
 The Constitution. — The constitution of the new state 
 was a simple one. It began with a clear statement of 
 fundamental rights, declaring that all political power was 
 inherent in the people. It established the right of trial 
 by jury and guaranteed the recognition of the great 
 principles of liberty. Three departments of govern- 
 ment were created — executive, legislative, and judicial. 
 The governor was given great power in comparison 
 with that granted by some of the earlier constitutions. 
 With the advice and consent of the senate he could 
 appoint the judges of the supreme court and other im- 
 portant state officers. The state treasurer was elected 
 by a joint vote of the two houses of the legislature. 
 Provision was made for schools and education on a 
 broad and generous basis. 
 
 Elements in the Life of the State. — Reference has 
 already been made to the great number of French in 
 Michigan and also to the fact that, in its later years as a 
 territory, the immigrants were largely from New York 
 and New England. No other state in the Union per- 
 haps has been so largely populated from these sections. 
 
34 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 The New Englanders naturally brought with them their 
 regard for local self-government. They had been accus- 
 tomed to regulate their own local affairs in the town 
 meetings, and therefore town government came into 
 existence in Michigan as a matter of course. These pri- 
 mary assemblies of the people have been of great value 
 as nurseries of liberty and schools for political training 
 and political thought. Jefferson said that towns had 
 "proved themselves the wisest invention ever devised 
 by the wit of man for the perfect exercise of self-govern- 
 ment and for its preservation." At the outset, then, and 
 even before the constitution was adopted, the people in 
 the little settlements throughout the state began to man- 
 age the business of their localities and did not wait to 
 be directed by the state government. 
 
 5^=®=ic 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 HISTORY SINCE ADMITTANCE TO THE UNION: 
 ANALYSIS OF THE CONSTITUTION. 
 
 Financial Conditions. — In order to understand the 
 history of Michigan and appreciate its development, 
 we ought to see its condition and know the trials that 
 beset it soon after its admittance to the Union. Be- 
 tween 1830 and 1837 the people of the whole Union 
 seemed bewitched with a longing to invest in the wild 
 lands belonging to the national governmicnt. At the 
 same time there was the great zeal throughout all the 
 west for internal improvements — for canals and rail- 
 
H/STORV S/iVCE ADMITTANCE. . 35 
 
 roads. The people had a vision of prosperity, and with 
 reckless enthusiasm entered upon vast schemes of im- 
 provement, as if in a moment the wilderness was to be 
 transformed into the habitations of man. Reckless- 
 ness and extravagance brought upon the states an im- 
 mense load of debt. None suffered from this more 
 than Michigan. The panic came in 1837. The peo- 
 ple realized that they had been building air castles, but 
 discovered that the debt incurred was a dire actuality. 
 The state struggled along under this burden and only 
 slowly raised itself to prosperity. The lessons of these 
 reckless investments were well learned. The first con- 
 stitution made it obligatory on the legislature to en- 
 courage internal improvements. When it was found 
 necessary to revise the constitution (1850) the legislature 
 was forbidden to give money for such purposes. 
 
 Michigan and Slavery. — Michigan, as a portion of 
 the old northwest, was never cursed by slavery.^ The 
 people, therefore, soon found their way to the right 
 side when the inevitable conflict between freedom and 
 slavery came on. For a short time after the passing of 
 the Compromise of 1850, the north seemed satisfied 
 that the great question was settled. But there was a 
 feeling of uneasiness; and when the Missouri Compro- 
 mise was repealed (1854), and the Southerner was 
 allowed to carry his human chattels into all the national 
 territory beyond the Mississippi, the north was awak- 
 
 1 In the early French days there were a few Indians, and perhaps a few 
 negroes, held as slaves. Later, in 1830, a census disclosed the fact that 
 there were thirty-two slaves in the territory. This was merely accidental 
 or exceptional, however, and when Michigan came into the Union there 
 was probably not a bondman in the state. 
 
36 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 ened to the danger. Michigan led the way by the forma- 
 tion of the RepubHcan party at Jackson, July 6, 1854. 
 The main tenet of the party was opposition to the spread 
 of slavery. During the war of the Rebellion, Michigan 
 was strongly loyal. Over ninety thousand soldiers were 
 furnished to the Union army, and of these over four- 
 teen thousand gave up their lives for their country. 
 
 The Capital. — The first constitution declared that the 
 seat of government should be at Detroit, or at such 
 other place or places as might be prescribed by law, 
 until the year 1847, when the legislature should fix upon 
 a permanent location. When that time came, there was 
 much discussion and difficulty in reaching an agreement. 
 Finally, in accord with a suggestion that the geographi- 
 cal center of the state be selected without reference to 
 importance of towns then existing, Lansing was chosen 
 as the permanent capital. 
 
 Constitutional Conventions. — A convention for revis- 
 ing the original state constitution met at Lansing in 
 
 1850. A constitution which differed from the old one 
 in a number of particulars was agreed upon. Being 
 ratified by the people, it went into effect January i, 
 
 185 1. With various alterations and additions by amend- 
 ment, it has remained the fundamental law of the state 
 until the present. A third convention was held in 1867, 
 but the people did not accept the result of its labors. 
 In 1873 a constitutional commission met and made 
 sundry proposals for amendment and revision, but the 
 people rejected these recommendations. There was 
 seemingly a feeling that a commission, appointed by 
 the governor at the direction of the legislature, ought 
 not to attempt to make any radical revision of the con- 
 
HISTORY SINCE ADMITTANCE. 37 
 
 stitution ; that such work belonged to representatives 
 directly chosen for that purpose by the voters. 
 
 Amendments. — Amendments to the constitution have 
 been made at various times, but they have not materi- 
 ally altered the frame of the government or added to 
 the duties of its officials. The original constitution 
 fixed the salary to be received by the state officers. 
 The sums mentioned were so low that some changes 
 have been made necessary. In 1870 the constitution 
 was so altered that negroes were given equal privileges 
 with white persons. By an amendment adopted in 
 1876 there was stricken from the constitution a clause 
 prohibiting the legislature from authorizing the grant of 
 license for the sale of liquor. The other amendments 
 need not be given here in detail. 
 
 Nature of State Constitution. — ''A State Constitu- 
 tion," says Mr. Bryce, *'is really nothing but a law 
 made directly by the people voting at the polls upon 
 a draft submitted to them. . . . Hence the enactment 
 of a constitution is an exercise of direct popular 
 sovereignty to which we find few parallels in Modern 
 Europe."^ There has been an evident tendency in 
 our history to extend the scope of state constitutions. 
 Instead of including the mere general outline of gov- 
 ernment, many constitutions enter into various details 
 that might properly be subjects of legislation by the 
 governments established under the constitution. This 
 tendency has undoubtedly come from a feeling that the 
 people are more to be trusted than any of their agents. 
 
 The constitution of Michigan is conservative and 
 moderate; but the one adopted in 1850 is just twice as 
 
 1 "American Commonwealth," Vol. I., Am. Ed., p. 421. 
 
38 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OE MICHIGAN. 
 
 long as the first constitution of the state. In some par- 
 ticulars, it entered somewhat needlessly into the field of 
 ordinary legislation. When Michigan was admitted the 
 state was on the frontier. It was poor. Its inhabitants 
 were thrifty farmers who, by dint of toil and industry, 
 were beginning to have comfortable homes. They 
 believed in economical government and simplicity. The 
 constitution of 1850 declared what salaries should be 
 received by certain state officials. The governor, for 
 instance, was to receive only one thousand dollars ; cir- 
 cuit judges were to receive fifteen hundred. The whole 
 scale established was low even for that time. Since the 
 Rebellion the conditions of life have materially altered, 
 yet only perseverance secured amendments to the con- 
 stitution increasing the salaries of these officers. Money 
 is a changeable thing in its purchasing power, and it 
 seems undesirable that salaries should be permanently 
 fixed by constitutional enactments. Nothing can be 
 more economical than the securing of the best possible 
 judges; but it is hard to get lawyers, that are well 
 equipped in their profession, to accept judicial positions 
 which bring them in less than their ordinary practice. 
 And yet. these simple and economical standards, estab- 
 lished thus early, undoubtedly had certain beneficial 
 effects in keeping '' alive ideas of economy and frugality 
 in official circles." ^ These facts illustrate what has 
 been said above as to the tendency to legislate in the 
 constitution. Such legislation is democratic rather than 
 representative, and, while not entirely wise, is an encour- 
 aging proof of the confidence of the people in them- 
 selves and faith in their own honesty and political sense. 
 
 1 Cooley's " Michigan," p. 303. 
 
ANALYSIS OF THE CONSTITUTION: 39 
 
 Analysis of the Constitution. — The constitution of 
 Michigan, not including its amendments, is divided into 
 twenty articles. These may be roughly grouped as 
 follows : {a) The definition of the boundaries of the 
 state. iU) The frame of government ; giving the name, 
 duties, and powers of the different officers and depart- 
 ments of government, {c) Sundry provisions concern- 
 ing elections, the organization of counties and townships, 
 education, militia, etc. {d) An article entitled miscella- 
 neous provisions, which includes many restrictions upon 
 legislative activity, which are in the nature of guarantees 
 of civil liberty. Other guarantees of this kind are 
 found in other clauses. There is no separate article 
 which might be called a bill of rights, such as we find 
 in many state constitutions. To these twenty articles 
 must be added the schedule. This is of a temporary 
 nature. It marks out the method of submitting the 
 constitution to the people for their adoption or rejection, 
 and the manner of putting it into operation if adopted. 
 
 Division of the Powers. — At the time the constitu- 
 tion of the United States was adopted, it was considered 
 an axiom in political science that liberty was best pre- 
 served by the division and separation of the powers of 
 government. Following the example of the nation, 
 therefore, the various states have carefully separated 
 the government into three departments, each with its 
 appropriate powers. It is a fundamental proposition 
 in the Michigan constitution that '' no person belonging 
 to one department shall exercise the powers properly 
 belonging to another, except in the cases expressly 
 provided." The departments are the legislative, execu- 
 tive, and judicial. 
 
40 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 General Provisions. — The legislative power is vested 
 in a senate and house of representatives. The mem- 
 bers are elected every two years on the first Tuesday 
 after the first Monday in November. They meet in 
 Lansing on the first Wednesday in January following 
 their election. The governor may convene them on 
 extraordinary occasions. Each member is entitled to a 
 compensation of three dollars per day and mileage of 
 ten cents per mile. Members from the upper peninsula 
 may be paid two dollars per day in addition. Each 
 house has the right of determining the rules of its pro- 
 cedure and the election and qualifications of its mem- 
 bers. A bill may originate in either house. 
 
 The Senate. — The senate consists of thirty-two 
 members. The state is divided into senatorial districts 
 in the first session after each census taken by the 
 United States, and also after each state census.^ Each 
 district elects one senator. The senate sits as a court 
 of impeachment to determine the guilt or innocence of 
 officers accused of corrupt conduct in office or of crime 
 and misdemeanors. Whenever a vacancy occurs in any 
 of the state offices, the governor fills by appointment 
 
 ^ The national census is taken at the end of every decade and the state 
 census four years later. The last state census was taken in 1884. 
 
THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 4 1 
 
 with advice and consent of the senate, if in session. 
 With these exceptions the duties of the senate are 
 merely legislative. 
 
 House of Representatives. — In the lower house, as 
 the house of representatives is frequently called, there 
 are at present one hundred members. The constitution 
 simply states that the members shall consist of not less 
 than sixty-four nor more than one hundred. Represent- 
 atives, like senators, are chosen in separate districts, 
 outlined at the same time as the senatorial districts. If 
 a county is entitled to more than one representative, 
 the board of supervisors has the authority to make 
 the division. The house has the sole power of impeach- 
 ing civil officers. The trial is conducted before the 
 senate by a committee of three prosecutors, selected by 
 the representatives from their number. 
 
 Third Branch of the Legislature. — The constitution 
 declares that legislative power is vested in a senate and 
 a house of representatives. Yet evidently there is a 
 third branch of the legislature with great power in the 
 making of laws, though a power not equal to that of 
 the other two branches.^ It is the governor's duty to 
 sign a bill or to return it with his objections to the 
 house in which it originated. The refusal to sign and 
 the return of the bill constitute a qualified veto, and it 
 requires a two-thirds vote of each house to establish a 
 law without the signature of the governor. The gov- 
 ernor has no power of initiation, — i.e. he cannot begin 
 law-making, — but he plays a very considerable part 
 before the work is finished. If the governor does not 
 
 1 The constitution of the United States even says that all legislative 
 power is vested in Congress, and yet gives the president a share. 
 
42 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 sign or veto a bill within ten days from the time it 
 reaches him, it becomes a law without his signature, 
 unless the legislature by adjournment prevents its 
 return. Any bill coming to the governor in the last 
 five days of the session may be signed by him five days 
 after adjournment. 
 
 Restrictions. — There are various restrictions upon 
 the actions of the legislature, most of them intended to 
 secure methodical and careful procedure and freedom 
 from tyrannical action. Some of them are as follows : 
 No new bill may be introduced after the first fifty days 
 of the session, and no law may embrace more than one 
 object, which must be expressed in the title. All laws 
 are to be published. No private bill can be audited or 
 allowed. All private corporations must be formed 
 under general laws and not by special statute. This 
 last provision is to guard against corruption and bribery, 
 and is now commonly found in state constitutions. No 
 money may be appropriated from the treasury for 
 religious purposes, nor may the legislature enlarge or 
 diminish the civil or political privileges of any one on 
 account of his religious belief. No lottery may be 
 established. Liberty of speech and of the press must 
 not be abridged by legislation. 
 
 There are included in various articles in the constitu- 
 tion a number of affirmative declarations, which actually 
 restrain or direct legislation. The following are per- 
 haps the most important examples. The constitution 
 establishes the amount of property which shall be con- 
 sidered exempt from sale on execution or other final 
 process from a court. Personal property to the amount 
 of five hundred dollars is thus exempted. Moreover, a 
 
THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 43 
 
 debtor is in like manner protected in possession of forty 
 acres, or a house and lot in a city or village, not exceed- 
 ing fifteen hundred dollars in value. The stockholders 
 of all corporations are individually liable for all labor 
 performed for the corporation. The legislature is 
 directed, in providing for the incorporation of cities and 
 villages, to restrict their power of taxation and of bor- 
 rowing money. 
 
 Officers of the House. — The house selects a speaker from its 
 own members. He presides over the house. The other officers 
 are clerk, journal clerk, corresponding clerk, engrossing and enroll- 
 ing clerk, assistant engrossing and enrolling clerk, sergeant-at-arms. 
 The last officer has two assistants. 
 
 Of the Senate. — The lieutenant-governor is presiding officer of 
 the senate. The other officers are similar to those of the house, 
 though not identical. The clerk of the senate is known as the 
 secretary, and he has one assistant. 
 
 Committees. — It has been said that Americans are 
 not governed by a Congress or a Parliament, but by 
 committees.^ Certainly the committee system is of 
 great importance in our method of government in 
 
 1 Some of the important committees are ways and means, municipal 
 corporations, judiciary, railroads, private corporations, insurance, manu- 
 factures, agriculture. There are also several committees each of which has 
 for its special duty to look into the needs of some state institution and pre- 
 pare and report a bill appropriating the needful funds. Thus, in both the 
 senate and the house, there are committees on the Agricultural College, 
 on the University, on the Normal School, etc. The house committees, as 
 a rule, are composed of five persons. Some, such as the committee on 
 ways and means, have seven. In the senate there is no committee on 
 ways and means, but a committee on finance and appropriations. The 
 usual number of a senate committee is three, though some have five. 
 
 Note. — The teacher interested in the committee system and its mean- 
 ing will find interesting discussions in Bryce's " American Commonwealth," 
 Vol. I., p. 150 fl., and in Woodrow Wilson's " Congressional Government." 
 
44 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 nation and state. It has been adopted in every state 
 in the Union. The Michigan house had in the session 
 of 1891-92 fifty-three committees whose duties covered 
 nearly every conceivable subject of legislation. In the 
 senate there were fifty. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 Relations between Departments. — The constitution of 
 Michigan is liberal in its grant of executive power. 
 Even the first constitution gave the governor nearly as 
 much power as the present. In the development of 
 state constitutions throughout the country in the past 
 hundred years, there has been a tendency to increase 
 the authority of the executive, and to limit the legisla- 
 tive department by restraints which are in the nature of 
 special legislation by the people. Neither of the two 
 constitutions of Michigan has been extreme in these 
 respects. The first, however, when compared with the 
 older states, shows that Michigan had felt that tendency 
 and responded to it. The one adopted in 1850 accentu- 
 ates this characteristic slightly. 
 
 The Governor. — At the same time that members of 
 the legislature are elected, the people also choose a 
 governor and lieutenant-governor, who hold office for 
 two years. It is the duty of the governor to see that 
 the laws are faithfully executed, to convene the legis- 
 lature on extraordinary occasions, and to give by mes- 
 
THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 45 
 
 sage information of the condition of the state. He is 
 commander-in-chief of the mihtia and may call out the 
 forces to suppress insurrections or repel invasions. He 
 has power to grant reprieves and pardons after con- 
 viction, for all offences except treason and cases of 
 impeachment. To assist him in performing this last 
 duty the legislature has established an advisory board, 
 whose business it is to inquire into the cases of all con- 
 victs who may petition for pardon and report to the 
 governor the results of its investigation. He has also 
 the authority to issue writs of election to fill vacancies 
 in the legislature. It is his duty to examine into the 
 condition of public offices, and he has authority to 
 remove all derelict state officers, except legislative and 
 judicial. He can, in case of such removal, appoint a 
 successor to the person so removed for the remainder 
 of the unexpired term. Pursuant to the suggestions of 
 the constitution, the legislature has laid down methods 
 for displacing township and county officers, and has 
 bestowed upon the governor the duty to make investi- 
 gation in cases of alleged misconduct and to remove 
 the person so accused if charges are substantiated by 
 proper evidence. 
 
 The governor has the prerogative of appointing a 
 number of officers to positions on boards and commis- 
 sions that have been created by the legislature for the 
 administration of state affairs. These will be mentioned 
 in a succeeding chapter. 
 
 The Lieutenant-Governor. — The duty of the lieuten- 
 ant-governor is to preside over the senate. He has the 
 deciding vote in case of a tie. He performs the duties 
 of governor if the latter is removed from office, dies, or 
 
46 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 for any reason is unable to act. Should the lieutenant- 
 governor, during such a vacancy in the office of gov- 
 ernor, be unable to act, the president /r^ tempoj^e of the 
 senate succeeds to the duties and emoluments of the 
 office. 
 
 Restraints upon Appointment. — The power of appointment 
 granted to the executive is ahnost unhmited, but there are two 
 restraints that deserve mention. "No person elected a member of 
 legislature shall receive any appointment within this state, or to the 
 Senate of the United States from the governor, the governor and 
 Senate, from the legislature, or any other state authority, during 
 the term for which he is elected." ^ Moreover, "no person elected 
 governor or lieutenant-governor shall be eligible to any office or 
 appointment from the legislature.*' These restrictions are intended 
 to remove the temptation of using public office for private profit. 
 
 Other Executive Officers. — The people also elect at 
 the general autumn elections a secretary of state, a 
 superintendent of public instruction, state treasurer, a 
 commissioner of the land office, an auditor-general and 
 an attorney-general. The term of office is two years. 
 Their duties are prescribed by law. They do not form 
 a cabinet for the governor, but he is authorized to 
 require of them information in writing touching the 
 affairs of their respective offices. The ordinary duties 
 which these officers are called upon to perform are sug- 
 gested by the titles given. 
 
 1 It is now held that this restraint, as far as it apphes to United States 
 senator, is void. It is not within the competence of a state to define the 
 qualifications for such an officer. 
 
JUDICIAL POWER. 47 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 JUDICIAL POWER. 
 
 The Courts. — '^The judicial power is vested in one 
 supreme court, in circuit courts, in probate courts, and 
 in justices of the peace. Municipal courts of civil and 
 criminal jurisdiction may be established by the legis- 
 lature in cities." (Constitution, Art. VI., Sec. I.) 
 
 The Supreme Court. — The supreme court now con- 
 sists of four associates and one chief justice. One new 
 member is elected by the people every two years and 
 the term of office is ten years. The judge whose term 
 soonest expires acts as chief justice. For a number of 
 years there were only four judges in the court ; but an 
 even number may be evenly divided and a tie may then 
 result. In 1887, therefore, the legislature fixed the 
 number at five. At the same time the term of office 
 was lengthened from eight to ten years, The jurisdic- 
 tion of the court is almost entirely confined to hearing 
 appeals from circuit courts. It has a general superin- 
 tendence over all inferior courts and has authority to 
 establish general rules governing the practice in the 
 various courts of the state. 
 
 Circuit Courts. — The state is divided by the legis- 
 lature into judicial circuits, in each of which the people 
 elect one circuit judge, who holds office for six years. 
 The circuit court, over which the judge presides, has 
 
48 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 original jurisdiction^ in all civil suits where the amoui L 
 involved is more than one hundred dollars. 
 
 It also has a general jurisdiction over criminal offences. 
 The legislature has authority to bestow exclusive or con- 
 current jurisdiction upon other tribunals and has done 
 so in a few instances. The clerk of each county is the 
 clerk of the circuit court for that county. It is his duty 
 to keep a careful record of the work and judgments of 
 the court. 
 
 Court of Chancery. — The circuit courts are also courts 
 of chancery. Each circuit judge is a judge in chancery. 
 In this capacity it is his duty to dispense justice and 
 equity according to the rules and principles of equity 
 which have grown up by the side of the common law 
 and are supposed to give relief where the law, because 
 of its universality or rigidity, could give no relief to a 
 petitioner. The constitution deprecates the distinction 
 between law and equity. But Michigan is one of the 
 few states that still cling to the distinction. 
 
 Justice Courts. — There are four justices of the peace 
 in each township. The term of office is four years. 
 Cities have under the general law four justices. Each 
 one of these officers holds a court which has exclusive 
 jurisdiction of civil suits involving one hundred dollars 
 or less and has jurisdiction, concurrent with circuit 
 court, of cases where the debt or damages do not exceed 
 three hundred dollars. Some classes of cases, however, 
 as, for instance, those involving the title to land, cannot 
 be instituted before the justices. In these courts, are 
 
 1 A court is said to have original jurisdiction when suits can be begun in 
 it. It has appellate jurisdiction when a suit begun in another court is 
 brought befoi^e it for review. 
 
JUDICIAL POWER. 49 
 
 tried persons charged with inferior criminal offences. 
 The justice also acts as an examining magistrate to 
 determine whether or not a person accused of crime 
 shall be held for trial before the circuit court. 
 
 Probate Courts. — The constitution provides for the 
 establishment of these courts, but the duty of outlining 
 their duties and. general procedure lies with the legis- 
 lature. There is one probate judge for each county. He 
 is elected by the people and holds office for four years. 
 The chief work of the court consists in looking after 
 the settlement of the estates of deceased persons. If 
 any one dies leaving a will which disposes of his prop- 
 erty, such will must be presented to the probate court 
 by any one who may have it in his custody. There the 
 will is ''probated," tested and proved, and either ad- 
 mitted to record as genuine or not accepted as the 
 actual will of the deceased person. The court has gen- 
 eral supervisory charge of the execution of the will. It 
 is also its duty to appoint administrators to settle the 
 estates of persons dying without wills, or, as the legal 
 phrase is, intestate. Legal guardians of children are 
 appointed by probate courts. Sanction is given by them 
 to change of name either by adults, or by children in 
 cases of adoption. In cases of dissatisfaction persons 
 may appeal from the probate to the circuit court. 
 
 Municipal Courts. — The constitution gives authority 
 to the legislature to establish municipal courts. In sev- 
 eral instances this power has been exercised. For 
 example, Grand Rapids has at present a superior court, 
 a tribunal established to reheve the circuit court of a 
 portion of its work. Its jurisdiction is of the same 
 general nature as the circuit court, though not identical 
 
50 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 with it. Detroit has, under its charter, a court known 
 as the recorder's court. It has criminal jurisdiction only. 
 Other Officers. — The decisions of the supreme court 
 are required to be in writing. They are collected and 
 published under the direction of an officer appointed by 
 the court and known as the reporter. There is also a 
 clerk appointed by the judges. The legislature has, in 
 accordance with authority granted by the constitution, 
 provided for the election of a circuit court commissioner 
 in each county. The more populous counties are au- 
 thorized to elect two. The powers of these officers are 
 similar to those which a judge possesses when out of 
 court One of their chief duties is the taking of testi- 
 mony to be used in suits, and they have various func- 
 tions of a semi-judicial character. 
 
 Restraints. — Article VI . of the constitution contains a number 
 of express prohibitions upon the conduct of the courts. These are 
 for the purpose of protecting citizens in their rights to civil liberty. 
 For example, the right of trial by jury is guaranteed. 
 
 OKfi^OO—— 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 ADMINISTRATIVE MACHINERY: STATE MILITIA. 
 
 Penal and Charitable Institutions. — The state has 
 taken upon itself the care of the poor and afflicted. 
 Provision has also been made for the imprisonment 
 of convicted criminals. Capital punishment is not in- 
 flicted in the state, and the punishment for all crimes is 
 confinement. The several prisons and other institutions 
 
ADMINISTRATIVE MACHINERY. 5 1 
 
 were for some time under the general management of 
 separate boards of inspectors or examiners. But in 
 1 89 1 some of these separate boards were abolished and 
 their duties given to central boards of control. The 
 following Hst will show the state institutions for penal 
 or charitable purposes and how they are managed : — 
 
 (i) State public school for dependent and neglected children. 
 
 (2) Michigan school for the blind. 
 
 (3) Michigan institution for educating the deaf and dumb. 
 
 These are under the management and control of the 
 central board of control of state institutions, composed 
 of four members. 
 
 (i) The state prison. 
 
 (2) The state house of correction and reformatory. 
 
 (3) The asylum for dangerous and criminal insane. 
 
 (4) The state house of correction and branch of state prison in 
 
 upper peninsula. 
 
 (5) The reform school. 
 
 (6) The industrial home for girls. 
 
 These are under the control of a state board of in- 
 spectors composed of four members. 
 
 The soldiers' home is governed by a board of seven, 
 composed of the governor and six members appointed 
 by him. 
 
 (i) Michigan asylum for the insane. 
 
 (2) Eastern Michigan asylum for the insane. 
 
 (3) Northern Michigan asylum for the insane. 
 
 These are under the general direction of separate 
 boards, each composed of six members appointed by 
 the governor. 
 
52 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 Governmental Boards. — There are several state boards 
 whose duties are suggested by their titles. The follow- 
 ing list includes only the more important ones : ^ — 
 
 (rt) Some of the ex officio state boards. • 
 
 (i) Board of state auditors. 
 (2) Board of control of state swamp lands. 
 • (3) State board of equalization. 
 (4) Bureau of statistics of labor. 
 
 (6) Some of the miscellaneous state boards. 
 
 (i) State board of corrections and charities. 
 
 (2) State board of health. 
 
 (3) Board of control of railroads. 
 
 Officers Appointed by the Governor. — The legislature 
 has established at various times sundry offices, the 
 duties of which are performed or are under the direction 
 of a single person. Space will not allow an enumera- 
 tion of all such officials nor an account of their duties. 
 Their work is largely of an executive character. They 
 take care that the state laws covering matters of which 
 they have general oversight are obeyed. Thus, among 
 these officials we find (i) the commissioner of insurance, 
 (2) commissioner of railroads, (3) commissioner of labor, 
 (4) state inspector of illuminating oils, (5) game and 
 fish warden. 
 
 It is thus apparent that the legislature has adopted 
 an elaborate system of boards and commissions, and in 
 this manner the great purposes of government are 
 obtained. We must remember that it is state law which 
 ordinarily regulates and controls our actions, not national 
 law ; for the competence of the national government in 
 
 ^ I have left for a later chapter an account of the government of state 
 educational institutions. 
 
3 TATE MILITIA. 53 
 
 legislation is comparatively limited. The commissioners 
 and boards given above partly represent the great field 
 of political action occupied by the state. 
 
 " An American may, through a long life, never be reminded of the 
 Federal Government, except when he votes at presidential elections, 
 lodges a complaint against the post-office, and opens his trunks for a 
 custom-house officer on the pier at New York when he returns from 
 a tour in Europe. His direct taxes are paid to officials acting under 
 State laws. The State, or a local authority constituted by State 
 statutes, registers his birth, appoints his guardian, pays for his 
 schooling, gives him a share in the estate of his father deceased, 
 . . . marries him, divorces him, entertains civil actions against him, 
 declares him a bankrupt, hangs him for murder. The police that 
 guards his house, the local boards which look after the poor, control 
 highways, impose water rates, manage schools — all these derive 
 their legal powers from the State alone.''' — Bryce's "American 
 Commonwealth," Vol. I., Am. Ed., pp. 411, 412. 
 
 State Military Organization. — The constitution of 
 the state declares that the militia shall be composed of 
 all able-bodied male citizens between the ages of eigh- 
 teen and forty-five years, except such as are exempted 
 by the laws of the United States or of the state. The 
 governor is commander-in-chief of the military and 
 naval forces. 
 
 The legislature has passed laws directing how the 
 militia is to be governed in case it is called into service. 
 Moreover, there is an active militia known as the Michi- 
 gan State Troops. It is composed of volunteers between 
 the ages above mentioned. These troops are thoroughly 
 organized and officered. They are under the general 
 direction of a state military board, a board of three 
 persons appointed by the governor. It is the duty of 
 this board to inspect, and report to the governor on all 
 
54 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OE MICHIGAN. 
 
 estimates of expense, to audit accounts, and to issue 
 articles and regulations, which, when approved by the 
 commander-in-chief, are binding upon the troops. It 
 has various other duties of an executive and advisory 
 character. 
 
 Military Officers. — As organized at present the leading officers 
 of the military department are : — 
 
 (i) Commander-in-chief. 
 
 (2) Adjutant-general. 
 
 (3) Assistant adjutant-general. 
 
 (4) Inspector-general. 
 
 (5) Quartermaster-general. 
 
 (6) Assistant quartermaster-general. 
 
 (7) Paymaster-general. 
 
 There are, in addition, 
 
 (i) Military secretary. 
 
 (2) Judge advocate. 
 
 (3) Four aids. 
 
 These officers compose the staif of the commander-in-chief. All 
 of these officers are the governor"'s appointees. It is the duty of the 
 adjutant-general to be a sort of secretary of war. He distributes 
 all orders from the commander-in-chief and lays before his chief all 
 communications which he may receive from the state board or other 
 military officers. The inspector-general has charge and supervision 
 of all military stores. 
 
 The Troops. — As now organized, there are four regi- 
 ments composing one brigade. The total number of 
 troops enrolled, including officers, is 2442.^ The legis- 
 lature in 1 89 1 passed a law allowing the enrollment of 
 forty companies. When that law was passed, there 
 were thirty-six companies, the full quota then legal. 
 
 1 1891. "Michigan Manual." 1891, p. 507. 
 
COUNTY GOVERNMENT. 55 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 COUNTY GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Organization. — Counties in Michigan date back to 
 the early territorial period. The county of Wayne, as 
 a division of the Northwest Territory, included more 
 than what is now the state of Michigan. During Gov- 
 ernor Cass's administration, counties were as rapidly 
 formed as there seemed to be need of them. New 
 counties are now occasionally made by the division of 
 existing ones by an act of the legislature. A county 
 exists largely for judicial and administrative purposes, 
 not for legislative. There are now (1892) eighty-five 
 counties in this state. The Michigan system of local 
 government is similar to that of Massachusetts, inas- 
 much as the township exists and the town meetings 
 also, and that in these small democracies local affairs 
 are managed and local officers elected. But the Michi- 
 gan system differs somewhat from that which prevails 
 in Massachusetts. The county here is of more impor- 
 tance ; in other words, there has been some tendency to 
 adopt the New York system. The governing board of 
 the county is composed of supervisors, one elected from 
 each township. This body is of New York origin. In 
 this state in early days the counties were governed as 
 in Massachusetts, by commissioners, but the present 
 plan has long prevailed. 
 
56 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 Board of Supervisors. — On the first Monday in April 
 of each year, each township elects a supervisor. As a 
 rule each ward in a city is considered a township for 
 such purposes. Collectively the supervisors have gen- 
 eral control and care of the property of the county ; 
 they provide for the raising of money for defraying the 
 current expenses of the county ; they may *' cause to be 
 erected the necessary buildings for poor-houses, jails, 
 clerk's offices, and other county buildings." The board 
 has authority to lay out new roads, to make rules and 
 regulations about the bridges and dams, and can per- 
 mit or prohibit the making of such obstructions over 
 navigable waters. The amount of salary which a 
 county officer is to receive is fixed by the board unless 
 it is otherwise determined by law. Provision for the 
 poor of the county is one of the duties of the supervi- 
 sors ; they may build poor-houses and buy the land for 
 poor-farms, and have the general oversight of the indi- 
 gent who are unable to earn a livelihood. 
 
 County Officers. — All of the county officers, except 
 the judge of probate, are elected for two years. They 
 are chosen at the general election in the fall, and take 
 office on the first day of January succeeding the election. 
 The judge of probate holds office for four years. The 
 treasurer and sheriff^ are not entitled to hold office for 
 more than four, in any period of six, years. All the offi- 
 cers of the county, except the prosecuting attorney, are 
 required to give bond faithfully to perform their duties. 
 
 Treasurer. — It is the duty of the treasurer to receive 
 and keep safely all the money belonging to the county. 
 
 1 This disqualification, as far as it affects the sheriff, is a constitutional 
 provision. 
 
COUNTY GOVERNMENT. 57 
 
 To him the supervisor of each township or the city 
 treasurer pays over the amount of tax levied and 
 collected in each township for county purposes. He 
 keeps on hand also an account of delinquent taxes. He 
 pays out money upon the order of the board of super- 
 visors. 
 
 Prosecuting Attorney. — This officer's chief work con- 
 sists in representing the interests of the state or the 
 people in criminal prosecutions. Under our system of 
 procedure, a person accused of crime is arrested upon a 
 warrant issued by a justice of the peace. Before such 
 justice there is a preliminary examination for the pur- 
 pose of determining whether or not the person accused 
 shall be held for trial before the circuit court. The 
 public prosecutor may be present at this examination 
 and endeavor to discover the probable guilt or inno- 
 cence of the prisoner. If it be decided that there is 
 good ground for trial, he appears in behalf of the peo- 
 ple in the trial court. It is not his duty to attempt to 
 convict every person accused of crime ; he is expected 
 impartially to examine the case and to look after the 
 interests of the public, which include as much the 
 release of the innocent as the punishment of the guilty. 
 The prosecuting attorney is the legal adviser of county 
 officers in civil suits, and represents the county or the 
 state in any court in his county. 
 
 County Clerk. — The duties of this officer are mani- 
 fold, and only a general outline can be given here. He 
 is clerk of the board of supervisors and custodian of 
 their records. He is clerk of the circuit court, and is 
 the keeper of the county seal. With him are filed the 
 pleadings and papers in suits at law and equity, articles 
 
5S CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 of incorporation and reports of associations, statements 
 of marriage, of births, and of deaths. He has many 
 other duties of a clerical nature. 
 
 The Sheriff. — The executive officer of the higher 
 court of the county is the sheriff. He serves the proc- 
 ess of the court and carries its writs into execution. 
 The county jail and prisons therein are under his cus- 
 tody. During sessions of the circuit court, he or his 
 deputies are expected to be present. He has charge of 
 the jury, the members of which he summons to attend 
 in accordance with the forms of law. He is responsible 
 for the peace and good order of the county. 
 
 The Coroner. — This official, like the sheriff, we have 
 borrowed from old English law.^ It is his duty to hold 
 inquests with the purpose of discovering the cause of 
 death of persons supposed to have '' come to their 
 death suddenly or by violence." When the sheriff is an 
 interested person in any cause, the coroner may serve 
 writs and execute process of the courts. Each organ- 
 ized county in the state has two coroners. 
 
 Register of Deeds. — The copying or recording of 
 deeds by a public officer is for the purpose of giving 
 proper notice of the transfer of real estate. It is not 
 obligatory on any one to have his deeds recorded ; but 
 one does so as a matter of precaution, inasmuch as 
 
 1 In England the sheriff was an important officer long before the Nor- 
 man Conquest (1066). He was the reeve or chief officer of the shire or 
 county representing the king. To-day in England he is the chief digni- 
 tary of the county, but performs all executive and police duties through 
 subordinates, attending himself to honorary or formal matters. The cor- 
 oner is also an official long known to English law, although more modern 
 than the sheriff. He was the Crown officer or " Crowner." His present 
 duties are similar to those of his American namesake. 
 
TOWNSHIP GOVERNMENT. 59 
 
 any deed not recorded is void as against a subsequent 
 purchaser in good faith for a valuable consideration. It 
 is the duty of the register carefully to copy, in the books 
 which he keeps for the purpose, all deeds, mortgages, 
 or other instruments which in accordance with the law 
 may be left with him for the purpose. 
 
 County Surveyors. — Each county has also a public 
 surveyor. He ''shall make and execute such surveys 
 within his county, as may be required of him by order 
 of any court, or by application of any person therefor." 
 He is expected to record all surveys of a permanent 
 nature which he makes, and his certificate of any survey 
 is ''presumptive evidence of the facts therein contained." 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 TOWNSHIP GOVERNMENT. 
 
 The System. — Reference has already been made to 
 the importance of local government and to the fact 
 that Michigan naturally adopted the township system. 
 There are differences between the methods of this state 
 and that of Massachusetts ; but there is on the whole 
 great similarity. Some of the functions of the eastern 
 town are here performed by the county and we have also 
 the village system, which will be explained hereafter. 
 
 The Town Meeting.^ — Michigan was the first state 
 west of New York to introduce the town meeting. As 
 
 1 For a picturesque description of the town meeting, see Hosmer's " Sam- 
 uel Adams" (American Statesmen), Chap. XXIII. 
 
6o CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 a matter of fact, the township in our history has pre- 
 ceded the county in organization. The settlers in the 
 backwoods met for the purpose of acting in the open- 
 ing of roads, the building of bridges, or the support of 
 a school. The town meeting to-day is purely democratic, 
 and is a reproduction or direct descendant of the old 
 folk-mote wherein our ancestors in oldest England or 
 the forests of Germany passed their simple laws. The 
 annual meeting is held on the first Monday in April. 
 Here the various officers of the township are elected 
 and such other business as seems needful done. Taxes 
 are determined upon ; reports of the officers who have 
 had charge of public money are heard ; it is decided 
 how much money shall be given to the town library or 
 the school ; or perhaps a law is passed determining the 
 time and manner in which animals may be restrained 
 from running at large. The people of the township 
 have power, in the words of the statute, to make any 
 order or by-law *' for directing and managing the pru- 
 dential affairs of the township as they shall judge most 
 conducive to the peace, welfare, and good order thereof." 
 The supervisor is the moderator of the meeting, and 
 while elections are being held he constitutes, with the 
 justice of the peace ^ and the town clerk, the board of 
 inspectors. 
 
 Township Board. — The supervisor, the two justices 
 of peace whose terms of office soonest expire, and the 
 township clerk form the board, and this body has gen- 
 eral directive authority in the affairs of the township, 
 even to the extent of voting money for the ordinary 
 
 ^The justice must be one who is not holding the office of clerk and 
 supervisoi", and the one whose term of office soonest expires. 
 
TOWNSHIP GOVERNMENT. 6 1 
 
 running expenses, if the town meeting has neglected or 
 refused to make necessary provision. The board acts 
 as an auditor of the accounts of the town treasurer and 
 other persons in charge of money. It constitutes a 
 board of health and has therefore the right to pass 
 regulations for the prevention of disease or the removal 
 of nuisances. The power to remove certain officers is 
 also within its competence. 
 
 The Supervisor. — Some of the duties of this officer 
 have been given in the two preceding paragraphs. In 
 addition it may be mentioned that the supervisor is the 
 representative of the township on the county board. 
 Moreover, as assessor he prepares a careful statement 
 of the taxable property of his township and its values, 
 and this roll forms the basis for the levying of taxes. 
 He is the agent of the township in the transaction of 
 all legal business, and has other administrative duties 
 of varying importance. 
 
 The Clerk. ■ — The records, books, and papers of the 
 township are kept by the clerk. He transcribes and 
 preserves the minutes of the town meeting. With him 
 are filed mortgages on personal property, and he is 
 required to make an alphabetical list of the parties to 
 such instruments. He acts as clerk of the board of 
 school inspectors and at general elections of the town- 
 ship. He has other duties clerical in character. 
 
 The Treasurer. — The money to be expended in the 
 township for local purposes, whether raised by taxation 
 or by licenses, is kept by the treasurer and paid out by 
 him only on the order of the township or its author- 
 ized officers. He is expected to make an annual report 
 of receipts and disbursements, To him the state and 
 
62 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 county taxes are paid, and he makes return of them to 
 the proper officers. For this purpose he is the custo- 
 dian of the equalized tax roll. He is elected annually, 
 but cannot hold office for more than two years in suc- 
 cession. Like the clerk and most of the other township 
 officers, he is expected to give bonds for the faithful 
 performance of his official duties. 
 
 Constables. — At each annual meeting the people 
 elect one or more constables, not exceeding four. The 
 constable takes much the same place in the township 
 that the sheriff does in the county. He is the ministe- 
 rial officer of the justices of the peace, and has au- 
 thority to serve writs and warrants or notices lawfully 
 directed to him. 
 
 Justice of the Peace. — The constitution provides for 
 the election of not more than four justices in each 
 township. Their judicial duties have been described 
 above. They hold office for four years, but are so 
 elected that only one retires in any one year. A justice 
 has authority to administer oaths on general matters, to 
 take acknowledgments of deeds, to take testimony to be 
 used in suits in other states, to join persons in marriage, 
 and to perform other duties not of a judicial nature. 
 
 Other Officers. — The old New England town meet- 
 ing sometimes elected so many officers that one might 
 well wonder whether there was any person without an 
 office. The western town has not yielded to this offi- 
 cialism. By statute the township meeting in this state 
 is authorized to elect one commissioner of highways, 
 one overseer for each road district, one drain commis- 
 sioner, and as many pound-masters as seem desirable. 
 The first of these officers has general charge of the 
 
CITIES AND VILLAGES. 63 
 
 highways. The overseer sees that roads are kept in 
 repair and the required labor is performed. The 
 pound-master has charge of impounded animals. The 
 overseers of highways are the fence viewers for the 
 township. The drain commissioner is expected to see 
 that needful, natural, and artificial drains are kept open 
 and in good condition. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 CITIES AND VILLAGES. 
 
 Reasons for Organization. — Town government is al- 
 most a pure democracy. In a small community this is 
 an admirable method of government, but where the 
 population is dense, it becomes desirable to elect repre- 
 sentatives to make the needful laws and ordinances for 
 establishing and preserving good order. It is necessary 
 to have a more complicated government for the per- 
 formance of the many duties that necessarily come with 
 the increase of the population. To accomplish these 
 ends, villages and cities are organized by law. They 
 are public corporations organized under a charter 
 granted either generally or specially by the state legis- 
 lature. 
 
 The village is a stepping-stone between the township 
 and the city. Incorporation may take place in Michi- 
 gan either under a general law which lays down the 
 form of administration or by special act. Three hun- 
 dred persons or more occupying a township not more 
 
64 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 than one square mile may be incorporated as a village 
 under the general law. The government is secondary 
 rather than primary, the right of legislation and gen- 
 eral control being vested in a president and a board of 
 six trustees elected by the people. In accord with the 
 general law, a clerk, treasurer, assessor, and constable 
 are elected annually, and the board of trustees or the 
 village council, as it may be termed, has authority to 
 appoint other needful officers. The subject over which 
 the incorporated village has control cannot be given 
 here in detail. Regulations for safety, health, and order 
 which are not needed in a township are within the 
 scope of the village which is organized for more easy 
 and effective action. The functions of the city, which 
 are given below, will suggest the power of the village, 
 if we remember that the latter has less power. 
 
 Cities. — There is a general statute under which 
 cities may be incorporated, but the great majority are 
 organized by special enactment. The details of gov- 
 ernment are therefore varied, and to determine the 
 exact power of city officers or of the whole municipality, 
 an examination must be made of the charter ^ of incor- 
 poration and its amendments. Many of the charters 
 are very long and complicated, and most of them are 
 being continually altered. This alteration is due to the 
 fact that the cities are growing, and new needs are con- 
 stantly arising ; and it is due also to the fact that there 
 has not yet been evolved in the course of our political 
 experience a form of city government that is generally 
 
 1 The charter of a city or village is the legislative act which constitutes 
 it as a body corporate. It grants and defines powers, and is the funda- 
 mental law of the municipality. 
 
CITIES A.VD VILLAGES. 65 
 
 agreed to be wise and faultless. The permanence of 
 our national constitution arises from the fact that we 
 have prospered under it. On the other hand, the 
 abuses which are possible under our city administration 
 tempt the people to try sundry alterations in forms and 
 methods, and to make minute regulations. The charter 
 granted Detroit in 1883 covers some sixty-seven pages 
 of closely printed matter, and is many times as long as 
 the Constitution of the United States. Such a state- 
 ment will show the impossibility of giving here a close 
 analysis of city government. Moreover, although a 
 general law has been enacted for the organization and 
 government of municipalities, the statute is not binding 
 upon the legislature itself, and the statements in the 
 paragraphs following must be taken as only generally 
 and not universaHy true. For example, the general law 
 provides that villages of three thousand inhabitants may 
 be organized as cities, yet there are in the state several 
 cities with a population scarcely more than one thousand. 
 
 The people are allowed to decide for themselves 
 whether or not they shall be organized into a city. A 
 popular vote is taken to determine. Some large villages 
 prefer to retain the more simple forms of government 
 and administration. 
 
 Wards. — For more effective local government and 
 for participation in county affairs, cities are divided into 
 wards. In each ward a supervisor, two aldermen, and 
 a constable are elected. The alderman is the repre- 
 sentative of the people of the ward in the common 
 council of the city. The duties of the constable and 
 supervisor are similar to those devolving upon such 
 officers in the township. 
 
66 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 In the succeeding paragraphs the duties are given of only those 
 officers which are customarily found under city government. There 
 are many variations. For example, some cities have no collector. 
 In others the assessments for the whole city are the work of one 
 officer, the assessor. In Detroit the city attorney is elected by 
 popular vote ; in most cities he is appointed by the mayor and rati- 
 fied by the council. In Detroit also there are three assessors 
 appointed and not elected. In fact, the variations are so numerous 
 that it seems best to give only a very general outline from the 
 general law, with occasional suggestions of variations. A teacher 
 in a city school can obtain a copy of the city charter which will 
 presumably be in the library. Beyond all, it must be remembered, 
 that students have the opportunity to see the government of the 
 city i7i action, and not simply a description of it on paper. Study a 
 city or township government as you would a machine of any kind 
 in motion. Endeavor to discover in what respect your city govern- 
 ment differs from the description here given. 
 
 Mayor. — This officer is common to every city. He 
 is elected by popular vote and holds office for a year.^ 
 He is the chief executive officer, and has general super- 
 vision of the several departments of the city government. 
 In most cities he presides over the common council. 
 He sometimes has the power of veto. As a rule he has 
 an extensive power of appointment, and, where this is 
 the case, responsibility for good administration seems to 
 rest peculiarly with him. 
 
 As to the powers of the mayor, it may be said there are two dif- 
 fering tendencies. The one is to increase his power, and with it his 
 responsibility, in order that the people may know to whom to charge 
 failure or corruption in administration. The other tendency is more 
 evident ; executive authority is divided among a number of boards, 
 the members of which are the appointees of the mayor. 
 
 1 The mayor of Detroit holds for two years. 
 
CITIES AND VILLAGES. 6/ 
 
 Clerk. — It is the duty of the clerk to keep the 
 records and the official papers of the city. He is clerk 
 of the council and he records its proceedings. He has 
 a general supervision over all officers charged with the 
 expenditure of money, and over the property and assets 
 of the city. In some instances there is a comptroller 
 elected. This officer then acts as a general accountant, 
 keeping an account with the treasurer, and acting as a 
 sort of financial secretary for the city. The clerk is 
 often called the recorder. 
 
 Treasurer. — This officer has the usual duties. He 
 keeps the money and pays it out upon the proper order. 
 He makes monthly reports to the clerk or comptroller 
 and annually a detailed account to the council. Like 
 the mayor and clerk he is elected for one year. 
 
 The Common Council. — This body is the legislative 
 authority of the city. It is composed of the mayor and 
 aldermen. It is entitled to pass ordinances for the 
 maintenance of good order within the city. Keeping 
 within the limits of the charter its legislative power is 
 plenary. It can best be suggested by giving in part, at 
 least, the subjects over which a city is expected to 
 exercise control. These are : — 
 
 {a) To preserve peace and good order. {U) To arrest 
 and punish vagrants and disorderly persons, {c) To 
 prevent nuisances and to remove any cause of annoyance 
 or disease. (<^) To issue licenses and to regulate games 
 and exhibitions, (e) To license and regulate saloons. 
 (/) To license and regulate auctions and peddling. 
 (^) To license and regulate liackmen and draymen, 
 {Jt) To provide for inspections of various kinds, {i) To 
 lay out and keep in repair streets and alleys, and to have 
 
6S CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 control over sidewalks. (7) To establish and support a 
 fire department, etc. 
 
 Other Officers. — The marshal is the chief police offi- 
 cer and is expected to preserve good order. In many 
 cities he is appointed ; under the general law he is 
 elected. There are also the following officers: (i) city 
 attorney; (2) surveyors; (3) street commissioner; 
 (4) justices of the peace ; (5) often a city collector 
 and generally a school inspector ; (6) chief of the fire 
 department. 
 
 I repeat here the advice given earlier that the pupils in villages 
 and cities be urged to discover by their own investigation the system 
 of government under which they are living. Nearly every township 
 and city library may be expected to have Mr. Bryce's great work on 
 the American Commonwealth. Even young pupils can understand, 
 by help of the teacher's explanations, his lucid chapters on munici- 
 pal government and its evils. See Chaps. L., LI., LII. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 EDUCATION. 
 
 School System. — The people of Michigan have long 
 been justly proud of their educational system, and have 
 supported schools and colleges with generous interest. 
 It is a right use of words to speak of our educational 
 *' system." For, from the lowest primary school through 
 the University there is organic connection and methodi- 
 cal arrangement. Everything has been built up on the 
 theory that, for the welfare of the state, its citizens 
 
EDUCATION, 69 
 
 should be educated and that any and all means of cul- 
 ture should be freely opened to rich and poor alike. 
 Everywhere education is free. The larger institutions, 
 wherewith the state has completed the educational 
 structure, offer instruction on almost every useful sub- 
 ject. The Normal School prepares teachers for the 
 lower schools. The Agricultural College teaches the 
 principles of scientific farming. The University gives 
 facilities for the study of all collegiate and professional 
 subjects except theology. 
 
 The principle of popular support for education was 
 entered upon, somewhat feebly it is true, in our terri- 
 torial period ; but as the years went on the state com- 
 mitted itself more and more heartily to the idea, until 
 now Michigan has demonstrated that a democracy, a 
 popular state, will liberally support institutions of public 
 instruction from the lowest to the highest. 
 
 District Organization. — The constitution provides for 
 free primary schools. Each township is, by statute, 
 authorized to elect two school inspectors and with the 
 township-clerk they become the board of school inspec- 
 tors. Their duties are supervisory. They divide the 
 township into districts, which take care of and provide 
 for their own schools. The annual meeting of each 
 district is on the first Monday in September, and then 
 taxes are voted for the support of schools and a board 
 elected for general management. The board consists 
 of a moderator, who is the chairman ; the director, who 
 is the secretary; and the assessor, who is the treasurer 
 of the district. The more populous school districts have 
 a graded school with a board of six trustees, who elect 
 their own officers. High schools are established by the 
 
70 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 vote of the district. Each city usually forms one dis- 
 trict, but the method of organization may differ in 
 detail from that just described. 
 
 State Organization. — The constitution provides for a 
 superintendent of public instruction, who has general 
 supervision of educational matters in the state. A state 
 board of education is also established by the constitution. 
 The superintendent is a member ex officio and secretary 
 of the board, which, including him, consists of four 
 members. He is elected at the general election and 
 holds office for two years, whereas the members of thie 
 board hold office for six years, one member being elected 
 every two years at the same election. 
 
 School Examiners. — The method of inspecting schools 
 and of examining applicants for teachers' certificates 
 has been frequently changed. At present the follow- 
 ing plan is in operation. The board of supervisors of 
 the county elect a county commissioner of schools, also 
 two examiners. The term of office is two years. These 
 three persons form a board of examiners, and are au- 
 thorized to grant certificates licensing as teachers those 
 persons whom they may find qualified. Examinations 
 of applicants for these certificates are held twice a year. 
 The questions are prepared by the state superintendent 
 of public instruction. 
 
 It is the duty of the county commissioner (i) to keep 
 a record of all examinations ; (2) to visit each school in 
 the county at least once a year; (3) to counsel with 
 the teachers and school boards concerning courses of 
 study ; (4) to promote the improvement of the schools ; 
 (5) to act as assistant conductor of institutes, and to per- 
 form various other duties that may be required by law. 
 
EDUCATION. "Jl 
 
 Support of Schools. — The schools of the state are 
 supported to a great extent by direct taxes levied for 
 the purpose in each district. In addition each district 
 receives from the state what is known as primary school 
 money, which is used for the payment of teachers. 
 This money is the interest paid by the state on a fund 
 known as the primary school fund. This fund has 
 three sources, (i) When Michigan was admitted to the 
 Union, Congress gave to the state, for educational pur- 
 poses, section sixteen in each township. The money 
 received from the sale of these lands is held by the state 
 as a perpetual interest-bearing fund; (2) The state has 
 set aside for the same object one-half of the proceeds 
 from the sale of the swamp lands; (3) All specific state 
 taxes, except those received from the mining companies 
 of the upper peninsula, are applied first to the paying of 
 interest on the educational funds, and the surplus after 
 such payment forms part of the primary school fund. 
 The interest on these moneys is divided among the 
 school districts of the state in proportion to their school 
 populations, or the number of persons between five and 
 twenty years of age. 
 
 The University. — The ancestor of our present Uni- 
 versity was established in 1817; but not until Michigan 
 was admitted to the Union was there much done that 
 can be called university work. The United States fur- 
 nished the means of assisting higher education as well 
 as secondary. The state now pays to the University 
 interest on a fund known as the University fund. This 
 has come from the sale of land in two townships given 
 by the national government for that purpose. 
 
 The University is governed by a board of eight 
 
72 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 regents, of whom two are elected by the people of the 
 state every two years for a period of eight years. The 
 constitution also provides for a president, who is elected 
 by the regents. The institution now comprises the 
 departments of (i) literature, science, and the arts; 
 (2) a department of medicine ; (3) a department of law; 
 (4) a school of pharmacy; (5) a homoeopathic medical 
 college ; and (6) a college of dental surgery. 
 
 The school system of Michigan owes much to the 
 first superintendent of public instruction, John D. Pierce. 
 It was his aim to establish a complete system of public 
 education, the head of which should be the University. 
 The broad and generous scope of this institution is due 
 in no small measure to Mr. Pierce, and to its first presi- 
 dent, Henry P. Tappan. 
 
 Other Institutions. — The Agricultural College was 
 established in 1855. It is controlled by the state board 
 of agriculture, consisting of the governor, the president 
 of the college, and six members appointed by the gov- 
 ernor for a term of six years. Its sources of income are 
 somewhat similar to those of the University — interest 
 on a fund held by the state, and appropriations from 
 the state. The national government contributes an 
 annual sum. 
 
 The Normal School was established in 1852, and is in 
 charge of the state board of education. It furnishes 
 instruction in the art of teaching, and is supported partly 
 by direct appropriations and partly by interest on the 
 Normal School endowment fund. 
 
 Mining School. — In 1885 the legislature passed an 
 act providing for a mining school in the upper peninsula. 
 In September of the following year the doors were 
 
EDUCATION'. 73 
 
 opened for students. It is controlled by a board of six 
 members and supported by state appropriations. 
 
 Colleges. — There are a number of colleges in the 
 state authorized to give degrees. They are under the 
 care of different religious denominations. Albion Col- 
 lege, established in 1861 ; Adrian College, established 
 1859; Alma College, established 1887; Battle Creek 
 College, established 1874; Detroit College, established 
 1877; Hillsdale College, established 1844; Hope Col- 
 lege, established 1866; Kalamazoo College, established 
 1855 ; Olivet College, established 1859. 
 
 Libraries. — Public libraries are as needful for general 
 education as are schools. Michigan has appreciated 
 the desirability of having free books. By her constitu- 
 tion it is obligatory on the legislature to provide for a 
 public library in each township. Fines collected for 
 the breaking of law are appropriated for the support of 
 such libraries. 
 
 Free School Books. — It is now provided by law ^ that 
 a school district may, if it so decides, purchase text- 
 books in the more elementary and popular branches of 
 study. These books are to be the property of the dis- 
 trict and loaned to the pupils for their use. Some of 
 the cities in the state have adopted the plan and thus 
 have taken another step in an endeavor to make educa- 
 tion accessible to every one. Even where this system 
 has not been adopted the state directs that school 
 boards shall furnish books to students whose parents 
 cannot provide them. 
 
 Compulsory Education. — The state some years ago 
 entered upon the policy of requiring attendance at 
 
 1 Act of June 15, 1889. 
 
74 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 school of all children between the ages of eight and 
 fourteen. It is directed that all such children go to 
 school for at least four months in each year and at least 
 six weeks consecutively. All persons are forbidden to 
 employ any child, who, in the previous twelve months, 
 has not had the four months' schooling. 
 
 The law has not been entirely successful, for it has 
 not been enforced with vigor. The safety of republican 
 government depends on the intelligence of the governed, 
 and the state cannot in self-defence allow the children 
 to grow up uneducated and without the proper knowl- 
 edge for intelligent citizenship. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 ELECTION LAWS. 
 
 Suffrage. — The grant of suffrage in Michigan is very 
 liberal. It is the intention of the constitution to estab- 
 lish manhood suffrage. Citizens of the United States 
 can acquire the privilege of voting in this state after a 
 residence within its borders of only three months pre- 
 ceding election. Foreigners are given the privilege of 
 voting, if they have resided in the state two years and 
 six months, provided that six months before the election 
 they declare their intention to become citizens. Women, 
 that have property subject to taxation, are entitled to 
 vote upon all questions at the school meeting of a dis- 
 trict, or, if they have no property, but are the parents 
 
ELECTION' LAWS. 75 
 
 or the legal guardians of children of school age, they 
 are entitled to vote on questions not involving the rais- 
 ing of money. 
 
 Registration. — In order to secure good order at elec- 
 tions and to confine the suffrage to those who are quali- 
 fied to exercise it, the law provides for a registration of 
 voters. Before each general election a board of regis- 
 tration sits at a designated place for the purpose of tak- 
 ing the names of the qualified voters of the township, 
 ward, or precinct. Only persons whose names stand 
 upon this registration list are allowed to vote at the elec- 
 tion. However, if any one, because of illness or absence 
 from the township or city, was unable to register, he 
 will be permitted to cast his ballot on taking an oath to 
 such fact. This is known as swearing in one's vote. 
 
 Political Machinery. — The system of party and polit- 
 ical machinery in Michigan is much the same as that of 
 other states. The caucus of the party meets in the 
 townships or wards to elect delegates to a county con- 
 vention or to put in nomination for election the candi- 
 dates for its own local offices. The county convention 
 elects delegates to conventions of the state or the con- 
 gressional, senatorial, representative, or judicial district, 
 or it puts in nomination candidates for the county 
 officers. There has been as yet no great effort to regu- 
 late such party machinery by state law. A statute has 
 been passed for the purpose of securing better order 
 and more regularity in caucuses, but, with this excep- 
 tion, party politics and tactics are free from restraint. 
 
 Elections. — There are two general elections in Mich- 
 igan. One is on the first Monday after the first Tues- 
 day in November. At that time county and most state 
 
y6 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 officers are elected, and the people participate in the 
 election of national officers. The other election is held 
 on the first Monday in April.^ This is the usual day for 
 the choice of township and city officers ; and some state 
 officers are also then elected, the regents of the Uni- 
 versity and the judges of the supreme court, as well as 
 the circuit judges. 
 
 Provision has been made by law to prevent bribery 
 and intimidation at elections. It is an offence punish- 
 able by a fine or imprisonment to attempt by any men- 
 ace or corrupt means to influence an elector in casting 
 his ballot. It is unlawful (i) To provide entertainment 
 previous to or during an election. (2) To furnish 
 money to be expended in procuring the attendance of 
 voters at the polls. (3) To contribute money for any 
 purpose intended to promote the election of any person 
 or persons, except id) for the expenses of printing ; 
 ib) for the circulation of hand bills, etc. ; {c) for the 
 conveying of sick or infirm persons to the polls. 
 
 The Booth System. — It is a curious fact that though 
 volumes have been written, first and last, on the neces- 
 sity of a secret ballot, only within a few years has there 
 been any effort at making voting actually secret. Each 
 voter should be allowed freely to express his wishes at 
 the polls, or popular sovereignty is a mere shadow. This 
 can be secured only by providing means whereby a 
 person can prepare and deposit his ballot without 
 interference or molestation or scrutiny. The law of 
 this state now provides for small booths at the polling 
 places. These are placed behind a guard rail four feet 
 
 1 By the general law the supervisor and two aldermen of each ward con- 
 stitute the board of inspectors of election in a city, and in a village the 
 president and trustees or any three of them. 
 
ELECTION LAWS. 77 
 
 in height. A gate keeper chosen by the inspectors 
 allows persons to enter only for the purpose of voting. 
 The voter passes into the booth and prepares his ticket 
 as he desires, and immediately deposits it in the ballot- 
 box. This system is a guard against bribery, for the 
 reason that no one can tell how the ballot is prepared, 
 or, in other words, whether or not a contract to vote in 
 a particular way has been carried out. 
 
 The Ballot. — This state has now adopted with some 
 variations what is known as the Australian ballot. By 
 the system in vogue until the law of 1891 was passed, 
 each pa-rty provided its own tickets at its own expense. 
 On such a ticket were printed, of course, only the party 
 candidates. Abuses arising from the system were 
 numerous, and it was at best a primitive method based 
 on false policy and principles. By the present law 
 tickets are prepared at public expense and each con- 
 tains the names of all candidates of all parties. 
 
 As will be seen by reference to the diagram on page 
 "j^, the candidates for office in each party are arranged 
 by themselves under appropriate vignettes. When a 
 voter comes before the election board he is given a 
 ticket, on the back of which, in one corner, are the ini- 
 tials of one of the inspectors. He must prepare this 
 ticket within the booth, and deposit it or give it back to 
 the inspector, inasmuch as no ballots are allowed outside 
 the guard rail. The diagram on page "j^ more fully 
 explains the method of voting. 
 
 Note. — It is perhaps needless to suggest to teachers that the method 
 of voting can be taught by the actual preparation of ballots and by actually 
 conducting an election. And at the same time pupils may be led to think 
 of the necessity of a pure ballot and of honesty in elections, free from the 
 devious methods of corrupt politics. 
 
78 
 
 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MICHIGAN. 
 
 
 
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 [Vignette.] 
 PROHIBITION. 
 
 □ CLINTON B. FISKE. 
 
 □ SAMUEL DICKEY. 
 
 □ JOHN P. ST. JOHN. 
 
 □ JOHN B. GOUGH. 
 
 □ DANIEL FRESHWATER. 
 
 [Vignette.] 
 REPUBLICAN. 
 
 □ JOHN C. FREMONT, 
 
 □ HANNIBAL HAMLIN. 
 
 □ ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 
 
 □ SCHUYLER COLFAX. 
 
 □ RICHARD ROE. 
 
 [Vignette.] 
 DEMOCRATIC. 
 
 □ THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 □ ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 □ SAMUEL J. TILDEN. 
 
 □ MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 □ TIMOTHY DOE. 
 
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