Elements of Civil Government Part 12

CHAPTER XI.

THE UNITED STATES.

INTRODUCTORY.--Each division of government which we have considered exists for only a part of the whole people. The government of one State has no authority over the people of other States; but the government of the United States, often called the national government or federal government, is for the good of the entire country, and its authority is over the whole people.

All these divisions of government--the family, the school, the towns.h.i.+p or civil district, the county, the State, and the United States--are dependent upon one another.

If family government were destroyed, society would be ruined and other governments would be worthless.

If there were no schools, the people would be so ignorant that free government would be impossible.

If the towns.h.i.+p or civil district were neglected, local government would be inefficient.

If the States were blotted out, the national government would a.s.sume all power, and the freedom of the people would be greatly abridged, and perhaps finally lost.

If the national government were dismembered, the States would be weak, helpless, at war with one another, and at the mercy of foreign nations.

The distribution of power among the several political organizations prevents any of them from a.s.suming too much authority, and thus tends to preserve the liberties of the people.

FORMATION.--The national government is based upon the Const.i.tution of the United States. It was formed by the union of the several States under the Const.i.tution, and its powers are set forth in that instrument. The thirteen original States ratified the Const.i.tution of the United States between December 7, 1787, and May 29, 1790, and thus organized the national government. It thus became, and has continued to be, the government of the whole people, "by the people and for the people."

FORM OF GOVERNMENT.

The national government, like the government of each State, is a republic; that is, the authority is exercised by the representatives of the people. As all power resides in the people, our government is called a democracy. As the people elect officers or representatives to act for them in the performance of public duties, it is called a representative democracy.

Our system of government is different from those of all other nations, because part of the political power is vested in the State, and part in the nation; that is, in the United States.

The national Const.i.tution enumerates the powers which may be exercised by the national government, and reserves all other powers "to the States respectively, or to the people." Because of this dual or double character of our system of government, John Quincy Adams called it "a complicated machine."

PURPOSES.--The purposes of the national government are clearly and forcibly set forth in the "preamble," or opening clause, of the Const.i.tution of the United States;

1. "To form a more perfect _union_;"

2. "To establish _justice_;"

3. "To insure domestic _tranquillity_;"

4. "To provide for the common _defense_;"

5. "To promote the general _welfare_;"

6. "To secure the blessings of _liberty_ to ourselves and our posterity."

Before the Revolutionary war, the American colonies were subject to Great Britain. By the Declaration of Independence these colonies became "free and independent States." During the period between the Declaration of Independence and the adoption of the national Const.i.tution, the union between the States was weak and unsatisfactory.

Instead of there being "domestic tranquillity," the States were engaged in constant quarrels. There was no power to provide for the "common defense" of the people against foreign enemies; each State must protect itself as best it could. No provision could be made for the "general welfare" by the pa.s.sage and enforcement of broad measures for the whole country. Under the Articles of Confederation, as was said at that time, the States might "declare everything, but do nothing." The adoption of the national Const.i.tution and the formation of the national government made the inhabitants of the States one people, and have since brought the United States to be "the first of the nations of the earth."

FUNCTIONS.--The functions of the national government are numerous and important. In adopting the national Const.i.tution, the States delegated or ceded to the United States those powers which are necessary to the strength and greatness of a nation.

The national government administers those public affairs which concern the whole people, such as the regulation of commerce, the granting of patents, and the coinage of money; and also those which pertain to the United States as a nation dealing with other nations, such as declaring war and making treaties of peace.

The subjects upon which the national Congress may enact laws, and consequently the subjects included in the functions of the national government, are enumerated in Section 8, Article I. of the Const.i.tution.

CITIZENS.

The people who reside in the United States are either citizens or aliens. The national Const.i.tution declares that "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside." Women and children are citizens, though not ent.i.tled to vote.

A citizen is a member of the body politic, bound to allegiance, and ent.i.tled to protection at home and abroad. He can renounce his allegiance--that is, lay down his citizens.h.i.+p--by becoming the subject of some other country. Wherever he goes, until he renounces his allegiance, he is a citizen of the United States, and is s.h.i.+elded from insult by the might and majesty of the whole nation. Citizens.h.i.+p is therefore valuable for its protection abroad, as well as for its rights and privileges at home.

NATURALIZATION.--Naturalized citizens are persons of foreign birth who have become citizens by naturalization, after a continuous residence of at least five years in the United States. A foreigner is naturalized by appearing in court, declaring his intention to become a citizen of the United States, and his purpose to renounce all allegiance to foreign governments. After two years more, he must appear in open court, renounce upon oath all foreign allegiance, and swear to support the Const.i.tution of the United States. If he bears any t.i.tle of n.o.bility, he must renounce it. Naturalized citizens have all the rights and privileges that belong to native-born citizens, except that no naturalized person can become President or Vice President of the United States.

RIGHTS.--The Const.i.tution of the United States does not contain a formal bill of rights, as do most of the State const.i.tutions, but it names the following as among the rights of citizens:

(1) "The citizens of each State shall be ent.i.tled to all privileges and immunities of citizens of the several States";

That is, a citizen who removes into another State shall enjoy all the rights and privileges that belong to its citizens.

(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." A demand for the delivery of a fugitive criminal is called a requisition.

(3) "No person held to service or labor in one State under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor; but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due."

This provision refers to the capture and return of fugitive slaves, and is rendered void by the abolition of slavery.

(4) "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."

This clause does not authorize the carrying of concealed weapons.

(5) "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."

(6) "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated; and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized."

(7) _a_. "No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia when in actual service, in time of war or public danger;

_b_. "Nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb, nor shall be compelled, in any criminal case, to be a witness against himself;

_c_. "Nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law;

_d_. "Nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation."

The first part of this clause secures a civil trial to every private citizen. The land and naval forces, and the militia when in actual service, are under military law, usually called martial law.

(8) "In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right

_a_. "To a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law;

_b_. "To be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation;