BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE 
 
 SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND 
 
 THE GIFT OF 
 
 HENRY W. SAGE 
 
 1891 
 
Cornell University Library 
 JK277 .R64 1917 
 
 Civics for coming Americans / 
 
 olin 
 
 3 1924 030 469 005 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tliis book is in 
 tlie Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924030469005 
 
CIVICS FOR 
 COMING AMERICANS 
 
 Peter Roberts, Ph. D. 
 
 Author of " Immigrant Races in North America,' 
 "English for Coming Americans," etc. 
 
 ASSOCIATION PRESS 
 
 New York: 347 Madison Avenue 
 1920 
 
 I. I. i! ill \r\ 
 
 1 IUU/\UY 
 
A 447 2.o(o^ 
 
 Copyright, 1917, by The International Committee 
 OF Young Men's Christian Associations 
 
 NVlOO 
 
 OliP^** 
 
PUBLISHER'S NOTE 
 
 This book is issued in connection with the other 
 material prepared by the author for use in teaching 
 EngHsh to foreigners. This includes a teacher's 
 manual and a preparatory course, comprising three 
 sets of ten lessons each, dealing with the everyday 
 interests of domestic, industrial, and commercial life, 
 teaching charts for the domestic series and conversa- 
 tion cards for the industrial and commercial ones, and 
 suggestions to teachers. There is also an intermediate 
 course, consisting of three readers, and an advanced 
 course, which through readings in history, govern- 
 ment, and geography, with, explanatory grammar les- 
 sons, aims to give the pupil a good working knowledge 
 of the English language. Useful supplementary ma- 
 terial is found in the author's "Immigrant Races in 
 North America," a study of the home environment 
 and historic background of the principal nations from 
 which our immigrants are coming, and "Songs for 
 Coming Americans," intended for use in classes of 
 foreign-speaking men, and selected with the idea of 
 enlarging the user's vocabulary, as well as of breaking 
 up the routine of the class hour. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 The purpose of this booklet is to put within reach 
 of the foreign-born having a fair command of the 
 EngHsh language such information as is required 
 to pass the examination for naturalization. Many 
 patriots, sympathizing with "Coming Americans," 
 would willingly give them a helping hand if they 
 knew how to do so intelligently. They neither know 
 what the applicant for naturalization needs nor are 
 they familiar with the laws regulating the process. 
 My effort is to give these men a guide, should they 
 be disposed to help a group of aliens preparing for 
 the examination in naturalization. 
 
 English-speaking immigrants find it difficult to 
 comprehend our form of government, but the diffi- 
 culties of the foreign-speaking are a hundred-fold 
 more. In the last three years 37,715 failed to pass 
 the examination for naturalization. Half a million 
 are now in training for citizenship, and of them 
 100,000 will not pass unless a sympathetic person 
 will give them the help they need. No fewer than 
 4,000,000 potential voters of foreign birth are among 
 us, and this army of aliens is enlarged each year. It 
 is good neither for them nor for us to have them 
 remain aliens. Industrial communities, where only 
 one third of the potential vote has a voice in the 
 affairs of the municipality, are not democratic. An 
 organized effort should be made in every commu- 
 
CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 nity where aliens live to give them a clear idea of 
 the advantages of citizenship. Mission stations, 
 settlement houses, branches of the Young Men's 
 Christian Association, political and social clubs, 
 evening schools, etc., are doing much in this respect, 
 but the need is far from being met. More schools to 
 prepare aliens for citizenship are needed. Every 
 potential foreign-born voter, anxious and morally 
 qualified to become a citizen of the United States, 
 ought to find it easy to get the help he needs with- 
 out money and without price. 
 
 This new edition of "Civics for Coming Ameri- 
 cans" has been enlarged to meet certain needs which 
 were not covered in the first edition. The greater in- 
 terest and activity shown this last year by both Fed- 
 eral and State educational agencies in the education 
 and naturalization of aliens is very gratifying. Let 
 private agencies, however, not withhold their hand, 
 for their services cannot be dispensed with. The 
 number of applicants for naturalization is larger 
 than ever, and the need for sympathetic helpers 
 more urgent. The command, "Go out into the high- 
 ways and hedges and constrain them to come in" 
 has a particular application to this work, and can 
 most appropriately be followed by private agencies. 
 
 New York City, 1917. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Chapter Page 
 
 I. Qualifications for Naturalization 9 
 
 II. Forms of Government 22 
 
 III. Rights Under the Constitution 32 
 
 IV. The Beginnings of Democracy 39 
 
 V. The City Government 45 
 
 VI. The Needs of a City 51 
 
 VII. Taxes 57 
 
 VIII. The Vote and the Voters 62 
 
 IX. The County Government 67 
 
 X. The State Government 72 
 
 XI. The National Government 79 
 
 XII. The Arm of Justice 88 
 
 XIII. The Public Peace 93 
 
 XIV. Political Parties 98 
 
 XV. Passports 103 
 
 XVI. History 107 
 
Chapter I. Qualifications for Naturalization 
 
 1. What is Naturalization? Naturalization is a 
 
 way laid down by the United States govern- 
 ment by which a citizen of another nation 
 may become a citizen of the United States. 
 
 _ The United States was the first to hold that a man has a 
 right to choose his citizenship. It has consistently followed 
 this doctrine by making it possible for all aliens of Aryan 
 and African origin to become naturalized in this country. 
 Most of the governments of Europe have not conceded this 
 right to their subjects, and on more than one occasion this 
 difference of opinion has been the cause of discussion and 
 conflict. 
 
 2. Who can be Naturalized? Immigrants of Aryan 
 
 or African blood residing in America 21 years 
 of age and over, may become citizens of the 
 United States by complying with the federal 
 and state regulations governing naturaliza- 
 tion. 
 
 All immigrants who are descendants of white parents or 
 those of African blood may be naturalized. This includes all 
 the races of North and South America, Europe, and many 
 of those living in Asia, such as Turks, Hebrews, Syrians, 
 Persians, and Armenians. Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, and 
 Hindoos cannot be naturalized. 
 
 3. What must the Man Be Who Applies for Nat- 
 
 uralization? He must be of good moral char- 
 acter, believing in organized government, 
 having only one wife, having lived for five 
 continuous years in the country, pledging 
 obedience to the laws of the country, and 
 being able to speak English and sign his own 
 name. 
 
10 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 No criminal or immoral person can become a citizen of the 
 United States. The door is also closed against men who do 
 not believe in organized government (anarchists), or men 
 who have more than one wife (polygamists), or men who do 
 not expect to make the United States their home. Five 
 continuous years' residence does not mean that a man cannot 
 in that time go back to his native country for a visit, but he 
 must not go back there to live. A man may also live in more 
 than one state during the five years, but he must be prepared 
 to prove this. He must have two witnesses who can testify 
 to one year's continuous residence in the state, and then he 
 must, through the clerk of the court, procure depositions of 
 two other witnesses who have known him the rest of the 
 time, in the state in which he previously lived. Courts of 
 Naturalization generally object to taking more than one such 
 deposition. He must know the English language before he 
 can secure his second paper. 
 
 4. What is the Process of Naturalization? The 
 
 alien must get two "papers" before he be- 
 comes a citizen of the United States. The 
 first is secured when he makes a declaration 
 of intention to become a citizen of the coun- 
 try; the second is secured when he passes an 
 examination in a court of record to prove that 
 he is quahfied to exercise the privileges of 
 citizenship. 
 
 The first paper costs one dollar. If more than this is 
 charged, the receiver is liable to fine or imprisonment or 
 both. No witnesses are needed and this paper may be taken 
 out as soon as the immigrant lands. The alien must give the 
 clerk his proper name. If he is known by any other name 
 let him give that also. If the alien has come in since June 
 29, 1906, he must take out his second paper before the end 
 of seven years from the date of taking out the first, else the 
 first paper will be null and void. The first paper must be 
 safely kept. At the expiration of two years, and not more 
 than seven years from date of first paper, the alien can 
 apply for his second paper. This will cost him four dollars, 
 which is paid to the federal government. The penalty for 
 overcharge is the same as in the former case. Two witnesses 
 who are citizens of the United States are needed. If the 
 witnesses are naturalized citizens, they had better take their 
 
QUALIFICATIONS FOR NATURALIZATION ii 
 
 naturalization papers with them, unless they are well known 
 to the Clerk of the Court. After the petition for the second 
 paper has been filed, the Clerk gives the petitioner a certificate 
 of fiHng. Not less than ninety days must elapse before the 
 applicant can be examined, during which time the govern- 
 ment investigates the statement made by the applicant. The 
 alien must have been in the country at least five years before 
 he can petition for the second paper. This last examination 
 is in open court, before the judge, and in the presence of the 
 representatives of the Bureau of Naturalization. 
 
 5. Have all Courts the Power to issue Naturaliza- 
 
 tion Papers? No. Only courts of record have 
 jurisdiction, in matters of naturalization. 
 Such courts may be state or federal courts. 
 
 STATE COURTS of record are such as have a clerk, a seal, 
 and powers in cases at law and equity. Hence, such courts 
 as police courts, courts of aldermen, or justices of the peace, 
 have no jurisdiction in naturalization. County courts and 
 superior state courts have jurisdiction. State courts are found 
 usually in towns that are county seats and in large cities. 
 
 All United States courts, called FEDERAL COURTS, 
 have jurisdiction in naturalization. United States courts sit 
 in large cities, and are generally located in Post Office build- 
 ings. 
 
 The record kept by these courts protects the naturalized. 
 If any question ever arises, the record will be taken, and it 
 will not be necessary to hunt up witnesses, who may have 
 moved or be buried. Power has been given some courts to 
 conduct night sessions. 
 
 6. Can the Alien Apply to any Court for his Papers? 
 
 No. He must apply to the state court in the 
 
 county in which he lives; or to the United 
 
 States court sitting in the judicial district in 
 
 which he lives. 
 
 The alien must apply for a blank form, (Facts for Declara- 
 tion of Intention) to the Clerk of the county court for 
 the county in which he lives, or to the Clerk of the United 
 States court for the district in which he lives. This form 
 may be filled in by himself or a friend, then taken to the 
 Clerk of the same court, with one dollar, and he will give 
 him a certificate, which is bis first paper. 
 
12 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 When the alien makes a petition for his second paper, he 
 must observe the same rule as to the court to which to apply. 
 If he has moved in the interval to another part of the state, or 
 to another state, he must be ready to produce witnesses who 
 can prove a five years' continuous residence immediately pre- 
 ceding the petition. He must also take his first paper with 
 him. 
 
 7. What Kind of Witnesses are Necessary? The 
 
 two witnesses may be native or foreign born, 
 but must be citizens" They must have known 
 the ahen as a resident for five continuous 
 years immediately preceding the petition, and 
 be able to testify as to his character and quali- 
 fications t6 become a citizen. 
 
 The witnesses may be naturalized citizens, but it will be 
 advisable for them to take their naturalization papers with 
 them. They must be present when the alien makes his petition 
 for second paper. The same witnesses must be present at 
 the final hearing, which takes place at the expiration of 
 ninety or more days. If one or both of the witnesses be dead, 
 or sick, or otherwise unable to appear, the alien should jconsult 
 the Clerk of the Court and secure other witnesses. If the 
 witness, or witnesses, refuse to appear, the court has power 
 to compel appearance, butthe expense must be borne by the 
 alien. It is a felony, punishable by law, to swear falsely as 
 to the residence or character of the applicant. The applicant 
 must reside at least one year in the state in which he applies 
 for second papers. 
 
 8. What is a Certificate of Landing? This is a 
 
 statement from the Commissioner of Immi- 
 gration of the port in which the alien landed, 
 certifying that he arrived in America as he 
 affirms. 
 
 If the alien has come to America since June 29, 1906, he 
 must, when he is ready to take out his second papers, ask the 
 Clerk of the Court for a blank form for "Certificate of 
 Arrival." He then fills in the form and forwards it, as per 
 instruction, to Washington, D. C. The alien must then wait 
 till he is notified by the Clerk of the Court to appear. If the 
 
QUALIFICATIONS FOR NATURALIZATION 13 
 
 alien landed before the above date, no certificate of landing 
 is needed. (See sample of blanks for Declaration of In- 
 tention, and Petition for Naturalization on pp. 14 and 15.) 
 
 9. Can a Young Man Twenty Years of Age be 
 
 Naturalized? No. No minor or person under 
 
 twenty-one years can be naturalized. A 
 
 minor can, when eighteen years of age, secure 
 
 his first paper, and then get his second in 
 
 regular order. 
 
 An immigrant coming to America as a minor must in all 
 things, follow the rules above given if he wants to become a 
 citizen of the United States. He can declare his intention 
 when eighteen years of age, and, after taking out his second 
 paper, exercise the privilege of citizenship when in his 
 majority. 
 
 10. Can Alien Women be Naturalized? Yes, by 
 
 following the steps above outlined. When an 
 
 alien who is married is naturalized, his wife 
 
 and all his children under twenty-one years of 
 
 age, providing they reside in America, are 
 
 also thereby naturalized. 
 
 An alien who applies for his second papers, whose wife 
 and children reside in a foreign country, cannot be naturalized 
 until they are residents of America. When an American 
 citizen marries a woman who is an alien, she becomes a citizen 
 by virtue of the marriage. If an alien dies after he has taken 
 out his first paper, his widow and minor children may use 
 the first paper and be naturalized in the same way as if the 
 deceased had secured full citizenship. 
 
Sample of Naturalization PAPEas 
 
 Si o 
 
 o. 
 
 g 
 
 o 
 O 
 
 
 :32 
 
 a 
 
 q 
 
 o 
 
 
 n § ■a 
 
 i; * <£ °> 
 
 •Q V i> « O 
 
 S S 8 I S 
 
 fe iS « ^ :| 
 
 s -a, 
 
 'S a 
 
 ^ 5 
 
 'E 
 
FACTS FOR PETITION FOR NATURALIZATION 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF GOMMXl^ROE AND X.ABOR. 
 
 NATURALIZATION SERVICE 
 
 WASHINGTON. 
 
 NOTE.— .\. copy of this form should be faraished by the clerk of the court to each applicant for a petition fot 
 naturalization, so that he can at his leisure fill in the answers to the questions. After being filled out the form is to he 
 returned to the clerk, to be used by him in properly filling out the petition. 
 
 V First. My full name is: ; 
 
 y Do Dot abbrcvTate any port of name by IdLUaI or othcrwUc. 
 
 y/ Second. My place of resideatx is: , , 
 
 Number and name of strecL City or town. Stale, Territory oi Olitrict. 
 
 \/ Third, My occupation is: ,...^ 
 
 ^,, Fourth. I -was born on the day of. , 18 , at , 
 
 City or town. Country, 
 
 Fifth. I emigrated to the United States from , 
 
 V Port of embarkation. Country. 
 
 on or about the dfiy of. , 1 , and arrived at the port of 
 
 , in the Vmted States, on the vessel 
 
 Port of arrival. State. 
 
 If the alien arrived otberwlne ihao by vesiel, the character of conveyance or aame of trausportaiion company should be given 
 
 \/ 'Sixth. I declared my intention to become a citizen of the United States on the day 
 
 of. , 1 , at ^., , in the 
 
 city or Towa State, Territory or District 
 
 Court 
 
 SeTentb.Iam mamed. itfj- ^£?,°" nameZ" ....^ 
 
 (Petitioner, if a widower, shonld give name of his wife when Uving, and state place of her birth; if 
 not married, bd shoold enter "not" in firat sentence. In both cases snrplna words thoold be Btrnok 
 through). 
 
 Be . . .is now deceased. 
 
 ^^ was born in , and ^^yf resides at ■ - 
 
 City or Town. Couatry ' City or Town. Country. 
 
 1 have child , whose name...., date.... and place,... of birth, ami place.... of 
 
 residence are as follows: 
 
 , born day of , X , at , resides at..:.- 
 
 , bora ..dayof , 1 , at ; resides at 
 
 ., , born dayof 1 , at. ...... .,.; resides at 
 
 , , born dayof , 1 , at ; resides at 
 
 , botn dayof. , 1 , at ; resides at 
 
 , bora dayof. , 1 , M ; resides at 
 
 , bora dayof. 1 , at ; resides at 
 
 / Eighth, lam not a disbeliever in or opposed to organized government or a member of 
 or a&liated with any organization or body of persons, teaching disbelief in orga- 
 aized government.! am not a polygamist nor abelieverinthepractice of polygamy. 
 J am attached to the principles of the Constitution pf the United States^ and it is 
 my intentiori to become a citizen of the United States and to renounce absolutely 
 and forever all allegiance and £delity to any foreign prince^ potentate, state, or 
 sovereignty, and particularly to -,...» 
 
 -~ Name TlUe and Country. 
 
 ofwbichatthistimelama'^^^lct, &tid it is my intention to reside permanently 
 injthe United States. 
 
 vjfiatb. lam able to speak the English language. 
 
 Teatb. I have resided continuously in the United States for £ve years^ since the 
 
 V Btate 
 
 ^m 
 
 dayof , I...., aurf /o tiie territory of. ........for one entire year 
 
 ■^ District 
 
 prior to this time, since the. day of. , 1 
 
 ^ Eleventh. Ihave bereie^^rv made petition for United States citizenship. 
 
 If petltloDer has heretefbre made appUoation for oitkenship, t^e facts reqaired should b« folly stated 
 In the following blanks: 
 
 I petitioned for'citizensbip to the J Court 
 
 at t I on tbCs day of. , 1 ,., which was 
 
 Cltyor town, SUte. tenitoTy or DiatrlcL 
 
 denied for the following reasons: 
 
 .r,'.'.*.*. . ... . .* » ^od the cause ofsacb denial has since been cared or removed. 
 
 OiTO namea. occnnations. and residence address of two witneeses, citizens of the United States, who hare knOA f 
 vou foTat^ti?^^?B!S mat and during the preceding year as a resident of the State in which petition is madS 
 To wl5 m^e affldSJ^tS you of Kood miral character, that jrou are qualified in every way to be 
 
 adraitted a citLen of the Unite^l States, and who will be present at hearing to venfy your petition. (If petitioner has 
 been a resident of the State wherein he applies for citizenship for over one year, and has had a domicile elsewhereln 
 thrUnitPrt Sfjites sufficiently long to complete a continuous residence therein of five years, he may establiah his resl- 
 dence within^fsSe by tvJS iritnesses, citizens of the United States, and his residence elsewhere in the United States 
 brdeposiSSia of two witnesses, as provided in section 10 of the Naturalization Act of June 29, 1906.) 
 
 •-••"•• •■ jj^m^ m n. ce rcas. 
 
 i herewith pnsent my Declaration of Intention to become a Citizen of the United StatcB, 
 
i6 CIFICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 II. Can any Men Get Their Second Papers Without 
 Taking Out First Papers? Yes, honorablj^ 
 discharged soldiers of the United States 
 army, and honorably discharged sailors of the 
 United States navy, may apply directly for 
 naturalization if they are over twenty-one 
 years of age. 
 
 Honorably discharged soldiers need not prove more than 
 one year's residence in the United States before applying for 
 citizenship. Honorably discharged sailors of the Navy, 
 Revenue Cutter Service, Naval Auxiliary Service, and Marine, 
 after four years' service, need only prove one year's residence 
 in the state in which they apply for citizenship. Persons 
 who, previous to May i, 1910, through no fault of their own, 
 believed they might become or were citizens of the United 
 States, have the right to petition for citizenship without tak- 
 ing out their first paper. A person who has taken out his first 
 paper, and then served three years on a merchant vessel of 
 the United States, may be naturalized by a court of record, 
 if he presents a certificate of discharge and good conduct. 
 
 12. Are All the Children Born in America Citizens? 
 
 Children born in America, whose fathers are 
 not citizens of the United States, are looked 
 upon as citizens of this country if the parents 
 consider America their home. 
 
 Even the native-born children of Chinese and Japanese, 
 to whom the United States refuses the rights of citizenship, 
 are considered citizens of the United States if the parents 
 look upon this country as their home. If, however, the 
 parents are non-immigrants, and staying in America only for 
 a season, the children born to them in the United States are 
 not citizens. Many European governments, however, look 
 upon the children of those who retain allegiance to their 
 native country as subjects of their parents' country. Hence 
 arises the question of dual citizenship— the United States 
 and the government to which his father belongs each re- 
 garding the native born son of an alien as its subject. 
 
QUALIFICATIONS FOR NATURALIZATION n 
 
 13. Can the Alien Change His Name? Yes. An 
 
 alien can change his name when he takes out 
 his second papers, or at any other time, if ha 
 can give the court a good reason for this. 
 
 Some aliens modify their names, or their friends give them 
 new ones when they come to America; others for good rea- 
 sons change their names. If an ahen wishes to change his 
 name when he takes out his second papers, he should notify 
 the Clerk of the Court before the day of the final examina- 
 tion, so that the matter may be brought before the court in 
 the right way. 
 
 14. What Should the Alien do after Declaring his 
 
 Intention to Become a Citizen of the United 
 States? He should learn the English lan- 
 guage, read the Constitution of the United 
 States, learn all he can about the government' 
 and institutions of the United States in his 
 city, state, and nation, and know something 
 of the history of the country and its leading 
 men. 
 
 The two years which must transpire before the second paper 
 can be had are really intended to put the alien to the 
 tfest as to the sincerity of his declaration. He can best prove 
 this by his anxiety to learn all he can to qualify himself for 
 the honor. If the alien is not well up in English, he should 
 apply himself to increase his knowledge of that language. He 
 should carefully read the Constitution of the United States, 
 and learn how the city in which he lives is governed. He 
 should also know how the county, state, and nation are 
 governed. He should learn some leading facts in American 
 history, as well as get some knowledge of leading men in the 
 life of the nation. The best way to attain this knowledge is 
 to attend classes specially organized for the purpose of teach- 
 ing men what they ought to know in order to become in- 
 telligent citizens of the United States. 
 
 15. What is an Oath of Allegiance? An alien, when 
 
 he has passed the examination for second 
 
i8 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 papers, takes an oath to be loyal to the Con- 
 stitution of the United States. 
 
 • The "oath of allegiance," as set down by the government, 
 is as follows : 
 
 "I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely 
 renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any sove- 
 reign, prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, and particularly 
 to (name of sovereign of country of birth or republic) of 
 which I have heretofore been a subject; that I will support 
 and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States 
 .of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; and 
 that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, so help 
 me God." 
 
 i6. When Will the Applicant Get His Certificate of 
 Citizenship? After he has given satisfactory 
 evidence to the judge of the court that he is a 
 fit candidate for citizenship. 
 
 When the judge of the court is satisfied that the alien is 
 a worthy candidate for citizenship, it is the duty of the Clerk 
 of the Court to issue a Certificate of Naturalization to the 
 newly made citizen. The clerk will give or mail it to the 
 applicant. He may have to wait some time, for the number 
 of certificates to be issued may be such that the clerical force 
 may not be able to prepare them promptly. A duplicate of the 
 certificate is kept in Washington, D. C. Forgeries of these 
 certificates are punished by a fine of $10,000 or imprisonment 
 for 10 years. 
 
 17. Suppose one Loses His Papers? If any foreign- 
 born person loses his first or second paper, he 
 can get another by applying to the Clerk of 
 the Court which issued it. 
 
 The alien must, however, set forth in writing the fact of 
 the loss, telling the time when and the place where, accord- 
 ing to his belief, the loss took place; then he must take an 
 oath that all this is true. This will be sent to Washington 
 and there acted upon. Securing papers by fraud, or having 
 in one's possession a first or second paper save in the legal 
 way, or swearing falsely in matters of naturalization, are 
 crimes punished by law. 
 
QUALIFICATIONS FOR NATURALIZATION 19 
 
 18. Will the Court Hear Petitioners at any Time? 
 
 No. Courts have their calendar and the 
 
 applicant must conform to this. 
 
 No court will hear petitions for naturalization within thirty 
 days preceding the holding of any general election within the 
 territorial jurisdiction of that court. 
 
 19. Can the Naturalized Citizen Exercise his Right 
 
 to Vote at Once? No. Naturalized citizens 
 may not vote at elections within a specified 
 number of days from the date of their admis- 
 sion to citizenship. In the state of New York 
 it is ninety days ; so if an election takes place 
 eighty-five days after an alien is made a cit- 
 izen, he cannot exercise his right to vote. 
 
 Find out how long a man must wait in your state after 
 being made a citizen before he can exercise the right of the 
 franchise. The right to vote is regulated by state laws. 
 
 Hints to Teachers 
 
 When talking about blank forms, refer to the 
 ones printed in these pages. Familiarize the pupils 
 with these, but don't worry them. 
 
 If the class is a good sized one, say 50 or 100, 
 bring them all together occasionally, secure some 
 local judge or prominent man to talk to them on 
 topics bearing on local, state, and national govern- 
 ment. Organize small classes, not more than ten in 
 a class, put competent teachers in charge, and let 
 them conduct a kind of seminar in which the men 
 are to discuss the topic under consideration. It is 
 important to help the pupils to express their ideas 
 in English. 
 
20 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 Secure copies of "Naturalization of Aliens," pre- 
 pared by the Sons of the Revolution, and dis- 
 tributed by the Bureau of Naturalization, Washing- 
 ton, D. C. 
 
 Sample of Certificate of Naturalization 
 
 THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
 
 CERTIFICATE OF NATURALIZATION 
 
 Petition, Volume Number 
 
 Description of holder : Age, ; height, ; color, 
 
 ; complexion ; color of eyes, ;color 
 
 of hair, ; visible distinguishing marks, ....... Name, 
 
 age, and place of residence of wife , 
 
 Names, ages, and places of residence of minor children 
 
 ,ss : * (Signature of holder) 
 
 Be it remembered, that at a term of the 
 
 court of , held at on the day 
 
 of , in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and 
 
 , who previous to his (her) naturahza- 
 
 tion was a citizen or subject of , at present residing at 
 
 number street, city (town) State 
 
 (Territory or District), having applied to be admitted a citi- 
 zen of the United States of America pursuant to law, and the 
 court having found that the petitioner had resided continu- 
 ously within the United States for at least five years and in 
 this State for one year immediately preceding the date of the 
 hearing of his (her) petition, and that said petitioner intends 
 to reside permanently in the United States, had in all respects 
 complied with the law in relation thereto, and that ..he was 
 entitled to be so admitted, it was thereupon ordered by the 
 said court that ..he be admitted as a citizen of the United 
 States of America. 
 In .testimony whereof the seal of said court is hereunto 
 
 affixed on the day of , in the year of our Lord 
 
 nineteen hundred and and of our independence the 
 
 [L. S.] 
 
 (Official character of attestor.) 
 Forgery of this certificate is punished by a fine of $10,000, 
 or imprisonment for not more than ten years, or both. 
 
QUALIFICATIONS FOR NATURALIZATION 21 
 
 Other Blank Forms 
 
 There are three other blank forms which are used 
 by parties requiring naturaUzation : 
 
 1. Certificate of Arrival. The applicant for naturalization, 
 if he came to America since June 29, 1906, must petition the 
 Government in Washington to obtain a certificate showing his 
 arrival in the United States, and request it to be forvvfarded 
 to the Clerk of the Court where the petition is made. This 
 blank form can be obtained from the Clerk of the Court be- 
 fore whom the applicant appears. Special forms are used for 
 men coming directly to the United States from Canada or 
 Mexico. 
 
 2. Depositions. The applicant may have resided in another 
 state or states during the required five years' continued resi- 
 dence in the United States immediately preceding the petition 
 for naturalization. In order to prove this, depositions must 
 be taken in the state or states where the applicant resided. 
 Blank forms for such depositions can be secured from the 
 Clerk of the Court. 
 
 3. Lost Naturalization Papers. If a naturalized citizen has 
 lost his naturalization papers, he can appear before the Clerk of 
 the Court and request a blank form which he can fill in, 
 stating the facts of the case and requesting a duplicate 
 naturalization paper in place of the one lost or destroyed. 
 
Chapter II. Forms of Government 
 
 1. How Many Kinds of Government are There? 
 
 Three. Absolute monarchy, as in Russia ; 
 limited monarchy, as in England ; and democ- 
 racy, as in the United States. 
 
 We must have government in the home, in school, in busi- 
 ness ; in military affairs, else no order can be maintained. 
 Government means the enforcement of law by duly appointed 
 officers in a properly organized community. The need of 
 government arises from the fact that some men, lacking 
 self-control, break the laws laid down by society for its pro- 
 tection. These must be restrained by men appointed to the 
 task; otherwise lawlessness will be common, the rights of 
 men invaded, and a state of anarchy precipitated. 
 
 2. What is the Difference Between these Forms of 
 
 . Government? In an absolute monarchy, the 
 emperor is supreme ; in a limited monarchy, 
 the parliament sets a limit to the powers of 
 the king; in a democracy, the people rule. 
 
 In Russia, the Czar makes the law, interprets the law, and 
 executes the law. In England, the king's powers are limited 
 by Parliament ; he can declare war, but he cannot get money 
 to carry on the conflict, save as the House of Parliament 
 votes it. In a democracy, the people elect representatives 
 whose business it is to govern as the servants of the people 
 and for the good of the people. 
 
 3. How did Abraham Lincoln Define a Democracy? 
 
 "A government of the people; by the people, 
 and for the people." 
 
 The President of the United States is a servant of the peo- 
 ple. So are all men who hold office in the nation, state, 
 county, city, town, and village. They are chosen by the 
 people for the sole purpose of giving those whom they serve 
 the greatest possible enjoyment of their right to life, liberty, 
 and happiness. 
 
FORMS OP GOVERNMENT 23 
 
 4. Into How Many Departments is the United 
 
 States Government Divided? Into three. 
 
 1. The legislative, which makes the laws. 
 
 2. The executive, which enforces the laws. 
 
 3. The judicial, which explains the laws. 
 
 The three departments are separate, but they depend one 
 on the other. This threefold division of government runs 
 through every political unit in the United States. As we 
 proceed in our study, we shall find it in the city, county, and 
 state, as well as in the national government. 
 
 5. When was the United States Government 
 
 Formed? The birth of the nation was on 
 July 4, 1776, when the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence was issued. 
 
 When the war with Great Britain began in the spring of 
 177s. few men thought of breaking away from the mother 
 country. All the colonists wanted was local independence. 
 As the war went on, the demand for independence grew. 
 Delegates from the thirteen colonies met in Philadelphia, 
 stated in clear and strong language the wrongs which the 
 colonies endured at the hands of Great Britain, and, in the 
 name of the people, declared "that these United Colonies 
 are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states." 
 The document issued by this General Congress on July 4, 
 1776, is the Declaration of Independence. (See p. 26.) 
 
 6. When Were the Liberated Colonies Recognized 
 
 as an Independent Nation? After the war 
 with Great Britain was ended, a treaty of 
 peace was signed in Paris, September 2, 1783, 
 acknowledging the independence of the 
 American Colonies. 
 
 The war for independence was virtually ended when Lord 
 Cornwallis surrendered to Washington at Yorktown, Va., 
 in October, 1781. For two more years the British held some 
 of the most important cities on the coast, but peace was 
 finally secured and a treaty signed between Great Britain 
 
34 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 and the colonies. The British army and officials left the 
 country, and before the year 1783 closed, the last of them 
 had sailed from New York. 
 
 7. What were the Chief Things for Which the 
 
 Colonists Fought? They declared : 
 
 1. That taxation without representation was 
 
 wrong. 
 
 2. That trial by jury should not be 
 
 suspended. 
 
 3. That self-government was needed for in- 
 
 dustrial and commercial development. 
 
 The colonists were not unanimous in their desire for 
 revolt against Great Britain, but the most energetic and 
 enterprising men knew that they could not develop the re- 
 sources of the country as long as they were tied to the apron 
 strings of the mother-land. There were men in the British 
 Parliament who shared their views, and publicly advocated 
 their cause before that body. The chief causes of revolt were 
 economic. The child, now over three million strong, was 
 able to stand alone, and wanted to do so without the inter- 
 ference of its mother. 
 
 8. Who were Some of the Great Men in the War 
 
 for National Independence? George Wash- 
 ington, Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, 
 Samuel and John Adams, Robert Morris, 
 Paul Jones, etc. 
 
 It is well to remember that among the names of heroes of 
 the Revolutionary period stand those of foreigners who 
 fought for the independence of the American colonies. These 
 were LaFayette, Steuben, Pulaski, andDeKalb. The terri- 
 tory acquired by the United States in the Treaty of Paris 
 was 828,000 square miles, stretching from the Atlantic to 
 the Mississippi River, and from the Great Lakes to Florida 
 — a little more than one-fourth of our present territorial 
 possessions. The population was about 3,250,000, of whom 
 some 750,000 were colored. Two and a half millions white 
 were not all of British descent. There was a strong mixture 
 of French, German, Dutch, and Scandinavian found in the 
 
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT 25 
 
 population of the coast cities, and in the city of New York 
 more than twenty tongues were spoken. 
 
 9. How Many Colonies were there Involved? 
 
 Thirteen, extending along the Atlantic bor- 
 der, with the people residing within a few 
 hundred miles of the coast east of the Alle- 
 gheny Mountains. 
 
 The colonies were separated, and the people in each knew 
 little of each other. It took a week to go from New York 
 City to Boston by stage c'oach. All rivers had to be crossed 
 by boat, for none of them had bridges. The residents of 
 one part of the country were suspicious of those from other 
 parts and prejudices were common. They seldom traveled, 
 and those who passed beyond the mountains to the West 
 numbered only about 100,000. 
 
 10. At the Close of the War Were the Colonies 
 
 United? They were loosely federated, but 
 jealousies divided them and each was dis- 
 trustful of its neighbor. 
 
 The colonies had joined hands to drive the British from 
 America, but it was some time before they found a way by 
 which each would yield a part of its rights for the common 
 good. The strained relation between some of the newly con- 
 stituted states almost precipitated civil war, and many promi- 
 nent men in Britain expected the states to petition Great 
 Britain to take them back under its protection. 
 
 11. How Were the Thirteen States Made into the 
 
 United States? By each state adopting the 
 
 Constitution of the United States, prepared 
 
 behind closed doors at Philadelphia, in May, 
 
 1787. 
 
 The Constitution of the United States was made by men 
 called together by the Continental Congress "to take into 
 consideration the situation of the United States'' and "to 
 devise such further provisions as shall appear to them neces- 
 sary to render the Constitution of the Federal Government 
 
26 CiyiCS FOR COMING^ AMERICANS 
 
 adequate to the exigencies of the Union." These men formed 
 the Federal Convention, which remained in secret session at 
 Philadelphia for four months, with Washington presiding. 
 It then presented to the several states for its ratification the 
 Constitution under which we are now living, and which has 
 been declared to be the greatest document produced by a 
 group of men at one time. 
 
 12. What is the Constitution of the United States? 
 
 It is "the fundamental organic law by which 
 the national union of the states was formed 
 and under which the government is admin- 
 istered." 
 
 The thirteen colonies, because of jealousy and strife, were 
 in grave danger of losing the benefits of independence. They 
 were saved by the Constitution. The purpose of the founders 
 of the Union in making the Constitution may best be judged 
 from the preamble : 
 
 "We, the people of the United States, in order to form a 
 more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tran- 
 quillity, provide for the common defense, promote the general 
 welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and 
 our posterity, do ordain and establish this CONSTITUTION 
 for the United States of America." 
 
 13. Can the Constitution be Amended? Yes. 
 
 Amendments passed by a two-thirds vote of 
 both Houses of Congress, and ratified by 
 three-fourths of the State Legislatures in the 
 Union, will be added to the Constitution. 
 
 Since the adoption of the Constitution, seventeen amend- 
 ments have been added. More than 4,000 amendments have 
 been proposed during the last 125 years, but only seventeen 
 of them have passed and become the law of the land. The 
 people are very jealous of a document which has been pro- 
 nounced by authorities to rank above every other constitution 
 written by any body of men. 
 
 14. How Many States are There in the Union to- 
 
 day? The original thirteen have grown to 
 
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT 27 
 
 forty-eight, and the population is now (1916) 
 about 100,000,000. 
 
 In the last 100 years more than 32,000,000 immigrants have 
 come to the United States. The "newcomers" are picked 
 young men and women. America is the land of opportunity, 
 and the phenomenal growth in population in a century in 
 the United States is due largely to immigration. America 
 began to extend her territory in 1803 by the Louisiana Pur- 
 chase. Since then other acquisitions were made, which, to- 
 gether with the foreign possessions, make the total acreage of 
 the United States at present 3,743,306 square miles. 
 
 15. Have the Several States Constitutions? Yes, 
 each state in the Union has its own constitu- 
 tion, which must harmonize with that of the 
 United States. 
 
 The state constitution is the fundamental law in that state. 
 The original thirteen states, when they adopted the Con- 
 stitution, had to draft their several constitutions so as to 
 harmonize with this. Since then, every new state applying 
 for admission into the Union must submit a copy of its con- 
 stitution to the Federal Government, in order that it may be 
 decided that it contains nothing that is contradictory to the 
 letter and spirit of the Constitution of the United States. 
 
 Hints to Teachers 
 
 Show on the map the position of the thirteen orig- 
 inal states. 
 
 Show the growth of the United States. 
 
 Show how the states have been bound together 
 by the Constitution as a chain which cannot be 
 severed by the will of any one of them. 
 
 Read, with the class, the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence. 
 
 Distribute "How to Become a Citizen," a pam- 
 plilet issued by the North American Civic League. 
 
(8 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 The Thirteen Original States 
 
 Massachusetts Pennsylvania 
 
 New Hampshire Maryland 
 
 New York Virginia 
 
 Rhode Island North Carolina 
 
 Connecticut South Carolina 
 
 New Jersey Georgia 
 Delaware 
 
 The Declaration of Independence 
 
 In Congress, July 4th, 1776. 
 
 THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF THE THIR- 
 TEEN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
 
 When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary 
 for one people to dissolve the political bands which have con- 
 nected them with another, and to assume, among the powers 
 of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws 
 of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect 
 to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare 
 the causes which impel them to the separation. 
 
 We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are 
 created equal; that they are endowed, by their Creator, with 
 certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, 
 and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, 
 governments are instituted among men, deriving their just 
 powers from the consent of the governed; that, whenever any 
 form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is 
 the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute 
 a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, 
 and organizing its powers in such form, as' to them shall 
 seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Pru- 
 dence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established 
 should not be changed for light and transient causes ; and, 
 accordingly, all experience hath shown that mankind are more 
 disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right 
 themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accus- 
 tomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, 
 pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to re- 
 duce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is 
 their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new 
 
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT 29 
 
 guards for their future security. Such has been the patient 
 sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity 
 whicli constrains them to alter their former systems of 
 government. This history of the present king of Great 
 Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all 
 having in direct object the establishment of an absolute 
 tyranny over these States. To prove this, let facts be sub- 
 mitted to a candid world. 
 
 He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and 
 necessary for the public good. 
 
 He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate 
 and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation 
 till his assent should be obtained ; and, when so suspended, 
 he has utterly neglected to attend to them. 
 
 He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation 
 of large districts of people, tmless those people would relin- 
 quish the right of representation in the Legislature — a right 
 inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only. 
 
 He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, 
 uncomfortable, and distant from the repository of their pub- 
 lic records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into 
 compliance with his measures. 
 
 He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for 
 opposing, with manly firmness, his invasions on the rights of 
 the people. 
 
 He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, to 
 cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, 
 incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large 
 for their exercise, the State remaining, in the meantime, ex- 
 posed to all the dangers of invasions from without, and 
 convulsions within. 
 
 He has endeavored to prevent the population of these 
 States ; for that purpose obstructing the laws for the naturali- 
 zation of foreigners, refusing to pass others to encourage 
 their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new 
 appropriations of lands. 
 
 He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refus- 
 ing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers. 
 
 He has made judges dependent on his will alone for the 
 tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their 
 salaries. 
 
 He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither 
 swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their 
 substance. 
 
 He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, 
 without the consent of our legislatures. 
 
 He has affected to render the military independent of, and 
 superior to, the civil power. 
 
30 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction 
 foreign to our Constitutions, and unacknowledged by our 
 laws : giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation : 
 
 For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us : 
 
 For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for 
 any murders which they, should commit on the inhabitants 
 of these States : 
 
 For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world : 
 
 For imposing taxes on us without our consent : 
 
 For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by 
 jury: 
 
 For transporting us beyond seas, to be tried for pretended 
 offenses : 
 
 For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neigh- 
 boring province, establishing therein an arbitrary govern- 
 ment, and enlarging its boundaries, so as to render it at once 
 an example and fit instrument for introducing the same 
 absolute rule into these colonies : 
 
 For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable 
 laws, and altering, fundamentally, the forms of our govern- 
 ments : 
 
 For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring them- 
 selves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases 
 whatsoever. 
 
 He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of 
 his protection, and waging war against us. 
 
 He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our 
 towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. 
 
 He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign 
 mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and 
 tyranny, already begun, with circumstances of cruelty and 
 perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and 
 totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation. 
 
 He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on 
 the high seas to bear arms against their country, to become 
 the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall 
 themselves by their hands. 
 
 He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has 
 endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the 
 merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an 
 undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions. 
 
 In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for 
 redress in the most humble terms ; our repeated petitions have 
 been answered only by repeated injury. A prince whose 
 character is thus marked by every act which may define a 
 tyrant is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. 
 
 Nor have we been wanting in attentions to our British 
 brethren. We have warned them, from time to time, of 
 
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT 31 
 
 attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable 
 jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the cir- 
 cumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have 
 appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we 
 have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to 
 disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt 
 our connections and correspondence. They, too, have been 
 deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, 
 therefore, acquiesce in the necessity which denounces our 
 separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, 
 enemies in war; in peace friends. 
 
 We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of 
 America, in General Congress assembled, appealing to the 
 Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our in- 
 tentions, do, in the name and by the authority of the good 
 people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare that 
 these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and 
 independent States ; that they are absolved from all allegiance 
 to the British crown, and that all political connection be- 
 tween them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to 
 be, totally dissolved ; and that, as free and independent 
 States, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, 
 contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other 
 acts and things which independent States may of right do. 
 And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance 
 on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge 
 to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. 
 
 Signed by order and in behalf of the Congress. 
 
Chapter III. Rights Under the Constitution 
 
 1. Have Men Any Natural Rights? Yes. The 
 
 authors of the Declaration of Independence 
 said : "We hold these truths to be self-evi- 
 dent, that all men are created equal ; that they 
 are endowed by their Creator with certain 
 inalienable rights ; that among tliese are life, 
 liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." 
 
 These rights belong to every man. They are born with 
 him and are said to be natural rights. They cannot be taken 
 from him without doing him an injustice. It means that 
 man, created by God, has dignity and worth, which must be 
 honored before government is possible. There may be times 
 when government finds it necessary to suspend the inherent 
 rights of men. In times of war, it may command men to 
 kill and be killed ; or it may deprive men of liberty and 
 property. This is only done, however, when the interests of 
 the nation demand it. 
 
 2. Have Men Any Duties? There is no right with- 
 
 out its corresponding duty. If all have in- 
 alienable rights, we are in duty bound to 
 respect those of other men as we expect them 
 to respect ours. 
 
 Thomas Jefferson said : "The God who gave us life, gave 
 us liberty at the same time" ; and liberty is defined in the 
 French Constitution of 1793 as follows : "The power by 
 which man can do what does not interfere with the rights 
 of another; its basis is nature; its standard is. justice; its 
 protection is law ; its moral boundary is the maxim : 'Do not 
 unto others what you do not wish they should do unto you.' " 
 
 3. Has the Constitution Anything to do with Men's 
 
 Rights? Yes. Its very purpose is to "establish 
 justice, insure domestic tranquillity, and 
 
RIGHTS UNDER THE CONSTITUTION 33 
 
 secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves 
 and our posterity." 
 
 The game of life has its rules and it must be played fair. 
 The rules of the game between state and state are laid 
 down in the Constitution. It also protects man against the 
 encroachment of state power, and pledges to every one living 
 under the "Stars and Stripes" fair play in carrying on the 
 conflict of life. Whatever laws the majority in a democracy 
 think should be passed, are recognized as governing the re- 
 lations of men in the democracy. 
 
 4. How Does the Constitution of the United 
 
 States Protect the Citizen? If a law. is 
 passed by any state legislative body, taking 
 from the citizens any rights guaranteed by 
 the Constitution of the United States, the 
 courts of the United States will declare such 
 a law unconstitutional and xo'iA. 
 
 All officers of the government, both in the state and nation, 
 as well as all members of the federal and state legislatures, 
 are sworn to support the Constitution. If a citizen brings 
 a suit in any court in the land and proves that a law or an 
 ordinance interferes with his liberties within the Constitution, 
 it is the duty of every judge to declare the law void and 
 defend the petitioner in his rights. 
 
 5. How Does the Constitution Limit State Right? 
 
 in Behalf of the Citizen? No state can take 
 away the right of a citizen to go from one 
 state to another, or his right to trade in any 
 state of the Union; or take his life, liberty, or 
 property without due process of law. 
 
 Every state has limited self-governing power, but each must 
 give full faith and credit to the acts, records, and proceed- 
 ings of the courts of every other state in the Union. 
 Thus, if the state of New York sends a record of an action 
 in any of its courts to California, the latter state will give 
 the document full credit. No state can impose a tax on a 
 
34 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 citizen of another state for the privilege of trading in it 
 which is not imposed upon its own citizens. 
 
 6. How is the Voting Power of the Citizen 
 
 Guarded? No state, nor the United States, 
 can take away the right of any citizen to vote 
 on account of race, color, or social condition. 
 
 This is the guarantee given in the fifteenth arnendment, 
 which was added to the Constitution after the Civil War, 
 and as a result of it. The negro slaves in the south were 
 liberated by the war and the full rights of citizens given them. 
 
 7. Is There Any Form of Religion Favored in 
 
 America? No. The Constitution prohibits 
 the passing of any law favoring any form of 
 religion. "Congress shall make no law re- 
 specting an establishment of religion, or pro- 
 hibiting the free exercise thereof." 
 
 Church and state are wholly separated in the United States. 
 When a man takes office, no one asks him to what church 
 he belongs or what his faith is. If a man wants to believe 
 in the rehgion of India or China, no officer of the national 
 government has a right to interfere with him, providing he 
 does not violate a law of the land. Religious tolerance is 
 a growth. The Puritans, who founded New England, al- 
 though they fled to America because of religious persecution, 
 did not practise religious tolerance in the New World. 
 
 8. Does the Constitution Protect a Man in His 
 
 Home? Yes. No officer of the federal gov- 
 ernment has a right to search the house of a 
 citizen, seize any papers, persons or goods 
 without a warrant, and no warrant can be 
 issued by a federal officer save upon probable 
 cause, supported by an oath, and describing 
 the place to be searched and the persons to be 
 seized. 
 
RIGHTS UNDER THE CONSTITUTION 35 
 
 This is the fourth amendment, and protects the home, the 
 friends, and the effects of citizens from the tyranny of the 
 state. The purpose is to safeguard the citizen in his rights, 
 as against officials who are sometimes likely to exceed their 
 authority. Abuse of power is sometimes practised in Amer- 
 ica, but compare the security given citizens here with the 
 custom of searching the houses of persons under suspicion 
 in Europe, and the contrast is striking. 
 
 9. What Guarantee is Given a Man Charged with 
 
 Crime? A person charged with crime against 
 the United States is not tried unless the 
 grand jury finds a true bill against him ; he 
 cannot be compelled to be a witness against 
 himself in the United States courts; he can- 
 not be imprisoned or put to death, without 
 due process of law ; and no man's property 
 can be taken by the federal government with- 
 out just compensation. 
 
 This is the fifth amendment, and the fourteenth is an ex- 
 pansion of it, and assximes that the man charged with crime 
 is innocent until he is proven guilty. The old standard was 
 that a person charged with crime was considered guilty 
 until he was proven innocent. All citizens, whether native or 
 foreign born, have the protection of this amendment. 
 
 10. If the Federal Grand Jury Finds a True Bill 
 
 Against a Citizen, What Rights Has He? 
 
 The accused has the right to a speedy and 
 public trial by a jury in the federal district 
 where the crime was committed ; his accusers 
 must come forward against him ; he can com- 
 pel witnesses to appear in his defense; and 
 he can have the aid of counsel. 
 
 The right of trial by jury — twelve men, fellow citizens of 
 the accused — is one of the first principles of English law, 
 and it has been continued in America. A man may be put 
 
36 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 under bail, but the Constitution guards against making the 
 sum too large; it also guards against excessive fines, as well 
 as against cruel and unusual punishments. The Constitution 
 will not shield a criminal, but it will assure him humane and 
 just treatment. 
 
 11. Has the Citizen a Right to Freedom of Speech 
 
 and a Free Press? Yes. Congress has no 
 right to pass a law abridging freedom of 
 speech or of the press, and citizens of the 
 United States have the right to meet peace- 
 ably to discuss national questions and appeal 
 to the government to remedy their griev- 
 ances. 
 
 The right of citizens to petition the government to remove 
 abuses was won in Europe only after many hard conflicts. It 
 is not conceded in some European governments today, and 
 men in those countries who lead in reforms, and advocate 
 democratic measures are often thrown into prison, banished, 
 or exiled. This amendment to the Constitution was inserted 
 to guard against the tyranny of officers, who might abuse 
 the authority conferred upon them by the people. 
 
 12. Does the Constitution Deny the Federal or State 
 
 Governments any Powers? No state in the 
 Union has a right to deprive any person of 
 life, liberty, or property, without due proc- 
 ess of law; or pass a law making a citizen a 
 criminal because of an act committed before 
 the law was passed; or pass a law making 
 contracts between two persons of no effect; 
 or suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas 
 corpus except when, in cases of rebellion or 
 invasion, the public safety so requires. 
 
 The writ of habeas corpus is an order, issued by a judge 
 to an officer having custody of a person to bring the man 
 before him to see whether or not he is legally held; every 
 
RIGHTS UNDER THE CONSTITUTION 37 
 
 citizen has a right to this. An ex post facto law relates to 
 an act which is made criminal, but which was not so at the 
 time it was committed. No state or federal legislature can 
 pass such a law. 
 
 13. Can These Rights and Privileges be Secured by 
 the Foreign Born in the United States? Yes. 
 About 4,000,000 naturalized citizens, their 
 wives and children, enjoy them. Those who 
 are still aliens are protected only by treaty 
 rights and are subject to certain restrictions 
 as compared with citizens of the Republic. 
 
 Naturalized citizens enjoy all the rights and privileges of 
 the native born, save in the limitation that they cannot be 
 chosen to the presidency of the Union. The alien has no 
 claim to any rights and privileges. What he enjoys depends 
 on the comity of nations; but his enjoyment of life in the 
 Union may be interfered with in seeking employment, licenses 
 of various kinds, social insurance, compensation for injury, 
 inheritance, etc. The laws relating to these several items are 
 not uniform in the several states. 
 
 Hints to Teachers 
 
 Secure a copy of the Constitution of the United 
 States, which may be procured from the Bureau of 
 Naturalization free of charge. 
 
 When the lesson refers to any part of the Consti- 
 tution, read that part of it which refers to the point 
 in question. 
 
 The following are the main points to be studied 
 in the Constitution: 
 
 Aids to the Study of the Constitution 
 i. The Preamble. The place of the Constitution 
 in the law of the land (Art. VI, Par. 2) ; the support 
 
38 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 officers must give it (Art. VI, Par. 3) ; and what 
 constitutes treason against the United States (Art. 
 Ill, Sec. 3). 
 
 II. The law-making power (Art. I, Sec. i) ; the 
 two branches of Congress (Art. I, Sees. 2 & 3) ; and 
 the powers delegated to Congress (Art. I, Sec. 8). 
 
 III. The judiciary: the Supreme Court (Art. Ill, 
 Sec. i) ; the appointment of judges (Art. II, Sec. 2) ; 
 the power given the Supreme Court (Art. Ill, Sec. 
 2) ; and the limitation of its powers (Amend. XI). 
 
 IV. The executive : the President (Art. II, Sec. 
 i) ; the powers given him (Art. II, Sees. 2 & 3) ; 
 safeguards against abuse of power (Art. I, Sec. 3). 
 
 V. The guarantee of rights to the states (Art. IV, 
 Sec. 4) ; to the citizens (Art. XIV, Sec. i) ; their 
 interrelation (Art. IV, Sees, i & 2) ; personal rights 
 to the vote (Amend. XV) ; religious freedom (Art. 
 VI, Paragraph 3 fk Amend. I) ; to free speech and 
 free press and right to assemble (Amend. I) ; to 
 sanctity of home (Amend. IV) ; in case of criminal 
 charges (Amends. V, VI, VII, & VIII) ; and the 
 limits of congressional powers (Art. i, Sees. 9 & 10). 
 
Chapter IV. The Beginnings of Demooracy 
 
 1. Where are the Beginnings of American Democ- 
 
 racy Best Observed? In the townships of 
 New England, where the Puritans from Eng- 
 land settled and organized towns which were 
 centers of democracy. 
 
 Town and township mean pretty much the same thing. 
 The Puritans who settled in New England were so called 
 because they wished to. purify government and church as they 
 existed in England. They came to America as church con- 
 gregations, accompanied by their pastors. The first company 
 of men, who founded the Plymouth colony, are called the 
 Pilgrim Fathers. 
 
 2. How Was the Town Organized? The company, 
 
 or congregation, secured a grant of land, built 
 a meeting-house, a town-house, and a for- 
 tress ; around these the dwellings were built, 
 and beyond these were the small farms. 
 
 The government of the colony granted a company a piece 
 of land on which to settle. They were surrounded by Indians, 
 hence they .built a rude fortress for defense, the meeting- 
 house was their church, they had a common, or town pasture ; 
 a schoolhouse, tavern, and store were also built, and the 
 farms were small and surrounded the town or village. In 
 this way the company formed a compact neighborhood, which 
 could easily come to the fortress or the meeting-house when 
 necessary. 
 
 3. How Was the Town Governed? All men who 
 
 were of age, and who were members of the 
 company, had a voice in the government, and 
 were expected to be present in the town- 
 house when the business of the township was 
 discussed and settled. 
 
40 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 The early settlers of New England did not distinguish be- 
 tween church and state. The affairs of the congregation 
 were settled by the male members in the meeting-house, and 
 the same men met in the town-house to settle the affairs of 
 the township. Men who were not members of the congrega- 
 tion had no vote in town affairs. Roger Williams, one of 
 the Pilgrims, advocated the separation of church and state, 
 Isut in this he stood alone among the settlers of New England, 
 and suffered for his convictions. 
 
 4. How Many Men Governed the Town? From 
 
 three to nine men were chosen to see that the 
 laws passed by the townsmen were enforced. 
 They were called selectmen. 
 
 The number- of selectmen chosen usually depended upon the 
 population of the town. They were chosen by popular vote. 
 Town meetings were called by them; they authorized and 
 laid out highways ; built bridges ; granted licenses of various 
 kinds; and impaneled juries. They acted as assessors of 
 taxes, health officers, and overseers of the poor. Complaints 
 were brought to them, and they represented the township in 
 all suits at law. 
 
 5. What Other Officers Were Generally Found in 
 
 the Township? The town clerk, who kept all 
 records of town meetings ; the treasurer, who 
 received all moneys from taxes and paid all 
 authorized bills; the constable, who served 
 warrants, and pursued criminals and took 
 them to jail. 
 
 The political organization of the township grew more com- 
 plex as the town increased in population, and the duties of 
 selectmen became too numerous. Township duties were- as- 
 signed to men chosen for the specific work, such as asses- 
 sors of taxes; tax collector; overseers of the poor; health 
 officers, etc. These town meetings were the best possible 
 training schools in democracy. 
 
 6. Did All Township Meetings Act in the Same 
 
 Way? No. Some believed in direct demo- 
 
THE BEGINNINGS OF DEMOCRACY 41 
 
 cratic government; others believed in repre- 
 sentative democratic government. 
 
 Direct democratic government was the order when the 
 town meeting instructed their officers what to do in the in- 
 terest of the town ; indirect or representative democratic 
 government took place when men were chosen in the town 
 meeting and given power to do what they thought was best 
 for the interest of the township. 
 
 7. What is the Difference Between the Townships 
 
 of New England and Those in the West? 
 
 The townships in New England and the 
 states east of the Alleghenies vary in size and 
 are irregular ; those west of the Alleghenies 
 are square, being six miles long and six miles 
 wide. 
 
 Most of the land • west of the Allegheny Mountains be- 
 longed to the federal government, and, for the convenience of 
 settlers pouring into the country, the government ordered a 
 survey of all the land, divided it into squares six miles long 
 and six broad, and called them counties. These divisions 
 were preserved after the western states were formed. In 
 the East, no such divisions were made, for the settlers chose 
 the most favorable location on the banks of rivers, or in 
 fruitful valleys, and paid little attention to regularity of 
 boundary between township and township. 
 
 8. Did the Southern States follow the New Eng- 
 
 land Township Plan? No. Land in the 
 southern states was specially favorable for 
 the raising of tobacco and cotton. Hence 
 large plantations were formed and slave labor 
 used, and the county was made the political 
 unit. 
 
 In the states of Virginia, North and South Carolina, and 
 Georgia, towns such as were found in New England and 
 New York were very few. Large farms or plantations were 
 the rule. The settlers were far removed from each other. 
 
42 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 so that it was not convenient for them to assemble in town 
 meetings. The best form of government for them was the 
 county, after the county government of England. 
 
 9. Did the People of New England Have Counties? 
 
 Yes. As the towns multiplied, they joined 
 several of these and formed the county, for 
 the greater convenience of having a county 
 court. 
 
 Thus the difference between the unit of government in 
 New England and the South is that of the town and the 
 county. From the town government, the New Englanders 
 evolved the county government; but in the South, the town 
 government was generally formed by organizing a corpora- 
 tion distinct from the county of which the town was a part. 
 
 10. Which Form of Organization Did the Settlers 
 
 of the West Follow? They generally fol- 
 lowed a middle course, giving the town and 
 county about equal share in the functions of 
 local government. 
 
 Men from New England and from the South met as 
 pioneers of the West. They brought their ideas as to the 
 form of local government from the section in which they 
 were raised. The natural result was a compromise between 
 the township form of government and the county plan. 
 
 11. Are the Men Chosen as Town Officers Called by 
 
 the Same Title in Each State? No. In New 
 England they are called selectmen; in New 
 York, Illinois, and Michigan, they are called 
 supervisors; in Ohio, Indiana, and Iowa, they 
 are called town trustees. 
 
 The duties of these men are pretty much the same. They 
 are the executive magistrates of the town and are responsible 
 for the execution of the by-laws (i. e. town laws) passed 
 by the town meeting, which in many states is held only once 
 in the year. 
 
THE BEGINNINGS OF DEMOCRACY 43 
 
 12. Are the Towns a Law to Themselves? No. The 
 
 towns in a state are subject to the Constitu- 
 tion and the laws of the state. Towns gen- 
 erally get a charter from the state, which 
 confers on them the right to distinct cor- 
 porate being. 
 
 The powers of the towns to levy taxes, to incur indebted- 
 ness, to punish crime, to regulate schools, etc., are limited 
 by the law of the state. This is done for their own, as well 
 as the state's, good. 
 
 13. Have the Towns Any Judicial Power? Yes. 
 
 Persons who violate the by-laws of the 
 town, or who have a dispute, are brought be- 
 fore the justice of the peace, who hears both 
 sides and discharges the culprit or imposes a 
 fine, according to law. 
 
 The justice of the peace may summon a jury of six men to 
 help him in deciding a case. Those guilty of crimes may be 
 arrested and put in jail. If the crime is a serious one, the 
 criminal is held to appear before the county court. 
 
 Hints to Teachers 
 
 Show a picture of the Puritans to the class. 
 
 Show on the map of the United States the loca- 
 tion of the place where the Puritans first landed. 
 
 Show "the difference in the townships of New 
 England and those of the west by calling attention 
 to the following two cuts. 
 
fJarrAfldnscf^ 
 
 Pai'nf J-J''/" 
 
 Washington County, R. I., Showing Townships 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 .Suttbw 
 
 
 Butte 
 
 
 
 Lund 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ewiyl 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 -1 
 
 f 
 
 ?■ 
 
 
 
 nodjM 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 IWlVMX 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 .t~KK 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 He-GuU 
 
 Irorv 
 
 It 
 
 
 <>(& 
 
 Oty 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 Iron County, Utah, Showing Rectangular Division 
 INTO Townships 
 
Chapter V. The City Government 
 
 1. What is a City? A city is an organized com- 
 
 munity, created by a charter from the state, 
 and governed by a man or men chosen by the 
 electors of the city to rule over them. 
 
 The territory of a city is limited and the boundary is known 
 as the city Hmits. The size of cities varies and so does the 
 population. In some states a town which has 10,000 people 
 can be given the title of a city. A city in the eye of the 
 law is looked upon as a body (corporation) which can sue and 
 be sued. It is also called a municipality and its government 
 a municipal government. 
 
 2. Are All Cities Governed Alike? No. The gov- 
 
 ernment of cities varies greatly and the plan 
 of organization varies. The tendency is to 
 simplify the form and impose greater respon- 
 sibility on those in office. 
 
 The government of cities varies. The most common form 
 is that of mayor and council. The mismanagement in many 
 cities under this form of government has led to experiments 
 to clothe a few men with greater power and hold them 
 responsible for the affairs of the city. In some instances the 
 mayor is made all powerful; in others, boards have been 
 appointed for specific functions. In recent years many cities 
 have introduced the commission form of government, which 
 vests all power in a small body of men known as commis- 
 sioners, who give all their time to city affairs. 
 
 3. Into What are Cities Divided? Into wards. 
 
 This is done for the purpose of local regula- 
 tion. 
 
 Wards are political divisions for the convenience of gov- 
 ernment. As far as possible, the lines dividing the city into 
 wards are drawn so as to give equal voice in the govern- 
 ment to the several parts of the city. Wards differ greatly 
 in area. A glance at the map of Michigan City shows that 
 the first ward is much smaller than the second; but at the 
 
46 
 
 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 time the lines were drawn the total number of people in 
 each was about the same. 
 
 A precinct is a division of a ward, as a ward is a division 
 of a city. The first ward of Michigan City is divided into 
 three precincts, for the convenience of the voters. On elec- 
 tion day each precinct has its election booth, where the 
 electors can vote. 
 
 Michigan City, Indiana 
 
 A map of the city in which the lessons are given should 
 be procured by the teacher, similar to this one, showing 
 wards, precincts, etc. 
 
 4. What Duties Fall on the City Government? It 
 
 must enforce the laws of the state within its 
 boundaries, punish minor offenses, and care 
 for the needs of the municipality. 
 
 The people who live in a city must obey the laws of the 
 state, and those in office must see that they are obeyed. 
 
THE CITY GOVERNMENT 47 
 
 Offenders must be arrested and punished. The city has its 
 courts and has jurisdiction over minor affairs, the more 
 serious offenses being taken to higher courts. But the greater 
 duties of the officers are to provide for the needs of the city. 
 
 5. Can the City Pass Laws? Yes, and the meas- 
 
 ures passed by those in office for the good of 
 the city are called ordinances. 
 
 Municipal ordinances cover such matters as care of streets 
 and alleys, sevifers, gas, water, garbage, health, fire, weights 
 and measures, taxes and licenses, ashes, refuse, waste, etc. 
 These matters are not covered by state laws, although state 
 law may regulate the action of the city in certain of these 
 matters, such as setting limits to rate of taxation, amount of 
 debt contracted, the punishment inflicted, etc. But it is gen- 
 erally believed that these matters can best be handled by the 
 several cities. 
 
 6. What is a City Council? It is a body of men 
 
 chosen to pass ordinances in a municipality 
 which has the City Council form of govern- 
 ment. 
 
 The members of the council are called councilmen or alder- 
 men. They are chosen by the electors of the several wards, 
 each ward having one, two, or three members in the legisla- 
 tive body. In some cities the council is made up of two 
 bodies, known as the common council, and the select council; 
 in others it is only one body, known as the board of alder- 
 men. 
 
 7. How are Ordinances Passed Where There is 
 
 No Council? If the mayor has all power 
 vested in him, he is responsible for all laws 
 passed, as well as for their enforcement. If 
 a city has the commission form of govern- 
 ment, the commissioners are responsible for 
 all laws passed. 
 
 The two extreme forms of city government are those of 
 the council and the commission form of government. In 
 
48 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 the one, the councilmen are the ones designated to pass the 
 laws or ordinances for the city, while they have nothing to 
 do with the execution of the laws, or with the punishing 
 of offenders. In the other, the commissioners discharge all 
 functions. They pass laws and execute them ; they punish 
 offenders and do all that is needed in the affairs of the city. 
 
 8. What is a Mayor? He is the chief executive 
 officer of the city and must enforce state laws, 
 as well as city ordinances. 
 
 The mayor is chosen by the majority vote of the electors 
 in the city. He generally represents one of the political 
 parties in the municipality, but serves all the people living 
 in it. The mayor is related to the city as the sheriff is to 
 the county, the governor to the state, and the President to 
 the United States. He is the man responsible for the en- 
 forcement of law within the limits of the city. 
 
 g. What are the Duties of a Mayor? He is to en- 
 force law within the city. He may appoint 
 heads of city departments, policemen, and 
 other officers. He may have the power to 
 remove these also. He has the power to sign 
 or veto ordinances passed by the council, and 
 can recommend measures to the council. 
 
 The mayor has a body of helpers, such as police officers, 
 detectives, watchmen, etc. In case of riot in the city, he 
 has the power of naming private citizens as constables. If 
 he vetoes an ordinance, it is returned to council and it can 
 become law only when again passed by a two-thirds vote of 
 the members. He is supposed to know the affairs of the 
 city, and can suggest to the council any ordinances it should 
 pass for the good of the community. 
 
 10. How are Franchises in Cities Granted? The 
 
 city council gives permission to a body of 
 men, known as a corporation, to use the 
 streets of the city and other property in it for 
 semi-public purposes. 
 
THE CITY GOVERNMENT 49 
 
 In this way railroad companies can lay rails and run cars 
 on the streets; water companies lay pipes; lighting com- 
 panies lay pipes, erect poles, hang wires, etc. These privi- 
 leges should only be given for a number of years, and the 
 council ought to make the best possible bargain for the peo- 
 ple when giving a body of men permission to use property 
 which belongs to all the people in the city. 
 
 11. What Courts are There in the City? Various 
 
 courts, such as those of the justices of the 
 peace, police courts, etc. 
 
 These are courts where petty crimes and petty civil suits 
 are tried. They have the right to judge charges of breaking 
 of city ordinances, of breach of the peace, of malicious mis- 
 chief, or petty assaults, of drunkenness, etc. All cases which 
 merit a small fine or a very limited imprisonment are tried 
 in them. The powers given to the justices of the peace, the 
 mayors, and the police, vary in the several states. 
 
 12. How are the Justices of the Peace Chosen? The 
 
 justices of the peace are chosen usually by 
 
 the people and get their right to perform the 
 
 duties of their office from the state. 
 
 The justice of the peace is supposed to be versed in the laws 
 of the state, for he has to prepare legal papers and judge of a 
 crime, whether the evidence warrants the holding of the 
 accused for a higher court or not ; he must fix bail, bind 
 men over for trial, put men under iDonds to keep the peace, 
 and try a man by jury if the case warrants it. He has also 
 power to try petty cases in civil matters, such as debts, etc. 
 
 13. What is the Relation Between the City Courts 
 
 and the Laws of the State? Offenses against 
 
 the state are first tried in the city courts, 
 
 when the city government acts as the agent 
 
 of the state. 
 
 The relation between the city and state is very close. State 
 laws regulate education, the poor, the public debt, taxation, 
 etc. ; and any violation of these laws can only be enforced 
 by the officials of the city government. When city courts 
 
so CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 prosecute offenses against the state law, they are cooperating 
 in enforcing uniform conditions throughout the state for 
 the good of all living in the commonwealth. 
 
 14. What is "Home Rule" for Cities? "Home Rule" 
 for cities means that the electors of a munici- 
 pality be given power to have their own local 
 government, independent of the state law- 
 makers. 
 
 The question of how far the people of a city should be 
 allowed to manage their own affairs is an important question 
 and is discussed by many people just now. In some matters, 
 the people are far better judges of the needs of the city than 
 state law-makers; but it is necessary sometimes to protect 
 the people of a municipality against the folly and misman- 
 agement of its officers. 
 
 Hints to Teachers 
 
 In teaching this lesson, explain to the pupils the 
 kind of government and the form of organization in 
 your city. Secure if possible a copy of the charter, 
 and read a few items to the class. Get copies of 
 some recent ordinances passed by the council or 
 issued by the mayor, and read them to the class. 
 
 Secure a map of your city, show the boundaries, 
 the divisions into wards and precincts. Show the 
 railroads of a corporation, and the property of any 
 other company operating under a city franchise. 
 
 Get the mayor, or some other prominent ofificial, 
 to address the class and others on how the city is 
 governed. 
 
 Plan a trip to the municipal building. 
 
Chapter VI. The Needs of a City 
 
 1. Why Does a City Need a Government? Because 
 
 the health of the people, the enforcement of 
 law, and the improvements needed for the 
 comfort and enjoyment of the citizens must 
 be looked after by a group of men specially 
 assigned to the task. 
 
 If thousands of people live together, they all cannot attend 
 to the needs of the city. They will instinctively form an 
 organization, pass a set of by-laws, choose some men from 
 among them to attend to matters pertaining to the welfare 
 of the whole community, and authorize them to enforce ordi- 
 nances passed for the common good. The kind of govern- 
 ment set up by the people depends upon the social, economic, 
 and moral standards of the community. 
 
 2. Mention Some Things a City Needs? It needs 
 
 adequate police protection, a well equipped 
 fire department, an efficient school system, a 
 capable board of health, a wholesome water 
 supply, an adequate sewerage system, etc. 
 
 None of these can be got save by appointing men to see 
 that they are secured, and that they meet the need of the 
 people. The character of each of these institutions will 
 reflect the quality of the men assigned to these tasks, and 
 the character of the men chosen will reflect the character of 
 the community as a whole. 
 
 3. Who Own the Streets of the City? The people. 
 
 They are the means by which the people 
 communicate with one another, and the chan- 
 nels through which the trade and commerce 
 of the city flow. 
 
 This shows the need every city has of good streets, well 
 planned, well paved, and well kept. They should be clean, 
 
52 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 smooth, and durable. They should be free from disorder 
 and obstruction ; and well lighted at night, and no privileges 
 should be given corporations which would cause discomfort 
 to, or increase the danger of, the people. 
 
 4. How are the Streets of the City Used? They 
 
 ar^ used by the people, as -^ell as by com- 
 panies who run trolley cars over them ; also, 
 buried in the streets are water-pipes, gas- 
 pipes, sewer-pipes, and in some cities electric 
 wires. 
 
 All these are for the convenience of the people, and in 
 some cities they are owned by the people. Generally in 
 America, however, they are owned by corporations. In 
 either case, a force of men is kept to see that the tracks are 
 in order, others run the cars, repair or extend the pipe lines, 
 etc. When these necessary conveniences of a mbdern city are 
 in the hands of a municipality, the workers employed must 
 generally be citizens of the United States. 
 
 5. What is the Fire Department? It is a body of 
 
 men organized for the purpose of fighting 
 
 fires when they break out in any part of the 
 
 city. 
 
 The fire loss of the United States is nearly $6,000,000,000 
 annually. These fires are chiefly in the cities, and a fire de- 
 partment is a necessary institution, in order to fight fires. 
 Fire stations are built in various parts of the city and 
 equipped with the necessary appliances to fight fires. In cities 
 of the first, second, and third class, the men in the depart- 
 ment are employes of the city, and the fire stations are 
 manned day and night. 
 
 6. What Properties in a City do the People Own? 
 
 All the public school buildings, the municipal 
 
 building, the fire stations, the public library 
 
 and branch libraries. Many cities also have 
 
 public baths, parks, playgrounds, etc. 
 
 This property must be kept in order, and 'many employes 
 are hired for the purpose. Others are employed who teach. 
 
THE NEEDS OF A CITY S3 
 
 serve as librarians, and takecare of public baths, parks, and 
 playgrounds. These properties are paid for from the taxes, 
 which are paid by the people, and should be used to the great- 
 est possible advantage by the people. 
 
 7. Who Owns the Post-Office Building? The post- 
 
 office building, in all towns and cities, is 
 either owned or rented by the federal gov- 
 ernment. 
 
 The Government in Washington has properties in several 
 parts of the United States, such as post-office buildings, 
 immigrant buildings, assay offices, branches of the treasury 
 department, custom houses, military stations, etc. The 
 federal government sometimes rents buildings to carry on 
 its work; the usual custom, however, is for it to purchase a 
 site and erect a building. The men caring for these buildings, 
 and employed in them, are employes of the federal govern- 
 ment and are citizens. 
 
 8. Where Do Cities Get Their Water Supply? 
 
 Generally from mountain streams miles away, 
 
 where the water is pure and the watershed is 
 
 free from contamination. 
 
 City water is carried in pipes for miles, and great care must 
 be exercised to see that it is not polluted. Before the moun- 
 tain stream can be made serviceable, reservoirs must be built, 
 and often the water must be pumped to a high tower in order 
 to give the pressure needed, either for high buildings or in 
 case of fire. In some instances, cities must pump water from 
 a polluted river, purify it in a plant specially built for the 
 purpose, and protect the people from diseases due to con- 
 tamination of rivers by cities on their banks. 
 
 g. Why are City Lights Necessary? City lights 
 
 burn in the night and light up the streets. 
 
 Dark streets favor crime and lawlessness ; 
 
 well lighted streets are a moral agency no 
 
 city can neglect. 
 
 Every city should see to it that its streets are well hghted. 
 Many cities generate their own light and city employes keep 
 
54 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 the lights in order. Crimes lurk in dark places, and dark alleys 
 are haunts of mischievous gangs which prey upon society. 
 These will be driven away from public streets when the 
 thoroughfares of the city are well lighted. No city can 
 afiford to save money on light and spend it on the prosecu- 
 tion of criminals. 
 
 10. Why Should the City Take Care of its Waste? 
 
 Because every house has waste water, etc., 
 
 which if thrown in the streets and yards will 
 
 soon make the city filthy beyond description. 
 
 In isolated farm houses the housewife can throw the waste 
 water out of the window and the sun and earth will take 
 care of it; but this cannot be done in a city, where thousands 
 of people live. Hence, each city has its health department, 
 and one of its duties is to see that the refuse and waste from 
 homes does not become offensive and dangerous to health. 
 
 11. What Other Duties Has the Board of Health? 
 
 It sees that the premises around each home 
 
 are kept clean, that contagious diseases are 
 
 prevented from spreading, and that the food 
 
 supply offered the people is vvholesome. 
 
 Many people sell milk that is adulterated, ice that is filthy, 
 and meat and vegetables that are not fit for use ; some cor- 
 porations have nuisances around their plants ; peddlers are 
 often careless and noisy; cases of smallpox, scarlet fever, 
 diphtheria, and measles come to homes and must be prevented 
 from spreading; some yards are nests of dirt and filth; 
 against all these and many other like evils the board of health 
 officers guard, in order to protect the health of the people 
 of the city. 
 
 12. Has Every City a Police Department? Yes. 
 
 The police officers protect the people against 
 
 crime, and ferret out and arrest those guilty 
 
 of lawlessness. They also regulate the traffic 
 
 in congested districts of the city. 
 
 A city that has not a well regulated police force cannot be 
 said to be well governed. Policemen are generally seen on 
 
THE NEEDS OF A CITY 55 
 
 street corners, where there is great traffic, regulating it. 
 The officers are well versed in city ordinances, and see that 
 people comply with them. They also watch business parts 
 of the town and see that men do not break in and steal. 
 
 13. Can Any One Build in a City as He Likes? No. 
 
 If one wants to build anything- in a city,, he 
 must first get a permit from the council or 
 the building department. 
 
 If every one built as he saw fit, there would be little regu- 
 lation or safety in a city. Hence, rules and regulations are 
 made governing buildings, so that they may be safe for the 
 people who will live in them. Construction also interferes 
 with traffic, and at night it might cause accidents. The build- 
 ing department lays down rules which all must comply with, 
 for the good of those living in the houses, and of the city 
 as a whole. 
 
 14. How are Playgrounds and Parks Governed? 
 
 Cities generally have a park commissioner 
 and a playground supervisor. These see that 
 the places designed for the recreation of the 
 boys and girls are kept in good order and 
 properly managed. 
 
 Every city that is interested in its youth sees that proper 
 facilities are provided for the recreation they need. Such 
 places should be used to their capacity for recreation, but 
 this can be done only by having men who know the play- 
 life of children to guide their activity and regulate the hours 
 at which they can play. 
 
 Hints to Teachers 
 
 Show the men where the playgrounds are on the 
 city map, if the city has any. 
 
 Bring the head of the board of health before the 
 class to tell Ihem of the health of the city. 
 
S6 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 Do the same with the heads of the police and fire 
 departments. 
 
 Bring an attorney before the class who can state 
 on what terms the city streets are used by the cor- 
 porations. 
 
 "Secure a copy of the ordinances of the board of 
 health and read a few to the class. 
 
Chapter VII. Taxes 
 
 1. What Are Taxes? The money paid by citizens 
 
 to the government for the purpose of defray- 
 ing the cost of government. 
 
 Every form of government costs money to run it. The 
 federal government spends more than half a billion dollars 
 a year. The city of New York spends more than $100,000,- 
 000 every year. Every municipality has its budget, which 
 must be collected from the property holders of that city, 
 for there is no source from which to draw money save from 
 the pockets of the residents of the city. 
 
 2. Who Pays the Taxes? Taxes are paid by the 
 
 property holders, but every one who rents a 
 house in the city pays taxes indirectly, for the 
 owner of the house has in mind the tax he 
 must pay when he fixes the rent. 
 
 The store-keeper has to pay rent for the store, and the 
 customer pays more for the goods he buys because of this. 
 The lighting company pays taxes and the amount it pays is 
 added to the cost of the service it renders the public, and 
 every one using the light pays a part of the tax. Hence, 
 it is not true that the taxes of a town fall only on the property 
 owners ; they fall on all persons in the city. 
 
 3. How Are Taxes Imposed? Every city or town 
 
 forms a district for the collection of taxes. 
 Officers are appointed to find out what 
 amount of property is in the district, then 
 they estimate how much money is needed 
 and decide what the tax rate will be. 
 
 The officers appointed to do this work are called assessors, 
 or tax commissioners. They assess the value of each piece 
 of property in the district, and knowing the amount of 
 money needed, they compute the tax rate and impose it. If 
 the total valuation is $100,000,000 and the government needs 
 
S8 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 $100,000, the tax rate would be .001 per dollar, or $1 on 
 $1,000. 
 
 4. Is All Property Assessed? No. Churches, edu- 
 
 cational and charitable institutions, public 
 buildings, city hospitals, and graveyards are 
 exempted by law from taxation. 
 
 The properties used by these bodies are used by the people 
 and are not used for commercial purposes ; hence the exemp- 
 tion from taxation. There are men who believe, however, 
 that all church property should be taxed, for it is not a 
 public institution, as the public school is, and they claim that 
 the exemption is contrary to the fundamental principle of 
 the separation of church and state. 
 
 5. How are Taxes Collected? Men' are chosen by 
 
 the electors, or appointed, to collect all taxes. 
 They are called tax collectors. 
 
 When the assessors have fixed the tax rate, the tax collector 
 computes the amount each property owner should pay and 
 sends a bill to him for that amount. If the property owner 
 neglects, or refuses to pay, then the tax collector has the 
 power to call in the proper officer to sell the property and 
 from the proceeds collect the amount of the tax. 
 
 6. What Kind of Men Should Handle the Taxes? 
 
 Men of sound judgment, of unquestionable 
 integrity, who are just to all, above bribes 
 and personal favors, and who are no re- 
 specters of persons. 
 
 Taxes should always fall equally upon all, according to the 
 amount of property held by each. This can be expected only 
 when able and honest men are appointed as assessors and 
 tax collectors. No man, or group of men, should be made 
 to pay more or less than their .share, and no one in the dis- 
 trict should escape taxation. The mansion of the wealthy 
 and the influential should be assessed justly, and the Tiumble 
 home of the wage earner should not escape its share of the 
 taxes needed. 
 
TAXES 59 
 
 7. How Many Kinds of Taxes are There? There 
 
 are city, county, state, and national taxes. 
 These taxes fall on real estate, some on per- 
 sonal property, some on persons, and some on 
 manufactured articles. ' 
 
 City taxes are for schools, the poor, roads, police, health, 
 etc. County taxes are for roads, bridges, courts, etc. State 
 taxes are for roads, improvements, such as those on canals 
 and rivers, etc. National taxes are those imposed on im- 
 ported goods, and known as tariff taxes ; also those imposed 
 on manufactured tobacco, and malted and spirituous liquors — 
 these are excise taxes. Taxes on real estate are those imposed 
 on land and houses ; those on personal property fall on 
 stocks, bonds, ships, wagons, automobiles, luxurious furni- 
 ture, etc. A tax on all males twenty-one years and over is 
 called a "poll tax," or a tax on every head or poll. 
 
 8. Do All Men Pay Toward the National Govern- 
 
 ment? Yes. When we buy goods which are 
 imported, or tobacco, or malted and spirituous 
 liquors, the price we pay covers the taxes im- 
 posed by the federal government, as well as 
 the cost of production and transportation. 
 
 The national government collects most of its taxes in- 
 directly. The tariff is paid by the importer of foreign articles 
 at the port of entry; the manufacturer of tobacco pays the 
 duty at the factory; the brewers and distillers do the same. 
 These taxes are added to the cost of the goods and are paid 
 by the consumers, and everyone who buys them helps to pay 
 the tax. Taxes on incomes of more than $3,000 a year are 
 paid directly by those whose income exceeds that figure. 
 
 9. Is It the Duty of All to Pay Taxes? Yes; for 
 
 all enjoy the conveniences, benefits, and pro- 
 tection provided by a well organized govern- 
 ment. 
 
 Good streets, wholesome water, a sewerage system, lights, 
 parks, fire protection, food protection, protection of health, 
 police protection, free schools and playgrounds, etc., are en- 
 
6o CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 joyed by all the people and all the participants should help 
 to pay for them. All improvements effected by a city govern- 
 ment are for the benefit of all the people, and none should 
 try to evade paying his part towards them. 
 
 10. How is the People's Money Spent? In many 
 
 instances the men in power wilfully waste the 
 people's money by paying too high a price 
 for improvements and by deals which are 
 fraudulent and corrupt. 
 
 The story of municipal corruption is fast passing out of 
 public life, and a higher standard of honor and honesty is 
 being established in the management of municipal affairs. 
 Much of this is due to the good work done by the insistence 
 that candidates for many public offices shall pass a Civil 
 Service examination before they can be eligible to office. 
 Municipalities are following in the same direction by plac- 
 ing responsibility upon chosen men who call trained men to 
 assist them in the management of city departments. 
 
 11. Are Public Officials Trained Men? No. They 
 
 are men of eminent social qualities, but few 
 of those who manage our cities know any- 
 thing about the duties they are to discharge 
 before they are chosen to office. 
 
 As above stated, more and more are specially trained men 
 called to discharge public functions, and less and less are 
 the electors disposed to support men who cajole and tater 
 to them. The trend in all departments of government is to 
 put public affairs in the hands of men who look upon public 
 offices, not as prizes to^ be grasped, but as opportunities of 
 rendering the best possible service to the people whom they 
 serve. 
 
 12. What Ought a Public Officer to Be? He ought 
 
 to hold his office as a public trust, to be dis- 
 charged for the benefit of all the people. 
 
 Some men chosen to office feel that their first duty is to 
 self. Such men seldom rise to prominence. They find their 
 level and are left there. The public demands that public 
 
TAXES 6i 
 
 servants,^ just as all other men, should earn their money and 
 spend with care the money entrusted to them. When public 
 officers will exercise the same care and economy in spending 
 the money of the people as they do in spending their own, 
 we will come much nearer the ideal of democracy. 
 
 Hints to Teachers 
 
 Secure a tax collector to address the class and tell 
 some of his experiences. 
 
 If you can, secure a competent man to address the 
 class on the comparative cost of government in a 
 democracy and a monarchy. 
 
 Secure, if possible, one of the revenue tax col- 
 lectors, to give some of his experiences before the 
 class. 
 
 Find out from the class if each member pays 
 taxes. 
 
Chapter VIII. The Vote and the Voters 
 
 1. What is a Vote? It is the expression of one's 
 
 will as to men seeking office, or bills pro- 
 posed for the good of the people. 
 
 A vote may be taken in three ways : by voice, by show of 
 hands, or by a slip of paper. In political matters, the ballot 
 is generally used. This is a sheet of paper on which the 
 names of the candidates for office are printed, and the voter 
 puts a mark opposite the name of the man or men who he 
 thinks ought to be chosen to office. 
 
 2. Can All the People Vote? No. The vote is 
 
 given only to persons twenty-one years of age 
 or over, who are either born in the United 
 States or are naturalized in it. 
 
 All people born in the United States, if their parents con- 
 sider this country their home, are citizens of America. This 
 is true of sons born in America to Asiatics, who look upon 
 the United States as their home. The fathers cannot become 
 citizens of America, but there are many Chinese and Japanese 
 of the second generation who are citizens of the United 
 States. 
 
 3. What Classes of Men Cannot Vote? Criminals 
 
 in prison, paupers in poorhouses, the insane 
 and idiotic, have no vote. 
 
 In addition to the above, some states take away the right 
 to vote from men guilty of bribery, of betting, of duelling, 
 of bigamy, and of polygamy. Native born soldiers and 
 sailors, who are stationed in some states, cannot vote, for they 
 are not considered citizens of that state. 
 
 4. Can the Indians Vote? Those who are farmers 
 
 and pay taxes have the right to vote ; but 
 those who live in tribal relations and pay no 
 taxes cannot vote. 
 
THE VOTE AND THE VOTERS 63 
 
 _ The Red Men are the original inhabitants of the con- 
 tinent and owned the land before Europeans came here. The 
 land is now possessed by the white man, save some sections 
 known as reservations, where some Red Men live as tribes 
 and are supported by the United States government. These 
 have no vote. Others who own farms, live on them as free- 
 men, and pay their part of the taxation, have a voice in the 
 local, state, and federal government. 
 
 5. Is the Vote Given to Women? In eleven states 
 
 of the Union women have the full rights of 
 franchise ; in others, they have a voice in 
 municipal matters. 
 
 In the states of Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Washing- 
 ton, California, Arizona, Kansas, Oregon, Nevada, and Mon- 
 tana, women and men have equal rights in voting. In the 
 state of Illinois, the legislature granted women all the 
 franchise rights within its power, that is, the right to vote 
 for all offices not created by the state constitution. In 
 eighteen other states women vote on all school matters. In 
 Iowa they have a voice in all propositions to vote bonds or 
 increase tax levies for school purposes. 
 
 6. Are the Qualifications for Citizenship the same 
 
 in all States? No. In some states citizens 
 must know how to read the English language 
 before they can vote; in others, they must 
 pay certain taxes. 
 
 The right to vote is conferred upon the native born and 
 naturalized aliens by the United States, but the state regu- 
 lates that right. Hence we have different regulations in 
 different states. Some states believe the electors should be 
 able to read ; others believe they ought to pay a certain tax ; 
 while others again believe that the citizen should not be 
 restricted in the exercise of his right by any of the above 
 regulations. In ten states of the Union the foreign-born who 
 has declared his intention of becoming a citizen can vote. 
 
 7. What is a Citizen? A man who is born or nat- 
 
 uralized in the United States, and who is sub- 
 
64 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 ject to the laws of the country, is a citizen of 
 the United States and of the state wherein he 
 lives. 
 
 There are many people in the United States who stay here 
 for a time and expect to return to the land of their birth. 
 They are not subjects of the United States. Those who have 
 come to the United States, and have been naturalized, are 
 subjects of the United States. They may leave America 
 and travel abfoad, but they will look to the United States for 
 the protection they need. 
 
 8. Can Citizens Vote in Any State in the Union? 
 
 Yes. But most states require a residence of 
 from six months to two years before voting, 
 / and the voter must also register. 
 
 Each municipality and state jealously guards the franchise, 
 and the residence qualification demanded of each voter mov- 
 ing into the state from another state is a safeguard against 
 the bringing in of men by selfish politicians, in order to carry 
 the election. To register means to put down on a book the 
 name of the voter, and his address. This must be done some 
 time before the election takes place. ' 
 
 g. Can a Man Hold Two Citizenships? No. A 
 
 man cannot serve two countries, any more 
 than he can serve two masters. 
 
 When aliens take the oath of allegiance to the United 
 States they give up their citizenship in the country of their 
 birth and take on that of the United States. The country 
 from which the alien comes may not acknowledge the right 
 of a subject to change his citizenship without the consent of 
 the home government. Hundreds of thousands of men from 
 such countries have become citizens of America without the 
 consent of their home government. Hence, while they are 
 regarded by the United States as its citizens, the government 
 of their native country also counts them as its subjects. If 
 men in this state visit the homeland, complications arise be- 
 cause of this dual citizenship, and in many instances complica- 
 tions have arisen which have involved the respective govern- 
 ments in serious disputes. 
 
THE VOTE AND THE VOTERS 6s 
 
 10. How Does the Voter Cast His Vote? The voter 
 
 goes to the voting place, gives his name, 
 secures a ballot, enters a booth, marks the 
 ballot, and returns it to the election officer, 
 who then drops it into the ballot-box. 
 
 Voting places are chosen in each precinct, and to these 
 each voter must go, according to the place wherein he lives. 
 The officers in charge ask the voter's name, then consult the 
 register; if the name appears there, he is given a ballot on 
 which are printed the names of the men nominated for office. 
 He enters the booth, closes the door after him, marks the 
 ballot, then folds it so that his marking is hid. He then 
 leaves the booth, gives the folded ballot to the election officer, 
 who deposits it in the ballot-box. This is known as the 
 Australian way of voting, and is the one generally used in 
 this country. 
 
 11. Is it Enough Simply to Vote? No. A voter 
 
 ought to think carefully for whom and for 
 what he votes. 
 
 Waste and misappropriation of funds in municipal govern- 
 ments are blots on American democracy. They are due to the 
 quality of men chosen by the voters to manage their affairs. 
 There are many unwise and wicked laws passed by councils 
 and legislatures ; but this only reflects upon the quality of 
 the men chosen to legislate for the people. This is the rea- 
 son whj' voters should exercise great care in the choice of 
 men to political office. 
 
 12. If We Have Bad Government, Whose Fault 
 
 is It? The voters' fault. Officers are chosen 
 by them and they must be responsible for 
 their character. 
 
 Bad government means waste of money, neglect of duty, 
 bribery by selfish men, oppression of the poor, lax moral 
 standards, and indifference to public wants._ All these evils 
 can be cured only through the careful selection by the voters 
 of capable and honest men to attend to the functions of gov- 
 ernment in city, county, state, and nation. 
 
66 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 Hints to Teachers 
 
 Let one of the pupils in the class state how he 
 votes in his country. 
 
 Ask if European nations naturalize aliens. 
 
 Find out restrictions on voters from other states 
 coming to your state. 
 
 Show sample of ballot used in the last election. 
 
 Take class, if possible, to see the process of regis- 
 tration and the process of voting. 
 
Chapter IX. The County Government 
 
 1. What is a County? A county is one of the parts 
 
 into which a state is divided in order to pro- 
 mote local self-government. 
 
 The county organization originated in England, and was 
 brought to America by those who settled the country. In 
 New England, the Puritans settled in towns, but it was not 
 long before they organized the county, for the convenience 
 of the county court. In the South, the English settlers 
 modeled their local government after the English county. In 
 Louisiana, political divisions corresponding to counties are 
 called parishes. 
 
 2. What Makes Up a County? The county is made 
 
 up of cities, villages, and townships. Some- 
 times a city or a part of a city takes up all 
 the county. 
 
 Counties vary in size and in population. The city of New 
 York takes in parts of four counties. Some large cities, on 
 the state boundary line, virtually extend to the adjoining 
 state; hence we have adjoining municipalities on either side 
 of the line and the municipal authority of each is limited by 
 the state line. Generally, however, townships, villages, and 
 cities, each having its own form of government, make a 
 county. 
 
 3. What Officers are There in a County? The 
 
 county organization has the threefold divi- 
 sion of government, namely : legislative, 
 judicial, and executive; and men are chosen 
 to discharge the duties involved in these de- 
 partments. 
 
 We saw that in city governments the tendency is to place 
 upon one man, or a group of men, the responsibility of carry- 
 ing out the threefold function of government: legislative, 
 judicial, and executive. But in county, state, and national 
 
68 aVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 government, these three branches are kept separate ; each is 
 independent of the other, although they are interrelated and 
 must cooperate. 
 
 4. What is the Law-Making Power in the County? 
 
 The law-making power in the county rests in 
 a board of supervisors or commissioners. 
 
 The commissioners are generally chosen by the electors 
 of the county, and are from three to five in number. A 
 board of supervisors is sometimes made up of the chairmen 
 of the several boards of supervisors of the tovsfnships in the 
 county. In the former case, the men are chosen directly by 
 the people; in the latter, indirectly. 
 
 5. What are the Duties of the County Commis- 
 
 sioners? They apportion the state and 
 county taxes among the towns, villages, and 
 cities; have charge of the almshouse, the 
 house of correction, and the county roads, 
 and keep in repair all county buildings. 
 
 A county is a corporate body and can hold land and build- 
 ings. These must be looked after, and the duty falls to the 
 commissioners. If the board is made up of the chairmen of 
 the boards in the several townships, then each man has super- 
 vision of the property in the town he represents. If the 
 board is chosen directly by the people, then the county is 
 divided into districts and one given to each commissioner to 
 supervise. 
 
 6. Who is the Executive of the County? The chief 
 
 executive officer in the county is the sheriflf. 
 
 The word "sheriff" means the "head man.'' In England, 
 he was the king's agent in the county, or shire, to collect the 
 taxes in the county. In America, he is not chosen to collect 
 taxes, but to enforce the law of the land in the county. He 
 has the same relation to the county as the governor to the 
 state, and the President to the nation. 
 
 7. What are the Duties of the Sheriff? He attends 
 
 the county court, arrests criminals, summons 
 
THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT 69 
 
 criminals, witnesses, and jurors to be present 
 
 when court opens, has charge of the county 
 
 jail, carries out the sentences of the court, 
 
 and maintains the public peace. 
 
 While the court is in session, all prisoners, juries, and 
 witnesses are in the charge of the sheriff. When prisoners 
 try to escape the hand of the law, it is the duty of the sherifif 
 to pursue them and bring them to justice. He is held re- 
 sponsible_ for the peace of the county, and if the mayor 
 or commissioners of any city cannot maintain the peace, the 
 sheriff may be summoned in to do so. 
 
 8. Where are the Laws Enforced in the County? 
 
 In the county court, which is located in the 
 
 county seat. 
 
 Every county has a county seat, in which the courthouse 
 and the county jail are located. In some counties, court is 
 held in more than one town, in order to accommodate that 
 portion of the population far removed from the county seat. 
 
 g. What Cases are Tried in the County Court? 
 
 Crimes are tried in the county court, as well 
 
 as disputes between citizens, too important 
 
 for the justice of the peace to handle. 
 
 All criminal cases in the county court are tried by the 
 district attorney, who is chosen to that office by the county 
 electors. He is responsible for the prosecution of criminals 
 violating the laws of the state and the county. Appeals can 
 be made from the deci.sion of the county court to higher 
 state courts. 
 
 10. Who are the Judges in the County Courts? 
 
 Men learne4 in the law, chosen by the elec- 
 tors of the county to explain and apply the 
 law of the land. 
 
 The number of judges in the county depends upon the 
 population of the county. In some states, one of the county 
 commissioners acts as judge; in others, a judge is chosen by 
 the voters of the county. In populous counties, there are 
 
70 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 judges of quarter session courts, orphans' courts, equity 
 courts, juvenile courts, probate courts, etc. The number of 
 judges chosen depends upon the amount of work to be done 
 in the courts. 
 
 11. How are Cases Tried in the County Court? All 
 
 cases which pass the grand jury are tried be- 
 fore twelve chosen men, who are called the 
 petit jury. 
 
 All cases tried before the county judge are tried by jury. 
 There are two kinds of jurors, (i) Grand jurors are those 
 before whom the district attorney brings the cases he has 
 on the docket, in order that they may decide whether or not 
 the evidence warrants a trial. (2) Petit (small) jurors are 
 the ones who listen to the evidence in cases tried, and decide 
 whether or not the accused party is guilty. 
 
 12. What is the Coroner? If a person in the county 
 
 meets a violent death, it is the duty of the 
 coroner to investigate into the cause of that 
 death. 
 
 If the dead body of any man is found and there is reason 
 to believe that he came to his death by violence, it is the 
 duty of the coroner to look into the matter and, if possible, 
 find out the cause of the death. He can summon a jury to 
 consider the matter and aid him. If the office of sheriff is 
 vacant, the coroner generally acts in that capacity until a 
 new sheriff is chosen. He also, in most states, is the only 
 person who can arrest the sheriff or serve process upon him. 
 
 13. Is the County Court a Court of Record? Yes. 
 
 It has a seal and a special officer to record its 
 actions. 
 
 _ The mayor's court, police court, and the court of the jus- 
 tice of the peace, are not courts of record. These try petty 
 cases of both criminal and civil suits, but, if important, the 
 cases are held for the county court, which is a court of 
 record. All states have not county courts. Where they are 
 not found, the district courts take their place. 
 
THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT 71 
 
 14. What Other Officers are There in the County? 
 
 A treasurer, county clerk, recorder of deeds, 
 etc. 
 
 The number of men employed to look after the business of 
 the county depends wholly upon the number of people in 
 the county. Every county has its part to play in the adminis- 
 tration of justice in the state, but when the county has a 
 population of over a million, the number of men required to 
 transact this business is large. 
 
 Hints to Teachers 
 
 Point out on a map how several townships make 
 a county, and how counties make a state. 
 
 Specify and locate the property owned by the 
 county in which you live. 
 
 Point out on the map the county seat and, if pos- 
 sible, show a picture of the courthouse and county 
 jail. 
 
 State the annual expense of running the county 
 government, and how the money is secured to pay 
 the bills. 
 
 Show sample of warrants, bail bonds, and other 
 forms used in civil and criminal suits. 
 
 Secure if possible a county commissioner, or the 
 sheriff,' to address the men and to tell them how 
 they do their work. 
 
Chapter X. The State Government 
 
 1. What is a State? A political body having lim- 
 
 ited sovereign power over a prescribed area, 
 and forming one of the forty-eight common- 
 wealths making up the Republic of the 
 United States. 
 
 The states of the Union vary greatly in size and in popula- 
 tion. Rhode Island is the smallest (1,248 square miles) ; 
 Texas is the largest (265,896 square miles). The smallest 
 in population is Nevada, with about 100,000 ; while New York 
 has over 10,000,000. The United States as a whole is not 
 densely populated, having (in 1917) only 31 people to the 
 square mile; but Manhattan Island, in New York City, is 
 the most densely populated section of the world, and New 
 York City has a larger population than 46 states in the Union. 
 
 2. How are States Made? The thirteen original 
 
 colonies became independent states at the 
 close of the Revolutionary War, and formed 
 the Union. The other states have since been 
 admitted by a vote of Congress. 
 
 The representatives of the colonies, on July 4, 1776, declared 
 the colonies "free and independent states"; these then formed 
 the Union under the Constitution. All the other land owned 
 or acquired by Congress was open to the people for settle- 
 ment. As this territory increased in population, the people 
 asked for a government of their own. They chose delegates 
 who met in convention, drafted a Constitution, sent it to Con- 
 gress, which judged if it was in harmony with the United 
 States Constitution, and being satisfied, voted in the new 
 state. The President then declared that the new state was 
 admitted into the national Union. 
 
 3. What is the Work of the State Government? 
 
 It keeps order in its territory, enforces the 
 law, makes new laws, has the power of life 
 and death over the citizens, and exercises 
 
THE STATE GOVERNMENT 73 
 
 power over all political units within its 
 borders. 
 
 The state government touches the Hfe of the citizen much 
 more closely than the federal government. It regulates the 
 rights of property, the terms of contracts, marriage and 
 divorce, birth and death, school and work, parents and chil- 
 dren, health and disease, dependents and delinquents, towns 
 and cities, debts and wealth, courts and police, etc. All these 
 are controlled by state law. Every village and county, town, 
 and city, derives its right to exist by a charter secured from 
 the state. 
 
 4. What is the State Constitution? It is a set of 
 
 laws laid down for the regulation of the com- 
 monwealth. 
 
 The Constitution of the Union is the fundamental law in 
 the land, and all laws passed by Congress or by any state 
 legislature must conform to it. The state constitution must 
 be in harmony with the United States Constitution, and it 
 lays down certain rules which must govern the activity of 
 the men in official authority in the three departments of state 
 activity. City and village charters serve the same purpose as 
 related to city and village government as do constitutions 
 to state 'governments. They lay down important principles 
 and laws, and describe the powers and duties of the leading 
 officers. 
 
 5. Has the State the Threefold Division of Govern- 
 
 ment? Yes. The laws are passed by the leg- 
 islature; the laws are enforced by the execu- 
 tive ; and the laws are interpreted and applied 
 by the judiciary. 
 
 The form of state government conforms with that of the 
 national government in following the threefold division into 
 legislative, executive, and judicial. We saw that, in the town 
 government of New England, it was possible for all the peo- 
 ple to come together and pass upon the laws proposed. As 
 the population increased, this . became impossible, and the 
 people appointed representatives to make the laws and en- 
 force them. That is how we do today. 
 
74 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 The State Legislature 
 
 6. What is the State Legislature? It is a body of 
 
 representatives, chosen by the people, sitting 
 in the state capital, for the purpose of pass- 
 ing laws for the well-being of the common- 
 wealth. 
 
 The state legislature is made up of two bodies, the lower, 
 or state house of representatives, sometimes called the 
 assembly ; and the upper, or state senate. The lower house 
 has generally a greater number of members than the upper, 
 while the term of office of . the senators is generally double 
 that of representatives or assemblymen. The legislature 
 meets each year in some states, but the tendency is to biennial 
 sessions. 
 
 7. How are Legislators Chosen? The legislators 
 
 are chosen by the voters living in the legisla- 
 tive districts of the state. 
 
 Political parties select candidates for the legislature, and the 
 voters of the several legislative districts into which the state 
 is divided choose by ballot the men whom they wish to have 
 represent them. The candidate who gets the plurality of 
 the votes cast in his district is chosen. The legislators usually 
 reside in the district which they represent. 
 
 8. How are Laws Made? A bill must pass both 
 
 houses of the legislature, then it is sent to the 
 
 governor for his signature. If he signs it, it 
 
 becomes law. If he vetoes the bill, it is then 
 
 returned to the legislature and can become a 
 
 law only by a two-thirds vote of each of the 
 
 two houses. 
 
 Each house makes its own rules of procedure and enforces 
 them. If a member or a spectator is disorderly, he may be 
 ejected. Each house chooses its own officers, such as presid- 
 ing officer, secretaries or clerks, sergeant-at-arms, chaplain, 
 etc. The exception to this rule is in those states having a 
 lieutenant-governor, who is, in virtue of his office, presiding 
 
THE ST.ITE GOI'ERNMn.XT 
 
 75 
 
 officer of the senate. The sessions are generally open to the 
 public. There arc certain powers which belong to each house 
 separately. All state laws are subject to interpretation by the 
 state courts. 
 
 9. Where are the State Laws Made? All stale 
 laws are made in the state house located in 
 the capital city of the state. 
 
 Each state has its capital, where the government of the 
 state has its headquarters and where the state house is. In 
 New York State it is .Mbany, in Pennsylvania it is Harris- 
 burg, etc. The student should know the capital city of his 
 state. 
 
 State Capitol, Albany, N. Y. 
 
 The governor of the state has his office in the capitol of 
 the state ; his advisers also have their headquarters there. 
 The state legislature convenes there, and the supreme court 
 holds its sessions in this building 
 
76 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 The State Executive 
 
 10. What is the Governor of the State? He is the 
 
 chief executive of the state and is chosen by 
 the people to execute the laws. 
 
 The governor stands in the same relation to the state as 
 the mayor does to the city, and the sheriff to the county. He 
 is chosen by the electors of the state. Political parties present 
 candidates for the position, but the people decide on election 
 day who is to be their chief executive for the next term. 
 
 11. What are the Duties of the Governor? He ad- 
 
 ministers the laws of the state, is commander- 
 in-chief of the state militia, can pardon state 
 criminals, and has a veto power upon laws 
 enacted by the state legislature. 
 
 The governor has to do with the people and he can require 
 from the chief officer of any executive department an opinion 
 in writing upon any subject pertaining to the duties of his 
 office. He is thus expected to know more than any other 
 person about the needs of the state as a whole,' and he is 
 expected to communicate to the legislature such information 
 touching affairs as he believes to be for the best good of the 
 state. The power given the governor to pardon criminals is 
 for the purpose of rectifying possible errors in the commit- 
 ment of criminals, etc. 
 
 12. Has the Governor Assistants? He has a corps 
 
 of assistants, such as the lieutenant-governor, 
 the attorney-general, the secretary of state, 
 the state treasurer, etc. 
 
 The governor in the state, as the mayor in the city, has his 
 assistants. Many states choose lieutenant-governors, for the 
 purpose of saving confusion in case the office of governor 
 becomes vacant. In some states he is, in virtue of his posi- 
 tion, president of the senate. The attorney-general gives legal 
 advice to the governor and legislature. The secretary of 
 state has the custody of state papers, acts of legislation, etc. 
 The superintendent of public instruction supervises and con- 
 
THE STATE GOVERNMENT 77 
 
 trols the educational interests of the state. There are many 
 other officers in the state who work in harmony with the 
 governor. 
 
 The State Judiciary 
 
 13. What Courts Has the State? The state has a 
 
 series of courts arranged in order of impor- 
 tance from the municipal courts to the Su- 
 preme Court. 
 
 All the courts in a state are related, and each one of them 
 is concerned with the maintenance of the law. The lower, 
 such as those of towns and villages, try petty crimes and mis- 
 demeanors ; the more important cases are taken to the county 
 or the district court, while the higher courts are for still more 
 important cases and for appeals. 
 
 14. Have We Any State Judges? Yes. They are 
 
 men well versed in the law, and are either 
 chosen by the people or appointed 6y the 
 governor and confirmed by the senate. 
 
 Judges have their political leanings, like all other men, but 
 when they sit in court they are to interpret the law without 
 respect of person. If they are biased because of party in- 
 terest, or of personal considerations, they are not worthy of 
 the office. They hold office for a term of years, or for life, 
 or during good behavior. 
 
 15. What are the Higher Courts of a State? They 
 
 are two : The superior courts, which try im- 
 portant cases and which hear appeals; the 
 Supreme Court, which hears appeals only. 
 
 These courts are wholly independent of the federal courts. 
 An appeal may be carried from a state court to a federal court 
 if the case involves points of federal law, or if the parties 
 are citizens of different states, or if foreign ambassadors are 
 concerned. The courts of the state are final in cases between 
 citizens of the same state. 
 
78 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 Hints to Teachers 
 
 Show the map of your state to the class. Let 
 them see the lines of adjoining states, and say that 
 each state can govern only within its boundaries, 
 for each must respect the right of other states. 
 
 Show the location of the state capital. See that 
 they know the governor and lieutenant-governor. 
 
 Call attention to the boundaries of the state, and 
 what adjoining territory there is to the north, south, 
 east, and west. 
 
 Show how laws dififer ; a man convicted of mur- 
 der in Pennsylvania is hanged, in New York is elec- 
 trocuted, in Vermont is imprisoned for life. What 
 is law in one state may not be law in another. 
 
Chapter XI. The National Government 
 
 1. What is the United States? It is the union of 
 
 the forty-eight states, each giving up a part 
 of its sovereign power and submitting to the 
 authority of the Union in matters that per- 
 tain to the common welfare of all the states. 
 
 When the thirteen colonies became free and independent 
 states, each felt that 'it could not stand alone. They tried 
 to live together under Articles of Confederation, but jealousy 
 and selfishness made it impossible. The ablest men of that 
 day then met in convention and agreed upon the form of 
 government outlined in the United States Constitution. This 
 was offered to the several states and in May, 1789, after being 
 signed by each, became the law of the land. 
 
 2. What are the Boundaries of the United States? 
 
 On the north lies the Dominion of Canada, on 
 the south the Republic of Mexico and the 
 Gulf of Mexico, on the east the Atlantic 
 Ocean, and on the west the Pacific Ocean. 
 (See map, page 2). 
 
 The area of continental United States is 3,032,049 square 
 miles ; its greatest length is 2,780 miles, and its greatest 
 breadth 2,600 miles. It is little smaller than Europe, but it 
 has less than one-fourth of its population. Ninety per cent 
 of the population of America are descendants of European 
 peoples who are of Aryan origin. 
 
 3. Has the United States any Dependencies? Yes. 
 
 The United States owns Alaska, the Hawai- 
 ian Islands, Porto Rico, and other small 
 islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Philippines 
 are also ruled by the United States Govern- 
 ment. 
 
8o CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 The area given above is for continental United States. 
 Our other possessions are Alaska, having 590,884 square 
 miles ; Hawaii, 6,449 square miles ; Porto Rico 3,600 square 
 miles; Tutuila Islands, 73 square miles; the Panama Canal 
 Zone, 448 square miles; the Philippines, 127,853 square miles. 
 These with continental United States make a total area of 
 3,690,822 square miles. 
 
 4. How Many States Make Up the Union? The 
 
 Union is made up of forty-eight states. 
 
 The thirteen original states bordered on the Atlantic Ocean. 
 Subsequently the adjoining territory -vyas secured either by 
 purchase, occupation, or conquest, so that now the states of 
 the Union stretch across the continent and take in the most 
 desirable section of the continent of North America. 
 
 5. What is the Form of Government of the United 
 
 States? In form, the government of the 
 United States is a republic. 
 
 A republic is a form of government in which the sove- 
 reignty rests in the people, and the administration of affairs 
 is lodged in officers chosen by the people to represent them. 
 The republican form of government is older than Christianity, 
 but the distinguishing feature of the American republic is 
 the broad basis upon which it rests — the enfranchised class 
 taking in a larger percentage of the people than in any other 
 country. It is the greatest experiment of a free people in 
 self-government in the history of the world. 
 
 6. What is the Difference Between the Sovereignty 
 
 of the United States and That of a State? 
 
 The former extends over all the states of the 
 Union and the territories, the latter is felt 
 only within the boundary of the state. 
 
 Nine out of every ten laws touching the life of the citizen 
 are state laws, but there are questions which touch the inter- 
 ests of all citizens, and these are handled best by the federal 
 government. Some of these questions are the mail service, 
 the currency, bankruptcy, the army and navy, the consular 
 service, etc. The power of the state covers all police and 
 
THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT 8i 
 
 other local regulations. The power of the nation extends 
 to all matters in which all the states have a common interest. 
 
 7. Is There a Limit Placed on the Power of the 
 
 United States? Yes. The Constitution of 
 the United States lays down fundamental 
 principles which govern the actions of the 
 federal government. 
 
 The Constitution defines certain powers delegated to the 
 central government by the states. It sets down limitations to 
 the state governments and their officers ; it outlines what the 
 federal officers can do, and lays down lines of action for 
 the various parts of the government of the nation. In Amer- 
 ica the question always is, when a state or the national gov- 
 ernment does something unusual: "Is it constitutional?" or 
 in other words, is it in harmony with the fundamental or 
 basic law of the land? 
 
 8. Does the Constitution Divide the Responsibility 
 
 of Government? Yes. We have here the 
 threefold divisions before mentioned : the leg- 
 islative, the executive, and the judicial. 
 
 We saw that every state has its written constitution which 
 must be in harmony with the national constitution. States 
 at certain times re-write their constitutions, making such 
 changes as the people think ought to be made, but the changes 
 must not depart from the principles laid down in the United 
 States Constitution. All the states in the Union must con- 
 form with the law of the land before we can get peace and 
 harmony. 
 
 The Federal Legislature 
 
 g. What is the National Law-Making Body? Con- 
 gress, which is made up of the House of Rep- 
 resentatives, or the lower house ; and the 
 Senate, or the upper house. 
 
 Laws made by Congress relate to the whole nation ; those 
 made by a state legislature relate only to the people of the 
 state; ordinances passed by a town council refer only to the 
 city. Measures before the legislature are called bills. Bills 
 
82 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 may be presented in either the lower or the upper house of 
 Congress, but all those having to do with raising money must 
 be presented in the lower house. 
 
 10. How are the Members of Congress Chosen? 
 
 The members of both houses are chosen by 
 the electors of the United States. 
 
 There are 43s members in the House of Representatives in 
 Congress. These men are apportioned among the states 
 according to population. The census, taken each decade, 
 affords the basis for computation, &nd the couiitry is divided 
 into congressional districts. Each representative resides in 
 the district from which he is chosen. At present, based on 
 the census for 1910, there is one representative for every 
 212,407 of population. The senators number 96, two chosen 
 for each state in the Union, no matter what its population. 
 Hence, in the upper house, Nevada, with 100,000 population, 
 has as much weight settling national problems as New York 
 with a population of 10,000.000. The senators, who were 
 formerly chosen by the legislatures of the several states, are, 
 by the 17th Amendment, now chosen by the vote of the 
 people of the state they represent. 
 
 11. How do National Bills Become Laws? A bill 
 
 before it becomes law must pass both houses, 
 then it goes to the President for his signa- 
 ture; if he signs it, the bill becomes law; if 
 he vetoes it, the bill goes back to Congress 
 and can become law only when passed by a 
 two-thirds vote of each of the two houses. 
 
 A bill may also become law if the President does not 
 sign it, but keeps it for ten days after it has reached him. 
 If Congress, however, is not in session for ten days after the 
 bill has been sent to the President and he does not sign it, 
 the bill is of no effect. 
 
 12. Where Does Congress Meet? In the city of 
 
 Washington, in the District of Columbia. 
 
 The District of Columbia comprises 69 square miles, and 
 was ceded to the federal government by the State of Mary- 
 
THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT 
 
 83 
 
 land. It is governed by three commissioners, appointed by 
 the President and approved by the Senate. The citizens have 
 no voice in local or national affairs. Congress meets each 
 year on the first Monday in December. The President has 
 power to call Congress into special session. 
 
 ■'•e^w^mmpmmi.i:/i^M^^ . :/»:'• 
 
 --^^•r>s'- 
 
 m.>iti 
 
 The Capitol, Washington, D. C. 
 The Federal Executive 
 
 13. Who is the Chief Executive of the Nation? The 
 
 President of the United States, who is chosen 
 
 indirectly by the votes of the electors of the 
 
 nation. 
 
 Twenty-seven different men have been Presidents of the 
 United States. Nine of these have served more than one 
 terra. The term of office is four years. No President has 
 had more than two terms, or eight years. There is no law 
 against a third term, but the precedent laid down by Wash- 
 ington and others has created a strong public sentiment 
 against a third terra. 
 
 14. What are Some of the Duties of the President? 
 
 He sees that the laws of the land are faith- 
 
84 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 fully executed; he is commander-in-chief of 
 the army and navy ; he can, with the coopera- 
 tion of the Senate, make treaties with foreign 
 powers; he appoints ambassadors, ministers, 
 and consuls to foreign countries; appoints 
 judges of United States courts, heads of de- 
 partments, and many revenue and postal offi- 
 cers ; he can also pardon criminals against the 
 United States. 
 
 The President is supposed to know the condition of the 
 country, and in his annual message to Congress is expected 
 to inform the members concerning the conditions of affairs 
 and to suggest what he considers to be wise measures to meet 
 these conditions. 
 
 15. Who are the Advisers of the President? There 
 are ten departments in the government, and 
 the heads of these departments form the 
 President's Cabinet. They advise him upon 
 all matters pertaining to the affairs of the 
 nation. 
 
 The ten departments are as follows : 
 
 1. The Secretary of State, who stands at the head of the 
 diplomatic service. 
 
 2. The Secretary of the Treasury, who is at the head of cus- 
 toms, taxes, coinage, etc. 
 
 3. The Secretary of War, who has charge of the army, etc. 
 
 4. The Secretary of the Navy, who has charge of the navy, 
 etc. 
 
 5. The Postmaster-General, who has charge of the post- 
 offices, etc. 
 
 6. The Secretary of the Interior, who has charge of public 
 lands, pensions, patents, etc. 
 
 7. The Attorney-General, who is the legal adviser of the 
 government. 
 
 8. The Secretary of Agriculture, who deals with agri- 
 cultural interests. 
 
 9. The Secretary of Commerce, who deals with industrial 
 and commercial affairs. 
 
THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT 
 
 85 
 
 10. The Secretary of Labor, who looks into industrial 
 relations, has charge of immigration affairs, etc. 
 
 The White House, Washington, D. C. 
 Where the President of the United States Resides. 
 
 i6. What are the Duties of the Vice-President? He 
 
 is president of the Senate. 
 
 The Vice-President is chosen indirectly by the electors of 
 the nation, like the President. Although he is President of 
 the Senate, he has no vote upon the questions brought be,fore 
 the Senate unless the members are equally divided. If the 
 Presidency becomes vacant the Vice-President becomes Presi- 
 dent. 
 
 The Federal Judiciary 
 
 17. Have We United States Courts? Yes. The 
 United States has many courts, the highest 
 being the Supreme Court of the United 
 States. 
 
86 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 There is nothing in history Hke the Supreme Court of the 
 United States, which was provided for in the United States 
 Constitution. It was made a branch of the government 
 wholly independent of the other two, and has as great power 
 to check the other departments as they have to check it. 
 
 1 8. How Many Judges are There in the Supreme 
 
 Court? Nine. One acts as presiding judge 
 and is known as Chief Justice; the other 
 eight are associate justices. 
 
 The Constitution did not prescribe the number of judges 
 to make up the court. At first it was six, but as the work 
 increased the number was increased. 
 
 19. How are the Judges Appointed? The President 
 
 makes the appointments and the Senate con- 
 firms or rejects his appointees. 
 
 20. How Long do They Serve? They are appointed 
 
 and hold office during good behavior. 
 
 This is virtually for life so that the incumbents are re- 
 moved from the temptations incident to political action. The 
 salary of the chief justice is $15,000 and that of each associate 
 $14,500. 
 
 21. Mention Some Other United States Courts. 
 
 Other United States courts are : 
 
 1. The United States Circuit Courts of Ap- 
 
 peal. 
 
 2. United States District Courts. 
 
 3. United States Court of Claims. 
 
 4. Commerce Court. 
 
 5. Customs Appeals Court. 
 
 The United States is divided into nine districts and one 
 of the circuit courts of appeal is in each district. The district 
 courts have from one to three courts in each state. 
 
THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT 87 
 
 Hints to Teachers 
 
 See that you have a map of the United States on 
 hand ; show its extent, the boundaries, show the 
 District of Columbia, the city of Washington, etc. 
 
 Show the class a picture of the President. 
 
 Show a picture of the Supreme Court and some 
 of the judges. 
 
Chapter XII. The Arm of Justice 
 
 1. What is a Law? It is a rule .of conduct for the 
 
 citizens of a state or a community. 
 
 We have seen that laws may be passed by a municipality, 
 (when they are known as ordinances), by a state, and by the 
 federal government. A citizen must regulate his conduct 
 by the laws passed by each ; for example : The city will not 
 tolerate a nuisance, the state will not tolerate a theft, and 
 the federal government will prosecute the man who robs the 
 mail. 
 
 2. Does the Law Protect the Wife of an AHen? 
 
 Yes. The husband cannot strike her, he 
 must support her, and he cannot at will leave 
 her and marry another. 
 
 A man who deserts his wife can be arrested ; if he refuses 
 to support her,, he can be thrown into prison; if she is in 
 Europe and he marries another woman in the United States, 
 he is guilty of bigamy and will be punished ; if he strikes her, 
 he is guilty of crime. 
 
 3. Does the Law Protect the Child? Yes. Parents 
 
 cannot desert their children ; they must send 
 them to school, and thejf cannot send them to 
 work before they have come to a certain age. 
 
 A man who runs away from his family is a criminal. If 
 he fails to send his child to school, he will be arrested, fined, 
 and put into prison ; if he puts his child to work before the 
 age specified by the law, he is liable to a fine and imprison- 
 ment. 
 
 4. Does the Law Protect Young Girls? Yes. It is 
 
 a crime to marry a girl under 18 years of age, 
 unless the consent of the parents is secured. 
 To seduce a girl under 18 years is a serious 
 crime. 
 
THE ARM OF JUSTICE 89 
 
 The man who marries a girl under 18 years, or who has 
 seduced her, or who has sexual intercourse with her, with 
 or without her consent, and out of wedlock, is liable to im- 
 prisonment for ten years. 
 
 5. Can Parents Do as They Wish With Their 
 
 Children? No. The law watches over the 
 child and will interfere if the parents fail in 
 their duty. 
 
 Parents must not treat their children cruelly; they must 
 not send them out to beg or to steal ; they cannot take them 
 with them to beg. Many children have been taken from their 
 parents because of one or other of these causes. 
 
 6. Can a Man Treat His Horse or Cow as He 
 
 Likes? No. A man cannot starve a cow or 
 work a horse that is lame, for cruelty to ani- 
 mals is punished by law. 
 
 The man who borrows a horse cannot starve it or maltreat 
 it. The law in America is severe upon all men who are cruel 
 to animals. 
 
 7. Can a Man Carry a Gun? Yes, but he must 
 
 have a special license to do so. Anyone car- 
 rying a dangerous weapon can be arrested 
 and imprisoned. 
 
 The term "dangerous weapon'' is not always easily defined ; 
 but it may be best defined from the standpoint of the bearer. 
 If a man carries steel knuckles, a slug, a dagger, a long knife, 
 etc., with a view to using them in any way, the law applies 
 to him. 
 
 8. Is it a Crime to Threaten Another Man by Word 
 
 or Letter? Yes. Any attempt to take money 
 
 or property from another by threat is a crime. 
 
 It is illegal to send a postal card through the mail for the 
 collection of a debt ; or to send or take a letter to a man de- 
 manding money of him; or to ask a man for money and 
 threaten him if he does not give it. All these come under 
 
90 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 the head of blackmail and are punished by long years of 
 imprisonment. 
 
 9. Can a Man Gamble if He Wants To? Games of 
 
 chance of all kinds are forbidden by state and 
 
 national law. Bets are often made but these 
 
 cannot be collected by process of law. 
 
 It is a crime to buy, sell, handle, or have in one's possession 
 lottery tickets from concerns doing business at home or 
 abroad. Gambling in saloons, pool rooms, card rooms, etc., 
 or playing games of chance on the streets, are punished by 
 law. 
 
 10. Is There Any Law Regulating Peddling? Yes. 
 
 The city regulates this business and demands 
 
 that all peddlers must have a license. 
 
 The ordinances of cities regulating the issue of licenses 
 differ. Every city of any size insists that men who peddle 
 shall have a license, which they must produce when any city 
 officer wants to see it. Many cities will issue licenses to 
 peddle only to those who are citizens, or to aliens who have 
 taken out their first paper. 
 
 11. Does the Law Regulate Labor in Any Way? 
 
 Yes. Generally children under fourteen years 
 of age cannot work ; men oh municipal jobs 
 work only eight hours a day; women in fac- 
 tories cannot work more than ten hours a 
 day ; young girls cannot work at night, etc. 
 
 The laws of every state regulate the conditions of labor 
 and the hours of women and children who work. It is im- 
 portant to know these laws, in order that all may have the 
 benefit of their humane provisions. Most states in which 
 industries flourish have passed laws regulating safety and 
 compensation to those injured while at work. 
 
 12. Can a Man Trade on Sunday? Yes, in certain 
 
 things. But the law limits all trade in arti- 
 cles not deemed necessary. 
 
THE ARM OF JUSTICE gi 
 
 Food, fruits, candies, tobacco, drugs, newspapers, etc., are 
 sold on Sunday in a quiet way. Meals can be served on 
 Sunday, but most states prohibit the sale of alcoholic liquors. 
 Barber shops and shoe-shining parlors are kept open on Sun- 
 day during certain hours. All contracts and legal documents 
 made on Sunday are void, save wills and contracts of charity 
 or necessity. 
 
 13. Has the Law Anything to Do With the Homes? 
 
 Yes. It commands that these must be kept 
 clean, free from nuisances, and must not be 
 used for immoral purposes. 
 
 It is unlawful to keep pigs, cows, chickens, etc., in large 
 cities. It is unlawful to kill these within the city hmits. No 
 one can throw things out of the window in a crowded city, 
 and when infectious disease invades the home, it must be 
 reported to the Board of Health. 
 
 14. Does the Law Regulate the Ballot? Yes. Any- 
 
 one who votes illegally is guilty of a crime. 
 Anyone who receives a bribe or gives a bribe 
 to a voter is guilty of a crime. 
 
 The ballot is jealously guarded. An alien who secures 
 illegally the right to vote is liable to a fine of $1,000 or 7 
 years' imprisonment. Anyone bribing another, or threaten- 
 ing him, or promising him money or a job for his vote, com- 
 mits a crime. 
 
 15. Does the Law Regulate the Borrowing of 
 
 Money? Yes. States allow a certain rate of 
 interest for money borrowed. If any more 
 than the fixed interest is charged, it is usury 
 and punished by law. 
 
 The rate of interest allowed by law in the several states 
 varies from 6% to 10%. Men have cunning devices to evade 
 the law, but they are law-breakers in fact if not in deed. 
 The spirit of the law must be obeyed, as well as its letter. 
 
92 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 Hints to Teachers 
 
 Explain to the class what the state law is regard- 
 ing the employment of women and children. 
 
 Do the same regarding the laws of compensation 
 for accidents. 
 
 Do the same regarding laws regulating the car- 
 rying of arms, and cruelty to animals. 
 
 Explain the municipal ordinance regarding 
 licenses to peddle. 
 
 Do the same regarding the Sunday law and the 
 protection thrown around the ballot. 
 
Chapter XIII. The Public Peace 
 
 1. Why is it Necessary to Lay Down Laws? When 
 
 men live together, the relation of one to the 
 other must be defined. Laws are for the pur- 
 pose of defining these relations. 
 
 Nothing can be done without rules being laid down as to 
 how the work must proceed. We cannot build a road, a 
 bridge, or a house, without plans ; we cannot play a game of 
 baseball, or football, or chess, without rules to which every- 
 one agrees ; nor can men live together in a city, town, or vil- 
 lage, without rules and regulations. 
 
 2. Is There Any Guarantee Given a Man Who 
 
 Works? Yes. The law of the land protects 
 
 the wage for which he agrees to work, and no 
 
 claim can come before it. 
 
 When men work they make things for the market or for 
 the use of men. These products are valuable and sell for 
 money. The workman has first claim on the money got for 
 the goods. If a firm fails and becomes bankrupt, the law 
 insists that the workmen must first be paid before any other 
 claim is settled. 
 
 3. Is a Man Who Builds a House Protected in His 
 
 Property Rights? Yes. The law of the land 
 stands ready to protect him against any per- 
 son or persons who will try to take his prop- 
 erty or injure it. 
 
 Security of property rights is very important, and there 
 are many laws passed with this in view. It would be an im- 
 possibility for a man to protect his house against a dozen 
 men ; but he can call in the police to help him, and if he is 
 wronged in any way, he can appeal to the law and find justice 
 in the courts. 
 
 4. Can the Government Take a Man's House? Yes. 
 
 if it is needed for some public improvement ; 
 
94 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 but it must pay the owner a reasonable price 
 
 for his property. 
 
 Sometimes roads will pass through a citizen's farm, or the 
 state government may need his city lot for a school building, or 
 the federal government may need a plot of ground for a post- 
 office or a military station — in each instance the property may 
 be taken by due process of lavir and the owner receive rea- 
 sonable value for the property taken from him. 
 
 5. Which is the Best Way to Settle Disputes Be- 
 
 tween People? .By the parties to the dispute 
 coming before a judge who knows the law in 
 the matter, putting their case before him, and 
 abiding by his decision. 
 
 The way the common sense and practical judgment of men 
 of past generations settled disputes forms the basis of the 
 common law in every land. Before such a code was agreed 
 upon, men fought as animals fight. It was then the law of 
 might. Modern society has drafted a code of laws for the 
 settlement of disputes, and it is the duty of all to abide by 
 them. 
 
 6. Are Some of the Laws Which Govern Us Old? 
 
 Yes. The law that a man charged with crime 
 
 must be tried by a jury of twelve men is very 
 
 old. 
 
 Since the time men began to live together, laws have been 
 set down of how members of the group must behave toward 
 each other. These laws have been passed on from father to 
 son, from generation to generation. This is the hold the tra- 
 dition of the fathers has upon us, and it is well that it should 
 be so, otherwise every generation would have to work out its 
 own laws and we would not be able to build up the civiliza- 
 tion we today enjoy. 
 
 7. What is Meant by the Phrase "No Real Free- 
 
 dom Without Law"? It means that where 
 there is no law we cannot have freedom to 
 act, for the reason that the lawlessness of 
 others makes it impossible. 
 
THE PUBLIC PEACE 95 
 
 There must be in every home rules which contribute to the 
 happiness of all. If there are no rules, all will act as they 
 please and the result will be confusion ; no one will be free 
 to act, for the lawless conduct of others interferes. The same 
 is true of all bodies of men. The only condition under which 
 man can be free to act for the good of himself and society 
 is under law, which each of the members of the group does 
 his best to observe. 
 
 8. What is Civilization? It is the art of living in 
 
 peace one with another. 
 
 Wherever we find riot and disorder, security of property 
 and person not guaranteed, contracts not kept and agree- 
 ments lightly regarded, there we find confusion and not civil- 
 ization. No government can be carried on and no industrial 
 work can be carried on unless men can live in peace one with 
 the other. Whenever men have taken to the sword instead 
 of the plow, the rifle instead of the lathe, civilization has 
 broken down and men fallen back into barbarism. 
 
 9. Are Men Wholly Dependent for Law Upon 
 
 Governments? No. Usage gives us many 
 laws, but the most sure foundation of law is 
 the human reason and the sense of human 
 justice. 
 
 Governments make laws which are called statute laws, but 
 besides these are the common laws which are based on usage. 
 Over and above these two sources of law is the sense of 
 ' justice and honesty; a sweet reasonableness that is in every 
 human being as a man, which works for peace and good-will 
 among men. This moral power in every man is the strongest 
 bulwark of the civilization of every country. 
 
 10. Why Cannot Men Be a Law to Themselves? 
 
 Because in social relations men do not follow 
 reason and justice. 
 
 If a man lived alone, there would be no need of any law 
 other than the laws of nature. But living in society the law 
 of nature will not suffice. There must be a sovereign power 
 that prescribes the relations between man and man, for most 
 men seek their own good and care little about their neighbor. 
 
96 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 11. Should All Men Observe Civil Laws? Yes. 
 
 Laws may sometimes be passed that are not 
 good, but we should obey them and work for 
 their repeal. 
 
 The best way often to get rid of a bad law is to insist upon 
 its full enforcement. If a citizen is not willing to submit to 
 a law of which he does not approve, he can either suffer the 
 consequences of disobedience or remove to some other state. 
 
 12. Have Citizens the Right to Rebel Against the 
 
 Law of the State in Which They Live? No. 
 
 They can protest against it, they can-agitate 
 for its repeal, but in a democracy the majority 
 rules. 
 
 The people rule in the United States. This means that the 
 voice of the majority is heard in the halls of legislature. A 
 citizen in a democracy must abide by the will of the majority, 
 liowever objectionable its will may be to his personal desires. 
 He has the right to do all he can to change the law, but he 
 cannot rebel against the will of the majority of his fellow 
 citizens, who have the same right as he demands to express 
 their will through the ballot. 
 
 13. Is Ignorance of the Law Any Excuse? No. It 
 
 is an established maxim in law that ignorance 
 of the law is no excuse. 
 
 If the plea that one did not know the law were a valid 
 excuse for its violation, none would be convicted. Some 
 rulers have issued laws which they did not want any save 
 themselves to know. That is not the case today in a democ- 
 racy. Every law before it is passed is printed and distrib- 
 uted among the legislators, and inserted in the columns of 
 several newspapers, so that those who read might know what 
 it means. 
 
 14. Is it the Business of All to Know the Law? 
 
 None can know all the laws, but it is impor- 
 tant that citizens should know something of 
 
THE PUBLIC PEACE 97 
 
 the laws of the state and municipaUty in 
 which they live. 
 
 This is not difficult and can be acquired by reading the 
 daily press. Men constantly fall into crimes and oiTenses and 
 their trials and punishments are instructive to the average 
 citizen. New ordinances and laws are also printed and dis- 
 cussed in the local papers, and ample opportunity given for 
 the discussion of measures before they become law. 
 
 15. Should Foreign-Born Men Inform Themselves 
 of the Laws Generally Regulating the Lives 
 of Citizens? Yes. They may be very differ- 
 ent from those of their own country and they 
 should know the difference. 
 
 Many foreigners get into trouble for no other reason than 
 the fact that the laws and ordinances in America differ from 
 those in the home land. For this reason popular lectures, or 
 simple pamphlets written in various languages, giving some 
 hints concerning laws which touch the lives of aliens in cities, 
 but of which they are ignorant, should be given them. 
 
 Hints to Teachers 
 
 Bring to the class a copy of the Congressional 
 Record and a copy of a law as published by the state 
 legislature for the use of its members. 
 
 Secure a good lawyer to appear before the class 
 and tell the men something about the most com- 
 mon laws touching tlie lives of aliens. 
 
 Illustrate as far as possible from the daily news- 
 paper the way citizens break the law and suffer. 
 
 Emphasize the point that the best and safest 
 deterrent to crime is a sensitive conscience and a 
 pure heart. 
 
Chapter XIV. Political Parties 
 
 1. What is a Political Party? A number of men 
 
 united in opinion and organized for the pur- 
 pose of influencing or controlling the govern- 
 ment. 
 
 All men belonging to a political party are not of one opinion, 
 but they come together, discuss questions of public policy, and 
 agree on the line of action best calculated to accomplish what 
 they think is for the public good. When this is done, the party 
 may ,be said to be united in opinion, and its members work 
 together in order to realize their opinions. 
 
 2. How Many Political Parties are There in the 
 
 United States? Many; but the two great 
 political parties which have swayed the des- 
 tiny of the nation since its organization are 
 the Republican and the Democratic. 
 
 The best known other political parties are the Prohibitionists, 
 the Socialists, the Progressives, etc. Many other parties have 
 appeared in the politics of America in the past, such as the 
 Know Nothing, Greenback, etc. Each in its turn affected 
 public opinion, as well as legislation, but none ever came to 
 power. 
 
 3. How Do Political Parties Make Known Their 
 
 Opinion? Each party prepares a statement, 
 called its platform, in which it informs the 
 public what ought to be done to promote pub- 
 lic interest. 
 
 Party platforms are the best means by which to find out the 
 differences which divide men on questions of public policy. 
 These platforms are carefully prepared by the leaders of each 
 party and endorsed by their followers. Voters who do not 
 blindly follow a party carefully read these platforms and decide 
 which, according to their judgment, is best worthy of support. 
 
POLITICAL PARTIES 99 
 
 4. Do Parties Have Official Ballots? No. The 
 
 official ballot is printed by the government, 
 
 and on it are printed the names of candidates 
 
 of both parties. 
 
 The official ballot has the names of all candidates arranged in 
 columns. At the head of each column is the name of the party 
 to which the candidates belong. The ballot also has a blank 
 column in which the elector can insert the name of any man 
 whom he wishes to insert who has not been nominated by any 
 of the parties. 
 
 5. Has Each Voter Perfect Freedom to Choose the 
 
 Man He Wants? Yes. When the official 
 
 ballot is given him he can choose the men he 
 
 thinks will best fit the offices for which they 
 
 stand. 
 
 Official ballots difler greatly in the several states? The proc- 
 ess of voting, however, is pretty uniform. The elector, if he 
 votes a straight ticket, puts a mark at the top of the column; 
 if he splits the party ticket, he then puts a mark opposite the 
 names of the persons he thinks best fitted for office. If he be- 
 lieves a man whose name is not on the list is better qualified 
 for an office, he writes the name of that man in the blank 
 column opposite the office to be filled. 
 
 6. Does it Signify Much Who Gets the Offices? 
 
 Yes. It is more important to have honest and 
 
 competent men to govern than to observe 
 
 strict party lines. 
 
 It is most important that electors should know for whom 
 they vote. There are men always looking for public office who 
 are not by education or character fit for office. They seek their 
 own and not the public good. Before the people's business can 
 ever be economically and honestly looked after, men of char- 
 acter must be chosen. 
 
 7. How are the Men Whose Names are on the 
 
 Ballot Chosen? They are chosen by the 
 party which they represent. 
 
loo CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 Each party has its leaders and its organization. The leaders 
 are active before and during every election. They have men 
 whom they want to put into office. They are good party men, 
 but may not be the best men for the office. It is the privilege 
 of every member of the party to vote for party men whose 
 names go on the official ballot, but it is his duty to exert all 
 his power to secure honest and capable officials. 
 
 8. What is a Political Boss? The master politician 
 
 of a party in a city, state, or nation. 
 
 The "political boss" is a term generally applied to master 
 politicians who are corrupt, tyrannical, and unscrupulous. He 
 is generally an able man, shrewd and far-sighted; he knows 
 how to handle men, and how to organize them to win elections. 
 But invariably such men win office for private and selfish inter- 
 ests, and the people's business is neglected, or manipulated for 
 the benefit of the boss and his friends. 
 
 9. What is the Political Machine? It is the or- 
 
 ganization of a group of men inside the party 
 headed by the poHtical boss. 
 
 The political boss has his clansmen, who do his bidding. 
 Those men in the inner circle of the political party run the 
 affairs of the party. When voters are indifferent, they have 
 their own way and put into office whom they will. If the voters 
 are alert, intelligent, and demand good men in office, the 
 machine is either checked or defeated. 
 
 10. Does the Political Machine Always Nominate 
 
 its Men? No. When the people are aroused 
 
 against the corruption of machine politics, 
 
 the machine men are thrown out of office. 
 
 Both of the great parties have machines, and in many in- 
 stances they have preyed upon the public. The wrongs and 
 impositions inflicted upon a patient public are often so great 
 that the people are enraged and throw out the corrupt officials. 
 These uprisings are waves of indignation which sweep every- 
 thing before them and then subside, and soon the machine is 
 again in control. 
 
 11. How are Candidates for Governors of States and 
 
 Candidates for President Nominated? Can- 
 didates for governors are nominated by state 
 
POLITICAL PARTIES loi 
 
 conventions, and candidates for President of 
 
 the United States are nominated by national 
 
 conventions. 
 
 Every party has its organization in every political unit in the 
 country. Persons belonging to parties gather in caucuses, pri; 
 maries, and conventions in order to choose men to represent 
 the party. The primary or ward meeting is the simplest con- 
 vention where the people express their choice. If direct pri- 
 maries are held, all the voters take part in naming men for the 
 state ballot. In primaries men are chosen to go to county con- 
 ventions. In county conventions men are chosen for state con- 
 ventions. In state conventions men are chosen to go to na- 
 tional conventions. Ward candidates for office are chosen in 
 primaries ; county candidates in county conventions, and na- 
 tional candidates for President and Vice-President are nom- 
 inated in national conventions. 
 
 12. What is the Direct Primary System? It is tlie 
 
 meeting of tlie electors of either party in their 
 respective precincts for the purpose of nom- 
 inating men whose names go on the official 
 ballot. 
 
 Machine politics generally hold primaries for the purpose 
 of choosing delegates for the city, state, or national conven- 
 tion. It is easy to influence these delegates and secure the 
 nominations the boss desires. But if the party voters come 
 together and, instead of choosing delegates, they choose the 
 man whom they want on the ballot to represent the party, the 
 machine finds it difficult to control all the voters and secure 
 its ends. 
 
 13. What is a Caucus? A meeting to wfhich all the 
 
 members of a political party come, in order 
 
 to vote or decide how to vote in the interest 
 
 of the party. 
 
 Party primary or caucus is a meeting held by the voters of 
 a party living in a particular election district, town, or ward. 
 But the word "caucus" is also used in connection with the 
 meeting of the members of a state legislature, who^ come to 
 discuss how they should vote upon questions which come 
 before the house or senate. 
 
102 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 14. When are Men Chosen for Office? At the polls, 
 
 when electors signify their choice of men by 
 
 marking the official ballot. 
 
 Many political machines have been rebuked at the polls. 
 They have got their men safely through the party primaries 
 and conventions, only to find that intelligent voters have cut 
 the ticket at the polls and defeated the men who they knew 
 were not worthy of their support. The independent voters of 
 the country have on many occasions rebuked wary political 
 leaders. 
 
 15. Should Voters Align Themselves With One of 
 
 the Leading Parties? Yes. Otherwise one's 
 
 influence will not amount to much in the 
 
 politics of the nation or state or city. 
 
 It is impossible to run the government of a town, a city, a 
 state, or a nation, without political parties. There is much 
 work to be done before and during elections, and it must be 
 done by the men who feel that the party to which they belong 
 is the one worthy of public confidence. Questions of public 
 interest, about which men differ, could not be brought to public 
 attention as they now are, if there were no political parties 
 around which opinions crystallize. 
 
 Hints to Teachers 
 
 If possible, take the students to a primary or a 
 caucus, that they may see the first step in the choice 
 of candidates for office. 
 
 Show to and discuss with the class the official 
 ballot of your state. 
 
 If possible, let them see how the electors vote in 
 one of the precincts. 
 
 Let a prominent member of a political party come 
 before the class and tell them what the work of the 
 party is and how it is done. 
 
 Explain in general terms what the five parties 
 above mentioned stand for in the United States. 
 
Chapter XV. Passports 
 
 1. What is a Passport? A document issueq uy a 
 
 state to a citizen who- wishes to travel in a 
 foreign country. 
 
 The paper given by an officer of state to the person or per- 
 sons who expect to travel in foreign countries is for purpose 
 of identification and protection. It facilitates the going of the 
 person from place to place on land or water. 
 
 2. Who Has Authority to Issue Passports? The 
 
 Secretary of State of the federal government 
 is the only one having authority to issue pass- 
 ports. 
 
 The law reads, "no one but the Secretary of State may 
 grant and issue passports in the United States and he is em- 
 powered to refuse them in his discretion." In case of emer- 
 gency the American Diplomatic and Consular Officers abroad 
 may issue passports. In insular possessions of the United 
 States the chief or executive officer may issue passports. 
 
 3. What is the Difference Between a Passport and 
 
 a Return Certificate? A passport is for the 
 
 purpose of identification and protection 
 
 abroad, a return certificate is for the purpose 
 
 of admitting the holder to the United States. 
 
 Many native born descendants of Chinese and Japanese re- 
 siding in America are citizens. If any one of these wishes to 
 go on a visit to the land of his fathers, he can apply for a 
 passport for safe conduct and identification in China or Japan. 
 In addition to this, he needs a return certificate from the immi- 
 gration commissioner at the port from which he leaves, in 
 order that he may re-enter the United States without difficulty. 
 
 4. How Can One Get a Passport? By the person 
 
 to whom the passport is to be issued submit- 
 ting a written application in the form of an 
 affidavit to the Secretary of State. 
 
104 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 No person can apply for a passport for another. The affi- 
 davit must be made before a clerk of a federal or state court 
 within the jurisdiction of which the applicant resides. The 
 seal of the court must be affixed to it. He must have a witness 
 or witnesses, must state the names of the countries he expects 
 to visit, his business, the time he expects to stay, the purpose 
 of the visit, etc. The passport costs one dollar. 
 
 5. Can a Man Who Has Only His First Paper Get 
 
 a Passport? Yes, providing he has resided in 
 
 the United States for three continuous years, 
 
 and travels in countries other than his native 
 
 country. 
 
 Considerable difficulty has been ' experienced by men who 
 have not attained full citizenship in America, when they travel 
 abroad, and the Secretary of State is very careful in issuing 
 such passports. Some men have used the protection of the 
 United States to carry out plans subversive of the government 
 in their home country. Hence the law states that "such pass- 
 port shall not entitle the holder to the protection of this gov- 
 ernment in the country of which he was a citizen prior to 
 making such declaration." 
 
 6. What Must a NaturaHzed Citizen Do When He 
 
 Applies for a Passport? In addition to the 
 
 information required, he must enclose his 
 
 naturalization paper, etc. 
 
 The naturalized citizen must also state from what port he 
 emigrated to this country, what ship he sailed on, where he 
 has lived since his arrival in the United States, when and 
 before what court he was naturalized, and that he is the iden- 
 tical person described in his naturalization certificate. 
 
 7. How Long is a Passport Good? A passport is 
 
 valid only for six months from date of issue. 
 
 No passports are renewed. The department will issue new 
 ones and the applicant must return the old passport with his 
 application, li a citizen is abroad, and wants to renew his 
 passport, he can do so by appearing before the diplomatic or 
 principal consular officer of the United States before the date 
 of expiration, with a sworn statement of the countries which 
 
PASSPORTS los 
 
 he expects to visit and the purpose of the visit. No passport 
 can be renevifed more than twice. 
 
 8. How Can a Man in Porto Rico Secure a Pass- 
 
 port? Persons residing in Porto Rico and the 
 Philippines can get passports by applying to 
 the Chief Executive of the island or islands. 
 
 The form of application is the same as in continental Amer- 
 ica. Residents of the Hawaiian Islands prior to June 14, 1900, 
 were by law declared residents of the United States and in the 
 territory of Hawaii, and those who had resided in the islands 
 five years previous to the above date were not required to 
 apply for citizenship in the usual way. All persons who were 
 citizens of the islands in August 12, 1898, were declared cit- 
 izens of the United States. 
 
 9. Can a Naturalized Citizen Forfeit His Citizen- 
 
 ship? Yes, by residing for two years in the 
 country from which he came or five years'in 
 any other country. 
 
 In chapter VIII. we saw that it is possible for a naturalized 
 citizen to hold dual citizenship. When this is the case, it is 
 easily seen how complications come in which will strain the 
 friendly relations of the countries involved. The United 
 States has laid out the above rule, but it is not recognized by 
 many European countries. 
 
 10. Can a Native Born American Citizen Expatriate 
 
 Himself? Yes, he is given the same privilege 
 to choose his country, for the American Gov- 
 ernment holds that the choice of citizenship 
 is the right of every man. 
 
 Some native born Americans have been citizens of European 
 countries, just as subjects of other countries have become 
 citizens of the United States. They have a perfect right to 
 do this from the viewpoint of America. 
 
 11. Can Professional Titles Be Inserted in Pass- 
 
 ports? No professional or other title will be 
 inserted in passports. 
 
io6 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 From the days of the War of Independence the spirit of 
 America has been against the recognition of titles of every 
 kind. The Constitution states : "No title of nobility shall be 
 granted by the United States" ; and it forbid its citizens to 
 accept any such from "king, prince, or foreign state." This 
 spirit affects governmental practice and the above ruling is the 
 custom. 
 
 12. Is There Any Passport Needed to Travel in the 
 
 United States? No. Any one can go where 
 
 he wills and when he wills, providing he pays 
 
 his way and observes the law of the land. 
 
 Compare this with the old custom that a man could not 
 leave his native parish without the consent of the local 
 authority and mark the progress of liberty. Then contrast the 
 liberty given the people of the United States with that of sub- 
 jects of countries in Western Europe, and note that it reflects 
 one of the many fruits of a democratic government. 
 
Chapter XVI. History 
 Christopher Columbus — Discoverer 
 
 1. When Was America Discovered? America was 
 
 discovered in 1492. 
 
 It is claimed that white men arrived in America previous 
 to this date, but it was possibly by accident. The route to 
 America from Europe for commercial purposes was discov- 
 ered in 1492. 
 
 2. Who Discovered the Country? The discoverer 
 
 was Christopher Columbus, an ItaHan sailor. 
 
 Columbus tried to find a new way to go to India. Men 
 went there by going east. Columbus, thought the world was 
 round and reasoned that if he went west far enough he would 
 at last come to India. When he saw land he thought it was 
 India and so called the islands where he landed the Indies. 
 
 3. Did Any One Help Columbus? Yes, the king 
 
 and queen of Spain believed in him and gave 
 him three ships to try out his plan. 
 
 Columbus was a poor sailor and had no means of his own. 
 When he spoke of the world being round, men laughed at him 
 and thought him foolish. He got the ear of the ruler of Spain, 
 and Queen Isabella pleaded his cause. 
 
 4. How Long Did Columbus Wait for a Patron? 
 
 He waited eighteen years and suffered great 
 poverty. 
 
 Columbus got some charts from his father-in-law which led 
 him to believe that the world was round. He argued his case, 
 and tried to explain to the men of his day that he was right. 
 He did this, going from country to country and court to court 
 for eighteen years, enduring great want, but it led to the dis- 
 covery of a continent. 
 
io8 
 
 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 Christopher Columbus 
 
 5. Was the Country Inhabited Then? Yes. It 
 
 was inhabited by the Red Men, whom Colum- 
 bus called Indians. 
 
 The Red Men have nothing in common with the Indians or 
 the inhabitants of India. It was Columbus' mistake that led 
 to this error, but it has become common and the original in- 
 habitants of the country are generally known as' Indians. 
 
 6. How Did the Red Men Receive the Europeans? 
 
 At first with wonder and favor. This soon 
 ceased and then came strife and exploitation. 
 
HISTORY log 
 
 The Europeans who first came to the new world had only 
 one idea — to find things that would sell in European markets. 
 They began to explore with this in view, and soon found gold 
 and silver, copper and precious stones, which they took by 
 force from their owners. War was the result, accompanied 
 with great suffering. 
 
 7. How Did the Red Men Fare? They were pushed 
 
 out of their hunting grounds before the ad- 
 vance of a higher civilization. 
 
 The Red Men could not stand before the Europeans in con- 
 flict. The white man went everywhere in quest of booty and 
 drove the original dwellers before him. Not only were they 
 killed in war, but also by diseases which their fathers knew 
 nothing of, and by the introduction of the vices of civilization 
 which they could not withstand. Many colonists, such as 
 William Penn, dealt justly and kindly with the Red Men, 
 but the majority felt that the Indian must give way to the de- 
 mands of a higher civilization. 
 
 8. Are There Any Red Men Left? Yes, there are 
 
 about 300,000 in the United States, besides 
 those in Canada and Mexico. 
 
 We have no means of knowing how many Indians were in 
 North America when Columbus discovered it. Most of them 
 lived by hunting and fishing, while some tribes more advanced 
 than others carried on some agriculture and built temples. 
 Their religion, customs, and habits are now a name, and the 
 remnant under the rule of the white men are far removed 
 from all that was dear to their ancestors. 
 
 9. What European Nations Were First in the New 
 
 World? Spain, France, and England were 
 the nations that began the exploitation of the 
 new world. 
 
 Spain took sections in the south, France was settled in the 
 north, and England held sections between them. Holland and 
 Sweden held small sections. The first three fought for the 
 possession of a continent, and after a century and a half of 
 conflict England came out victorious and shaped the civiliza- 
 tion of the new world. 
 
no CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 Washington — The Deliverer 
 
 1. How Did England Govern the Colonies? In 
 
 the spirit of the parent governing his child. 
 
 Great Britain had protected the colonists against rival na- 
 tions and Indians, but it was very hard for those in authority 
 to regard the child they had protected as anything but a 
 dependent wh'ose every action must be controlled by the parent. 
 This at length grated upon the spirit of a strong people that 
 was fast growing and wanted liberty. 
 
 2. How Were Relations Broken? In May, 1775, 
 
 the colonists ceased their petitioning for re- 
 dress, and took up arms to fight for what 
 they could not secure by the pen. 
 
 Fighting began in Massachusetts, where the anger of the 
 people burned most furiously. They met in assembly, and took 
 steps to call out troops. They enrolled the "minute men," who 
 were volunteers pledged to be ready for service at a minute's 
 notice. These men fought the battle of Lexington, and began 
 the war that was to end in the. creation of a new nation. The 
 colonies were 3,000,000 strong, and wanted to throw off the 
 swaddling clothes. The slogan of the hour "no taxation with- 
 out representation," became the battle cry of freedom. 
 
 3. Who Was Chosen Leader of the Colonists in 
 
 the War? George Washington, a native of 
 Virginia, who had served in the British army, 
 was chosen General of the Colonial Army. 
 
 George Washington was born in Virginia, February 22, 1732. 
 He was the son of a planter, was educated as a civil engineer, 
 served in the war against the French and Indians, and was 
 chosen general of the Colonial Army in 1775. He is called 
 the "Father of his Country," and stands as a model of civic 
 virtue and patriotic loyalty. 
 
 4. What Were Some of the Leading Characteristics 
 
 of Washington? Firmness in conflict, 
 patience in defeat, moderation in victory, per- 
 
HISTORY 
 
 George Washington 
 
 feet self-control in prosperity, unwavering 
 patriotism, and simple trust in God. 
 
 George Washington was not perfect by any means, but he 
 stands in striking contrast with Napoleon, who acted his part 
 on the continent of Europe when Washington served the strug- 
 gling colonies of the new republic. He was the soul of honor, 
 he refused to take anything for his services as President, and, 
 laying aside personal ambition, he sought only the wellbeing 
 of his country. The history of Europe would have been very 
 different if Napoleon had been guided by the same principles. 
 
112 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 5. How Long Did the Conflict Last? It lasted 
 
 from 1775 to 1781, when the British army sur- 
 rendered. 
 
 The events of the war were varied. The colonists wanted 
 independence, but they could not agree to pay the price. The 
 soldiers of Washington's army suffered much, and on more 
 than one occasion left camp because they were not paid. 
 Patriots saved the country and laid the foundation of the 
 government we now enjoy. 
 
 6. When Was the Treaty of Peace Signed? The 
 
 Treaty of Peace was signed in Paris, Sep- 
 tember 3, 1783. 
 
 By this treaty Great Britain recognized the independence of 
 the colonies, which were now known as thirteen sovereign 
 states. By the treaty the territory ceded to the states extended 
 from the Atlantic to the Mississippi River. The several states 
 held rival claims to portions of this, and their disputes ended 
 only by each ceding its claim to the national government. 
 
 7. Did the States Agree After the War? No. They 
 
 won independence by a loose agreement, but 
 were afraid to create a strong national gov- 
 ernment. 
 
 During the Revolutionary War the several colonies were 
 bound by Articles of Confederation. These, however, were not 
 sufficient to secure a basis for national purposes, so in 1787, 
 behind closed doors, the federal Constitution was prepared 
 and in 1789 was accepted by the states, and the new nation had 
 a working basis. 
 
 8. Mention Some of the Leading Men in the Revo- 
 
 lutionary War. Benjamin Franklin, Samuel 
 Adams, John Adams, Patrick Henry, John 
 Jay, William Moultrie, William Morris. 
 
 Many statesmen and warriors, moved by love of country, 
 made the independence of America possible, and every citizen 
 should get acquainted with these men and what they sacrificed 
 in the conflict, by reading a reliable history of the United 
 States. 
 
HISTORY 113 
 
 9. Who Was the First President of the United 
 
 States? George Washington, who was made 
 
 President in 1789 and served till 1797. 
 
 George Washington served for two terms, then retired to 
 his plantation in Virginia. He died at his home in Mt. Vernon, 
 on the Potomac River, December, 1799, in his sixty-seventh 
 year. 
 
 10. Did the Union Succeed? Yes. It increased in 
 
 population and riches, but there was a canker 
 
 eating at its heart^slavery. 
 
 During the first half of the nineteenth century the nation 
 increased in population fivefold. It was a period of national 
 expansion, with a continent as the field of operation. The 
 institution of slavery, however, was soon a bone of contention. 
 It was counter to the spirit of democracy, and was destined 
 to divide the nation and precipitate the most fearful conflict 
 of the century. 
 
 Abraham Lincoln — Preserver 
 
 1. What Was the Civil War of the United States? 
 
 Eleven states in the South tried to withdraw 
 
 from the Union, holding different views from 
 
 those of the North on the question of slavery 
 
 and the constitutional rights of the states. 
 
 Negro slaves were brought to the continent of North 
 America as early as 15:26. In 1618, they were regarded as a 
 necessity for the working of the plantations of the South, and 
 a regular trade was carried on between America and Africa. 
 This continued until 1808, when the national government put a 
 stop to this traffic. 
 
 2. Who Was the President of the United States 
 
 Who Kept the Union Whole? Abraham Lin- 
 coln, who was made President on March 4, 
 1861. 
 
 Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky, February 12, 
 1809. He studied law and practiced in Springfield, Illinois. 
 He was chosen President in i860, and on the month following 
 
114 
 
 Civics for coming Americans 
 
 his inauguration, he ordered reenforcements to be sent to 
 Fort Sumter. > South Carolina captured the fort and this 
 started the Civil War. 
 
 3. How Long Did the Civil War Last? It lasted 
 from April, 1861, to April, 1865. 
 
 Abraham Lincoln 
 
 The Civil War liberated the negro slaves and left the South 
 prostrate. Its resources in men and money were spent, and 
 what was the most flourishing part of the Union became a 
 smitten country which was not able to recover its prestige and 
 power for two generations.' 
 
HISTORY IIS 
 
 4. Mention Some of the Leading Statesmen and 
 
 Soldiers in the Civil War. William H. Sew- 
 ard, Salmon P Chase, U. S. Grant, on the 
 side of the North ; Jefferson Davis, Robert E. 
 Lee, Stonewall Jackson, on the side of the 
 South. 
 
 The Civil War was an ordeal that brought untold suffering 
 and loss to both North and South. Leaders on both sides 
 believed their cause just, and tens of thousands willingly 
 sacrificed their most costly treasure in the contention. Repre- 
 sentative men of today, both North and South, believe that 
 the cause of civilization is best served by the preservation of 
 the Union, and both sections of the country are working to- 
 gether for the industrial, commercial, and moral advancement 
 of the nation. 
 
 5. How Did Lincoln Die? He was shot by a 
 
 fanatic who believed in the right of states 
 to determine their own affairs and secede 
 from the Union if they so desired. 
 
 While in a box in the Ford Theatre in Washington, April 14, 
 1865, the President was shot from behind by a man who crept 
 quietly into the box. The man was one of a band of men, 
 sympathetic with the southern cause, who thought they would 
 paralyze the arm of government by removing those leaders 
 who were devoted to the preservation of the Union. They 
 expected to gain by a conspiracy what was lost in the battle- 
 field. The men who had fought bravely in fields of battle for 
 the southern cause despised the assassin's act as thoroughly 
 as did the men in the North. 
 
 6. What Were the Concrete Benefits of the War? 
 
 It proved that the Union was indestructible 
 and it rid it of the curse of slavery. 
 
 At the close of the war there were more than 1,000,000 men 
 under arms in the North, but within a year they were dispersed 
 - — going back to farm, mine, shop, business, and profession. 
 No one was executed for treason, and the 175,000 prisoners 
 were put on parole and sent to their homes. The black spot 
 is the story of the carpet-baggers fr"m the North, who were 
 
ii6 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 as birds of prey feeding on the South — an afflicted portion of 
 their country, under the guise of reconstructing that portion 
 of the land. 
 
 7. Has the United States Prospered Since the Civil 
 War? Yes, it has more than 100,000,000 peo- 
 ple; has taken the lead of the nations of the 
 earth in industrial exploitation, and has in- 
 creased in wealth at a more rapid pace than 
 any other people. 
 
 The progress of the United States in wealth is matchless, 
 and the 30,000,000 foreign-born people who have come to this 
 country since 1820 have contributed to its development. But 
 the country has also grown in science and art, in philosophy 
 and literature, and some of the leaders in the world's progress 
 are men who have been born and trained in this nation. All 
 immigrants contribute to this great result, and America asks 
 each foreign-born citizen to give the best that is in him to the 
 country of his adoption. 
 
THE STATES OF THE UNION 
 New England States 
 
 
 
 
 A bbreviated 
 
 State 
 
 Capital 
 
 Chief City 
 
 Form 
 
 Maine 
 
 Augusta 
 
 Portland 
 
 Me. 
 
 Rhode Island 
 
 Providence and 
 
 
 
 
 Newport 
 
 Providence 
 
 R. L 
 
 New Hampshire 
 
 Concord 
 
 Manchester 
 
 N. H. 
 
 Vermont 
 
 Montpelier 
 
 Burlington 
 
 Vt. 
 
 Massachusetts 
 
 Boston 
 
 Boston 
 
 Mass. 
 
 Connecticut 
 
 Hartford 
 
 New Haven 
 
 Conn. 
 
 
 Central Atlantic States 
 
 
 New York 
 
 Albany 
 
 New York 
 
 N. Y. 
 
 Pennsylvania 
 
 Harrisburg 
 
 Philadelphia 
 
 Pa. 
 
 New Jersey- 
 
 Trenton 
 
 Newark 
 
 N.J. 
 
 Delaware 
 
 Dover 
 
 Wilmington 
 
 Del. 
 
 West Virginia 
 
 Charleston 
 
 Wheeling 
 
 W. Va. 
 
 Virginia 
 
 Richmond 
 
 Richmond 
 
 Va. 
 
 Maryland 
 
 Annapolis 
 
 Baltimore 
 
 Md. 
 
 
 North Central States 
 
 
 Eastern Division 
 
 
 
 
 Wisconsin 
 
 Madison 
 
 Milwaukee 
 
 Wis. 
 
 Michigan 
 
 Lansing 
 
 Detroit 
 
 Mich. 
 
 Illinois 
 
 Springfield 
 
 Chicago 
 
 111. 
 
 Indiana 
 
 Indianapolis 
 
 Indianapolis 
 
 Ind. 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Columbus 
 
 Cleveland 
 
 0. 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 Frankfort 
 
 Louisville 
 
 Ky. 
 
 Western Division 
 
 
 
 
 North Dakota 
 
 Bismarck 
 
 Fargo 
 
 N. Dak. 
 
 South Dakota 
 
 Pierre 
 
 Sioux Falls 
 
 S. Dak. 
 
 Minnesota 
 
 St. Paul 
 
 Minneapohs 
 
 Minn. 
 
 Nebraska 
 
 Lincoln 
 
 Omaha 
 
 Neb. 
 
 Iowa 
 
 Des Moines 
 
 Des Moines 
 
 la. 
 
 Kansas 
 
 Topeka 
 
 Kansas City 
 
 Kans. 
 
 Missouri 
 
 Jefferson City 
 
 St. Louis 
 
 Mo. 
 
 Plateau or Rocky Mountain States 
 
 
 Montana 
 
 Helena 
 
 Butte 
 
 Mont. 
 
 Idaho 
 
 Boise 
 
 Boise 
 
 Idaho 
 
 Wyoming 
 
 Cheyenne 
 
 Cheyenne 
 
 Wyo. 
 
 Nevada 
 
 Carson City 
 
 Reno 
 
 Nev. 
 
 Utah 
 
 Salt Lake City 
 
 Salt Lake City 
 
 Utah 
 
 Colorado 
 
 Denver 
 
 Denver 
 
 Colo. 
 
 Arizona 
 
 Phoenix 
 
 Tucson 
 
 Ariz. 
 
 New Mexico 
 
 Santa Fe 
 
 Santa Fe and 
 
 
 
 
 Albuquerque 
 
 N. Mex. 
 
ii8 
 
 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 Pacific Coast States 
 
 
 
 
 Abbreviated 
 
 State 
 
 Capital 
 
 Chief City 
 
 Form 
 
 Washington 
 
 Olympia 
 
 Seattle 
 
 Wash. 
 
 Oregon 
 
 Salem 
 
 Portland 
 
 Ore. 
 
 California 
 
 Sacramento 
 
 San Francisco 
 
 CaL. 
 
 
 Southern States 
 
 
 Eastern Division 
 
 
 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 Nashville 
 
 Memphis 
 
 Tenn. 
 
 North Carohna 
 
 Raleigh 
 
 Wilmington 
 
 N. C. 
 
 South Carolina 
 
 Columbia 
 
 Charleston 
 
 S. C. 
 
 Georgia 
 
 Atlanta 
 
 Atlanta 
 
 Ga. 
 
 Florida 
 
 Tallahassee 
 
 Jacksonville 
 
 Fla. 
 
 Mississippi 
 
 Jackson 
 
 Vicksburg 
 
 Miss. 
 
 Alabama 
 
 Montgomery- 
 
 Birmingham 
 
 Ala. 
 
 Western Division 
 
 
 
 
 Oklahoma 
 
 Guthrie 
 
 Oklahoma City 
 
 Okla. 
 
 Arkansas 
 
 Little Rock 
 
 Little Rock 
 
 Ark. 
 
 Louisiana 
 
 Baton Rouge 
 
 New Orleans 
 
 La. 
 
 Texas 
 
 Austin 
 
 San Antonio 
 
 Tex. 
 
The Constitution of the United States 
 
 The Constitution is an agreement between all 
 the people of the United States and the several 
 States. The States in the contract keep to them- 
 selves all powers which have to do with the affairs 
 of each State, and hand over to the Government 
 sitting in Washington those powers which have to 
 do with national affairs. The Constitution was pre- 
 pared by the leaders of the thirteen States which 
 achieved independence. When it was finished, the 
 several States signed, and the Union was formed. 
 The signing of the document put so strong a band 
 around the States that none can break away and 
 become an independent sovereign power. The men 
 who framed the Constitution were not of one blood. 
 Most of them were sons of immigrants from Eng- 
 land, but among them were French, Dutch, Ger- 
 man, Jews, Scandinavians, and others. So, if it is 
 a good thiiig, let us remember that it was made 
 by men of various races. The spirit of the framers 
 may be judged from the words of John Adams : 
 "This shall be a government of laws for all time 
 and for all men." By the Constitution the people 
 rule. All officers, from the President down, are 
 servants of the people. It can be changed if three 
 fourths of the States agree to the change. More 
 than four thousand amendments to it have been 
 offered in the last hundred and twenty-five years, 
 and only eighteen have passed. The Constitution 
 was drawn up behind closed doors; it was far from 
 popular when it first appeared. Today it is ideal- 
 
 119 
 
120 CiriCS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 ized, not only in the United States but throughout 
 the world. The rising democracies of the Con- 
 tinent look to this document as a model, and shape 
 their free institutions after those outlined in the 
 Constitution. It saved the thirteen States from 
 shipwreck, it will save the forty-eight States of 
 today from confusion and anarchy. Every citizen 
 should be familiar with its provisions, for by it the 
 rights guaranteed to a free people are conserved. 
 
 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 
 
 We the people of the United States, in order to form a 
 more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tran- 
 quillity, provide for the common defence, promote the gen- 
 eral welfare, 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 a House of Representatives. 
 
 Sec. 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed 
 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 the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a 
 citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, 
 be an inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen. 
 
 [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 
 
 ' This clause amended by the XlVth Amendment. 2d Section. 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 121 
 
 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 enu- 
 meration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall 
 be entitled to choose 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 Caro- 
 lina five and Georgia three. 
 
 When vacancies happen in the representation from any 
 State, the executive authority thereof shall issue writs of 
 election to fill such vacancies. 
 
 The House of Representatives shall choose their speaker and 
 other officers ; and shall have the sole power of impeachment. 
 
 Sec. 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 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 
 legislature of any State, the executive thereof may make 
 temporary appointments until the next meeting of the legis- 
 lature, 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 
 inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen. 
 
 The Vice-President of the United States shall be President 
 of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally 
 divided. 
 
 The Senate shall choose 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 sole power to try all impeachments. 
 When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirma- 
 tion. 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. 
 
 Judgments in cases of impeachment shall not extend fur- 
 ther than to. removal from office, and disqualification to hold 
 and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the 
 United States ; but the party convicted shall nevertheless be 
 
122 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 liable and subject, to indictment, trial, judgment, and punish- 
 ment, according to law. 
 
 Sec. 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 at any 
 time by law make or alter such regulations, except as to the 
 places of choosing Senators. 
 
 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 dififerent day. 
 
 Sec. 5. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, 
 returns, and qualifications of its own members, and a ma- 
 jority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business; but 
 a smalkr 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 proceedings, 
 punish its members for disorderly behavior, 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 shaU, at the 
 desire of one fifth of those present, be entered on the journal. 
 
 Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, with- 
 out 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. 
 
 Sec. 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. 
 
 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 increased, during 
 such time ; and no person holding any office under the United 
 States shall be a member of either house during his continu- 
 ance in office. 
 
 Sec. 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 Representa- 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 123 
 
 tives and the Senate, shall, before it becomes a law, be pre- 
 sented to the President of the United States ; if he approve 
 he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his objec- 
 tions to that house in which it shall have originated, who shall 
 enter the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to 
 reconsider 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 
 likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of 
 that house, it shall become a law. But in all 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 (Sun- 
 days 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 concurrence 
 of the Senate and the House of Representatives may be nec- 
 essary (except on a question of adjournment) shall be pre- 
 sented to the President of the United States; and before the 
 same shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or being 
 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. 
 
 Sec. 8. The Congress shall have power to lay and collect 
 taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts and pro- 
 vide for the common defence and general 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 naturalization, and uniform 
 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 securi- 
 ties and current coin of the United States ; 
 
 To establish post-offices and post-roads ; 
 
 To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by se- 
 curing for limited time to authors and inventors the exclusive 
 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, ^nd offences against the law of nations; 
 
124 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 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 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 ; 
 
 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. 
 
 Sec. p. 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 sus- 
 pended, 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 hereinbefore directed 
 to be taken. 
 
 No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any 
 State. 
 
 No preference shall be given by any regulation of com- 
 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 conse- 
 quence of appropriations made by law; and a regular state- 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 125 
 
 ment and account of the receipts and expenditures of all 
 public money shall be published from time to time. 
 
 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 whatever, 
 from any king, prince, or foreign state. 
 
 Sec. 10. 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 at- 
 tainder, ex-post-facto law, or law impairing the obligation of 
 contracts, or grant any title of nobility. 
 
 No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any 
 imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be 
 absolutely necessary for executing its 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 subject to 
 the revision and control 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 of compact with another 
 State, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless 
 actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not ad- 
 mit of delay. 
 
 ARTICLE II. 
 
 Section i. The executive power shall be vested in a Presi- 
 dent 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 : 
 
 Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature 
 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 Repre- 
 sentative, 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 
 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 the presence of the 
 Senate and the House of Representatives, open all the certi- 
 ficates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person 
 
126 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 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 choose 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 choose 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. In every case, after the choice of the President, 
 the person having the greatest number 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 choose from 
 them by ballot the Vice-President.]' 
 
 The Congress may determine the time of choosing the 
 electors, and the day on which they shall give their votes ; 
 which day shall be the same throughout the United States. 
 
 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 at- 
 tained the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years 
 a resident 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 services 
 a compensation, which shall neither be increased nor dimin- 
 ished during the period for which he shall have been elected, 
 and he shall not receive within that period any other emolu- 
 ment 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." 
 
 1 This clause superseded by the Xllth Amendment. 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 127 
 
 Sec. 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 
 United States; he may require the opinion, in writing, of the 
 prmcipal officer m each of the executive departments, upon 
 any subject relatmg to the duties of their respective offices, 
 and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for 
 offences agamst the United States, except in cases of im- 
 peachment. 
 
 He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of 
 the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Sena- 
 tors present concur ; and he shall nominate, and by and with 
 the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassa- 
 dors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Su- 
 preme 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 laws, 
 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. 
 
 Sec. 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 between 
 them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may ad- 
 journ 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. 
 
 Sec. 4. The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers 
 of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeach- 
 ment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high 
 crimes and misdemeanors. 
 
 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. 
 
 Sec. 2. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law 
 
128 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 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 ambassadors, other 
 public ministers, and consuls ; to all cases of admiralty 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 ; be- 
 tween citizens of different States ; between citizens 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 a party, the 
 Supreme 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 
 exceptions 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. 
 
 Sec. 3. 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 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 at- 
 tainted. 
 
 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 proceedings shall 
 be proved, and the effect thereof. 
 
 Sec. 2. The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all 
 privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States. 
 
 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. 
 
 No person held to service or labor in one State under the 
 laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 129 
 
 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. 
 
 Sec. 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. 
 
 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. 
 
 Sec. 4. 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 can- 
 not be convened), against domestic violence. 
 
 ARTICLE V. 
 
 The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall 
 deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitu- 
 tion, or, on the application of the legislatures 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 o( ratification may be proposed by the Congress ; pro- 
 vided/'fhat no amendments which may be made prior to the 
 yeaj/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, 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 valid against 
 the United States under this Constitution, as under the Con- 
 federation. 
 
 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 State shall be bound thereby, any thing in the consti- 
 tution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. 
 
130 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and 
 the members of the several State legislatures, and all execu- 
 tive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of 
 the several 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 VII. 
 
 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. 
 Attest William Jackson, Secretary; George Washington, 
 President and Deputy from Virginia. 
 
 The Amendments to the Constitution 
 
 ARTICLE I. 
 
 Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of 
 religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ; or abridging 
 the freedom of speech, or of the press ; or the right of the 
 people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government 
 for a redress of grievances. 
 
 ARTICLE II. 
 
 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 
 
CONSTITUTION OP THE UNITED STATES 131 
 
 probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particu- 
 larly describing the place to be searched, and the person or 
 things to be seized. 
 
 ARTICLE V. 
 
 No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or other- 
 wise 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; nor shall any person be subject for the 
 same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor 
 shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against 
 himself, nor be deprived of life, 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 
 district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and 
 to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation ; to 
 be confronted with the witness against him ; to have compul- 
 sory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, 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 
 preserved, 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 should not be required, nor excessive fines 
 imposed, 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. 
 
132 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 ARTICLE XL 
 
 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 
 another 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 
 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 number 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 the 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 
 appointed; 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 
 following, 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- 
 President, 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 num- 
 bers 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 num- 
 ber shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitu- 
 tionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to 
 that of Vice-President of the United States. 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 133 
 
 ARTICLE XIII. 
 
 Section i. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, ex- 
 cept 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. 
 
 Sec. 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 prop- 
 erty, without due process of law; nor deny to any person 
 within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. 
 
 Sec. 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 the State, or the members of the legis- 
 lature 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 number of such 
 male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens 
 twenty-one years of age in such State. 
 
 Sec. 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in 
 Congress, or elector of President and 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 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 disability. 
 
 Sec. 4. 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 obliga- 
 
134 CIVICS FOR COMING AMERICANS 
 
 tion incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion 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. 
 
 Sec. 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by ap- 
 propriate 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 
 any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of 
 servitude. 
 
 Sec. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this 
 article by appropriate legislation. 
 
 ARTICLE XVI. 
 
 The Congress shall have the power to lay and collect taxes 
 on incomes, from whatever source derived, without appor- 
 tionment among the several States, and without regard to any 
 census or enumeration. 
 
 ARTICLE XVII. 
 
 Section i. The Senate of the United States shall be com- 
 posed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people 
 thereof, for six years ; and each Senator shall have one vote. 
 The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requi- 
 site for electors of the most numerous branch of the State 
 Legislatures. 
 
 Sec. 2. When vacancies happen in the representation of any 
 State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State 
 shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies ; Provided, 
 That the Legislature of any State may empower the executive 
 thereof to make temporary appointment until the people fill 
 the vacancies by election as the Legislature may direct. 
 
 Sec. 3. This amendment shall not be so construed as to 
 affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it 
 becomes valid as part of the Constitution. 
 
 ARTICLE XVIIL' 
 
 Section I. After one year from the ratification of this 
 article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating 
 liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exporta- 
 tion thereof from the United States and all territory subject 
 
 ' The XVlIItb Aroendroent went into effect January 16, 1920. 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 135 
 
 to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby 
 prohibited. 
 
 Sec. 2. The Congress and the several States shall have 
 concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legis- 
 lation. 
 
 Sec. 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have 
 been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the 
 Legislatures of the several States as provided by the Consti- 
 tution within seven years from the date of the submission 
 hereof to the States by the Congress. 
 
*%■ 
 
 
 '■u^i 
 
 
 ^^*:» 
 
 W' 
 
 >'>•. 
 
 i^.