have the two kinds. within the United States, but within a particular Why we state as well. At the present time, therefore, each one of us lives under two constitutions, that of the nation and that of our state. The national constitution not only shows how the national government shall be organized, as explained in the next section, but confers on this government the right to regulate all foreign affairs and all other matters that no one state can do for itself, the state governments being prohibited from doing these things. The state constitutions give the form and the general duties of all other governments, state and local, under which we live. the national 7. The National Government. The Constitution Adoption of of the United States, from which our national gov- Constitution. ernment derives its authority, was drafted by a convention held at Philadelphia in 1787, and was ratified by conventions elected for that purpose in the thirteen states that then composed the Union. It has since been amended fifteen times. This Constitution provides for a legislative body of two houses called Congress. Congress. The smaller house, known as the Senate, is composed of two senators from each state. In the larger chamber, the House of Representatives, each state has a number of members dependent on its population. The chief executive official of the The United States is the President, who is chosen for a term of four years, and appoints nine advisers, called his Cabinet. He is, however, assisted by about two hundred and fifty thousand persons who help him in executing the laws and in looking after President. The courts. The three departments. How state officials are chosen. Popular character of local govern ment. the business of the national government. The judicial department consists of a single Supreme Court, which always meets at Washington, and numerous inferior courts which try cases in different parts of the country. 8. The State Governments. All of the states in the American Union have governments that are very much alike. At the state capital there meets every year or every second year the body of men called the legislature, which makes the laws. As with Congress, there are always two houses of the legislature, but the members of both houses are elected by the voters from districts into which the state is divided. Corresponding to the President is the state governor, who is elected by the people of the state, and who is assisted in the enforcement of the law by numerous officials, most of whom are also chosen by popular vote. There are in every state courts which interpret the laws. The system is the same in form as that used for the government of the United States as a whole, but there is this important difference, — the people elect a great many of their representatives in the state government, whereas comparatively few of those connected with the national government are selected directly by popular vote. 9. Local Government. Our local governments are even more distinctly governments of the people than are the state governments, for a still larger proportion of the officials are chosen by the voters for local offices than for state positions. This is perfectly natural, for the people are more interested in the public work being done near them than at a distance local govern ment. and will give more time to it. They wish to super- Forms of vise very carefully the officials who perform the work of local government - the county officials and those of their city, town, village, or school district. All of us live under county governments because every state is subdivided into counties, and most of us are under the protection and supervision of either town, village, or city officials as well. Each of these governments has its courts, its executive officials like the city mayor, the county sheriff or the town constable, and its lawmaking body. and the city hall are in local government. To us these local governments should be and are Our interest the most real of all. We know where the courthouse located, although we may never have been inside the court rooms or offices they contain. The bridges which our local governments have built, the streets and roads that they have laid out, the schoolhouses they maintain, are all familiar objects. It makes more difference to us whether a local official is honest and industrious than it does if a state or national official is careful in performing his duties, and we therefore watch his actions with greater interest. CITIZENS: THEIR RIGHTS AND DUTIES tion of citizenship, 10. Who are Citizens. In the first part of this The definichapter we spoke of the members of this community. Instead of the word member the word citizen will be used hereafter to designate those who make up the great nation that we call the United States. In order to learn who are citizens, and its explanation. Why foreigners are allowed to become citizens. let us consult the Fourteenth Amendment of our national Constitution, which gives us this definition: "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." Now, many people have the impression that only voters are citizens, but this is a mistake, for women and children are just as much members of the community as men are, and this amendment clearly states that all persons born in the United States are citizens. Men, women, and children are therefore citizens, provided they have been born in the United States and are under the protection of its governments, for that is what "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" really means. 11. Naturalized Citizens. - But the amendment also says that naturalized persons are citizens. That is, foreigners who come to this country and make a permanent home among us, can become citizens by a process of "naturalization." As nearly one million foreigners came to the United States during the last year (1903), and as nearly twenty millions of them have come to America since 1850, it would be very unwise to prevent them from becoming citizens. If they were among us, although not really members of our communities, with no interest in or rights under our governments, but still loyal to the country from which they came, they would be a menace to our prosperity and safety. That danger is avoided by permitting them to become citizens after they have resided in this country a period of five years. foreigners The process by which foreigners become citizens is How as follows: (1) the applicant for citizenship must become first declare, before some court of record, that he citizens. intends to become a citizen of the United States, that he will support the Constitution, and must renounce his previous allegiance to any foreign state or sovereign; (2) not less than two years after making this declaration, he must prove before a similar court by means of witnesses that he has resided in this country at least five years, and has conducted himself properly. He then renounces his allegiance to his former sovereign and swears to support the Constitution. His wife and minor children become citizens without further formalities. citizen's 12. Rights and Duties of Citizenship. If a person Some of a is a citizen of the United States, he owes something obligations. to his country and deserves something from it. First of all, he owes it his allegiance. In time of peace or in time of war, he must be ready to uphold the honor of his country and must be willing to give his help in protecting her from foes within and without. Under ordinary circumstances, this help can be given best by obeying the laws, by paying cheerfully and honestly his share of the government's expenses, by studying his country's needs and voting intelligently when opportunity offers, and by using his influence on all occasions for the preservation of law and order. Some rights and privi leges of a Besides these duties, which will be considered more at length in Part I of this book, he enjoys many rights and privileges which come to him because of citizen. |