Civil Government in the United States Considered with Some Reference to Its Origins E-Book
John Fiske
0,49 €
Niedrigster Preis in 30 Tagen: 1,99 €
Niedrigster Preis in 30 Tagen: 1,99 €
Mehr erfahren.
- Herausgeber: DigiCat
- Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
- Sprache: Englisch
In "Civil Government in the United States Considered with Some Reference to Its Origins," John Fiske meticulously analyzes the foundations and evolution of American governance. Employing a clear and didactic literary style, Fiske situates his work within the broader context of political philosophy and historical development, examining the principles of democracy, federalism, and individual rights. His rigorous exploration of constitutional history is woven together with reflections on the social contract theory, illuminating the ideological motivations that shaped the formation of the U.S. government. John Fiske (1842-1901), a prominent American philosopher and historian, was deeply influenced by the turbulent political landscape of his time, as well as by the transcendentalist movement. His background in both theology and history, coupled with a profound interest in social progress, informed his analysis of the American political system. Fiske's works often reveal a commitment to enlightenment principles and a belief in the inevitable progress of humanity, making his insights particularly resonant in a period marked by rapid change. This book is an essential read for anyone interested in American history, political science, or the development of democratic institutions. Fiske's lucid prose and incisive arguments invite readers to reflect on the foundational concepts that continue to shape the U.S. government today, making it not only scholarly intriguing but also relevant to contemporary discussions of governance and citizenship.
Das E-Book können Sie in Legimi-Apps oder einer beliebigen App lesen, die das folgende Format unterstützen:
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022
Ähnliche
Civil Government in the United States Considered with Some Reference to Its Origins
Table of Contents
CHAPTER I.
TAXATION AND GOVERNMENT.
"Too much taxes".
What is taxation?
Taxation and eminent domain.
What is government?
The "ship of state".
"The government".
Whatever else it may be, "the government" is the power which imposes taxes.
Difference between taxation and robbery.
Sometimes taxation is robbery.
The study of history is full of practical lessons, and helpful to those who would be good citizens.
Perpetual vigilance is the price of liberty.
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS AND DIRECTIONS.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE.
CHAPTER II.
THE TOWNSHIP.
Section 1. The New England Township.
The most ancient and simple form of government.
New England settled by church congregations.
Policy of the early Massachusetts government as to land grants.
Smallness of the farms
Township and village
Social position of the settlers
The town-meeting
Selectmen; town-clerk
Town-treasurer; constables; assessors of taxes and overseers of the poor
Act of 1647 establishing public schools
School committees
Field-drivers and pound-keepers; fence-viewers; other town officers
Calling the town-meeting
Town, county, and state taxes
Poll-tax
Taxes on real-estate; taxes on personal property
When and where taxes are assessed
Tax-lists
Cheating the government
The rate of taxation
Undervaluation; the burden of taxation
The "magic-fund" delusion
Educational value of the town-meeting
By-laws
Power and responsibility
There is nothing especially American, democratic, or meritorious about "rotation in office"
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
Section 2. Origin of the Township.
Town-meetings in ancient Greece and Rome
Clans; the mark and the tun
The Old-English township, the manor, and the parish
The vestry-meeting
Parish and vestry clerks; beadles, waywardens, haywards, common-drivers, churchwardens, etc.
Transition from the English parish to the New England township
Building of states out of smaller political units
Representation; shire-motes; Earl Simon's Parliament
The township as the "unit of representation" in the shire-mote and in the General Court
Contrast with the Russian village-community which is not represented in the general government
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS AND DIRECTIONS BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
CHAPTER III.
THE COUNTY.
Section 1. The County in its Beginnings.
Why do we have counties?
Clans and tribes
The English nation, like the American, grew out of the union of small states
Ealdorman and sheriff; shire-mote and county court
The coroner, or "crown officer"
Justices of the peace; the Quarter Sessions; the lord lieutenant
Decline of the English county; beginnings of counties in Massachusetts
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
Section 2. The Modern County in Massachusetts.
County commissioners, etc.; shire-towns and court-houses
Justices of the peace, and trial justices
The sheriff
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
Section 3. The Old Virginia County.
Virginia sparsely settled; extensive land grants to individuals
Navigable rivers; absence of towns; slavery
Social position of the settlers
Virginia parishes; the vestry was a close corporation
Powers of the vestry
The county was the unit of representation
The county court was virtually a close corporation
The county-seat, or Court House
Powers of the court; the sheriff
The county-lieutenant
Contrast between old Virginia and old New England, in respect of local government
Jefferson's opinion of township government
"Court-day" in old Virginia
Virginia has been prolific in great leaders
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS AND DIRECTIONS
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
CHAPTER IV.
TOWNSHIP AND COUNTY.
Section 1. Various Local Systems.
Parishes in South Carolina
The back country; the "regulators"
The district system
The modern South Carolina county
The counties are too large
Tendency of the school district to develop into something like a township
Local institutions in colonial Maryland; the hundred
Clans; brotherhoods, or phratries; and tribes
Origin of the hundred; the hundred court; the high constable
Decay of the hundred; hundred-meeting in Maryland
The hundred in Delaware; the levy court, or representative county assembly
The old Pennsylvania county
Town-meetings in New Tort
The county board of supervisors
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
Section 2. Settlement of the Public Domain.
Westward movement of population along parallels of latitude
Method of surveying the public lands
Origin of townships in the West
Formation of counties in the West
Some effects of this system
The reservation of a section for public schools
In this reservation there were the germs of township government
But at first the county system prevailed
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
Section 3. The Representative Township-County System in the West.
The town-meeting in Michigan
Conflict between township and county systems in Illinois
Effects of the Ordinance of 1787
Intense vitality of the township system
County option and township option in Missouri, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Dakota
Grades of township government in the West
An excellent result of the absence of centralization in the United States
Effect of the self-governing school district in the South, in preparing the way for the self-governing township
Woman-suffrage in the school district
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS AND DIRECTIONS
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
CHAPTER V.
THE CITY.
Section 1. Direct and Indirect Government.
Summary of the foregoing results; township government is direct, county government is indirect
Representative government is necessitated in a county by the extent of territory, and in a city by the multitude of people
Josiah Quincy's account of the Boston town-meeting in 1830
Distinctions between towns and cities in America and in England
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
Section 2. Origin of English Boroughs and Cities.
Origin of the chesters and casters in Roman camps
Coalescence of towns into fortified boroughs
The borough as a hundred; it acquires a court
The borough as a county; it acquires a sheriff
Government of London under Henry I
The guilds; the town guild, and Guild Hall
Government of London as perfected in the thirteenth century; mayor, aldermen, and common council
The city of London, and the metropolitan district
English cities were for a long time the bulwarks of liberty
Simon de Montfort and the cities
Oligarchical abuses in English cities, beginning with the Tudor period
The Municipal Reform Act of 1835
Government of the city of New York before the Revolution
Changes after the Revolution
City government in Philadelphia in the eighteenth century
The very tradition of good government was lacking in these cities
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
Section 3. The Government of Cities in the United States.
Several features of our municipal governments
In many cases they do not seem to work well
Rapid growth of American cities
Some consequences of this rapid growth
Wastefulness resulting from want of foresight
Growth in complexity of government in cities
Illustrated by list of municipal officers in Boston.
How city government comes to be a mystery to the citizens, in some respects harder to understand than state and national government
Dread of the "one-man power" has in many cases led to scattering and weakening of responsibility
Committees inefficient for executive purposes; the "Circumlocution Office"
Alarming increase of city debts, and various attempts to remedy the evil
Experience of New York with state interference in municipal affairs; unsatisfactory results
The Tweed Ring in New York
The present is a period of experiments
The new government of Brooklyn
Necessity of separating municipal from national politics
Notion that the suffrage ought to be restricted; evils wrought by ignorant voters
Evils wrought by wealthy speculators; testimony of the Pennsylvania Municipal Commission
Dangers of a restricted suffrage
Baneful effects of mixing city politics with national politics
The "spoils system" must be destroyed, root and branch; ballot reform also indispensable
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS AND DIRECTIONS
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
CHAPTER VI.
THE STATE.
Section 1. The Colonial Governments.
Claims of Spain to the possession of North America
Claims of France and England
The London and Plymouth Companies
Their common charter
Dissolution of the two companies
States formed in the three zones
Formation of representative governments; House of Burgesses in Virginia
Company of Massachusetts Bay
Transfer of the charter from England to Massachusetts
The General Court; assistants and deputies
Virtual independence of Massachusetts, and quarrels with the Crown
New charter of Massachusetts in 1692; its liberties curtailed
Republican governments in Connecticut and Rhode Island
Counties palatine in England; proprietary charter of Maryland
Proprietary charter of Pennsylvania
Quarrels between Penns and Calverts; Mason and Dixon's line
Other proprietary governments
They generally became unpopular
At the time of the Revolution there were three forms of colonial government: 1. Republican; 2. Proprietary; 3. Royal
(After 1692 the government of Massachusetts might be described as Semi-royal)
In all three forms there was a representative assembly, which alone could impose taxes
The governor's council was a kind of upper house
The colonial government was much like the English system in miniature
The Americans never admitted the supremacy of parliament
Except in the regulation of maritime commerce
In England there grew up the theory of the imperial supremacy of parliament
And the conflict between the British and American theories was precipitated by becoming involved in the political schemes of George III.
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
Section 2. The Transition from Colonial to State Governments.
Dissolution of assemblies and parliaments
Committees of correspondence; provincial congresses
Provisional governments; "governors" and "presidents"
Origin of the senates
Likenesses and differences between British and American systems
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
Section 3. The State Governments.
Later modifications
Universal suffrage
Separation between legislative and executive departments; its advantages and disadvantages as compared with the European plan
In our system the independence of the executive is of vital importance
The state executive
The governor's functions: 1. Adviser of legislature; 2. Commander of state militia; 3. Royal prerogative of pardon; 4. Veto power
Importance of the veto power as a safeguard against corruption In building the state, the local self-government was left unimpaired
Instructive contrast with France
Some causes of French political incapacity
Vastness of the functions retained by the states in the American Union
Illustration from recent English history
Independence of the state courts
Constitution of the state courts
Elective and appointive judges
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS AND DIRECTIONS
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
CHAPTER VII.
WRITTEN CONSTITUTIONS.
In the American state there is a power above the legislature
Germs of the idea of a written constitution
Development of the idea of contract in Roman law; mediaeval charters
The "Great Charter" (1215)
The Bill of Rights (1689)
Foreshadowing of the American idea by Sir Harry Vane (1666)
The Mayflower compact (1620)
The "Fundamental Orders" of Connecticut (1639)
Germinal development of the colonial charter toward the modern state constitution
Abnormal development of some recent state constitutions, encroaching upon the legislature
The process of amending constitutions
The Swiss "Referendum"
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS AND DIRECTIONS
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
CHAPTER VIII.
THE FEDERAL UNION.
Section 1. Origin of the Federal Union.
Circumstances favourable to the union of the colonies. The New England Confederacy (1643-84). Albany Congress (1754); Stamp Act Congress (1765); Committees of Correspondence (1772-75). The Continental Congress (1774-89). The several states were never at any time sovereign states. The Articles of Confederation. Nature and powers of the Continental Congress. It could not impose taxes, and therefore was not fully endowed with sovereignty. Decline of the Continental Congress. Weakness of the sentiment of union; anarchical tendencies. The Federal Convention (1787).
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT.
Section 2. The Federal Congress.
The House of Representatives. The three fifths compromise. The Connecticut compromise. The Senate. Electoral districts; the "Gerrymander". The election at large. Time of assembling. Privileges of members. The Speaker. Impeachment in England; in the United States. The president's veto power.
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT.
Section 3. The Federal Executive.
The title of "President". The electoral college. The twelfth amendment. The electoral commission (1877). Provisions against a lapse of the presidency.
Original purpose of the electoral college not fulfilled
Electors formerly chosen in many states by districts; now always on a general ticket
"Minority presidents"
Advantages of the electoral system
Nomination of candidates by congressional caucus (1800-24)
Nominating conventions; the "primary"; the district convention; the national convention
Qualifications for the presidency; the term of office
Powers and duties of the president
The president's message
Executive departments; the cabinet
The secretary of state
Diplomatic and consular service
The secretary of the treasury
The other departments
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
Section 4. The Nation and the States.
Difference between confederation and federal union
Powers granted to Congress
The "Elastic Clause"
Powers denied to the states
Evils of an inconvertible paper currency
Powers denied to Congress
Bills of attainder
Intercitizenship; mode of mating amendments
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
Section 5. The Federal Judiciary.
Need for a federal judiciary
Federal courts and judges
District attorneys and marshals
The federal jurisdiction
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
Section 6. Territorial Government.
The Northwest Territory and the Ordinance of 1787
Other territories and their government
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
Section 7. Ratification and Amendments.
Provisions for ratification
Concessions to slavery
Demand for a bill of rights
The first ten amendments
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
Section 8. A Few Words about Politics.
Federal taxation
Hamilton's policy; excise; tariff
Origin of American political parties; strict and loose construction of the Elastic Clause
Tariff, Internal Improvements, and National Bank.
Civil Service reform
Origin of the "spoils system" in the state polities of New Tort and Pennsylvania
"Rotation in office;" the Crawford Act
How the "spoils system" was made national
The Civil Service Act of 1883
The Australian ballot
The English system of accounting for election expenses
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS AND DIRECTIONS
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
APPENDIX.
A. The Articles of Confederation
B. The Constitution of the United States
C. Magna Charta
D. Part of the Bill of Rights, 1689
E. The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
F. The States classified according to origin
G. Table of states and territories
H. Population of the United States 1790-1880, with percentages of urban population
I. An Examination Paper for Customs Clerks
J. The New York Corrupt Practices Act of 1890
K. Specimen of an Australian ballot
INDEX
CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES, CONSIDERED WITH SOME REFERENCE TO ITS ORIGINS.
CHAPTER I.
TAXATION AND GOVERNMENT.
In that strangely beautiful story, "The Cloister and the Hearth," in which Charles Reade has drawn such a vivid picture of human life at the close of the Middle Ages, there is a good description of the siege of a revolted town by the army of the Duke of Burgundy. Arrows whiz, catapults hurl their ponderous stones, wooden towers are built, secret mines are exploded. The sturdy citizens, led by a tall knight who seems to bear a charmed life, baffle every device of the besiegers. At length the citizens capture the brother of the duke's general, and the besiegers capture the tall knight, who turns out to be no knight after all, but just a plebeian hosier. The duke's general is on the point of ordering the tradesman who has made so much trouble to be shot, but the latter still remains master of the situation; for, as he dryly observes, if any harm comes to him, the enraged citizens will hang the general's brother. Some parley ensues, in which the shrewd hosier promises for the townsfolk to set free their prisoner and pay a round sum of money if the besieging army will depart and leave them in peace. The offer is accepted, and so the matter is amicably settled. As the worthy citizen is about to take his leave, the general ventures a word of inquiry as to the cause of the town's revolt. "What, then, is your grievance, my good friend?" Our hosier knight, though deft with needle and keen with lance, has a stammering tongue. He answers: "Tuta—tuta—tuta—tuta—too much taxes!"
[Sidenote: "Too much taxes."] "Too much taxes:" those three little words furnish us with a clue wherewith to understand and explain a great deal of history. A great many sieges of towns, so horrid to have endured though so picturesque to read about, hundreds of weary marches and deadly battles, thousands of romantic plots that have led their inventors to the scaffold, have owed their origin to questions of taxation. The issue between the ducal commander and the warlike tradesman has been tried over and over again in every country and in every age, and not always has the oppressor been so speedily thwarted and got rid of. The questions as to how much the taxes shall be, and who is to decide how much they shall be, are always and in every stage of society questions of most fundamental importance. And ever since men began to make history, a very large part of what they have done, in the way of making history, has been the attempt to settle these questions, whether by discussion or by blows, whether in council chambers or on the battlefield. The French Revolution of 1789, the most terrible political convulsion of modern times, was caused chiefly by "too much taxes," and by the fact that the people who paid the taxes were not the people who decided what the taxes were to be. Our own Revolution, which made the United States a nation independent of Great Britain, was brought on by the disputed question as to who was to decide what taxes American citizens must pay.
[Sidenote: What is taxation?] What, then, are taxes? The question is one which is apt to come up, sooner or later, to puzzle children. They find no difficulty in understanding the butcher's bill for so many pounds of meat, or the tailor's bill for so many suits of clothes, where the value received is something that can be seen and handled. But the tax bill, though it comes as inevitably as the autumnal frosts, bears no such obvious relation to the incidents of domestic life; it is not quite so clear what the money goes for; and hence it is apt to be paid by the head of the household with more or less grumbling, while for the younger members of the family it requires some explanation.
It only needs to be pointed out, however, that in every town some things are done for the benefit of all the inhabitants of the town, things which concern one person just as much as another. Thus roads are made and kept in repair, school-houses are built and salaries paid to school-teachers, there are constables who take criminals to jail, there are engines for putting out fires, there are public libraries, town cemeteries, and poor-houses. Money raised for these purposes, which are supposed to concern all the inhabitants, is supposed to be paid by all the inhabitants, each one furnishing his share; and the share which each one pays is his town tax.
[Sidenote: Taxation and eminent domain.] From this illustration it would appear that taxes are private property taken for public purposes; and in making this statement we come very near the truth. Taxes are portions of private property which a government takes for its public purposes. Before going farther, let us pause to observe that there is one other way, besides taxation, in which government sometimes takes private property for public purposes. Roads and streets are of great importance to the general public; and the government of the town or city in which you live may see fit, in opening a new street, to run it across your garden, or to make you move your house or shop out of the way for it. In so doing, the government either takes away or damages some of your property. It exercises rights over your property without asking your permission. This power of government over private property is called "the right of eminent domain." It means that a man's private interests must not be allowed to obstruct the interests of the whole community in which he lives. But in two ways the exercise of eminent domain is unlike taxation. In the first place, it is only occasional, and affects only certain persons here or there, whereas taxation goes on perpetually and affects all persons who own property. In the second place, when the government takes away a piece of your land to make a road, it pays you money in return for it; perhaps not quite so much as you believe the piece of land was worth in the market; the average human nature is doubtless such that men seldom give fair measure for measure unless they feel compelled to, and it is not easy to put a government under compulsion. Still it gives you something; it does not ask you to part with your property for nothing. Now in the case of taxation, the government takes your money and seems to make no return to you individually; but it is supposed to return to you the value of it in the shape of well-paved streets, good schools, efficient protection against criminals, and so forth.
[Sidenote: What is government?] In giving this brief preliminary definition of taxes and taxation, we have already begun to speak of "the government" of the town or city in which you live. We shall presently have to speak of other "governments,"—as the government of your state and the government of the United States; and we shall now and then have occasion to allude to the governments of other countries in which the people are free, as, for example, England; and of some countries in which the people are not free, as, for example, Russia. It is desirable, therefore, that we should here at the start make sure what we mean by "government," in order that we may have a clear idea of what we are talking about.
[Sidenote: The "ship of state."] Our verb "to govern" is an Old French word, one of the great host of French words which became a part of the English language between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries, when so much French was spoken in England. The French word was gouverner, and its oldest form was the Latin gubernare, a word which the Romans borrowed from the Greek, and meant originally "to steer the ship." Hence it very naturally came to mean "to guide," "to direct," "to command." The comparison between governing and steering was a happy one. To govern is not to command as a master commands a slave, but it is to issue orders and give directions for the common good; for the interests of the man at the helm are the same as those of the people in the ship. All must float or sink together. Hence we sometimes speak of the "ship of state," and we often call the state a "commonwealth," or something in the weal or welfare of which all the people are alike interested.
Government, then, is the directing or managing of such affairs as concern all the people alike,—as, for example, the punishment of criminals, the enforcement of contracts, the defence against foreign enemies, the maintenance of roads and bridges, and so on. To the directing or managing of such affairs all the people are expected to contribute, each according to his ability, in the shape of taxes. Government is something which is supported by the people and kept alive by taxation. There is no other way of keeping it alive.
[Sidenote: "The government."] The business of carrying on government—of steering the ship of state—either requires some special training, or absorbs all the time and attention of those who carry it on; and accordingly, in all countries, certain persons or groups of persons are selected or in some way set apart, for longer or shorter periods of time, to perform the work of government. Such persons may be a king with his council, as in the England of the twelfth century; or a parliament led by a responsible ministry, as in the England of to-day; or a president and two houses of congress, as in the United States; or a board of selectmen, as in a New England town. When we speak of "a government" or "the government," we often mean the group of persons thus set apart for carrying on the work of government. Thus, by "the Gladstone government" we mean Mr. Gladstone, with his colleagues in the cabinet and his Liberal majority in the House of Commons; and by "the Lincoln government," properly speaking, was meant President Lincoln, with the Republican majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives.
[Sidenote: Whatever else it may be, "the government" is the power which taxes] "The government" has always many things to do, and there are many different lights in which we might regard it. But for the present there is one thing which we need especially to keep in mind. "The government" is the power which can rightfully take away a part of your property, in the shape of taxes, to be used for public purposes. A government is not worthy of the name, and cannot long be kept in existence, unless it can raise money by taxation, and use force, if necessary, in collecting its taxes. The only general government of the United States during the Revolutionary War, and for six years after its close, was the Continental Congress, which had no authority to raise money by taxation. In order to feed and clothe the army and pay its officers and soldiers, it was obliged to ask for money from the several states, and hardly ever got as much as was needed. It was obliged to borrow millions of dollars from France and Holland, and to issue promissory notes which soon became worthless. After the war was over it became clear that this so-called government could neither preserve order nor pay its debts, and accordingly it ceased to be respected either at home or abroad, and it became necessary for the American people to adopt a new form of government. Between the old Continental Congress and the government under which we have lived since 1789, the differences were many; but by far the most essential difference was that the new government could raise money by taxation, and was thus enabled properly to carry on the work of governing.
If we are in any doubt as to what is really the government of some particular country, we cannot do better than observe what person or persons in that country are clothed with authority to tax the people. Mere names, as customarily applied to governments, are apt to be deceptive. Thus in the middle of the eighteenth century France and England were both called "kingdoms;" but so far as kingly power was concerned, Louis XV. was a very different sort of a king from George II. The French king could impose taxes on his people, and it might therefore be truly said that the government of France was in the king. Indeed, it was Louis XV's immediate predecessor who made the famous remark, "The state is myself." But the English king could not impose taxes; the only power in England that could do that was the House of Commons, and accordingly it is correct to say that in England, at the time of which we are speaking, the government was (as it still is) in the House of Commons.
[Sidenote: Difference between taxation and robbery.] I say, then, the most essential feature of a government—or at any rate the feature with which it is most important for us to become familiar at the start—is its power of taxation. The government is that which taxes. If individuals take away some of your property for purposes of their own, it is robbery; you lose your money and get nothing in return. But if the government takes away some of your property in the shape of taxes, it is supposed to render to you an equivalent in the shape of good government, something without which our lives and property would not be safe. Herein seems to lie the difference between taxation and robbery. When the highwayman points his pistol at me and I hand him my purse and watch, I am robbed. But when I pay the tax-collector, who can seize my watch or sell my house over my head if I refuse, I am simply paying what is fairly due from me toward supporting the government.
[Sidenote: Sometimes taxation is robbery.] In what we have been saying it has thus far been assumed that the government is in the hands of upright and competent men and is properly administered. It is now time to observe that robbery may be committed by governments as well as by individuals. If the business of governing is placed in the hands of men who have an imperfect sense of their duty toward the public, if such men raise money by taxation and then spend it on their own pleasures, or to increase their political influence, or for other illegitimate purposes, it is really robbery, just as much as if these men were to stand with pistols by the roadside and empty the wallets of people passing by. They make a dishonest use of their high position as members of government, and extort money for which they make no return in the shape of services to the public. History is full of such lamentable instances of misgovernment, and one of the most important uses of the study of history is to teach us how they have occurred, in order that we may learn how to avoid them, as far as possible, in the future.
[Sidenote: The study of history.] When we begin in childhood the study of history we are attracted chiefly by anecdotes of heroes and their battles, kings and their courts, how the Spartans fought at Thermopylae, how Alfred let the cakes burn, how Henry VIII. beheaded his wives, how Louis XIV. used to live at Versailles. It is quite right that we should be interested in such personal details, the more so the better; for history has been made by individual men and women, and until we have understood the character of a great many of those who have gone before us, and how they thought and felt in their time, we have hardly made a fair beginning in the study of history. The greatest historians, such as Freeman and Mommsen, show as lively an interest in persons as in principles; and I would not give much for the historical theories of a man who should declare himself indifferent to little personal details.
[Sidenote: It is full of practical lessons;] Some people, however, never outgrow the child's notion of history as merely a mass of pretty anecdotes or stupid annals, without any practical bearing upon our own every-day life. There could not be a greater mistake. Very little has happened in the past which has not some immediate practical lessons for us; and when we study history in order to profit by the experience of our ancestors, to find out wherein they succeeded and wherein they failed, in order that we may emulate their success and avoid their errors, then history becomes the noblest and most valuable of studies. It then becomes, moreover, an arduous pursuit, at once oppressive and fascinating from its endless wealth of material, and abounding in problems which the most diligent student can never hope completely to solve.
[Sidenote: and helpful to those who would be good citizens.] [Sidenote: Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.] Few people have the leisure to undertake a systematic and thorough study of history, but every one ought to find time to learn the principal features of the governments under which we live, and to get some inkling of the way in which these governments have come into existence and of the causes which have made them what they are. Some such knowledge is necessary to the proper discharge of the duties of citizenship. Political questions, great and small, are perpetually arising, to be discussed in the newspapers and voted on at the polls; and it is the duty of every man and woman, young or old, to try to understand them. That is a duty which we owe, each and all of us, to ourselves and to our fellow-countrymen. For if such questions are not settled in accordance with knowledge, they will be settled in accordance with ignorance; and that is a kind of settlement likely to be fraught with results disastrous to everybody. It cannot be too often repeated that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. People sometimes argue as if they supposed that because our national government is called a republic and not a monarchy, and because we have free schools and universal suffrage, therefore our liberties are forever secure. Our government is, indeed, in most respects, a marvel of political skill; and in ordinary times it runs so smoothly that now and then, absorbed as most of us are in domestic cares, we are apt to forget that it will not run of itself. To insure that the government of the nation or the state, of the city or the township, shall be properly administered, requires from every citizen the utmost watchfulness and intelligence of which he is capable.
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT.
To the teacher. Encourage full answers. Do not permit anything like committing the text to memory. In the long run the pupil who relies upon his own language, however inferior it may be to that of the text, is better off. Naturally, with thoughtful study, the pupil's language will feel the influence of that of the text, and so improve. The important thing in any answer is the fundamental thought. This idea once grasped, the expression of it may receive some attention. The expression will often be broken and faulty, partly because of the immaturity of the pupil, and partly because of the newness and difficulty of the theme. Do not let the endeavour to secure excellent expression check a certain freedom and spontaneity that should be encouraged in the pupil. When the teacher desires to place special stress on excellent presentation, it is wise to assign topics beforehand, so that each pupil may know definitely what is expected of him, and prepare himself accordingly.
1. Tell the story that introduces the chapter.
2. What lesson is it designed to teach?
3. What caused the French Revolution?
4. What caused the American Revolution?
5. Compare the tax bill with that of the butcher or tailor.
6. What are taxes raised for in a town? For whose benefit?
7. Define taxes.
8. Define the right of eminent domain.
9. Distinguish between taxes and the right of eminent domain.
10. What is the origin of the word "govern"?
11. Define government.
12. By whom is it supported, how is it kept alive, and by whom is it carried on?
13. Give illustrations of governments.
14. What one power must government have to be worthy of the name?
15. What was the principal weakness of the government during the American Revolution?
16. Compare this government with that of the United States since 1789.
17. If it is doubtful what the real government of a country is, how may the doubt be settled?
18. Illustrate by reference to France and England in the eighteenth century.
19. What is the difference between taxation and robbery?
20. Under what conditions may taxation become robbery?
21. To what are we easily attracted in our first study of history?
22. What ought to be learned from history?
23. What sort of knowledge is helpful in discharging the duties of citizenship?
24. Show how "eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS AND DIRECTIONS.
To the teacher. The object of this series of questions and suggestions is to stimulate reading, investigating, and thinking. It is not expected, indeed it is hardly possible, that each pupil shall respond to them all. A single question may cost prolonged study. Assign the numbers, therefore, to individuals to report upon at a subsequent recitation,—one or more to each pupil, according to the difficulty of the numbers. Reserve some for class consideration or discussion. Now and then let the teacher answer a question himself, partly to furnish the pupils with good examples of answers, and partly to insure attention to matters that might otherwise escape notice.
1. Are there people who receive no benefit from their payment of taxes?
2. Are the benefits received by people in proportion to the amounts paid by them?
3. Show somewhat fully what taxes had to do with the French Revolution.
4. Show somewhat fully what taxes had to do with the American Revolution.
5. Give illustrations of the exercise of the right of eminent domain in your own town or county or state.
6. Do railroad corporations exercise such a right? How do they succeed in getting land for their tracks?
7. In case of disagreement, how is a fair price determined for property taken by eminent domain?
8. What persons are prominent to-day in the government of your own town or city? Of your own county? Of your own state? Of the United States?
9. Who constitute the government of the school to which you belong? Does this question admit of more than one answer? Has the government of your school any power to tax the people to support the school?
10. What is the difference between a state and the government of a state?
11. Which is the more powerful branch of the English Parliament? Why?
12. Is it a misuse of the funds of a city to provide entertainments for the people July 4? To expend money in entertaining distinguished guests? To provide flowers, carriages, cigars, wines, etc., for such guests?
13. What is meant by subordinating public office to private ends? Cite instances from history.
14. What histories have you read? What one of them, if any, would you call a "child's history," or a "drum and trumpet" history? What one of them, if any, has impressed any lessons upon you?
15. Mention some principles that history has taught you.
16. Mention a few offices, and tell the sort of intelligence that is needed by the persons who hold them. What results might follow if such intelligence were lacking?
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE.
It is designed in the bibliographical notes to indicate some authorities to which reference may be made for greater detail than is possible in an elementary work like the present. It is believed that the notes will prove a help to teacher and pupil in special investigations, and to the reader who may wish to make selections from excellent sources for purposes of self-culture. It is hardly necessary to add that it is sometimes worth much to the student to know where valuable information may be obtained, even when it is not practicable to make immediate use of it.
