The Essentials Of A Written Constitution Classic Reprint

Excerpt from The Essentials of a Written Constitution Aristocracy and democracy, in the political sense, it will be noticed, are merely relative terms. There is no exact point at which a community ceases to be aristocratic and becomes democratic, and it is quite obvious that a community may be aristocratic as respects a second and at the same time democratic in relation to a third. France under the Orleans monarchy vested supreme political power in some voters, while under the second empire there were More than one of the states of our Union at the outset had suffrage laws so restrictive in character that they were decidedly aristocratic as compared with their present status, although undoubtedly democratic in comparison even with France under Louis Philippe. An organized political community, independent of external control, is commonly called a state. There is, however, often a confusion of thought arising from the more or less unconscious use of the term state in two different senses. These two applications of the term should be sharply distinguished, and the distinction kept always in mind. In the larger sense the state includes the whole community living in a given terri tory and subject to the political authority of its government. In the limited sense the state includes only that portion of the community which has political authority over the whole, and whose agent in the exercise of that authority is the government. The state in the larger sense we may, for convenience, call the social state. The other may be called the political state. The members of the social state are all subject to law. The political state creates law and enforces it. Political power belongs to the political state, to be sure, for the protection and welfare of the social state. But in the exercise of that power the political state has no legal superior. Its will is law for all. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from The Genesis of a Written Constitution Admitting that the permanence of a constitution is dependent upon the laws of historical growth, that no political forms created to meet a temporary emergency or framed by a mere act of arbitrary volition are likely to endure, it becomes an interesting question to an American citizen whether the laws of historical development apply only to an unwritten constitution. The organic law under which he lives is set forth in a written document. It was put into form at a given time and place. It was fashioned in the heat of discussion by a chosen body of men, whose work in its outlines and its details he is accustomed to think was solely the product of their creative wisdom. This idea was formerly so prevalent that the apotheosis of the Fathers occupies a large place in American political litera ture; and this View is not confined to native writers. The flattering sentiment of Mr. Gladstone has often been quoted, As the British Constitution is the most subtile organism which.has proceeded from progressive history, so the American Constitution is the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man. And this quotation is approvingly used by Mr. Bancroft as a sort of dedicatory preface of his History of Me Constitution. The German writer, von Holst, with greater historical insight, is inclined to satirize the worship of the Constitution and the Fathers, but the scope of his own work does not permit him to discuss the real origin of American constitutional law. It may, indeed, perhaps. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Reading between the lines: America's implicit Constitution -- Heeding the deed: America's enacted Constitution -- Hearing the people: America's lived Constitution -- Confronting modern case law: America's "warrented" Constitution -- Putting precedent in its place: America's doctrinal Constitution -- Honoring the icons: America's symbolic Constitution -- "Remembering the ladies" : America's feminist Constitution -- Following Washington's lead: America's "Georgian" Constitution -- Interpreting government practices: America's institutional Constitution -- Joining the party: America's partisan Constitution -- Doing the right thing: America's conscientious Constitution -- Envisioning the future: America's unfinished Constitution -- Afterward -- Appendix: America's written Constitution.

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Excerpt from The Constitution of the United States, Vol. 1 of 2: Its History, Application and Construction The Constitution of the United States is one of the great written instruments of the world. Its adoption marked the most advanced progress along the line of representative government which had occurred in history, and its influence has surpassed that of any similar document. Concerning the formation of the Constitution there was long a prevalent misconception. It was not wholly an orig inal creation of those who framed-it. The Colonial State papers, 'the Resolves of Congress, the Articles of Confedera tion and the State Constitutions contained many excellent provisions which were inserted in the greater instrument, while precedents for other provisions were found in the British Constitution. In the manner of arrangement I have followed the divi sion of the Constitution into articles, sections and clauses instead of considering similar provisions together. No attempt has been made to discuss collateral issues, or to criticise the Constitution because it contains too much or too little. Although new problems relating to constitu tional government are demanding consideration, I feel that one may be excused from discussing them in a work which treats of the Constitution as it is. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from The English Constitution, and Other Political Essays There is a great difficulty in the way of a writer who attempts to sketch a living Constitution - a Constitution that is in actual work and power. The difficulty is that the object i in constant change. An historical writer does not feel this difficulty: he deals only with the past; he can say definitely, the Constitution worked in such and such a manner in the year at which he begins, and in a manner in such and such respects different in the year at which he ends; he begins with a definite point of time and ends with one also. But a. Contemporary writer who tries to paint what is before him is puzzled and perplexed; what he sees is changing daily. He must paint it as it stood at some one time, or else he will be putting side by side in his representations things which never were con temporaneous in reality. The difficulty is the greater because a writer who deals with a living governmentviii introduction TO the second edition. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from The Constitutional d104-Book: A Practical and Familiar Exposition of the Constitution of the United States, and of Portions of the Public and Administrative Law of the Federal Government The diagram on page 64, may also be studied practically by means of proper questions, such as the following - What was the representative rank of this State at the first census? At the second? At the third? &c. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.