law. It was not possible to lose the nation and yet preserve the Constitution. "So a measure, otherwise unconstitutional, may become lawful by becoming indispensable to the preservation of the Constitution through the preservation of the nation." Any government, in order to preserve its own life, will construe its powers in such a way as to justify its overstepping its ordinary limitations in periods of extraordinary danger. "The creation of a system of United Courts, extending throughout the States, and empowered to define the boundaries of Federal authority, and to enforce its decisions by Federal power supplied the element needed to bring order out of chaos. Without it the Constitution might easily have proved a more disheartening and complete failure than the Articles of Confederation.” 1 Probably no institution in our history has done more to strengthen and sustain American nationality than has the Supreme Court. It has obtained the respect of all nations, and usually it has possessed the confidence of all parties. Its dignity, ability, and impartial fairness have commended it to the people. 'Johnston's History of American Politics, cited by Hinsdale, Civil Government. REFERENCES 1. BRYCE, American Commonwealth. 2. WILLOUGHBY, The Supreme Court. 3. COOLEY, Constitutional Law and Constitutional Limitations. 4. HINSDALE, Civil Government. 5. LALOR, Cyclopedia of Political Science and United States History; arti'The Judiciary" in United States History by Professor cle on Johnston. 6. History of the United States, MCMASTER, VON HOLST, SCHOULER, RHODES. CHAPTER VII THE STATES AND THEIR GOVERNMENT N the American system of government the State is as important as the Nation. personal interests are concerned, in all the affairs that directly touch his civic life, the State is even more imRelative Im- portant than the Nation. While the State does not excite so much interest, nor occupy portance of the State in the Life of so large a share of the people's attention as the Citizen. does the Nation; while the affairs of the States, their constitutions, their officers, and the functions of these officers are not so well known, yet in the great multitude of affairs in which civil and criminal laws are of concern to the citizen, the State may touch the citizen a hundred times where the Nation touches him once. It is the State that deals with all the ordinary relations of citizens to one another. Mr. Bryce says: State Bryce. "An American may, through a long life, never be reminded of the Federal Government, except when he votes at presidential and congressional elections, buys a package of tobacco bearing the Government stamp, lodges a complaint against the post office, and opens his trunk for a custom house officer on a pier at New York when he returns from a tour in Europe. His direct taxes are paid to officials acting under State laws. The State, or a local authority constituted by State statutes, registers his birth, appoints his guardian, pays for his schooling, gives him a share in the estate of his father deceased, licenses him when he enters a trade, marries him, divorces him, entertains civil actions against him, declares him a bankrupt, and hangs him for murder. The police that guard his house, the local boards that look after the poor, control highways, impose water rates, manage schools,—all these derive their legal powers from the State alone. In comparison with such a number of functions the Federal Government is but a department for foreign affairs."" Thus it is seen that in dividing the governmental functions between State and Nation while the Nation gets the highest the State gets the most; so the balance is pretty well preserved. Each State has a constitution of its own. This constitution in every case provides for an Executive, or Governor, a Legislature of two Houses, a Judiciary with a system of civil and criminal procedure. Each provides a system of local self-government in counties, cities, townships, and school districts, with a system of State and local taxation. State Constitutions Came from Colonial Charters. The constitutions of the States were mainly derived from the same source. The constitutions of Massachusetts and Virginia furnished models for many of the Western States. The original States derived their constitutions either from old English statutes and principles of law, or from the original charters to the Colonies. The colonial charter was nothing more nor less than a constitution. It was "an instrument of government established by a superior authority creating subordinate law-making and administrative bodies that could not transcend the powers laid down in the instrument creating them." When the Colony became an independent State, the supreme power that had abided in King and Parliament competent to create a colonial constitution and impose limits on governmental agencies passed to the people of the independent State. The legislature, executive, and courts 1 American Commonwealth, i., 425, 426. of the State remained limited as they had been, and the people of the Colony in their primary capacity became the sovereign constitution-making power in the State.' Constitutional Power in The citizens within the limits of the old Colony were the body politic. They were the State. This body politic had absolute and supreme authority over the citizen within its bounds, in all matters in respect to which he was a subject of government. The new State had as it now retains, absolute control over all local political bodies within its limits, its counties, cities, and townships. It had, and retains, power to remodel city charters and revise city governments; it may reorganize or disorganize its counties and townships, and there is no appeal to any higher authority against its action. In the matter of limitations on legislative power, the fundaLimitations on mental difference between the United States Legislative Constitution and the State constitution lies in this: The States voluntarily deprive themselves of and relinquish to the national legislature the powers which that body may exercise; all other powers are retained to the States. The people of the States have conferred certain legislative powers on the national Congress, denying these to themselves, but retaining all others. But in forming their State constitution the people of a State do not confer legislative power on their legislature. From the nature of the sovereign State all the residuary mass of powers abides in the legislature, unless denied. The people restrict their State legislature in certain respects, including all the restrictions of the United States Constitution, but in all other respects in which government is competent to act, the legislature of a State is free, sovereign, and supreme. He who asserts the power of a State legislature to pass an act or establish an institution has not to prove it; but he who denies the power must cite the clause of the Con1 See Bryce, vol. i., p. 429. stitution forbidding it. Barring the specified restrictions of the State and national constitutions the power of a State legislature is like that of the British Parliament: it is plenary and unlimited, and it may legislate for all purposes of civil government and do all things that independent governments may do. In framing a State constitution the people commit to the legislature the whole law-making powers of the State which they do not expressly or impliedly withhold.' Of course, all departments of the State government, legislative, executive, and judicial, are limited by the Government State constitution to their respective spheres and cannot infringe the one upon the other. The Depart ments of are Separate and Re stricted. Defined. The rights of the States are defined partly by their reserved powers, partly by the powers withheld from them by the United States Constitution, partly States' Rights by the powers conferred on the National Government, partly by the judicial decisions and interpretations of the courts, and partly by the accepted facts of our national history. Whatever these rights may have included in the past, it is certain that they do not include the right of nullification and secession. Nullification was settled by Andrew Jackson; and that a State may not secede was settled as one of the prime results of the Civil War. No State may attempt to coerce another, nor establish diplomatic relations with another State, nor in any way deal with nor act upon another. These powers touching inter-State and foreign relations are conferred on the General Government. From what has been said, it will be understood that the State constitutions do not derive their authority from Congress. The States do not receive their powers from the General Government. In Canada the Provinces have only those powers that are conferred upon them by the Constitution of the Dominion, while all other powers are 'See Cooley's Constitutional Limitations, p. 107; Bryce, vol. i., p. 445. |