The lord, in return for the homage, promised the vassal patronage and protection. If the vassal had any land the lord took it as his own, the vassal henceforth holding as a tenant, the tenure depending upon the performance of certain services, most of which were of a personal nature.

Under the workings of the feudal system a few lords came to own practically all the land in a country. A great landlord would parcel out a tract of land to tenants, and these would parcel out to sub-tenants, and these, possibly, to subtenants still lower down the scale. Under this system land was everything, man was nothing; every man, except the highest lord, was another man's man.

Of course democracy, which is founded on the principle that one person never obeys another person, but always obeys a law, could not thrive under such conditions. It did not thrive, but it survived. It was kept alive in the cities and towns. In a city people can easily meet to talk over public affairs and, if necessary, can unite quickly to protect their interests and liberties. Cities have always been the nurseries of democracy. When, therefore, the feudal lords attempted to override the rights of the cities situated on their lands, the citizens resisted. They were accustomed to equal rights and self-government, and they prized these blessings too highly to give them up without a struggle. They joined with the king, who generally had a quarrel with the lords, and after a long contest overthrew feudalism, the greatest enemy democracy ever had.

The people had now to reckon with monarchy. With the lords crushed and out of the way the king took all the power of government into his own hands and ruled in his own interest. This was to be expected. Government by one means government for one. Government by nearly always means government for. The monarchs built up their power rapidly, and it was not long before the very existence of popular government was threatened.

The people of England were the first to resist the encroachments of the crown. By the close of the seventeenth cen

tury they had fought their battle and had won. On the Continent democracy slumbered for a hundred years longer. Then it awoke and asserted its terrible power. In France the people, who had become the servants of the government, revolted (1789) and tore up monarchy from its foundations. They beheaded the king, drove out the nobility, and established government which was to be the servant of the people. The French Revolution was the first of a series of victories for democracy. From 1789 to the present time, in almost every country on the globe, the power of the people in matters of government has been increasing. Year by year the right to vote has been given to larger and still larger numbers of citizens, laws have become more and more favorable to popular needs and wishes, and governments themselves have become more and more democratic in spirit and form. We may safely say that the twentieth century opens with democracy triumphant in all the progressive nations of the earth.

Democracy in the United States. The above sketch shows that the principle of democracy is a persistent and indestructible force in human affairs. In America it was a powerful force even before the Revolution. In every colony large numbers of people participated in government, and when independence was declared it was declared in the name of the people. "The people" at the time of the Revolution meant but a small portion of the adult male population, but the proportion steadily grew, and by the year 1840 democracy in America meant that all white male adults had the right to vote. Thirty years later all black male adults also enjoyed this right. Democracy in the United States to-day means the rule of practically the whole body of grown men plus a portion of the grown women, about 18,000,000 persons, or one fifth of the total population.

Why Popular Government is the Best.

What are the rea

sons which have urged the people to undertake the dangerous

and difficult task of governing themselves? There are three coercive reasons why popular government should be maintained:

(1) The people are the best guardians of their own liberties and interests. Government by, let it be repeated, is government for. Government by a king will be conducted in the interest of the royal family; government by an aristocracy will be administered for the benefit of a small class; government by all will aim to promote the welfare and protect the rights of all.

(2) Democracy is best for the individual. Participation in government adds to the interest of life, sharpens the intellect, broadens the sympathies, cultivates a civic conscience, and thus enriches and elevates individual character.

(3) Popular government develops the highest type of patriotism. Citizens of a democracy always spring quickly to the defense of their government, for it is a work of their own hands. Subjects of monarchies, on the other hand, have been known to be driven into battle by the lash. Popular government has had its fullest development in Switzerland, and the Swiss are the most patriotic people in the world.

The Dangers of Popular Government. We are sometimes taught to regard democracy as something divine. We are told that the voice of the people is the voice of God. We should cherish the principle of democracy and resist every attempt to undermine it or sap its strength, but we need not regard it as a divine institution. It is simply one of the forms of government. It is that form in which the people rule by the device of voting and abiding by the will of the majority. That is all. Democracy is a human institution, and like all human institutions it is beset by dangers. Three of these dangers are inherent and must be pointed out:

(1) Indifference. It is extremely easy to forget and neglect civic duty. It is next to impossible to keep the attention fixed constantly upon public affairs. Yet the success of

popular government requires that the citizen's interest in public affairs be sustained, and that his watchfulness shall never be relaxed. Eternal vigilance is the price of democracy as well as of many other good things. A people who are habitually indifferent to the affairs of government are not fit to rule themselves.

(2) The Demagogue. A demagogue is a leader who seeks to gain political power for his own selfish purposes, and not for his country's good. The demagogue flatters the people and confirms them in their prejudices and wrong-thinking and, if necessary, lies to them. He would rather lead the people to their destruction than fail in his designs. We must always have leaders, and as long as there are men who prefer their private gain to the public welfare, so long will the false leader, the demagogue, be with us. We ought, therefore, to keep a sharp lookout for this arch enemy of democracy and deal him a blow whenever he shows his baleful head.

(3) Tyranny. We are accustomed to associate the idea of tyranny with kings, but what is tyranny? It is an exercise of power without regard to justice; it is an exercise of brute force. Now if the majority ruthlessly trample upon the rights of the minority, the minority feels the tyranny as keenly as if it were inflicted by a despot. Tyranny in popular government is worse than the tyranny of monarchies. A tyrannical king can be overthrown, but when a majority is tyrannical its tyranny cannot be successfully resisted.

The danger of tyranny in popular government will be avoided if the majority will remember justice and right. But justice and right are not always identical with the popular will. "To say that the will of the majority makes a thing right or wrong is a palpable absurdity. Right and wrong are what they are by their own nature. They can as little be made by man as can the properties of the triangle. No man, no number of men, can do more than declare them. The will of the majority ought to prevail if it is in

accordance with right. For the sole ought is an ethical ought." (W. S. Lilly.)

Democracy and the Individual. We learn in physics that a body acted upon by a number of forces applied from different directions yields something to each force and moves in a line that is the resultant of all the forces. So it is in the political world. In a democracy a number of wills exert themselves upon government to make it go this way and that; it yields something to each and moves in a direction that is the resultant of all the wills. Plainly, then, the responsibility for the course of public affairs must be sought in the doings of individuals. Just as one's personal conduct affects the government of the home for good or for evil, or the government of the school for good or for evil, so does personal conduct affect the larger civil government for good or for evil. This is another way of saying that good government begins with one's self, not with one's neighbor. When I grasp the idea of personal responsibility in political matters, when I understand that the greatest contribution I can make to the cause of good government is to order my own life aright, I am beginning to understand the duty that rests upon me as a citizen of a democracy. The first fact of a democracy is the power of the people; the first fact of citizenship in a democracy is the responsibility of the individual.

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT

1. What is a democracy? Why may we call the United States a democracy?

2. What is meant by majority rule?

3. In what countries did democracy flourish in early times?

4. What is a pure democracy?

5. How did feudalism affect popular government?

6. In what way have cities advanced the cause of democracy? 7. In what way have kings retarded the cause of democracy?

8. What was the French Revolution? What have been the results of that Revolution?

9. Give an account of the growth of democracy in America?