the Great Charter, was signed by King John at Runnymede, near London, in 1215. He had been tyrannical and cruel until the nation could stand his oppression no longer. So the strong men of England drew up this statement of their rights and compelled the king to sign it. It is the foundation and beginning of our liberty. The right to a prompt and fair trial, the right to trial by jury, the forbidding of taxation except as imposed by the people's representatives, and the right to local selfgovernment are among the great rights which it declared.

The battle was not over and tyrannical kings repeatedly broke the rules laid down by Magna Carta. Finally, in 1689, when William III was made king, the Bill of Rights was drawn up. Free speech, the right to bear arms, and a number of other important rights were added to the common privileges of every Englishman by this great document.

Religious liberty had not been won at this time in England and it was religious persecution that drove many of the colonists to seek their fortune in America. There was persecution in many of the colonies and complete religious freedom was gained only after a long struggle.

Civil and Political Rights.-The rights we have been describing are often called civil rights, the word civil here meaning common to all members of a nation. They are contrasted with political rights, that is, the right to share in the government, to vote, and to hold office. Our forefathers found that the best way to protect their civil rights (that is, the rights of personal liberty we have described) was to gain political rights. So they insisted

upon the right to vote, and that is how our American theory developed that government should be run not by a few people or any class but by all the people. But the distinction still remains. All All Americans, men, women, boys, and girls, have civil rights simply because they are Americans; but only those Americans have the "elective franchise," that is, the privilege of voting, whom the voters think qualified to vote. No one under twenty-one, for instance, is permitted to vote; but every boy and girl has exactly the same rights of personal liberty as any grown man or woman.

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT

1. What are the five chief rights of every American?

2. Explain what each of them means?

3. Why is free speech essential in a democracy?

4. What is property and why is its safety important to all of us? 5. What are some of the safeguards that American justice throws about an accused person?

6. What were the sources of American liberty and how many centuries of struggle does it represent?

7. When was Magna Carta signed and what rights did it establish? 8. When was the Bill of Rights enacted and what rights did it es

tablish?

9. When was religious liberty established in America?

10. Distinguish between civil and political rights and give an example of each.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. Can you think of anything that your city or village does to make your life safe?

2. What were the religious persecutions in America before the Revolution?

3. What is a pogrom?

4. Is there any mention of God or religion in the Constitution?

CHAPTER VI

THE CONSTITUTION

The Constitution.-We saw that the object of all laws, and the reason we have judges to say what they mean, is to secure freedom and fair play, just as the rules and the umpire secure fair play in a ball game. But these great rights of freedom we have just described have a special importance. They are the foundation upon which all other rights rest. With them our freedom is secure. Without them, without any one of them, our whole system of liberty and fair play might crash to the ground. Therefore special safeguards have been thrown about them. They have been set apart in a sacred document, called the Constitution, to stand, like the ten commandments, above all other law. The general plan of our government forms part of the Constitution. These rights of the people form the rest. Every American boy and girl should understand exactly how the Constitution works, how it is protected, and what it does for each of us.

Its Safeguards. Any ordinary law can be changed at any time by Congress without much delay. But the Constitution is different. It can be changed only after long discussion and by the overwhelming vote of the people. A bare majority of legislators can pass a law in Congress. It takes the vote of two-thirds of the legislators to offer an amendment (that is, a change)

to the Constitution; and after the amendment has passed Congress it must be approved by three-fourths of the States, that is, 36 out of 48. This procedure insures long discussion and makes certain that no change can be made in the Constitution unless the country is overwhelmingly for it.

The Two Reasons.-There are two reasons for these safeguards thrown about the Constitution. One is that the Constitution holds the thought of our wisest and noblest men, from Washington down. We must not lightly change what they have wrought. There must be thorough debate by every one and general agreement before we act. There must be appeal to second thoughts, which are often the best. There must be no hasty tinkering with so solemn a document, the guardian of our lives and liberties.

The second reason goes back to what has been said about majorities and tyranny and the right of revolution. America is the oldest republic on a large scale in the world. It has weathered every storm, very largely because our Constitution prevents evil acts by majorities. The Constitution is binding not only on you and me, but upon Congress as well. Our legislators cannot pass a law taking away any of the rights and liberties protected by the Constitution. Or, rather, they can pass such a law, but as soon as the Supreme Court of the United States decides that the law attempts to do what the Constitution forbids, the law is wiped out. That is what "unconstitutional" means. That is the great service that our Supreme Court of the United States, the most powerful court in the world, does for each of us.

This plan of a Constitution binding upon every one and of a court to enforce it was an American invention, and we can all be proud and thankful that our forefathers had the mind and skill to create this new and wise system. There is no other country in the world where personal rights are held so sacred or so carefully protected by the laws. No mere majority can ever take away our liberties or our rights.

The Supreme Law. You can see why the Constitution is called the supreme law of the land. It stands above all other laws and above all our officers of government: Presidents, judges, legislators, policemen, every one. It is the faithful, tireless protector of every American.

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT

1. What is a Constitution?

2. What does our Constitution contain?

3. How can it be amended?

4. Upon whom is it binding?

5.

What are the two reasons for the safeguards thrown about our Constitution?

6. When is a law unconstitutional?

3. How do by-laws differ from the rest of a club's constitution and why are they usually made easier to change?

4. How many amendments to the Constitution have been adopted altogether and what was the last one adopted?