The federal Union and Mississippi

Preface

The best way to find out whether or not a plan will prove satisfactory is to try it. The plan of this book has been tested in my classes for more than ten years and excellent results have been accomplished by its use.

The outlines at the beginnings of the chapters, if brought together, would constitute one complete outline of the entire subject. This outline was first prepared; then the subject-matter of the text was made to conform to it. In preparing the outline, the author has endeavored to make it not only logical but also complete; in writing the text, he has striven to tell the truth and to tell it in a plain way.

The author acknowledges his gratitude to the following gentlemen for reading sections of the manuscript and for making suggestions and corrections: Judge R. V. Fletcher, State Superintendent J. N. Powers, Col. E. S. Candler, Hon. E. S. Blakeslee, Hon. Gaston Jones, Judge Stone Deavours, and Hon. W. A. Belk.

The preparation of this book has been a labor of love — love for the record of the Anglo-Saxon as a government builder; love for our federal Union and for our fathers who framed it ; love for Mississippi and for its traditions; love for the boys and girls of the State who in the coming years shall direct its destiny.

A. H. Ellett.

Blue Mountain, Mississippi.

CONTENTS CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES

Chapter Page

I. Historical Introduction 13

Colonial Government — Steps Toward Independence and Union — Writing and Ratifying the Constitution.

II. Legislative Department of the Government of the L t nited States 35

Introductory — Function of Congress — Organization and Structure — Powers and Restrictions — State Rights.

III. Executive Department of the Government

of the United States 51

Function — President and Vice-President — The Departments.

IV. The Judicial Department of the Govern-

ment OF THE IGNITED STATES 65

Courts and their Function — Judges — The Supreme Court — Inferior Courts.

V. The States and the Federal Union 73

Admission of States — State and Federal Relations — State and Federal Taxation.

VI. Miscellaneous Provisions of the Constitution of the United States 83

Amendments to the Constitution — Checks and Balances among Departments — Im-

Contents

Chapter Page

peachment — Naturalization — Copyrights and Patents — Admission of States — State and Federal Relations — Taxation — Treason — Vacancies in Office.

CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MISSISSIPPI

Chapter I Historical Introduction

In order to understand our government as it exists to-day, a study of the history of its formation is necessary. For this reason the colonial governments will be briefly described and the steps by which the colonies separated from Great Britain and formed the Union will be traced.

COLONIAL GOVERNMENT

Three Forms of Government. — The thirteen original colonies had three distinct forms of government in the period extending from the settlement at Jamestown (1607) to the Declaration of Independence '(1776) :

1. Charter Government. To some of the colonies charters were granted by the British government, allowing certain specified rights to each colony; but inasmuch as the charter could be amended or repealed at any time, the power to control the colony rested with the British government. Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island had this form of government.

2. Proprietary Government. Under the proprietary form of government some one man virtually owned the colony, and governed it personally or through governors appointed by himself. Maryland and Pennsylvania were examples of this form.

3. Royal Province. The third form of colonial government was the " royal province." Each royal province was controlled by the British government. This control was exercised through a royal governor, appointed by the Crown. South Carolina and New Hampshire were examples of this form.

The policy of the British government for some years prior to the Revolutionary War was to force all the colonies to become royal provinces. The tyranny of the royal governors did much toward bringing on the struggle between the colonies and England.

Legislative Assembly. — Each of the thirteen colonies had a legislative assembly, composed of delegates elected by the people. It was their duty to make laws for the government of the colony.

The first legislative assembly in America met at Jamestown, Virginia, July 30, 1619. It was composed of representatives "freely elected by the inhabitants of Jamestown colony." In describing this assembly, the historian Bancroft says : " This was the happy dawn of legislative liberty in America. * * * It constituted the first popular representative government of the Western hemisphere."

Governor's Council. — The governor of each colony had a council to advise with him and assist him in performing his duties. The members of the council were usually appointed by the king or by the owner of the colony. In nearly all of the colonies the council took part in the work of making laws. The frequent clashes between the council and governor on one side and the assembly on the other gradually widened the breach between the colonies and the mother country.

STEPS TOWARD INDEPENDENCE AND UNION

Franklin's Plan of Union, 1754. — The first suggestion of union among the colonies was made by the British government itself at the outbreak of the French and Indian War. In obedience to its suggestion, delegates from several of the colonies met at Albany, New York, in 1754, and considered a plan of union drawn up by Benjamin Franklin. It is known as "The Albany Plan."

It provided for two departments of government: (1) A president-general, appointed by the Crown; and (2) a grand council, chosen by the colonial assemblies.

It was rejected by both sides. The king rejected it because it gave too much power to the colonies, and the colonies rejected it because it gave too much power to the king. The meeting, however, had the effect of bringing about a. closer relation and better understanding among the colonies.

The Stamp Act Congress, 1765. — The Stamp Act Congress, composed of delegates from nine of the colonies, met two years after the close of the French and Indian War to pray against "taxation without representation," in general, and the Stamp Act in particular. The Congress, after denying the right of Parliament to tax them so long as they had no representatives in that body, sent petitions on the subject to the king.

England paid little attention to the prayers of this Congress.

Committees of Correspondence, 1773. — The first real concert of action among the colonies was brought about by "Committees of Correspondence/' formed under a plan offered by Dabney Carr, a member of the Virginia assembly. The first committee consisted of Peyton Randolph, Robert C. Nicholas, Richard Henry Lee, Edmund Pendleton, Patrick Henry, Archibald Cary, Dabney Carr, and Thomas Jefferson.

The plan met with immediate favor. Similar committees were formed in all the colonies. By corresponding with one another through these committees, the colonies came to know one another's grievances, and this resulted in a closer union of action among them.

Speaking of this movement, Bancroft says: " Virginia laid the foundation of our Union. Massachusetts organized a province; Virginia promoted a confederacy."

First Continental Congress, 1774. — As a result of the work of these Committees of Correspondence, the first Continental Congress met September 5, 1774, in answer to Virginia's call. Peyton Randolph, of Virginia, was chosen president. This Congress did three things: (1) Agreed not to trade with England until all offensive laws had been repealed; (2) issued a statement of grievances, in which was clearly set forth what the colonies considered to be their rights; (3) recommended that another Congress meet in the following May (1775).

Second Continental Congress, May 10, 1775. — Pursuant to the call issued the year before, the second Continental Congress met May 10, 1775. The important thing it did was to appoint George Washington as commander-in-chief of the American armies. The battle of Lexington had already been fought; the hour of prayer and protest had passed, and the time to resort to arms had come.

Mecklenburg Declaration, May 20, 1775. — Ten days after the second Continental Congress met, and twenty-five days before that body had elected Washington commander-in-chief, the patriots of Mecklenburg county, North Carolina, met and passed the famous "Mecklenburg Declarations" on independence. Up to this time the idea of the colonies was to fight for their rights inside the government of England. These resolutions, however, declared for independence of the government of that country.

Lee's Resolution, June 7, 1776. — The next bold step toward freedom was made in June, 1776, when Richard Henry Lee introduced in Congress his famous resolution: "These United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states; and all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved."

Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. — Lee's resolution was adopted July 2, 1776, and a committee was appointed to draw up a formal Declaration of Independence. The committee consisted of Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia, John Adams, of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin, of Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman, of Connecticut, and Robert Livingston, of New York. The Declaration prepared by this committee is so nearly in the words penned by Jefferson that he is famed as its author. It was presented to Congress and adopted on July 4, 1 776.

The colonies received the Declaration with the wildest joy, and immediately set about forming state governments.

Formation of State Governments, 1776- 1783. — The colonies, each acting singly and each for itself, seceded from England and adopted the Declaration of Independence. Having done this, each for itself constituted itself a state — a sovereign, independent state — independent of Great Britain, independent of each other, and independent of all other governments in the world.

South Carolina was the first to form a state government, and by 1783, when the independence of the colonies was recognized by Great Britain, all of them, except Rhode Island and Connecticut, had prepared and adopted state constitutions. These two became states under the charters they already had.

Articles of Confederation, 1 777-1 781. — When the war with Great Britain began, it was clear that the colonies would have to act together if they hoped to succeed. As a plan of union the Articles of Confederation were prepared. This paper was adopted by the Continental Congress, November 17, 1777; but it was set forth in the paper itself that its provisions were not to be binding until all the states had separately ratified it.

Maryland was the last state to join the confederation. It ratified the Articles in 1781, after the fighting of the Revolution was virtually over.

Second Treaty of Paris, 1783. — The second Treaty of Paris acknowledged that the thirteen colonies were thirteen independent nations. The first article of the treaty is as follows:

"His Britannic Majesty acknowledges the said United States, viz.: New Hampshire, Massachusetts-Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia to be free, sovereign and independent states; and he treats with them as such ; and for himself, his heirs, and successors, relinquishes all claim to the government, proprietary and territorial rights of the same, and every part thereof."

The day on which this treaty was signed, there were along our eastern coast, from Florida to Maine, according to their own claim and according to the acknowledgment of England, thirteen separate, independent nations.

Need of a Stronger Government, 1783 to 1789. — In the interval from the second Treaty of Paris (1783) to the inauguration of Washington (1789), there were six years during which each one of the thirteen states had its own separate government. In theory they were bound together by the Articles of Confederation, but in fact they were not bound at all by any central authority. The Articles of Confederation had never been anything more than a mutual agreement between the colonies that they would do as they pleased. During the Revolution this arrangement served very well, because they all pleased to stand together in the fight against Great Britain ; but when the war was over and independence had been acknowledged, it pleased them to act singly and differently one from the other, and they did so.

The Congresses that met under the Articles of Confederation were nothing more than advisory bodies. The state

20 THE FEDERAL UXIOX

that liked the advice took it, and the one that disliked it did not take it. Each one of the thirteen nations, or states, looked after its own welfare, according to its own idea. Each of them passed tariff laws against all the others. Each had its own money system, and a piece of money good in one state might not be accepted as such in another state.

The states owed individually a Revolutionary War debt of about $75,000,000. As early as 1781 Congress asked for authority to levy a duty on imports in order to raise money to pay this debt ; but the consent of all the states was necessary, and Rhode Island refused. Two years later the request was renewed, and this time New York refused. An increase in the tax rate, made by Massachusetts to pay off that state's part of the debt, caused serious trouble. About 2,000 armed men, led by Daniel Shays, marched to Worcester and drove the supreme court out of the courthouse. The militia finally suppressed the disorder.

As the general condition of the country continued to go from bad to worse, people began to realize the need of a stronger government.

Annapolis Convention, 1786. — To improve and promote their own business interests, Virginia and Maryland, in 1785, made an agreement between themselves as to their commercial relations. Being pleased with the working of this arrangement, Virginia, in January, 1786, issued a call for a convention of all the states to establish a uniform commercial system among them. The call was answered by only four other states — New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.

The delegates met at Annapolis, September, 1786. The only thing of importance that this convention did was to issue a call for another convention to meet the following May in Philadelphia.

Constitutional Convention, 1787. — Pursuant to this call, delegates from all the states, except Rhode Island, met in Philadelphia, May, 1787. Fifty-five delegates attended the convention.

On the 25th of May, 1787, delegates from seven of the states organized the convention by electing George Washington as its president. It adjourned September 17th, having been in session about four months and having written during that time our present Constitution.

The great English statesman, William E. Gladstone, says of this Constitution: " It is the greatest work ever struck out at one time by the hand of man."

Historical Summary. — The colonies had settled as separate and distinct communities, independent of each other; they had grown and developed as such through one hundred and sixty-eight years. They had fought the Revolution, each as a separate and independent state helping the other twelve, but not surrendering any sovereignty to any one of them, nor to all of them taken together. When the war was over, each one of the thirteen had its own name written down in the treaty, and by the terms of the treaty was an acknowledged sovereign, independent of all nations outside the United States, and equally independent of each other, except in so far as they chose to regard the recommendations made by the Continental Congress. This Congress sometimes even failed to meet, and some of the states, in order to save expense, declined at times to send delegates to it. Thus the government organized under the Articles of Confederation began to fail for lack of support.

WRITING AND RATIFYING THE CONSTITUTION

Reason; Defects in the Articles of Confederation. — Defects in the Articles of Confederation and the consequent disorganized condition of the government led to the making of our present Constitution. Some of these defects were:

1. There was only one department, the legislative; this could make a law, but had no power to enforce it.

2. The consent of nine states was required to pass any important law.

3. No power was given to a central government to enact and enforce uniform laws of commerce, to enforce treaties, or to collect federal taxes.

The Articles of Confederation differed from the present Constitution in many particulars; under the Articles —

1. Each state elected its representatives in its own way without any reference to the authority of Congress.

2. Each state paid its own representatives.

3. Each state had one vote, and only one, in Congress.

4. Each state had the power to recall any or all of its delegates at any time, and to send others in their stead.

5. Each state was expected to pay its pro rata part into the federal treasury, according to the value of its land.

6. One year was the term of a representative, and no one was permitted to be a representative more than three years in any six.

Purposes : Preamble. — The purposes of the Union under the Constitution, as set forth in the preamble, or opening sentence, are :

1 . To form a more perfect union.

2. To establish justice.

3. To insure domestic tranquillity.

4. To provide for the common defense.

5. To promote the general welfare.

6. To secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.

Makers : Some of Them. — The following are the names of a few of the makers of the Constitution, together with a word in regard to each:

(1) From the South —

1. George Washington was unanimously chosen president of the convention.

2. James Madison is known as the " Father of the Constitution."

3. Daniel Carroll favored the election of the president by the people.

4. William Davie proposed the plan of impeaching the president.

5. Charles Pinckney and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney favored religious freedom.

(2) From the North —

1. Alexander Hamilton (1) objected to daily prayer at the opening of the sessions of the convention; (2) opposed the "federal" plan of Union; (3) favored the formation of one strong central government to take the place of state governments ; (4) declared that he considered the British government the best in the world; (5) was in favor of the president's holding office for life. ^

2. Benjamin Franklin objected to paying the president any salary.

3. John Dickinson wished the senate to bear as strong likeness to the British House of Lords as possible.

4. Roger Sherman said: "The people should have as little to do as may be about the government."

5. John Langdon was in favor of the president's being elected by Congress.

Obstacles. — There were numerous obstacles in the way of writing a Constitution and of forming a Union under it :

1. Lack of Authority. The delegates to the convention had been sent by sovereign states to do a specific thing, and that specific thing was not to write a new Constitution, not to form a new Union. They had been sent for the "sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation."

All the delegates recognized this obstacle. All of them acknowledged that the paper they were writing would have no force unless the sovereign states separately and voluntarily ratified it.

2. Lack of a Pattern. The writing of a Constitution for a republic was a new undertaking, for no such paper had ever before been written. The Constitution, when completed, was not a copy of a similar one that had already been tried ; it was a creation.

3. Jealousy of States Rights. The states that sent delegates to the convention were intensely jealous of their sovereignty for themselves, and the delegates were jealous of it for them. More than once the proposed Constitution came near going to pieces on this rock. The delegates were willing to make many concessions, but they were very unwilling to surrender the sovereignty of their states.

4. Conflicting Interests. Another serious obstacle was encountered in the conflicting interests of the different states. Each of them wanted for itself the provisions that would insure its welfare, whether such provisions were for the welfare of the other states or not.

5. Distrust of the People. Finally, there was in some of the delegates a deep distrust of the people. They did not believe the people were capable of self-government, and they were unwilling to write a Constitution that would give them the right to govern themselves. Delegates like Hamilton, Gerry, and Sherman came out openly in the discussions and said that they were opposed to taking the risk of trusting the people with the government.

This distrust caused the convention to adopt a resolution that none of the proceedings should be made public. This resolution was well kept for fifty-two years. Only one man, James Madison, preserved a record of the proceedings. After his death Congress paid Mrs. Madison $30,000 for this record, and in 1840 it was printed. This was the first opportunity the people had for knowing what had been thought and said in the great convention.

Compromises. — In the broadest sense of the word, the Constitution itself is a compromise, inasmuch as the main features of it were regulated by a series of compromises. Three of the most important are :

1. As to Representation of Large and of Small States. Much discussion arose as to how the states should be represented in the federal Congress. The large states wanted representation according to population. The small states were unwilling to this ; for, while they were not so populous, they argued that they were complete and sovereign states, and should have as much voice in the general government as any other state.

The compromise by which an agreement was reached on this question was that each state should have representatives in the lower house according to population ; but in the senate, each state, regardless of its size and population, should have two senators.

2. As to Counting Slaves in Determining Population. In determining population as a basis of representation in the lower house, the South wanted all of its slaves counted. The North wanted none of them counted. The compromise on this question was that five slaves should be counted as equal to three white persons. The basis of this compromise is known as the " federal ratio." It was further provided that the number of representatives should not exceed one for every thirty thousand people.

3. As to Ocean Trade in Slaves. — One of the hottest debates of the convention was on the question of stopping the importation of slaves. Most of the Southern states wanted it stopped at once. The New England states, however, wanted it continued, because their shipowners were making large profits from the traffic in slaves.

Governor Livingston, of New Jersey, was chairman of the committee that reported in favor of continuing the slave trade till 1800. A motion to extend the trade to 1808 was seconded by Nathaniel Gorham, of Massachusetts, and when this motion was put to a vote every New England state in the convention voted for it. If these New England states had voted "no," the measure would have been defeated by the same majority as that by which it was carried.

Thus a compromise was made whereby the evils of the ocean slave trade were continued for twenty years.

Ratifying the Constitution. — After the delegates had written the Constitution and had agreed to it among themselves, the next thing was to induce the states to ratify it. The method of ratification is written in the Constitution itself: "The ratifications of the conventions of nine states shall be sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution between the states so ratifying the same."

How was it to be ratified? By conventions of the states, each acting independently of all the others. How many must ratify to make the Constitution operative? At least nine. Then it would be a binding Constitution for what states, and how many? For the nine so ratifying. What about the other states that might choose not to ratify it? They would not be in the Union, and the Constitution would have no authority over them.

Eleven states ratified the Constitution within a year after it had been framed. After receiving assurances that certain amendments limiting the power of the general government and protecting the rights of the states and the liberties of the citizens would be added, North Carolina, in 1789, and Rhode Island, in 1790, withdrew all opposition and ratified it.

Conclusion. — The thirteen separate and distinct settlements made from 1607 to 1733 had come to be a " federal union under one constitution." After the colonies had seceded from Great Britain, they agreed to form a " perpetual union" among themselves under the Articles of Confederation. The union thus formed did not prove to be perpetual: the states, singly and at different dates, seceded from it and ratified the Constitution. Several of them expressly announced in their ordinances of ratification that they reserved to themselves the privilege of withdrawing from the Union when it pleased them to do so.

In forming a federal union of sovereign states under the Constitution, each state retained all its rights and powers, except such as it delegated to the federal government or agreed to abstain from exercising. On this subject the Constitution says : " The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution nor prohibited by it to the states are reserved to the states respectively or to the people."

The Constitution was not made by " the people " as a nation ; it was made by the states, each one being at the time a separate and independent nation. A state is not a part of the

United States — it is one of them, and as such each of them became a party to an agreement by which the Union was formed.

With this understanding of the history of our government and the basic principles underlying it, the study of its operation may now be taken up.

OUTLINE OF CHAPTER II

LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES

a 1 Introductory.

& 1 Three Departments of Government.

a- Function of Congress. h [ To Make Laws.

a 3 Organization and Structure. b 1 Two Houses of Congress.

c 1 House of Representatives. d 1 Members.

e l Qualifications.

/' Age — 25 years. /-' Citizen of V. S. for 7 Years. f 3 Inhabitant of State he represents. c- Manner of Election — By Voters of his District. e 3 Term — 2 years. e 4 Salary— $7,500 and Mileage. e 5 Apportionment — One to 194,182. e G Entire Number — About 400. d 2 Officers.

e 1 Speaker — Presiding Officer. e 2 Chaplain — Leads Opening Prayer. c s Clerk— Reads Bills, etc. e 4 Sergeant-at-arms — Keeps Order. e 5 Postmaster — Distributes the Mail. e 6 Doorkeeper — Keeps the Door. d 3 Exclusive Powers.

e 1 To originate Bills for raising Revenue.

c 2 To prepare Charges of Impeachment.

c 3 To elect President when Electors fail to do so.

c 2 Senate.

d x Members.

e 1 Qualifications.

Z 1 Age— 30 Years.

P Citizen of U. S. 9 Years.

/ 3 Inhabitant of State he represents.

e 2 Manner of election — by State Legislature.

e 3 Term — 6 Years.

e i Salary— $7,500 and Mileage.

e 5 Apportionment — 2 to each State.

e 6 Entire Number — 92. d 2 Officers.

e 1 President — Presiding Officer.

e 2 Chaplain — Leads in Opening Prayer.

e 3 Secretary — Reads Bills, etc.

e 4 Sergeant-at-arms — Keeps Order.

e 5 Postmaster — Distributes Mail.

e 6 Doorkeeper — Keeps the Door. d 3 Exclusive Powers.

e 1 To ratify Treaties.

e 2 To confirm Appointments.

e 3 To try Cases of Impeachment.

e 4 To elect Vice-President when Electors fail to do so. c 3 Powers in Common.

d l To punish own Members.

d 2 To elect own Officers.

d 3 To make own Rules of Order.

d 4 To judge Election and Qualifications of own Members.

a 4 Powers and Restrictions.

b 1 Powers Granted by the States. c 1 As to Money.

d 1 To lay and collect Taxes. d 2 To borrow on Credit of United States. d 3 To coin and regulate the Value of. d 4 To punish Counterfeiting. c 2 As to War.

d 1 To declare War.

d 2 To raise and support Armies.

d 3 To provide and maintain a Navy.

d 4 To grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal.

As to Territory.

d l To make Rules and Regulations for.

d 2 To dispose of.

d 3 To admit as States.

As to Commerce.

d l To regulate with foreign Nations.

d 2 To regulate with Indian Tribes.

d 3 To regulate interstate.

d 4 To fix Standards of Weights and Measures.

Miscellaneous Powers.

d 1 To naturalize Foreigners.

d 2 To grant Patents and Copyrights.

d 3 To establish Post Offices and Post Roads.

d 4 TJo establish inferior Courts.

d 5 To pass Laws necessary to execute its Powers.

Powers denied by the States.

b 1 List— (Partial).

c 1 Habeas Corpus — Not to be suspended. c 2 Bill of Attainder — Not to be passed. c 3 Ex Post Facto Law — Not to be passed. c 4 Titles of Nobility — Not to be granted. c 5 Exports— No duty on.

State Rights.

b 3 Two important Principles.

Chapter II Legislative Department Of The Government Of The United States

Three Departments of Government. — The system of government adopted by the framers of our Constitution consists of three branches: (1) The legislative department, or Congress; (2) the executive department, at the head of which is the president; (3) the judicial department, consisting of a supreme court and . inferior courts established by Congress. Each of these departments has its own particular function.