The Constitutional Text-Book

THE CONSTITUTIONAL TEXT-BOOK: A PRACTICAL AND FAlllILIAR EXPOSITION OF THE COlSTITUTIOl OF THE UXITED STATES, AND OF PORTIONS OF TIIE PUBLICJ A:'\'D ADlfL-,,'ISTRATIVE LAW OF THE ' FEDERAL GOVElli~lfENT. DESIGNED CHIEFLY FOR THll: USE OF SCHOOLS, ACADEIDES, AND COLLEGES. BY FURMAN SHEPPARD, . "IT is of infinite moment that you should properly estimate the immense value ofyour National Union to your collective and individual happiness: that you should cherish & cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to It: accustoming yourselves to think and speak of It as of the palladium of your political safety and prosperity.'' WASHINGTo~'s Farewell .Address to the Peop/£ qfthe UniUd Stu.ta. PHILADELPHIA: CHILDS & PETERSON, 124 ARCH ST. 1855. Entered according t.o Act of Congress, In the year 1855, by FURMAN SIIEPPARD, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Penm~ylvania. PREFACE. IT is almost impossible to exaggerate the importance of a thorough study of the Constitution of the United States by the pupils in our schools. It is, nevertheless, a study which has' hitherto been sadly neglected, chiefly, as teachers are aware, for want of a plain, practical, and thorough work upon the subject. It is true there are several text-books which have been used to a greater or less extent; but however meritorious they are in many respects, in others they seem objectionable. Some of them, in aiming at simplicity and brevity, have become trivial and meagre; others are composed chiefly of disquisitions and gene ralities, which cannot be made the proper subject.matter of reci tation in the school-room; there are still others containing partisan or sectional views, or assuming a controversial air in the discussion of unsettled constitutional questions. It will be for the public to say whether the attempt to divest the present undertaking of these features has been successful. The author has aimed solely to adapt the book, both in matter and style, to the purpeses of elementary instruction, so that it may be easily used by the teacher; and systematically studied by the pupil. Long trains' of reasoning have been avoided, and the results have been stated at once, even at the risk of appearing dogmatic. The Federal Government is now an historical fact, and it was not considered necessary for our purpose to elaborate the arguments formerly employed to prove its antecedent fitness. We attempt only an exposition of it as it is, or as it has been decided to be by judicial tribunals. An endeavour has been made to pass beyond a comment on the mere text of the Consti tution, and enter into the practical administrative details, and the public law, of the Government, so as to exhibit to some extent its actual workings. It is scarcely necessary to observe that originality of matter cannot be properly claimed for a book such as the present. Hence, in many places, there has been no hesitation in freely stating doctrines or facts, in the language of public document~, 3 4 PREFACE. of judicial decisions, or of standard legal treatises, without formal references thereto. · There has been obtained from the Department of State, for use in the present work, as the basis of the commentary, a copy of the Constitution and amendments, which, after comparison with the original, has been officially certified to be correct in text, orthography, and punctuation. Its accuracy may therefore be relied upon with entire confidence. The purpose of the Comparative Chart of the State Constitu tions, will be evident upon inspection. Although much care has been taken in its construction, and the best attainable sources of information have been consulted, it is possible, nevertheless, that some inaccuracies may have occurred, either by reason of the multiplicity and minuteness of the details, or because of recent legislative enactments in some of the States, which have not been brought to the notice of the author. The publishers will be pleased to have their attention directed to such corrections, if any, as may be necessary. For the accommodation of teachers who may prefer that mode of reciting the lessons, questions for examination are appended; but they are not intended to exhaust the matter contained in the body of the work. It is recommended that, in the case of younger pupils, at least, those questions be answered, and the text of the Constitution be committed to memory, in going through the book for the first time; and that, on a review of the book, the teacher himself put such additional questions as occur to him. ·where tables are introduced, relative to the respective States, questions may readily be adapted to any particular State; for instance, in using the Comparative Chart, the teacher may ask,-What is the salary of Governor in this State ? When does the Legislature meet in this State ? What are the qualifi cations of voters in this State? and in like manner with the other elements of the chart. The diagram on page 64, may also be studied practically by means of proper questions, such as the following :-rVhat was the representative rank of this State at the first census? at the second ? at the third ? &c. The index has been made full and complete for the purpose of facilitating reference to any particular subject. TABLE OF CONTENTS. • CHAPTER I. PA.GB The Discovery and Settlement ofthe Colonies of North America.. 7 CHAPTER II. The Articles of Confederation ............................................. 13 CHAPTER III. The Adoption of the Constitution ........................................... 18 CHAPTER IV. The Preamble-Distribution of legislative Powers-The House of Representatives...................................................... 53 CHAPTER V. The Senate...................................................................... 70 CHAPTER VI. Provisions applicable both to the Senate and House of Repre· sentatives ................:................................................. 79 CHAPTER VII. The Enactment of Laws ..................................................... 92 l* 5 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER VIII. PJ.GB The Powers vested in Congress . ... ... .. .. .... .. .. •. .... .. .. .• 100 CHAPTER IX. Restrictions upon Congress ................................................ 141 • CHAPTER X. Restrictions upon the States .............................................. 147 CHAPTER XI. The Executive Power ...........................,........................... 155 CHAPTER XII. The Executive Departments ......................•..•...•.•.•.•..•.•.•...•• 186 CHAPTER XIII. The Judicial Power .....•........••............•••..........•.•.•..•.•......• 206 CHAPTER XIV. :Miscellaneous Provisions ................................................... 219 CHAPTER XV. Mode of amending the Constitution-Further miscellaneous Provisions................................................................ 232 CHAPTER XVI. Articles in addition to, and amendment of, the Constitution ..•.• 241 THE CONSTITUTIONAL TEXT-BOOK. CHAPTER I. THE DISCOVERY AND SETTLEl\IENT OF THE COLONIES OF NORTH A;.\IERICA. § 1. IN March, 1496, Henry the Seventh, King of Eng land, commissioned John Cabot and his three sons, Sebas tian, Lewis, and Sanctius, to set forth on a voyage of dis covery, and to conquer and occupy any lands not already in the possession of a Christian nation. Under this com mission, Cabot and his son Sebastian departed in May, 1497; and, after discovering the islands of Newfoundland and St. Johns, saired along the coast of the mainland north and south, and claimed for the English king the territory from the Gulf of Mexico to an indefinite extent on the north, without, however, attempting either settle ment or conquest. · §2. From this discovery by Cabot, originated the title by which England claimed North America. That title depended upon the first discovery of the continent, and was called the Right of Discovery. It was a principle adopted in the practice of the nations of Europe, that the first discovery of unknown countries gave to the govern 7 8 CONSTITVTIONAL TEXT-BOOK. ment, whose subjects had made the discovery, a title to the possession of such newly-found lands. § 3. Under this title the original inhabitants were per mitted to remain in the territory; but they were restrained from selling or granting its soil, except to the sovereign by whose subjects it had been discovered, who claimed for himself the sole right to dispose of it ; consequently, :QO other persons could acquire a title from the natives, either by purchase or by conquest. § 4. There does not seem to be any just reason why the first discovery of a country should give a right to the possession of it, especially where it is inhabited, as North America was. The rule was probably adopted in order to prevent conflicting claims by different governments to the same territory. · § 5. Uninhabited countries cannot be said to belong to any particular nation, for no nation has taken possession of them. Whenever, therefore, a nation first discovers unin· habited lands, it has a right to take possession of them, and its title will be regarded by other nati-Ons as good, provided the discovery is followed up by an actual settle ment, or by colonizing it within a reasonable time, or by making other use of it; but, if some one of these things is not done, the title is considered to be incomplete and abandoned, and the land will be open to fresh occupants. § 6. Although the titles derived from discovery may not originally have been very just, their validity, after a lapse of

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