Problems in American Democracy Part 5

11. The work of the Const.i.tutional Convention. (Beard, _American Government and Politics_, pages 44-53. See also any other standard text on American history or government.)

12. Madison's criticism of the Articles of Confederation. (Beard, _Readings in American Government and Politics_, pages 38-43.)

13. Hamilton's plea for a strong national government. (Beard, _Readings in American Government and Politics_, pages 47-49.)

14. The influence of economic interests upon the Const.i.tution of 1787.

(Beard, _An Economic Interpretation of the Const.i.tution of the United States_, pages 324-325.)

15. The outlook for American democracy in 1789. (Bryce, _Modern Democracies_, vol. ii, chapter x.x.xviii.)

CHAPTER IV

ESSENTIALS OF AMERICAN CONSt.i.tUTIONAL GOVERNMENT

31. THE AIM OF THIS CHAPTER.--The form of government established in this country by the Const.i.tution of 1787 is known as a republic. A republic may be defined as a representative democracy, or, in the popular sense of the term, simply as a democracy. Now, to point out that a government is democratic does not necessarily mean that it is a sound government. Granting that self-government is morally right, the fate of a democracy will depend, partly upon the character of the people, and partly upon the nature of the governmental machinery through which that people expresses its will. The proof of democracy is in its workings. The aim of this chapter is not to pa.s.s judgment upon democracy, but rather to outline the essential characteristics of American const.i.tutional government. When this background has been secured we shall be in a position to begin a detailed study of applied democracy, to point out its merits, to call attention to its defects, and to consider how and to what extent it may be improved.

32. STRENGTH.--American const.i.tutional government is a strong government. The weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation were avoided in framing the Const.i.tution of 1787. Whereas the Confederation government was really headless, the Const.i.tution of 1787 provided for a strong executive. The Confederation Congress could not levy taxes, but the Congress of the United States has adequate powers in this regard. There can be no recurrence of one of the chief financial troubles of the Revolutionary period, for at the present time the several states may neither coin money nor emit bills of credit. The Federal government has exclusive control of foreign affairs, so that no state may individually enter into any agreement with a foreign power. The Federal Const.i.tution is the supreme law of the land, and no state action may contradict it. Unity has given us strength, and great crises, such as the Civil War and the World War, have ended by increasing that strength.

33. THE CHECK AND BALANCE SYSTEM.--A striking characteristic feature of American const.i.tutional government is the check and balance system.

By this system we mean all those const.i.tutional provisions which divide and subdivide governmental power among various sets of public agents. [Footnote: For a fuller discussion of the check and balance system see Chapter x.x.xIX.]

This division of powers is threefold. First, there is a division of power between the Federal government and the governments of the several states. The states are obliged to act in concert on most questions involving the nation as a whole, but the Federal Const.i.tution safeguards the rights of the states by reserving to them all powers not specifically delegated to the Federal government.

Second, in both Federal and state governments, power is still further distributed among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches in such a way that each branch const.i.tutes a check upon the other two.

Third, in both Federal and state governments there is a division of power within each of the three branches of government. Thus both the President of the United States and the governors of the various states are at least partially controlled by subordinate executive officials, while in the legislative branch of both Federal and state governments the upper and lower houses const.i.tute a check upon one another. In the case of both Federal and state judicial systems there is a division of jurisdiction.

34. THE CHECK AND BALANCE SYSTEM SECURES STABILITY.--American government is not only strong, it is stable. This stability is due chiefly to the admirable way in which different governmental agents are balanced against one another. The check and balance system renders us safe from the danger of anarchy, for though ultimate control is vested in the people, sufficient powers are entrusted to the governmental mechanism to protect it against popular pa.s.sion. The system likewise protects us against despotism. So long as the Const.i.tution endures, neither the Federal government nor the governments of the states may destroy each other. The undue concentration of political power is likewise rendered difficult by the division of power between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of both Federal and state governments.

The significance of a properly applied check and balance system appears clearly when we compare our government with that of various other republics. In many of the ancient republics, for example, the powers of government were so unequally and so indefinitely divided that republican government degenerated either to despotism or to anarchy. Within the last century many Latin-American republics have modeled their governments after ours, and yet some of these republics are constantly threatened by either revolution or despotism. The explanation of this, according to Elihu Root, is that these republics have adapted our check and balance system so carelessly that they find it difficult, if not impossible, to maintain a really stable government. [Footnote: Here we are pointing out the fundamental merits of the check and balance system; later (Chapters x.x.xIV, x.x.xV, and x.x.xVI) we shall have occasion to notice some of the disadvantages of this system.]

35. THE RIGHTS OF THE INDIVIDUAL.--We have not purchased strength and stability at the expense of personal freedom, for both Federal and state const.i.tutions specifically safeguard the rights of the individual. The fundamental guarantees set forth in the Magna Charta, the Pet.i.tion of Right, and the Bill of Rights were cherished by the American colonists, and in 1791 they formed the basis of the first ten Amendments to the Federal Const.i.tution. Provisions similarly designed to safeguard individual rights are found in the const.i.tution of every state in the Union. [Footnote: For an enumeration of these rights, see the first ten Amendments to the Federal Const.i.tution, Appendix.

Consult also the Bill of Rights in the const.i.tution of your state.]

From the beginning of our national history a fundamental principle of American government has been to allow the individual as much freedom of thought and action as is compatible with the general welfare.

36. CONTROL BY THE PEOPLE.--Under American const.i.tutional government, sovereignty resides with the people as a whole, though the people act through their chosen representatives. There is no power in American government beyond that created or permitted by the people themselves.

The suffrage, so narrowly restricted in the eighteenth century, has since widened to include the great majority of adults, both male and female. Elections are frequent, so that ill-chosen officials may not long abuse their position. The Initiative, the Referendum and the Recall are methods of popular control which in many sections are spreading. Const.i.tutional amendment in the United States is not easy; on the other hand, if any considerable percentage of the voters evince a sustained desire for change, an amendment is the normal result. [Footnote: In Part IV of the text we shall consider the dangers of an over-extension of popular control; here it is only necessary to point out that American government is essentially government by the people.]

37. EFFICIENCY.--The division of functions between the Federal and state governments on the one hand, and between state and local governments on the other, provides a solid foundation for the economical administration of government.

The Federal government attends to most matters which are of national importance, and which cannot properly be looked after by the states individually. For example, foreign relations, the postal service, and the coinage of money, are Federal functions. The separation of Federal and state functions is not always clear, but such matters as contracts, property rights, crime, and education are probably best administered by the state. There is, similarly, no sharp dividing line between the functions of state and local governments, but at present it appears that the local authorities are the most efficient administrators of roads and bridges, water and paving, the elementary schools, and similar concerns.

The essential economy of this threefold division of functions is that each of the three sets of officials tends to concern itself with those matters with which it is best acquainted, and which are most advantageously administered by it.

38. UNITY.--The earlier European critics of our government declared that the division of powers between Federal and state governments would encourage civil strife. It is true that this division of powers has resulted in a decentralized rather than in a centralized form of government. It is equally true that the quarrel over states' rights was the fundamental cause of the Civil War. But that war settled the question of states' rights once and for all, and there has never again been any serious question as to the proper status of states and Union.

American democracy has been found compatible with unity.

Nor has the decentralized character of American government kept us from presenting a united front in foreign wars. The concentration of war powers in the hands of President Lincoln during the Civil War was matched by the temporary dictatorship wielded by President Wilson during the World War. In both cases, the national executive became, for the period of the emergency, as powerful and as efficient as the executive of a highly centralized monarchy. This ability to exhibit unity of control and singleness of purpose in war-time enables us to claim for our form of government one of the most important a.s.sets of the centralized monarchy.

39. THE SPIRIT OF PROGRESS.--Certainly one test of good government is the extent to which it renders the ma.s.ses of the people happy and prosperous. American government has not yet exhausted the possibilities of helpfulness, but one of the chief aims of our political system is to encourage the individual in every pursuit which is legal and honorable. Lord Bryce has called America the land of Hope, because in spite of the defects of American government, a feeling of buoyancy and optimism is characteristic of our political inst.i.tutions. America might also be called the land of Sane Endeavor, for we lend force and justification to our optimism by consistently working for the attainment of our ideals. To improve every condition of American life, and yet to work in harmony with the principles of const.i.tutional government, that is our ideal. Progress must come through authorized channels, for, as Abraham Lincoln has said, "a majority, held in restraint by const.i.tutional checks and limitations, and always changing with the deliberate changes of popular opinion and sentiment, is the only true sovereign of a free people, and whoever rejects it does of necessity fly to anarchy or despotism."

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT

1. Upon what does the fate of a democracy depend?

2. Contrast the strength of our present government with the strength of the government established by the Articles of Confederation.

3. What is the check and balance system? Explain clearly.

4. Show how the check and balance system renders American government stable.

5. Why is stability not a feature of some of the Latin-American republics which have adapted our check and balance system?

6. What can be said as to the rights of the individual under American const.i.tutional government?

7. To what extent is American government subject to popular control?

8. How does American government provide for a solid foundation for the economical administration of government?

9. What charge did the earlier European critics bring against American government? Has history substantiated or disproved this charge?

Explain.

10. Compare the American democracy with a monarchy with respect to efficiency in war-time.

11. Why may America be called the land of Hope? To what extent may it properly be called the land of Sane Endeavor?

12. What did Lincoln say as to the only true sovereign of a free people?

REQUIRED READINGS

1. Williamson, _Readings in American Democracy_, chapter iv.

Or all of the following:

2. Beard, _American Government and Politics_, chapter viii.

3. Bryce, _The American Commonwealth_, vol. ii, chapters c and cii.

4. Cleveland and Schafer, _Democracy in Reconstruction_, pages 48-66.

5. Root, _Addresses on Government and Citizenship_, pages 98-117.

QUESTIONS ON THE REQUIRED READINGS