The Constitution does not even mention political parties. Yet they have helped to make our plan of government work. They have helped to develop our Constitution.

THINGS TO DO

Questions to ask and answer in your study group:

1. What authority was taken away from the national courts by the Eleventh Amendment? What authority was taken away from the National Government by the TwentyFirst Amendment? What was done with the authority that was taken away from the National Government?

2. What was the purpose of the Twelfth Amendment? State the purpose of the Seventeenth Amendment. How did the Twentieth Amendment change the organization of the National Government?

3. What did the Thirteenth Amendment do other than end slavery? Why was the Sixteenth Amendment necessary?

4. Why is the Fourteenth Amendment important?

5. Are Negroes more interested in the Fifteenth Amendment than other groups? Why or why not? Why are women interested in the Nineteenth Amendment?

6. What is meant by "general laws"? Give two examples of general laws that have helped to develop the Constitution.

7. Why do nations enter into treaties with one another? Can you suggest some matter of common interest to the United States and other nations on which a treaty might be entered into? Give an example of how a treaty has helped to develop the Constitution.

8. Was there a system of national courts under the Articles of Confederation? What change, in this matter, was made by the Fathers of the Constitution? Why was the change made?

9. Explain what is meant by political parties. What work do they do to help develop the Constitution and Government?

CHAPTER VIII

Giving the Government Authority To Do Its Work

"The Supreme Court is the living voice of the Constitution."

-James Bryce.

We live under a constitution that was written more than 165 years ago. We are able to do this because our Constitution sets out the ways in which changes may be made in it and in the Government. Thus our Constitution is a living, growing plan of government. It has not been necessary to use force to change our Constitution as has been done in other countries.

We remember that authority is necessary in all group life. We are now ready to examine the authority of our different governments. But first we shall study where the government groups get their authority to govern and how they use it.

FINAL AND DELEGATED AUTHORITY

We know that in every group some person or persons have the final authority. We know also that those who have the final authority may not wish to use it. They delegate authority to others. Very often the final authority belongs to all the members of a group. But the members delegate some authority to chosen representatives.

A few examples should make the point clear. Let us study the market on the corner where we trade every week. Suppose that we are not satisfied with certain goods that we bought there. We desire to return them. Suppose that we talk to all the clerks in the store. None has authority to give back our money. We would not want to trade there because no person has final authority. No one has authority to say what shall be done.

The person who has final authority at the market may employ clerks. If so, then he must delegate some authority to them or else they will have nothing to do. Perhaps he delegates authority to sell and authority to keep the books. He sees those who want to return goods. Although we may not stop to think about it, we can see both final and delegated authority used at our corner market.

Let us also examine the Constitution of the United States. In 1787, the people of the thirteen States could not meet together to write the Constitution. They had few roads. They could not be away from home for four months. They wanted a better government than the Articles of Confederation had given. The people had the final authority, but they could not come together to use it. So the people gave authority to delegates to plan a government that would better serve all the people of the country. The Fathers of the Constitution could not accept the plan for the people. They did not have final authority. They sent the Constitution to the people for a vote. The people selected other representatives to meet in State conventions. They gave them authority to vote "yes" or "no" on the new plan of government. The final authority to accept the Constitution belonged to the people of the United States.

Every officer of the Government has only delegated authority. For example, if we plan to become citizens, we must be examined. But we will want to know that we are examined by an officer who has delegated authority to do his work. We have a Government of delegated powers. Our officers have only such authority as is delegated to them by the people in the Constitution and laws.

FINAL AUTHORITY IN THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT

When we consider where our government groups get their authority, we remember that in a democracy the people have the final authority. The people through their representatives made the Constitution. It says that "The People" accepted the Constitution and delegated the

authority to govern to the different branches. It has never been suggested that the final authority be taken from the people and delegated to one class or group of men.

The Government of the United States is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. It is a government "of the people" because it belongs to all-not to one class or group. It is a government "by the people" because the people select the officers who carry on the work of government. It is a government "for the people" because it is planned for the good of all the people.

It is important that the people know the needs of the whole country. We should study the needs of all groups and of all States. We should select able representatives who will work for the good of all. Only in this way can government by the governed be wise.

DELEGATED AUTHORITY IN THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT

When the people lived near one another, they could meet to make laws. They could carry out the laws. When the laws were not clear, the people could decide what they meant. The people often did this in the New England Colonies. The people governed themselves. They did not need many representatives with delegated authority.

But the whole people of the United States cannot meet together to make their own laws. The Fathers of the Constitution, therefore, planned a government by officers with delegated authority. They wrote the plan into the Constitution.

The Constitution delegates authority to some representatives, elected by the people, to make laws. Article I of the Constitution declares that all lawmaking powers of the National Government belong to a "Congress of the United States." The Constitution tells the Congress what it can and cannot do. It lists the subjects on which Congress can make laws. For example, it is given authority to lay and collect taxes. The power to tax is, therefore, one of the delegated powers of the Congress.

The people cannot go out in one great group to enforce the laws that have been passed by the Congress. The Constitution, by Article II, delegates this authority to "a President of the United States" and to the Executive Branch of the National Government. For example, it says that the President "shall take care that the laws" are carried out.

The laws are not always clear. Often the people are not certain what the laws mean. The quarrels over their meaning must be settled. Those who break the laws must be punished. The people of the United States cannot get together in a body and do these things. They have, by Article III of the Constitution, delegated this authority to the national courts.

DELEGATED POWERS CAN BE TAKEN AWAY BY THE PEOPLE

The authority delegated by the Constitution and by the amendments to it is the only authority that may be used by the National Government. When the Congress passes a law, or the President carries out a law, or a national court explains a law or punishes a person for breaking the law, they must act according to the authority delegated to them. For that reason we say that we have "a government of laws and not of men."

The authority delegated can be taken away or added to by the people. The Eighteenth Amendment delegated authority to the Congress to control trade in strong drinks. But this delegated authority was taken from the Congress by the Twenty-First Amendment. By amending the Constitution, the people can give more or less authority to any branch of the National Government.

AUTHORITY IN STATE GOVERNMENTS

The constitution of each State declares that the final authority in the State government belongs to the people of that State. The people have the final authority in their State government. But the people must do nothing that goes against the Constitution, laws, and treaties of the