Author of "Preparing for Citizenship," "Government and Politics AND HANSON HART WEBSTER Author of " Americanization and Citizenship," Editor of BYW. B. GUITTEAU AND H. H. WEBSTER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED JK274 The Riverside Press PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. 145 UNDER A FREE GOVERNMENT THE FIRST RULE FOR THE GUIDANCE OF THE CITIZEN IS OBEDIENCE TO LAW CALVIN COOLIDGE INTRODUCTION "I HOPE," said Theodore Roosevelt, "that not only you and I, but all our people, may ever remember that, while good laws are necessary, while it is necessary to have the right kind of governmental machinery, yet that the all-important matter is to have the right kind of man behind the law. A State cannot rise without proper laws; but the best laws that the wit of man can devise will amount to nothing if the State does not contain the right kind of man, the right kind of woman. A good Constitution, and good laws under the Constitution, and fearless and upright officials to administer the laws all these are necessary; but the prime requisite in our National life is, and must always be, the possession by the average citizen of the right kind of character." American Citizenship Because of the Federal form of the Government of the United States, persons living in any of these States have a double citizenship. They are citizens both of a State, and also of the Nation; and they are subject to the laws of both. As President Coolidge has said, "It is of first importance that the study of the Constitution should be an essential part of the education of American youth." This little book has to do with our Federal Government; and those who study it are given the opportunity of learning the essential meaning of each provision of the Constitution, something about the historical background of the document, and something of the ways in which it has been interpreted and expanded to meet situations which, in the nature of things, the founders of our Nation could not foresee. In beginning our study, let us consider the rights and |