STATE CONSTITUTIONS

We have seen (page 155), that in 1776 the Continental Congress advised the people of the colonies to form governments for themselves, and that the people of the colonies accordingly adopted constitutions and became sovereign and independent states. Of the thirteen original state constitutions, none save that of Massachusetts is now in force, and even that has been amended. Changes in political ideas, changes in the conditions of life due to the wonderful progress of our country, have forced the people to alter, amend, and often remake their state constitutions.

All our state constitutions now in force divide the powers of government among three departments,—legislative, executive, and judicial.

The Legislative Department—called in some states the Legislature, in others the General Assembly, and in still others the General Court— consists in every state of two branches or houses, usually known as the Senate and House of Representatives. In six states the legislature meets annually, and in all the rest biennially; the members of both branches are everywhere elected by the people, and serve from one to four years. In most states a session of the legislature is limited to a period of from forty to ninety days. The legislature enacts the laws (which must not conflict with the Constitution of the United States, the treaties, the acts of Congress, or the constitution of the state); but the powers of the two houses are not equal in all the states. In some the House of Representatives has the sole right to originate bills for the raising and the expenditure of money, and in some the Senate confirms or rejects appointments to office made by the Governor.

The Governor is the executive; is elected for a term of years varying from one to four; and is in duty bound to see that the laws are enforced. To him, in nearly all the states, are sent the acts of the legislature to be signed if he approves, or vetoed if he disapproves. In some states the Governor may veto parts or items of an act and approve the rest. He is commander in chief of the militia; commissions all officers whom he appoints; and in most of the states may pardon criminals.

The Judicial Branch of government is composed of the state courts, whose judges are appointed, or elected for a long term of years.

These three branches of government—the executive, the legislative, and the judicial—are distinct and separate, and none can exercise the powers of the others. No judge can enact a law; no legislature can try a suit; no executive can perform the duties of a judge or a legislature.

When the thirteen colonies threw off their allegiance to the British Crown, the government set up by each was supreme within the limits of the state. Each could coin money, impose duties on goods imported from abroad or from other states, fix the legal rate of interest, make laws regulating marriage and divorce and the descent of property, and do anything else that any supreme government could do.

But when the states united in forming a strong general government by adopting the Constitution, they did not give up all their powers of government. They intrusted part of them to the Federal government, and retained the rest as before. In other words, the people of each state, instead of continuing to have one government, adopted a double government, state and Federal, according to the plan laid down in the Constitution. It is the Federal Constitution that makes the division of powers between the nation and the separate states. The Constitution, for instance, gives the Federal government the powers of coining money and laying import duties, and forbids these powers to the states; but the rate of interest, marriage and divorce, and the descent of property are matters not mentioned in the Constitution, and concerning which the states retain the power to make laws.

In many cases it is hard to decide whether a state has power to do a certain thing. Whenever the question turns on the interpretation of the Federal Constitution, it is decided by the United States courts. The Federal Constitution and the laws and treaties made in accordance with it are supreme in case of any conflict with a state constitution or law.

The powers of government exercised by the states are more numerous, and affect the individual citizen in more ways, than those of the nation. The force of contracts; the relations of employer and employed, husband and wife, parent and child; the administration of schools; and the punishment of most crimes, are matters controlled by the state. A much larger amount of taxes is imposed by the states than by the nation.

Local Governments.—Moreover, the local government of counties, towns, and cities is entirely under the control of the state. State constitutions contain many provisions in regard to this local government, but the legislature can make laws affecting it more or less greatly in the various states. In the local government of a city, town, or county there is to some extent a distribution of powers among legislative, executive, and judicial officers. The legislative function is exercised by the city council or board of aldermen, the town trustees (or by the whole body of voters), and the county board of supervisors or commissioners; the executive, by the city mayor, the county sheriff, and other officers; and the judicial, by various city courts, justices of the peace, and county courts.

Political Rights and Duties.—The political rights and duties of citizens depend chiefly on the state constitutions and laws. Elections, both state and national, are conducted by state officers. The state prescribes who shall have the right to vote, and the various states differ greatly in this respect. Congress grants citizenship by a uniform rule of naturalization; but some states allow aliens to vote (on certain conditions), and some provide that a naturalized citizen can not vote until a certain period has elapsed after his naturalization. In some states women may vote; in some only those men who have certain property or educational qualifications.

The right to vote is the qualification for holding most offices; additional qualifications are prescribed for very important offices, in the Federal and state constitutions. Thus, none but a native may be a President or Vice President of the United States, nor may a citizen under thirty years of age be a member of the United States Senate. Besides voting and office holding, the most important political rights and duties of citizens are to sit on juries and to serve in the army. The qualifications of jurors in state courts are prescribed by state authority, and in national courts by national authority. Congress has the exclusive power to raise armies, and in the Civil War hundreds of thousands of citizens came under national authority in connection with the duty to bear arms. The militia, however, is commanded by state officers, and in time of peace is under the control of the separate states.