measure; but the imperfections in the plan soon called for change in the fundamental law, and the creation of a new constitution.

In 1789 the General Assembly, which as we have seen consisted of the house of representatives only, submitted to the people the question of calling a convention to draft a new constitution. The majority of votes cast favored the calling of the convention, and at the next election delegates were chosen. The second constitution-that of 1790-was the result of their labors. The Constitution of the United States had suggested valuable ideas. The General Assembly was made to consist of the senate and the house of representatives; and the Governor, as the new executive was called, was elected directly by the people.

The third constitution,-that of 1838,-and the present one, which went into effect January 1, 1874, were drafted by constitutional conventions called in the usual manner. The third constitution was submitted to the electors and ratified by them October 9, 1838. It was amended in 1850, 1857, and 1864. The present constitution was ratified by the electors of the Commonwealth December 16, 1873. It was amended in 1901 and 1909.

The People Supreme.-If we study the manner in which these constitutions have been made, we shall see that a constitution is a frame of government established by a superior authority creating a subordinate lawmaking body which can do everything except violate the terms and transcend the powers of the instrument to which it owes its own existence. When the province of Pennsylvania became the State, and the connection with Great Britain was severed, the authority of the king passed over, not to the General Assembly which was still limited, but to the people of the now independent

Commonwealth. The will of the people speaks through what is now the State constitution, the fundamental organic law of the Commonwealth.

Constitutions a Growth.-Useful constitutions are always a growth, and the elements which compose them are the products of progressive. history. As we have seen in the study of the several "Frames" granted by William Penn, and also in the several forms which our own State constitutions have assumed, constitutions continue to grow after they have been formed. They show a tendency to become much longer, and to regulate an increasing number of subjects. They cannot be written in unyielding language; for society changes, and constitutions must change with it. Nor should we forget the processes through which the State constitution has developed. One unceasing cry for liberty, the truest and the best, is heard all down the centuries of growth. At Germantown in 1688, the German Quakers or Mennonites voiced the first organized effort against slavery on American soil. "Have these negers not as much right to fight for their freedom as you have to keep them slaves?" On the eve of the Declaration of Independence, the Quakers of Pennsylvania commanded all Friends to free their slaves. On March 1, 1780, the Assembly of Pennsylvania passed an Act-among the first recorded— providing for the emancipation of slaves within the State.

The antiquity of Pennsylvania as a separate Commonwealth, running back into the heroic ages of the early colonies and the days of the Revolutionary War, should be a potent source of local pride and patriotism to all who dwell within the limits of the State. As one of the original States, she gives a sense of historic growth and individual corporate life which could not be possessed were the Commonwealth the mere creature of the Federal Government.

With this idea of growth in mind, let the student of civics

carefully consider the constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

QUESTIONS

Discuss the development of the State constitution. constitutions has the State had?

How many

What were some of the most striking features of the first constitution?

What was the Council of Censors? What is said of the veto? Of the single House of Assembly?

Give a brief account of the growth of democracy in America. Trace the development of the bicameral legislature in this country. What are its advantages?

In what respect are all constitutions a growth? When was the present constitution of Pennsylvania ratified by the people?

Where was the first organized effort made against American slavery?

Why are laws necessary when there is a constitution?

CHAPTER XXIII

THE PREAMBLE: DECLARATION OF RIGHTS: AMENDMENTS

The Enacting Clause. The first clause of the State constitution (1) is known as the preamble, and is in reality its enacting clause. It is an integral and necessary part of the constitution, and gives to the act all its force and effect.

What its Elements are. The preamble names the power that acts or speaks: "We, the people of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,"

It tells the feelings which impel to the action, and the only recognized higher power: "grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, and humbly invoking His guidance,"

And then tells what is done: "do ordain and establish this constitution."

This constitution was framed and adopted by a convention called by the General Assembly; yet these actions were only steps toward the great and binding acts of adoption by the convention, and final ratification by the people. The government proceeds directly from the people, and is ordained and established in the name of the people. The spirit of a time of peace animates the brief preamble.

Declaration of Rights.-"That the general, great, and essential principles of liberty and free government may be recognized and unalterably established, we declare that"

Here follow twenty-six propositions, many of them general political maxims and abstract statements of natural rights, yet serving to set forth the limitations which the people have placed upon their government. These propositions answer the purpose of a Bill of Rights.

The Bill of Rights. Each section in this declaration of rights is in a sense an assertion of the rights of the individual citizen as against the exercise of despotic power by the government. Historically considered, it is the most interesting part of the State constitution, and is a direct inheritance from the Magna Charta and all similar declaration's and enactments down to the time of the English Bill of Rights of 1689. The enunciation of these general maxims of personal and political freedom has practical value as a safeguard against tyranny; and also as a reminder to the State Legislature of those fundamental principles of freedom which must not be overlooked. The influence of the Declaration of Independence may be traced in this declaration of rights.

Natural Rights.-All men are born equally free, and have a natural, inherent, and indefeasible right to enjoy and defend life and liberty, to acquire, possess, and protect property and reputation, and to pursue their own happiness (2).

Object of Government. The true object of all government is the peace, safety, and happiness of the people, in whom is vested all power and right to alter, reform, and abolish their government in such manner as they may think proper (3).

Religious Liberty.-All men have the right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences (4). To this full freedom of religious opinion and worship is added the equality before the law of all denominations and their members. Yet God is decidedly acknowl