THE CONSTITUTION.

LESSON 2.—THE PREAMBLE AND ARTICLE I, SECTION 1.

THE PREAMBLE (stating the purpose).

The representatives of the people of the first thirteen States of the United States, met together and made this CONSTITUTION—the highest law of this country. This law was so made that we can have a perfect union of States, justice for everyone, peace among ourselves, protection from our outside enemies, good business and happiness, liberty and freedom for ourselves and for everyone that comes after us.

THE PREAMBLE.

"We, the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquillity, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

The Government of the United States is a Republic. A republic is a country where the people rule themselves by electing their own representatives to run the government. The United States Government is divided into three branches: (1) The LEGISLATIVE branch; (2) the EXECUTIVE branch; (3) the JUDICIAL branch.

Article I. The Legislative or Lawmaking Branch (those whom we elect to make the laws for us).

In Section 1, Congress is authorized to make all the laws for the United States that are permitted by the CONSTITUTION. There are two houses of Congress, called the SENATE and the HOUSE OF REPRE

SENTATIVES.

"Section 1. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.”

The persons who are elected to the Lower House are called "Representatives," or sometimes "Congressmen." These Representatives, or Congressmen, are elected in every State by the voters. They hold office for two (2) years.

"Section 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature."

Each Representative must be: A citizen of the United States and 25 years old or over, and living in the State from which he is elected. A naturalized citizen may be chosen a Representative after 7 years of citizenship.

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Paragraph 2. "No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty-five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen."

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Each State has its own representatives. Every State has at least one. The number of representatives depends upon the number of people who live in the State. Every ten years the people are counted. (This is called " taking the census.") At the beginning there was one member in the House of Representatives for about every 30,000 people in any State. Only three-fifths of the slaves were counted. To-day there is one member for about every 240,000 people.

Paragraph 3. "Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, threefifths of all other Persons." [The above part was changed by section 2 of Amendment XIV. See p. 102.] "The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one