CHAPTER XIX

POWERS DENIED NATION AND STATE

Section 9. Powers denied to the United States:

1. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight; but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person. (The words "such persons" refer to slaves.)

2. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be sus pended unless when, in case of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it.

3. No bill of attainder, or ex-post-facto law, shall be passed.

4. No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to the census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken. [A capitation (Lat. caput, head) tax is a poll tax. purposes for taking the census are given in Chapter ÎX.]

Other

5. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any state. [A tariff, as discussed in Chapter XVIII, applies only to imported goods, as no tax can be levied on exports.]

6. No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the ports of one state over those of another; nor shall vessels bound to or from one state be obliged to enter, clear or pay duties in another.

7. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time.

8. No title of nobilty shall be granted by the United States; and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office or title of any kind whatever, from any king, prince or foreign state. [Many people believe that if a citizen of the United States accepts a title from a king, prince or foreign state he forfeits his citizenship. This is not true. If he is a federal officeholder he may not accept a present, etc.]

Section 10. Powers denied to the states:

1. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance or confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts;

.pass any bill of attainder, ex-post-facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility.

2. No state shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any imposts or duties on imports or exports except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws, and the net produce of all duties and imposts laid by any state on imports or exports shall be for the use of the treasury of the United States; and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of the Congress. 3. No state shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another state or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delays.

QUESTIONS.

Until what year did Congress have no power to prohibit the importation of slaves? What is a writ of habeas corpus? A bill of attainder? An ex post facto law? On what basis must direct taxes be apportioned among the states? Can Congress tax goods shipped out of the United States? What is said concerning granting titles of nobility? Name three powers denied the states.

CHAPTER XX

FEDERAL EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT

Article II. Executive Department

Section 1. President and Vice-President.

1. The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four years, and together with the Vice-President, chosen for the same term, be elected as follows:

Nomination of Candidates.

Before we take up the

plan of electing a President and Vice-President it is necessary to understand the method used by political parties to nominate their candidates.

National Party Conventions. Each political party holds a national convention to nominate candidates for President and Vice-President, adopt a platform, and appoint a national central committee (one committeeman from each state and territory) to take charge of the campaign. The Republican party held the convention which nominated Taft and Sherman at Chicago, June, 1908. The Democratic party held their national convention July, 1908, at Denver, and nominated Bryan and Kern.

Delegates to National Conventions. The rule followed by the Republican and Democratic parties is to allow each state to send to the national convention two delegates for each representative and senator sent from that state to Congress. Delegates are also sent from territories and from the District of Columbia. Thus in 1908 the Democrats of New York sent seventy-eight dele

gates to the Denver convention, and the Republicans of the state sent the same number of Republican delegates to the Chicago convention. South Dakota sent eight delegates to each convention; the Republicans selected those who went to Chicago and the Democrats selected those who went to Denver.

State Party Conventions. To select the delegates from the state to the national convention each political party usually holds a state convention, though district conventions are sometimes held. The common method is as follows:

(a) The voters of a political party in each voting precinct select delegates to go to a county convention. This in former times was called a caucus or primary, but is now usually called a "primary election." Each party has its own primary election, the Democrats choosing Democratic delegates, etc. Each party has its own county convention. The number of delegates from the townships, towns and cities to the county convention depends upon the number of party voters in the townships, towns and cities. A town having only a few Republicans will send only a few delegates to the Republican county convention, and one having many Republicans will send many delegates to it. This is true of the Democratic, Socialist or any other political party.

(b) The county conventions select delegates to the state convention. The number to which each county is entitled depends upon the party vote in the county.

(c) The state convention selects delegates to the national convention. It also sclects an equal number of alternates ("substitutes”).

Mode of Election. 2. Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of senators and representatives to which the state may be entitled in the Congress; but no senator or representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be appointed an elector.

Presidential Electors. The method provided by the Constitution is to have each state choose, in any way the legislature may provide, a number of men (presidential electors), who are to choose the President and Vice-President. The idea of those who framed the Constitution was that these presidential electors would be more competent than the people to select suitable officers, and they supposed that the presidential electors would be independent in their choice. It immediately developed, however, that these presidential electors simply registered the choice of the people who selected them.

Electoral College. In all of the states the presidential electors are chosen at a general election. In 1908 the voters of New York elected thirty-nine presidential electors (New York has two senators and thirty-seven representatives). In the same election South Dakota chose four (the state having two senators and two representatives in Congress). The group of presidential electors chosen by the state is called the "electoral college." By referring to the list showing the number of representatives from each state, ascertain the number in the electoral college of each state.

Amendment XII. The electors shall meet in their respective states and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the president of the Senate. The president of the Senate shall, in presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted. The person having the greatest number of votes for President shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately,