Civil Government in the United States | Page 7

London as perfected in the thirteenth century; mayor,
aldermen, and common council
The city of London, and the metropolitan district
English cities were for a long time the bulwarks of liberty
Simon de Montfort and the cities
Oligarchical abuses in English cities, beginning with the Tudor period
The Municipal Reform Act of 1835
Government of the city of New York before the Revolution
Changes after the Revolution
City government in Philadelphia in the eighteenth century
The very tradition of good government was lacking in these cities
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
Section 3. The Government of Cities in the United States.
Several features of our municipal governments
In many cases they do not seem to work well
Rapid growth of American cities
Some consequences of this rapid growth
Wastefulness resulting from want of foresight
Growth in complexity of government in cities

Illustrated by list of municipal officers in Boston.
How city government comes to be a mystery to the citizens, in some
respects harder to understand than state and national government
Dread of the "one-man power" has in many cases led to scattering and
weakening of responsibility
Committees inefficient for executive purposes; the "Circumlocution
Office"
Alarming increase of city debts, and various attempts to remedy the
evil
Experience of New York with state interference in municipal affairs;
unsatisfactory results
The Tweed Ring in New York
The present is a period of experiments
The new government of Brooklyn
Necessity of separating municipal from national politics
Notion that the suffrage ought to be restricted; evils wrought by
ignorant voters
Evils wrought by wealthy speculators; testimony of the Pennsylvania
Municipal Commission
Dangers of a restricted suffrage
Baneful effects of mixing city politics with national politics
The "spoils system" must be destroyed, root and branch; ballot reform
also indispensable
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS AND DIRECTIONS
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE


CHAPTER VI.
THE STATE.
Section 1. The Colonial Governments.
Claims of Spain to the possession of North America
Claims of France and England
The London and Plymouth Companies
Their common charter
Dissolution of the two companies
States formed in the three zones
Formation of representative governments; House of Burgesses in
Virginia
Company of Massachusetts Bay
Transfer of the charter from England to Massachusetts
The General Court; assistants and deputies
Virtual independence of Massachusetts, and quarrels with the Crown
New charter of Massachusetts in 1692; its liberties curtailed
Republican governments in Connecticut and Rhode Island

Counties palatine in England; proprietary charter of Maryland
Proprietary charter of Pennsylvania
Quarrels between Penns and Calverts; Mason and Dixon's line
Other proprietary governments
They generally became unpopular
At the time of the Revolution there were three forms of colonial
government: 1. Republican; 2. Proprietary; 3. Royal
(After 1692 the government of Massachusetts might be described as
Semi-royal)
In all three forms there was a representative assembly, which alone
could impose taxes
The governor's council was a kind of upper house
The colonial government was much like the English system in
miniature
The Americans never admitted the supremacy of parliament
Except in the regulation of maritime commerce
In England there grew up the theory of the imperial supremacy of
parliament
And the conflict between the British and American theories was
precipitated by becoming involved in the political schemes of George
III.
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
Section 2. _The Transition from Colonial to State Governments._

Dissolution of assemblies and parliaments
Committees of correspondence; provincial congresses
Provisional governments; "governors" and "presidents"
Origin of the senates
Likenesses and differences between British and American systems
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
Section 3. The State Governments.
Later modifications
Universal suffrage
Separation between legislative and executive departments; its
advantages and disadvantages as compared with the European plan
In our system the independence of the executive is of vital importance
The state executive
The governor's functions: 1. Adviser of legislature; 2. Commander of
state militia; 3. Royal prerogative of pardon; 4. Veto power
Importance of the veto power as a safeguard against corruption In
building the state, the local self-government was left unimpaired
Instructive contrast with France
Some causes of French political incapacity
Vastness of the functions retained by the states in the American Union
Illustration from recent English history

Independence of the state courts
Constitution of the state courts
Elective and appointive judges
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS AND DIRECTIONS
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE


CHAPTER VII.
WRITTEN CONSTITUTIONS.
In the American state there is a power above the legislature
Germs of the idea of a written constitution
Development of the idea of contract in Roman law; mediaeval charters
The "Great Charter" (1215)
The Bill of Rights (1689)
Foreshadowing of the American idea by Sir Harry Vane (1666)
The Mayflower compact (1620)
The "Fundamental Orders" of Connecticut (1639)
Germinal development of the colonial charter toward the modern state
constitution
Abnormal development of some recent state constitutions, encroaching

upon the legislature
The process of