NORTH AMERICA. 



number than those of the latter, and a part of 

 them only is chosen at each election, so that they 

 remain in office for several years : the House 

 of Representatives is generally elected anew every 

 year. The resolutions agreed to by these two 

 bodies for the government of the state, are after- 

 wards submitted to a president or governor, whose 

 sanction constitutes them part of the law. 



The imperial government or Federal Congress 

 of the United States is, like that of the states 

 individually, a representative democracy, in which 

 the people intrust the administration of affairs 

 to executive and legislative officers of their own 

 choice. At the head of the executive is a Presi- 

 dent, who, with a Vice-president, is elected every 

 four years. The Federal Congress or legislative 

 body consists of two Houses the Senate and 

 House of Representatives. The Senate is com- 

 posed of two members from each state, chosen 

 by its legislature for six years. The members 

 are required to be at least thirty years of age, 

 to have lived nine years in the United States, 

 and to be at the time of election residents in the 

 state by which they are returned. The House of 

 Representatives is composed of members elected 

 every second year by the vote of all male citizens 

 over the age of twenty-one of the various states of 

 the Union. They must be not less than twenty- 

 five years of age, citizens of the United States for 

 seven years, and residents in the particular state 

 for which they are chosen. The number of re- 

 presentatives increases with the increase of the 

 population. In 1880 there were 293 in all. The 

 House of Representatives performs the duties 

 allotted by the British constitution to the Com- 

 mons' House of Parliament, and has the right, 

 like them, of originating all bills for raising 

 revenue ; while the Senate, on the other hand, 

 exercises functions analogous to those of our 

 House of Lords. Bills which have passed the two 

 Houses have not the sanction of law till they are 

 signed by the President, or, on his refusal, are 

 voted a second time by two-thirds of each of the 

 Houses. Congress is prohibited, by the Ameri- 

 can constitution, from making any law concerning 

 establishment or free exercise of religion, the 

 liberty of the press, and freedom of speech, or 

 the privilege of public meetings to express their 

 opinions on the measures of government 



The judicial power is vested in one supreme 

 court, and in such district courts as Congress may 

 from time to time establish. The supreme court 

 consists of a chief-justice and seven associate 

 justices appointed by the President for life, who 

 hold a court in the city of Washington annually ; 

 besides which, each judge attends in certain dis- 

 tricts to hold circuit courts with the local justices. 



The supreme court has jurisdiction in all cases 

 arising under the constitution, laws, and treaties of 

 the United States ; in causes affecting ambassa- 

 dors and consuls, of admiralty and jurisdiction ; 

 in controversies to which the United States is a 

 party, or between a state and the citizens of 

 another state, citizens of different states, and 

 citizens and foreign states. 



According to the original constitution of the 

 United States, all men are equal, but this doctrine 

 was not thoroughly carried out till the close of the 

 civil war in 1865. On December 18 of that year, 

 Congress solemnly declared slavery to be abol- 

 ished : ' neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, 



except as a punishment for crime whereof the 

 party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist 

 within the United States, or any place subject to 

 their jurisdiction.' The vast change in the polit- 

 ical and social organisation of the Republic made 

 by this new fundamental law (the I3th amend- 

 ment of the constitution), was completed by the 

 i4th and i5th amendments, passed in 1868 and 

 1870, which gave to the former slaves all the 

 rights and privileges of citizenship. 



In 1882, the revenue was $403,525,250, and the 

 expenditure, $186,905,232. The public debt was 

 $1,918,312,994, or about ^383,662,600 nearly the 

 whole of this was incurred in the course of 

 the civil war. Between 1870 and 1882 no less 

 than $482,500,000 of the public debt had been 

 paid off. The chief sources of the public revenue 

 are the customs and taxes ; the principal items 

 of expenditure are the interest on the public 

 debt, the civil list, the army and navy, and 

 pensions. Before the struggle of 1861-65, tne 

 army of the United States consisted of about 

 14,000 regular troops. But during these years, the 

 federal government was forced to call into the field 

 no fewer than 2,670,874 men, or nearly one-fourth 

 of the entire male population of the Union 

 States ; while the Confederate Secessionists had 

 at least 400,000 men under arms. Since then, the 

 army has been again reduced to its normal size, 

 and in 1881 (exclusive of the militia) numbered 

 only 26,660 men. The term of service is five 

 years. Each state is further supposed to have a 

 numerous militia force ; but the system is im- 

 perfectly organised. The naval forces, in 1881, 

 consisted of 24 iron-clads, 65 other steamers, and 

 23 sailing-vessels. 



Religion and Education. 



Religion is free from any interference of either 

 federal or state governments, and all denomina- 

 tions have equal privileges. There are a great 

 number of different denominations of Chris- 

 tians in America ; the principal are the same 

 as in this country, consisting of Catholics, Prot- 

 estant Episcopalians, Methodists, Presbyterians, 

 Quakers, and the various classes of Independ- 

 ents. In some of the states, certain denomina- 

 tions are more prevalent than others. New 

 England, for instance, was settled, as has been 

 stated, by the Puritans in Cromwell's time, and its 

 religious condition bears the impress of that origin. 

 Roman Catholics are still numerous in Mary- 

 land ; Quakers or Friends in Pennsylvania ; 

 while Episcopacy is strong in Virginia, the Caro- 

 linas, and Georgia. The first Presbyterians settled 

 in Delaware and New Jersey in the latter of 

 which is Princeton College, their great theological 

 seminary. 



In a country where almost every adult has a 

 voice in the management of the commonwealth, it 

 is of vital importance that none grow up ignorant 

 and undisciplined. Accordingly, in the United 

 States, public schools and education generally 

 receive a large share of public attention. It 

 has been uniformly a part of the land-system of 

 the federal government to provide for public 

 schools. The articles of confederation (1787), the 

 acts admitting the new states into the Union, all 

 provided for the appropriation of lands in each 



township for the use of public schools. Where 



JIT 



