The American Commonwealth
This book is published by Liberty Fund, Inc., a foundation established to encourage study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals.
The cuneiform inscription that serves as our logo and as a design element in Liberty Fund books is the earliest-known written appearance of the word “freedom” (amagi), or “liberty.” It is taken from a clay document written about 2300 B.C. in the Sumerian city-state of Lagash.
© 1995 by Liberty Fund, Inc.
Front cover: Declaration of Independence in Congress, at the Independence Hall, Philadelphia, July 4th, 1776 (detail) by John Trumbull, 1786–1819. United States Capitol Art Collection. Photograph courtesy Architect of the Capitol.
This eBook edition published in 2011.
eBook ISBN: E-PUB 978-1-61487-121-7
To my friends and colleagues
Albert Venn Dicey
Thomas Erskine Holland
Contents
Preface to the Edition of 1910
Dates of Some Remarkable Events in the History of the North American Colonies and United States
Area, Population, and Date of Admission of the States
3 The Origin of the Constitution
4 Nature of the Federal Government
6 Presidential Powers and Duties
7 Observations on the Presidency
8 Why Great Men Are Not Chosen Presidents
11 The Senate as an Executive and Judicial Body
12 The Senate: Its Working and Influence
13 The House of Representatives
18 The Relations of the Two Houses
19 General Observations on Congress
20 The Relations of Congress to the President
21 The Legislature and the Executive
23 The Courts and the Constitution
25 Comparison of the American and European Systems
26 General Observations on the Frame of National Government
28 Working Relations of the National and the State Governments
29 Criticism of the Federal System