Civil Government in the United States Considered with Some Reference to Its OriginsFiske, John
History
Civil Government in the United States Considered with Some Reference to Its Origins
Fiske, John
United States -- Politics and government
3. What are the qualifications for voting in your state?
4. What are the arguments in favour of an educational qualification for
voters (as, for example, the ability to read the Constitution of the
United States)? What reasons might be urged against such qualifications?
5. Who is the governor of your state? What political party supported him
for the position? For what ability or eminent service was he selected?
6. Give illustrations of the governor's exercise of the four functions
of advising, vetoing, pardoning, and commanding (consult the newspapers
while the legislature is in session).
7. Mention some things done by the governor that are not included
in the enumeration of his functions in the text.
8. Visit, if practicable, the State House. Observe the various offices,
and consider the general nature of the business done there. Attend a
session of the Senate or the House of Representatives. Obtain some
"orders of the day."
9. If the legislature is in session, follow its proceedings in the
newspapers. What important measures are under discussion? On what sort
of questions are party lines pretty sharply drawn? On what sort of
questions are party distinctions ignored?
10. Consult the book of general or public statutes, and report on
the following points:--
a. The magnitude of the volume.
b. Does it contain all the laws? If not, what are omitted?
c. Give some of the topics dealt with.
d. Where are the laws to be found that have been made since the printing
of the volume?
e. Are the originals of the laws in the volume? If not, where are they
and in what shape?
11. Is everybody expected to know all the laws?
12. Does ignorance of the law excuse one for violating it?
13. Suppose people desire the legislature to pass some law, as, for
example, a law requiring towns and cities to provide flags for
school-houses, how is the attention of the legislature secured? What are
the various stages through which the bill must pass before it can become
a law? Why should there be so many stages?
14. Give illustrations of the exercise of federal government, state
government, and local government, in your own town or city. Of which
government do you observe the most signs? Of which do you observe the
fewest signs? Of which government do the officers seem most sensitive to
local opinion?
15. Are the sessions of the legislature in your state annual or
biennial? What is the argument for each system?
For answers to numbers 16, 17, 18, and 19, consult the public statutes,
a lawyer, or some intelligent business man. A fair idea of the
successive steps in the courts may be obtained from a good unabridged
dictionary by looking up the technical terms employed in these
questions.
16. What is the difference between a civil action and a criminal?
a. In respect to the object to be gained in each?
b. In respect to the party that is the plaintiff?
c. In respect to the consequences to the defendant if the case goes
against him?
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