=Why Men Honor the Constitution.=—Americans have a great respect for the constitution of their country even though many of them would like to see some changes made in it. And why should they not honor it? Its reign has been long in the land. No king ever ruled his people so long or kept faith with them so well. Under it the country has waxed great and prosperous; the government which it established has become increasingly democratic in form and in spirit; it has grown strong enough to protect its citizens at home and abroad, and it has become the model upon which several other governments of the world have been patterned. It is easy enough to pick flaws in the constitution of the United States—or in the constitution of any country for that matter—but where are the Washingtons, Madisons, and Hamiltons of today whom we would trust with the task of making a better one? During the past few years a dozen countries of the world have framed new republican constitutions,—Germany, Austria, Poland, Czecho-Slovakia, and so on. They have had the experience of an additional century to draw upon and the combined political wisdom of the world at their disposal. Is there any constitution in this list which the rank and file of the American people would prefer to their own? You can pick a line out of Shakespeare, here and there, and improve upon it. But when it comes to improving upon the whole of Shakespeare’s work,—ah, that is quite a different proposition. General References JAMES BRYCE, _The American Commonwealth_, Vol. I, pp. 15-31; 360-410 (Abridged Edition, pp. 224-284); CHARLES A. BEARD, _American Government and Politics_, 3d edition, pp. 1-77; _Ibid._, _Readings in American Government and Politics_, pp. 1-69; _Ibid._, _History of the United States_, pp. 139-161; EVERETT KIMBALL, _National Government of the United States_, pp. 1-46; W. B. MUNRO, _The Government of the United States_, pp. 1-70; _Ibid._, _Selections from the Federalist_, pp. 1-17; 56-86; MAX FARRAND, _The Framing of the Constitution of the United States_, especially pp. 42-67. Group Problems =1. The means of securing co-operation among states and men as illustrated by the American government before, during, and after the Revolution.= The obstacles to union. The cohesive forces. The influence and nature of leadership. Historical analogies in other parts of the world. The problem of forming a league of states compared with that of forming a league of nations. =References=: WOODROW WILSON, _The State_, pp. 267-298; JOHN FISKE, _The Critical Period_, pp. 50-89; MAX FARRAND, _The Framing of the Constitution_, pp. 65-112; A. C. MCLAUGHLIN, _Confederation and the Constitution_, pp. 35-52.