Dean William F. Russell was the educational adviser sent with a group of experts by appointment of the President of the United States to advise disorganized Russia during the latter part of the World War; and also one of the five members of the China Educational Commission of North America, sent to China in 1921. His course of study in American citizenship, written at the request of the National Masonic Research Society for use throughout the United States, was inspired by the observation that the government in Russia, in contrast with our own, was an agency that took money for its coffers and boys for its armies and gave nothing in return. In addition to his work as Dean of the College of Education of the State University of Iowa, and his record as a widely-known lecturer on educational topics, he has found time to write school texts notable for accurate and concise statement, adapted to arousing and sustaining interest in the student mind. The authors have done more than present the facts about the Constitution of the United States, with particular emphasis on its personal guaranties. They have vitalized a topic generally thought to be dry and technical. They have succeeded in making the Constitution seem to be what it is, a factor of first importance in the daily life of the average citizen. It is not too much to say that the seed of this book should be planted in every home in America. The admirable work of annotation by Professor Chas. H. Meyerholz, Professor of Social Science in the Iowa State Teachers College, gives much additional material for elementary and advanced study. Professor Meyerholz is well known as an authoritative teacher, writer, and lecturer on subjects pertaining to government, and has done much valuable Americanization work. The elementary and advanced questions at the end of each chapter will serve as a guide to all teachers and leaders of study classes. The text of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States, with the original capitalization and punctuation preserved, and an abridgement of a State Constitution, printed at the end of the book, are valuable for reference. THE PUBLISHER PREFACE “The Short Constitution” is one of a series of volumes entitled “Elementary Americanism”, intended for use in the home, the club, the school, and in general Americanization work. It is our hope that regular courses in “Americanism” will soon be established in all schools, colleges, and universities. We use the term “Americanism” because we feel that it signifies something broader, deeper, and more appealing than any title now used in the schools in the teaching of American government, or citizenship, or the rights and duties of the citizens of the United States.