We hear much talk of social injustice, that the poor man has no chance. The truth is that more has been done in America during the past twenty-five years to provide justice for the poor and unfortunate and for those who toil, than was done in any other country of the world during the last one thousand years. The spirit of America is right. The people have the power. They are right at heart. The only weakness in America is the failure of many thousands of our men and women to take an active interest in the affairs of government. Hundreds of thousands, yes millions, of our voters fail to go to the polls on election day to vote. They do not seem to feel any gratitude for the privilege of living in a free country where liberty is guarded by written guaranties of a Constitution which cannot be changed, except by the will of the people themselves. ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS 1. After a person is arrested where is he generally taken by the officer? 2. If the hearing is postponed, what is generally done with him in the meantime? 3. What is bail? 4. What offenses are not bailable? 5. What is the constitutional guaranty as to bail? 6. Why should excessive bail be prohibited? What would be the injustice of this practice? 7. What happens when a person “out on bail” fails to appear in court at the time set? Is he relieved of further punishment? 8. If a magistrate fixes excessive bail, what may the accused person do in order to have it reduced? 9. Name some cruel and unusual punishments? 10. When was slavery in America abolished? 11. What was a debtor’s prison? 12. How does America protect the poor? Can a debtor be put in prison for failing to pay ordinary debts? 13. What is meant by “exemptions” in relation to property and debts? ADVANCED QUESTIONS A. Explain the injustice of requiring excessive bail? B. When a judge determines the amount of bail, what factors does he consider? C. What is the purpose of punishment? D. Discuss the movement for prison reform. E. What is the purpose of the bankruptcy law? F. Write a paper on: Cruel and Unusual Punishments Punishment and Crime in the United States How America Protects the Poor Man The Reformatory Versus the Penitentiary XVIII. EQUAL RIGHTS OF CITIZENS All Citizens Entitled To Equal Privileges And Immunities—Right To Vote Not Abridged The great achievement in American government was the establishment of a Nation composed of independent and sovereign States. It was not an easy matter to bring all these States together as one government, so that there would be harmony and unity; but the framers of the Constitution succeeded in a wonderful way in adopting rules and regulations—the Constitution—which made this the most powerful and the most peaceful Nation in the world.(77)