Chapter XXVI
Reading edition
OUR STATE GOVERNMENTS
SOURCE OF GOVERNING POWER
When the thirteen original states were colonies, they derived their governing powers from CHARTERS granted to them by the king, as cities and some counties are granted charters by the state. When they won their independence the people of each state substituted a CONSTITUTION for the charter; the difference between a charter and a constitution being that the former is given TO the people by some higher authority, while the latter is adopted BY the people themselves. All of our states alike, whether created before or after the Union was formed, are self-governing under constitutions of their own making.
Counties and towns, cities and villages, have no powers of self- government except those granted to them BY THE STATE. The national government, also, may exercise only such powers as are given to it by the people VOTING AS STATES. Each state, on the other hand, is self-governing in its own right, and may exercise through its government any power whatever, excepting only those which it voluntarily surrendered upon entering the Union. (See pp. 94, 449; also Constitution, Art. I, Sec. 10 and Art. IV.)
THE STATE CONSTITUTION
The state constitution is the supreme law of the state and is supposed to represent the direct voice of the people. Since the Union was formed, state constitutions have been framed by conventions of delegates elected especially for the purpose, and in most cases have been submitted to the people for their ratification. Amendments may be proposed either by such conventions or by the state legislatures, but they must also be ratified by the people. Some of the states have completely revised their constitutions several times, and amendments have been very numerous.
CAUSE OF LENGTH OF STATE CONSTITUTIONS
State constitutions are long documents, containing a great deal of detail regarding the organization and powers of government. In this respect they differ from the national Constitution, which is brief and speaks in broad, general terms. Recent constitutions are longer than earlier ones, partly because there is a greater variety of problems to be dealt with, but also because of a growing tendency to limit the powers of legislatures and administrative officers.
A REPUBLICAN FORM OF GOVERNMENT
After a DECLARATION OF RIGHTS, which all state constitutions contain, the constitution is concerned chiefly with the organization, powers and duties of the government. Each state may organize its government as it sees fit, provided only that it is "republican" in form as required by the federal Constitution (Art. IV, sec. 4). This means that it must be a form of representative self-government.
SEPARATION OF POWERS
While the state governments differ from one another in matters of detail, the general plan is the same in all. Each consists of three branches: the legislative branch for lawmaking; the executive branch for law enforcement and administration; and the judicial branch for the interpretation of the laws and for the administration of justice in accordance with the law. These three branches are organized on the principle of a SEPARATION OF POWERS, to prevent encroachment by one upon the powers of the others, and to make each a check upon the powers of the others.
In the government of this commonwealth, the legislative department shall never exercise the executive and judicial powers, or either of them; the executive shall never exercise the legislative and judicial powers, or either of them; the judicial shall never exercise the legislative and executive powers, or either of them; to the end it may be a government of laws, and not of men. [Footnote: Constitution of Massachusetts, Part I, Art. XXX.]
Investigate and report on:
The meaning of "a government of laws, and not of men."
The entrance of your state into the Union.
The history of your present state constitution.
The powers surrendered by your state when it entered the Union.
Compare the length of your state constitution with that of the federal Constitution.
The principal parts of which your constitution is composed.
Number of amendments to your state constitution. When the latest amendments were adopted and why.
The declaration of rights in your state constitution.
Checks exercised by the legislature upon the executive and judicial branches; by the executive upon the legislative and judicial branches; by the judicial upon the legislative and executive branches.
THE GOVERNOR
The chief executive officer of the state is the governor, who is elected by the people for a term which varies, in the different states, from one to four years. It is his duty to see that the laws of the state are faithfully executed. The constitution makes him the commander-in-chief of the state militia, which he may call upon to enforce the laws or to quell disorders. It also gives him the power to pardon persons convicted of crime, in the exercise of which power he is sometimes assisted by a special board of pardons and sometimes by the legislature; but the consideration of the pleas of such persons and their friends for pardon often consumes much of his time.
THE GOVERNOR'S VARIED DUTIES
A great deal of the governor's time is also taken up with duties devolving upon him as the official representative of the state on ceremonial occasions, as in the laying of corner-stones of public buildings, attending state fairs, and making speeches at public meetings of all kinds. By virtue of his office he is also a member of many boards and commissions whose meetings he must attend.