to be admitted as and becomes a State is it entitled, to all the reserved rights of States, and when so invested it is as sovereign and independent a community as though it had been one of the original thirteen States which had entered into the compact.

Amendments to the Constitution are provided for in two ways. In the one in which Congress has the initiative, it may recommend amendments by a vote of two-thirds of both Houses, and such amendments shall become valid when ratified either by the Legislatures of three-fourths of the several States or by conventions of three-fourths thereof, as one or the other of these modes of ratification may be proposed by Congress. Another mode provided by the Constitution is for Congress, on the application of the Legislatures of the several States, to call a convention for proposing amendments; the work of which convention must be equally ratified by the Legislatures of threefourths of the States or by conventions in threefourths thereof. The only limitation upon the power of amendment of the Constitution is, that no State, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate. This provision was deemed necessary in order to prevent an amendment by the more populous and larger States which

should deprive the few smaller States, such as Rhode Island and Delaware, of their equal representation in the Senate. This power of amendment takes away all excuse for revolution, because the instrument which is the supreme law of the land provides a method by which the popular will can act upon it so as to remedy or remove any existing or supposed abuses.

The general provisions of the Constitution which do not fall under the divisions of Legislative, Judicial and Executive functions, are enumerated in the fourth and sixth articles of the Constitution of 1789, the amendments of 1789, and 1790, 1794, 1798, 1804, and what are known as the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth amendments, which were the result of the Civil War. The earlier provisions in terms provide that full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State; that the citizens of each State shall be entitled to the privileges and immunities of the citizens of the several States; that persons who are fugitives from justice shall be delivered up to the State having jurisdiction of the crime; persons who were held to labor in one State were required to be extradited and delivered up if they fled into another for the purpose of escaping from

such servitude. There is a section allowing States to be admitted into the Union, but prohibiting Congress from creating new States from existing States without the consent of the latter; and providing that the United States shall guarantee to every State in the Union a republican form of government, shall protect each against invasion, and on the application of the Legislature, or of the Executive of a State when the Legislature cannot be convened, shall protect it from domestic violence.

The first amendments which were deemed necessary to the Constitution after its formation were proposed almost immediately after its adoption, and were rather in the nature of after-thoughts better to protect the rights of individual liberty. The first article of the amendments provides that Congress shall make no law respecting the establishing of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, or to petition the government for a redress of grievances. The second article provides that a well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. The third, that no soldier shall in time of peace be quartered at any house without the consent of the owner, nor

in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. The fourth, that the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and that no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the person or things to be seized. The fifth, that no person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime unless upon a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, of the militia when in actual service in time of war, or public danger; and that no person shall, for the same offense, be put twice in jeopardy of life or limb, nor be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, and that private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation. The sixth is to the effect that in all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation, to be con

fronted with the witnesses against him, to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense. The seventh, that in all suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved. The eighth is to the effect that excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel or unusual punishments inflicted. The ninth, to prevent any misconstruction by the courts, that rights not specially reserved by the people are not withheld from arbitrary power, specifically says that the enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. The tenth, that powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States are reserved to the States respectively or to the people. The eleventh was proposed in September, 1794, by Congress, and was ratified in January, 1798, and is to the effect that the judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens of another State, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign State. The force and effect of the twelfth amendment, which was adopted in 1804, in rela