INTRODUCTION.

THE Constitution of the United States is the first instance of a government, deliberately formed by the people for whose benefit it was intended. The origin of most other governments is lost in the obscurity of time; but enough of their history can be traced, to convince every one, that they arose from accident, and were moulded by circumstances, without any preconcerted plan by their original framers; and, generally, without any view to the happiness, or the interests of the governed. The earliest governments of which we have any knowledge, seem to have been of the patriarchal kind, which have degenerated into the despotism that now prevails on the continent of Asia. The ancient republics were formed by the expulsion of tyrants; when the people, under the dread of oppression, gave authority to persons chosen by themselves, or retained it in their own hands, without any settled plan, or well defined notions of the system they meant to establish. All the modern governments of Europe have sprung from the feudal system, and bear evident marks of their feudal origin. The barbarous hordes which overran Europe, in the fourth and fifth centuries, B

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were under the command of petty chieftains, who associated together for the purposes of conquest, and paid a temporary obedience to some distinguished leader. As they settled upon the conquered territories, their interest led them to form unions for mutual support and defence; and the chieftain who had led them successfully in war, was generally acknowledged as the head of the nation, with the title of king. As his authority depended, principally, upon his personal power, his children seldom commanded the same influence; and the history of those ages present a continual series of contentions between the kings and their barons, in which the people were employed by each, for their own aggrandizement; and the character of the government was determined by the success of the contending parties. In England, from peculiar circumstances, the people gradually rose to importance and power; and while, on the continent, the authority of the kings and the nobles almost universally prevailed, to the entire subjection of the great mass of the population; in that island the rights of the people were better understood, and the principles of a free government were established. From this source we derive our ideas of popular representation; but it was reserved for our immediate ancestors to give to the world an example of a government, deliberately framed by the people, for their own benefit, and entirely dependent upon them for its support. A short sketch of its history will be the best introduction to an examination of its principles.

The English colonies in this country, though separated by territorial boundaries, and jealous of each other, in some respects, were always united by community of language, and of interest, and the feeling that they were subject to one common government. Drawn into the wars of the parent country, they

were frequently exposed to the attacks of the French, and their savage allies, the Indians. This led to associations for common defence, and accustomed them to look to each other for mutual assistance. The first association of this kind was formed, as early as 1643, by the eastern colonies, who united under the name of the United Colonies of New England," for their mutual defence against the Indian tribes, by whom they were surrounded. But it was not until near a century afterwards, that any general union was formed among the colonies. In 1722, there was a convention of the governors and commissioners of several of the provinces, held at Albany, in the province of New York, to make arrangements for the more effectual protection of the interior frontier; and in 1754, this plan of union among the colonies, received the sanction of the British government, who invited them to send commissioners to the same place, to consult upon the best means of defending America, in case of a war with France, which was then expected. The commissioners assembled accordingly; but they carried their views much further than was intended by the British government, and proposed a plan for a confederation of all the colonies, with a general council, to be chosen triennially, by the provincial assemblies, and a president, to be appointed by the crown. This plan, from different motives, was rejected, both by the governments of the colonies, and by that of England; and some of the most intelligent men of this country were of opinion that it would be impossible to reconcile the differences of the provinces so as to unite them in a common confederacy.

The importance, however, of such a union was acknowledged by all, and the idea of forming, it was so familiar to our colonial ancestors, that when, a few years afterwards, the English parliament began to