The United States As a World Power

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II NATIONALITY AND IMMIGRATION FTTHE American Constitution begins with the words, J- We, the People of the United States; and We, the People have, in practice as well as in theory, been the sovereign power in the country to an extent rarely equalled in the history of the world. At times the We have...
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II NATIONALITY AND IMMIGRATION FTTHE American Constitution begins with the words, J- We, the People of the United States; and We, the People have, in practice as well as in theory, been the sovereign power in the country to an extent rarely equalled in the history of the world. At times the We have been negligent or deceived, and their desires have often been thwarted; but in the end, if once they have definitely made up their minds, their will has always overridden every obstruction and become the supreme law of the land. The sovereign American people are the master whose wishes are to be carried out by the servants whom he has appointed. To judge of the conduct of the servants in foreign as well as in domestic affairs, we have to begin by knowing something about the master. There is another reason why the student of political affairs should devote attention to the character and composition of the people of the United States: the nation is still in the making. The character of the Americans ? Yankees, as they are called abroad rather than at home? is, indeed, well known, and is as definite as that of Englishmen or Spaniards; but, though they are stamping this character on newcomers to the country with extraordinary success, they are in danger, according to some persons, of being submerged by the ever increasing floods of these strangers. When, therefore, we look closely at the termthe People of the United States, we find that it is not always an exact expression. In 1787, for instance, it could hardly have been said to include the blacks: the negro slaves of the South did not ordain and establish this Constitution ... in Order to form a more Perfect Union, and to secure the blessings of Liberty to themselves and their posterity. True, much has...