It seems desirable to impress upon the teacher who makes use of this book as a foundation for a course of instruction, and upon the reader who resorts to it to secure a general outline of constitutional law or information as to any particular question within the proper scope of the subject, that there has been no attempt to make it either easy or popular. It is assumed as desirable that such a book shall give as careful, thorough, and accurate a statement as can be made of the established principles of constitutional law. Some discrimination has been necessary in selecting as topics for treatment those which are of general importance and as illustrations those which involve fundamental principles, and the most difficult part of the task has been to state and illustrate such principles not only with clearness, but with such accuracy that they shall not be misleading when applied to the solution of other questions than those which have been specially considered.

In arrangement of topics a merely mechanical order such as that which might be indicated by the sequence of the provisions in the federal constitution, or of some state constitution which could be taken as a type, would evidently be unsatisfactory, and the author has therefore adopted a plan of arrangement according to his own judgment; and the plan adopted must be comprehended and intelligently followed if the relation of the different parts of the subject-matter to each other and the proper connection for the discussion of each part are to be understood. It is inevitable that subjects may suggest themselves to the teacher or reader in one connection which have been discussed elsewhere, but the numerous brief cross-references will furnish the necessary assistance in finding the desired collateral matter. It is important that these cross-references be noticed, especially by the teacher, in order that the relations of the subject-matter of the chapters be fully appreciated as presented. And the teacher should have in mind the necessity of covering the whole ground and not amplifying any one part to the exclusion of another. It would be a great mistake as affecting the practical success of the course of instruction to give so much time to the earlier portions of the book, relating to the nature, organization, and exercise of power by the different departments of the state and federal governments, that the final chapters, explaining the relations of the individual to these governments and the protection afforded under our constitutions to individual rights, should be slighted.

Some chapters, especially those relating to the jurisdiction of the federal courts and the constitutional guaranties in criminal procedure, may seem to be so far technical as to be uninteresting. But the exercise of judicial power is a matter of constant public interest, and an intelligent appreciation of the functions of the judiciary, and especially of the relations between the federal and the state courts, is essential to a sound understanding of our governmental system; and the teacher will find that his students have sufficient general interest in the proceedings of courts to enable them to follow the explanation of the practical application of constitutional principles in such proceedings.

The list of references given in the first section of each chapter is not intended to furnish authorities to support the statements of the text nor to indicate the sources from which such statements have been drawn, but to suggest suitable parallel reading and afford opportunity for further study of the particular subject of the chapter, or some portion of it. But it would be unwise for either teacher or reader to allow himself to be so diverted from the subjects presented in the text as to lose sight of the essential principles. It is possible to extend collateral reading beyond its proper scope and thereby fill the mind with a confused mass of undigested information of little benefit in understanding constitutional law proper, and misleading as to the deductions to be drawn from constitutional history. No effort has been made to present a complete bibliography of the subject, for it reaches into several independent fields. A few standard books on constitutional law are constantly referred to, and in these general books can readily be found matter germane to chapters in which no specific reference to them is made. Other references are intended to facilitate the investigation of particular questions which may be thought to be of interest to the reader or student.

In this connection the purpose with which references are given to judicial decisions in important cases should be noticed. In works intended primarily for lawyers such cases are referred to as furnishing the authoritative decision of specific questions involved, and they are to be understood and rightly applied only by understanding the exact legal question which the court was called upon to decide in the case presented to it. In this view cases can be satisfactorily studied only by those having a legal education. But on the other hand the judges writing the opinions in these cases, in explaining the reasoning on which they rely in reaching their conclusions, often expound established principles of constitutional law, and refer to the history of our institutions and the theory of our government as indicating the interpretation to be given to the various clauses of the constitution itself; and their views are entitled to as great weight as those of an author discussing the same subject-matter. For the purposes of this book, therefore, cases are referred to as furnishing such an exposition, rather than as deciding particular points. The lawyer looking at a case as furnishing a precedent, attaches more importance to the point decided than to the explanation of the reasons taken into account by the judges in reaching their conclusions, although he does, of course, notice the reasoning for the purpose of determining whether the conelusion reached would be applicable in a similar case which he has under consideration. But for the purposes of the general reader the reasoning of the judges is more important than the technical decision in the case, for frequently the ultimate result depends on the solution of questions strictly legal in their nature. However, cases involving constitutional questions usually turn on the interpretation of the language of some provision of the constitution itself, and are therefore often more intelligible to the general reader than are decisions on other legal questions. Although the cases referred to are usually those decided by the Supreme Court of the United States, it is not to be understood that the expositions of constitutional law found in the decisions of state courts are not equally interesting and valuable. But it is obvious that a decision of the highest judicial tribunal of the country is of more general interest than that of a state tribunal relating to the same subject, even when the subject is one as to which the decision of the federal supreme court is not controlling; and the fact that nearly all the fundamental guaranties found in the state constitutions are also found in some form in the federal constitution has made it possible on nearly every question discussed to refer to some important case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States.

This book will but poorly serve the purpose for which it was written if it does not impress upon teacher and reader the fact that as to fundamental matters we have a well-established and fully matured constitutional system; that the solution of difficult questions about which there may be much controversy will finally be reached by applying principles which are well settled; and that the development of our constitutional system and the solution of difficult questions which have heretofore arisen have not been the result of the triumph of any one party or faction, but, unconsciously, of all the influences tending to mold our system of government into its present form, and that their combined effect has been determined, not by the wisdom and judgment of the few, but by that indeterminate and immeasurable power which imparts vitality to national life.

Finally, the teacher should bear in mind that the ultimate purpose of any course of instruction in constitutional law must be to furnish to the student guidance in the interpretation of the constitutions themselves. The student should be constantly required to recall the very language of the constitutional instruments. While it is not practicable to give the same detailed attention to the language of any state constitution, it would be advisable to require students to provide themselves with copies of the constitution of the state in which instruction is given and to familiarize themselves with it, comparing its provisions, so far as possible, with those of the federal constitution.

In the Appendix will be found not only the Federal Constitution, but the English Bill of Rights, the Virginia Bill of Rights, and other important documents of English and American constitutional history, and students should be encouraged to become familiar with such constitutional documents.