Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 8.djvu/146

 134 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

ment, from its inception on Saxon-English soil down to the close of the Spanish war. The organization and working of the federal government is treated in the following 225 pages; and the third and last part of the book, consisting of 108 pages, considers the " Policies and Problems" of the country. A series of seven appendices closes the work.

The introductory chapter, on " The Elements of Politics," under- takes to give an idea of the nature of the state, to define its sphere of activity and its purposes, to distinguish the various forms of states, to distinguish the state from the government and the nation, and to enumerate the characteristics of sovereignty.

The part devoted to " Historical Development " traces the growth of representative government in England and discusses the political system of the American colonies, setting forth the well-known differ- ences between the social and political systems of the different colonies. The Revolution and the political changes, internal and external, which it produced, are treated in a separate chapter, followed by a short account of the development of the constitution between 1787 and 1789. The succeeding chapter is devoted to explaining the influences that led to the growth of our nationality, to the development of the spirit of democracy, the influence of slavery on our nationality, and the "new nation" which was born of the Civil War and attained its majority at the time of the Spanish war.

The political evolution accounted for, the author turns his atten- tion to a discussion of the existing government. This part of the book covers the ground more commonly delimited under the title of civics. The general character of American federalism, the Senate, the House, the powers of Congress and of the executive, the duties of the execu- tive departments, the relations of the central to the state governments, and other familiar topics, form the bulk of the description and dis- cussion.

A miscellaneous group of topics is discussed under the title of present " Policies and Problems." Suffrage, proportional representa- tion, direct legislation, the history and organization of political parties, civil rights, taxation, money, the tariff, labor legislation, the govern- ment of colonies, and the duties of citizenship are among the subjects presented.

A just criticism of the book must keep in view the purpose of its author. The work is a text-book for high schools and academies, not a treatise. It is not intended to be a contribution to the science of