burden of responsibility for errors and shortcomings. Only one who has gone over the same ground can appreciate how many there are; but I trust they will be viewed with charity by those who know how difficult a thing it is to describe a complex political organism which is swiftly changing under our very eyes. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, CHARLES A. BEARD. TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE I 21 34 I. COLONIAL ORIGINS OF AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS II. INDEPENDENCE, UNION, AND SELF-GOVERNMENT III. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION IV. THE EVOLUTION OF THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. V. THE EVOLUTION OF STATE CONSTITUTIONS VIII. THE GENERAL FEATURES OF THE FEDERAL SYSTEM Of Gov- |