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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 j FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES In order to understand the nature, powers, and limitations of constitutional conventions, it will be necessary first to discuss a few fundamental principles of government; for the convention, designed as it is to tinker with such a basic instrument as the constitution, must of necessity get closer to fundamentals than any other governmental agency. Government in America is based upon popular sovereignty. The Federal Constitution was ordained and established by "the people of the United States," and guarantees to each of the several States "a republican form of government." 2 This means, in other words, a representative form. It is founded upon the theory that the people are fit to rule, but that it would be cumbersome for them to govern themselves directly. Accordingly, for the facilitation of business, but for no other purpose, the people choose from their own number representatives to represent their point of view and to put into effect the collective will. As Jameson expresses it: Of the American system of government, the two leading principles are, first, that laws and Constitutions can be rightfully formed and established only by the people over whom they are to be put in force; and, secondly, that the people being a corporate unit, comprising all the citizens of the state, and, therefore, too unwieldy to do this important work directly, agents or representatives must be employed to do it, and that, in such numbers, so selected, and charged respectively with such functions, as to make it reasonably certain that the will of the people will be not only adequately but speedily executed.3 1 U. S. Const., Preamble. 3 D. S. Const., Art. IV, § IV. 3 Jameson, p. 1; "Works of Daniel Webster," VI, pp. 221-224. S These pri...