ABSTRACT
When the United States of America assumed her place among the independent nations of the earth, the regeneration of the human race was far from an accomplished fact. Europeans were prepared to regard the event as a forecast of a new era in human history. The French people have in the nineteenth century discussed the question of government as much as the Americans; but in France the dispute has involved fundamental issues, such as the question of whether a divine-right monarchy or a democratic republic is better. The Constitution of 1787 was declared by Mr. Gladstone to be the "grandest work ever struck off by the hand of man at a given time". The federal government, upon which the Constitution conferred certain powers, is in its structure similar to the state governments. The House of Representatives is composed of men chosen directly by the people for a term of two years.
