ABSTRACT
In the early days of American history, men of liberal outlook favoured the greatest possible extension of the power of the several States, and the most restrictive interpretation of the constitutional rights of the Federal government. From the very first, circumstances compelled an evolution which increased the powers of the President and diminished those of the States. Few Presidents did more in this direction than Jefferson himself, at the time of the Louisiana Purchase. The Civil War placed the reformers on the side of the Federal government; but Lincoln would be surprised by the powers now conceded to a Democratic President. All this is to the good. The greater mobility of persons and goods in the modern world makes the old, small territorial units an anachronism. Almost the only good thing Hitler has done is the abolition of the Federal Constitution of Germany.
