e another, and at the mercy of foreign nations.

The distribution of power among the several political organizations
prevents any of them from assuming too much authority, and thus tends
to preserve the liberties of the people.

FORMATION.--The national government is based upon the Constitution of
the United States. It was formed by the union of the several States
under the Constitution, and its powers are set forth in that
instrument. The thirteen original States ratified the Constitution of
the United States between December 7, 1787, and May 29, 1790, and thus
organized the national government. It thus became, and has continued
to be, the government of the whole people, "by the people and for the
people."

FORM OF GOVERNMENT.

The national government, like the government of each State, is a
republic; that is, the authority is exercised by the representatives of
the people. As all power resides in the people, our government is
called a democracy. As the people elect officers or representatives to
act for them in the performance of public duties, it is called a
representative democracy.

Our system of government is different from those of all other nations,
because part of the political power is vested in the State, and part in
the nation; that is, in the United States.

The national Constitution enumerates the powers which may be exercised
by the national government, and reserves all other powers "to the
States respectively, or to the people." Because of this dual or double
character of our system of government, John Quincy Adams called it "a
complicated machine."

PURPOSES.--The purposes of the national government are clearly and
forcibly set forth in the "preamble," or opening clause, of the
Constitution of the United States;

1. "To form a more perfect _union_;"

2. "To establish _justice_;"

3. "To insure domestic _tranquillity_;"

4. "To provide for the common _defense_;"

5. "To promote the general _welfare_;"

6. "To secure the blessings of _liberty_ to ourselves and our
posterity."

Before the Revolutionary war, the American colonies were subject to
Great Britain. By the Declaration of Independence these colonies
became "free and independent States." During the period between the
Declaration of Independence and the adoption of the national
Constitution, the union between the States was weak and unsatisfactory.

Instead of there being "domestic tranquillity," the States were engaged