the Constitution of
the United States.

I may remark in passing that the title of the book is liable to
mislead the public into thinking that Mr. Tucker was invited to Yale
to discuss woman suffrage, whereas the fact was that that was only an
incident in his discussion of Local Self-Government.

But is woman suffrage by Federal Amendment contrary to the genius
of the Constitution and contrary to the rightful demarcation of the
powers of the Federal Government?

In considering the question involved it is to be noticed in the first
place that a difference exists between the Articles of Confederation
and the Constitution. In the Articles of Confederation it was in the
Thirteenth Article expressly provided that no alteration should be
made in any of the Articles "unless such alteration be agreed to in
a Congress of the United States, and be afterwards confirmed by
the legislatures of every State." This provision was an element
of weakness and recognized as such by the men who sat in the
Constitutional Convention of 1787. As the Articles constituted a
league between independent states it was deemed necessary to make it
incapable of alteration except by unanimous consent of the states in
order to preserve to each state all of its rights.

When the convention of 1787 met to agree upon a Constitution to submit
to the States one of the questions they had to consider was whether it
should be made capable of amendment. They agreed that it was the
part of wisdom to provide that the States might modify the system of
government the Constitution established when in the progress of time
to do so seemed desirable. Mr. Madison accordingly proposed what with
some modifications became the Fifth Article.

The Congress was given power by that Article to propose amendments by
a vote of two-thirds of both Houses and amendments so proposed were to
become valid to all intents and purposes as parts of the Constitution
when ratified by three-fourths of the several States. This is not
the only method by which the Constitution may be amended. For it is
provided that the States may themselves propose amendments through a
convention called by two-thirds of the States, and it is also
provided that proposed amendments may be submitted for ratification
to conventions in the several States instead of to the Legislatures of
the States if Congress so directs.

When the Constitution of a State is amended care must be taken to see
to it that the amend