How is a “fugitive from justice” secured when he has escaped into another state?  Is a governor obliged to surrender an escaped criminal upon demand of the authorities of the state from which he escaped?  How is a criminal secured if he escapes into another country?  Name countries with which we have extradition treaties.  Have we any with Canada?

What were the provisions of the fugitive slave law?

Did the articles of confederation provide for the admission of new states into the union?  Name the first state admitted into the Union.  The last.  What territories are now seeking admission into the sisterhood of states?  How does a territory become a state?  What advantages are gained by becoming a state?  Is congress bound to admit new states?  Can congress compel a territory to become a state?  Can it compel a state to remain a state?  Is there such a thing in our system as a state out of the Union?

What does a citizen of the United States lose by moving into a territory?

Does the constitution define a republican government?  Is any particular department charged with the duty of guaranteeing to each state a republican form of government?

When did the United States protect a state against invasion?  Against domestic violence?  Have any states been admitted into the Union more than once?

CHAPTER XXVI.

ARTICLE V.—­AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION.

The congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as a part of this constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the congress;[1] provided, that no amendment, which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, shall, in any manner, affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article;[2] and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the senate.[3]

[1] No one realized more fully than the framers of the constitution that, with the best thought which they could give to it, the constitution might need amending, and therefore they provided ways for proposing and ratifying amendments.

It is purposely made difficult to amend the constitution because the fundamental law should not be changed except for weighty reasons.  If these exist, the amendments may be made; the difficulty is not so great as to be insurmountable.

[2] By reading the clauses referred to, the student will readily see whom this was a concession to.