Thus was founded our present government, which has stood the test of a century.  When adopted there were thirteen States; now there are forty-four.  The inhabited area was then the narrow strip between the Atlantic Ocean and the Allegheny Mountains, with a population of scarcely 3,000,000.  Now the United States stretches 3,000 miles from ocean to ocean, and contains a population of over sixty millions.

CHAPTER VII.

Presidential Succession.

The provisions of the Constitution regarding the Presidential succession, in case of the death or resignation of both President and Vice-President, are:  “In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same devolve on the Vice-President, and the Congress may by law provide for the case of removal, death, resignation, or inability both of the President and Vice-President, declaring what officer shall then act as President, and such officer shall act accordingly until the disability be removed or a President shall be elected.” (Article II, section 6.)

In pursuance of the power thus granted to it in the last half of this section, Congress in 1792 passed an act declaring that in case of the death, resignation, etc., of both the President and Vice-President, the succession should be first to the President of the Senate and then to the Speaker of the House.

This order was changed by the act of 1886, which provided that the succession to the presidency should be as follows: 

1.  President. 2.  Vice-President. 3.  Secretary of State. 4.  Secretary of the Treasury. 5.  Secretary of War. 6.  Attorney-General. 7.  Postmaster-General. 8.  Secretary of the Navy. 9.  Secretary of the Interior.

In all cases the remainder of the four-years’ term shall be served out.  This act also regulated the counting of the votes of the electors by Congress, and the determination of who were legally chosen electors.

Note.—­The Constitution made no provision in case of a contested election, or when no one should be elected.  Such a contingency seemed to have been overlooked in the framing of the Constitution.

CHAPTER VIII.

Election of Senators.

The provisions of the Constitution regarding the election of senators were as follows:  “The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six years; and each senator shall have one vote.” (Article I, section 3, paragraph 1.) “The times, places, and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof, but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing senators.”  (Article I, section 4, paragraph 1.)