[Sidenote:  Strength of the Constitution. McMaster, 168-169.]

187.  The Constitution.—­It will be well now to note some of the points in which the new Constitution was unlike the old Articles of Confederation.  In the first place, the government of the Confederation had to do only with the states; the new government would deal directly with individuals.  For instance, when the old Congress needed money, it called on the states to give it.  If a state refused to give any money, Congress could remonstrate—­and that was all.  The new government could order individuals to pay taxes.  Any one who refused to pay his tax would be tried in a United States court and compelled to pay or go to prison.  In the second place the old government had almost no executive powers.  The new government would have a very strong executive in the person of the President of the United States.

[Sidenote:  Interpretation of the Constitution.]

[Sidenote:  John Marshall’s decisions.]

188.  The Supreme Court.—­But the greatest difference of all was to be found in the Supreme Court of the United States provided in the Constitution.  The new Congress would have very large powers of making laws.  But the words defining these powers were very hard to understand.  It was the duty of the Supreme Court to say what these words meant.  Now the judges of the Supreme Court are very independent.  It is almost impossible to remove a judge of this court, and the Constitution provides that his salary cannot be reduced while he holds office.  It fell out that under the lead of Chief Justice John Marshall the Supreme Court defined the doubtful words in the Constitution so as to give the greatest amount of power to the Congress of the United States.  As the laws of the United States are the supreme laws of the land, it will be seen how important this action of the Supreme Court has been.

[Illustration:  OPENING LINES OF THE CONSTITUTION.]

[Sidenote:  Opposition to the Constitution. Source-Book, 172-175.]

189.  Objections to the Constitution.—­The great strength of the Constitution alarmed many people.  Patrick Henry declared that the government under the new Constitution would be a national government and not a federal government at all.  Other persons objected to the Constitution because it took the control of affairs out of the hands of the people.  For example, the Senators were to be chosen by the state legislatures, and the President was to be elected in a round-about way by presidential electors.  Others objected to the Constitution because there was no Bill of Rights attached to it.  They pointed out, for instance, that there was nothing in the Constitution to prevent Congress from passing laws to destroy the freedom of the press.  Finally a great many people objected to the Constitution because there was no provision in it reserving to the states or to the people those powers that were not expressly given to the new government.