This is a government by the people, and therefore we must understand the people in order that we, the people, may govern.
To arouse patriotism and loyalty we must do more than develop the powers of the mind, do more than expand the field of knowledge. We must inspire in the heart faith, confidence, and love. Men must not only learn how to govern, but they must learn how to be governed. We must not only learn to command, but also to obey. Our spirits must be so molded that we can submit to duly constituted authority, submission to which is the most lofty expression of American patriotism.
Submission to authority in America is submission to law, for no man in this country has any authority to command or direct a fellowman, except as the law made by the people vests him with such authority.
To inspire devotion to our country we must arouse in the hearts of our people a sense of gratitude for the blessings which come to us because we live in free America, gratitude for the rights and liberties which we possess, which are protected by the guaranties of a written Constitution adopted by the people themselves.
There is only one way in which the average person may be brought to see what America has done for him, and that is by contrasting the rights, privileges, and opportunities which he has with those possessed by others in the same walk of life before the Constitution became the bulwark of the people against injustice and wrong.
The aim of "The Short Constitution" is to present, in a form as simple as possible, a definite knowledge of all the personal guaranties of the Constitution, with an explanation of what they mean, and what they have done in the advancement of human happiness; and a brief explanation of the machinery of government provided by the Constitution.
Everyone who understands human nature will admit that to mold the spirit, to inspire faith, and to excite gratitude training must begin in childhood. The child must learn:
(c) In whom authority rests: in the parent, in the teacher, and in public officers selected by the people to enforce the authority of the community, the State, and of the Nation.
(d) How the authority of the people, the community, the State, and the Nation is expressed through laws which are nothing but rules of human conduct.