the past. The nearer a Constitution comes to perfection in fitting the
needs of one century, the more wholly it is likely to fail in fitting
the needs of the next. The United States Government was not at its
beginning a genuine Democracy, though approaching it more nearly than
did any other great nation of the day. Putting aside the obvious point
that the American Constitution deliberately protected slavery, which is
the primal foe of all Democracy, the broader fact remains that the
entire trend of the Constitution was intended to keep the educated and
aristocratic classes in control and to protect them from the dangers of
ignorance and rascally demagoguery.

The weapons of self-defense thus reserved by the thoughtful leaders
were, in the course of generations, seized upon as the readiest tools
of a shrewd plutocracy, which entrenched itself in power. Rebellion
against that plutocracy long seemed almost hopeless; but at last, in
the year 1912, the fight was carried to a successful issue. In both the
great political parties, the progressive spirit dominated. The old
party lines were violently disrupted, and President Wilson was elected
as the leader of a new era seeking new ideals of universal equality.[2]

[Footnote 2: See _The New Democracy_, page 323.]

Nor must we give to the President's party alone the credit of having
recognized the new spirit of the people. Even before his election, his
predecessor, Mr. Taft, had led the Republican party in its effort to
make two amendments to the Constitution, one allowing an Income Tax,
the other commanding the election of Senators by direct vote of the
people. Both of these were assaults upon entrenched "Privilege." The
Constitution had not been amended by peaceful means for over a century;
yet both of these amendments were now put through easily.[1] This