I. A power above the legislature:—
a. The constitution. b. The relation of the courts to laws that violate the constitution. c. The importance of this relation. d. The American origin of the written constitution.
2. The germs of the idea of a written constitution:—
a. The theory of a "social contract." b. The objection to this theory. c. Roman origin of the idea of contract.
3. Mediæval charters:—
a. The charter of a town. b. The word charter. c. Magna Charta. d. The difference between a charter and a constitution. e. The form of Magna Charta as contrasted with its essential nature.
4. Documents somewhat resembling written constitutions:—
a. The Declaration of Rights. b. The Bill of Rights.
5. The foreshadowing of the American idea of written constitutions:—
a. Two conditions especially notable in England in the seventeenth
century.
b. The influence of these conditions on popular views of government.
c. The "Instrument of Government."
d. Sir Harry Vane's proposition.
e. Why allude to Vane's scheme when nothing came of it?