French constitutional theory, on the basis of extensive national experience, distinguishes between revolutions from below—elementary ground-swells among the masses which sweep irresistibly over the nation and destroy all constitutional obstacles—on the one hand, and revolutions from above, by coup d'état of a constituted organ, either a legislative body or a governmental agency, on the other hand. In the latter case, an effort is made to connect the new régime with the preceding order by what constitutional ropes, or even threads, are still available. This habit has created, in spite of frequent upheavals in the first half of French constitutional life since 1789, a strong sense of constitutional tradition and legal conservatism.

The events of July, 1940, may amount to a full-fledged revolution, but not a revolution in the common sense of the word, that is, a ground-swell rising from below. When France adopted the authoritarian form of government, no fascist mass party, today the indispensable prerequisite of popular upheavals, was in existence. It was a coup d'état from above, a deliberate act of the defeated military leaders and their political advisers—in short, a skillfully engineered political stratagem. The politicians among the group must have been well aware of the character of the Constitution as the supreme law of the land, capable of being abrogated only by a legislative act of equal rank.

The political groups in the Kizoku-in, or House of Peers, are of more importance than the scant attention paid them by both native and foreign students of Japanese government implies. In fact, one of the six groups habitually controls the House, which, in turn, is one of the strongest national second chambers existing today. As a result, the Kenkyū-kai, or Study Association, commands steady, the other groups intermittent, patronage in the form of appointments to cabinet or sub-cabinet positions and concessions to their legislative wishes. The political groups in the House of Peers became a concern of Japanese statesmen shortly after the organization of the Diet in 1890; they are today debated in relation to the proposals for legislative reform which have been repeatedly urged since 1932. Although but minor wheels in the mechanism, some knowledge of their place and function is essential to an adequate understanding of the operation of the complicated Japanese political machine.

The history, organization, and influence of these groups is not easy to determine; the scarcity of reliable sources, even in Japanese, makes doubly confusing the large number of diverse yet meaningless group titles which have been employed since 1890.

An examination of the relationship of the Democratic percentages in the various states to the Democratic percentage for the nation as a whole during the past forty years shows that several general patterns are discernible. In the north central and northwestern parts of the United States, one of these patterns may be clearly defined. When the country swings in one direction, the states in this region swing with it, but more strongly than the country as a whole. During the twenties, these states were more decidedly Republican than the nation, but during the thirties they became more strongly Democratic. This tendency to shift from one extreme to another is related to the progressive background of these states of which Wisconsin is typical. “Wisconsin,” “La Follette,” “progressive”—for decades these three terms have been almost indissolubly linked in the minds of politically aware observers of the American scene.

While Wisconsin has followed the Republican standard in presidential elections almost without exception from 1870 to 1932, it has shown progressive leanings. In 1912, Robert La Follette, Sr's. sulking greatly cut down the Progressive vote, but it was still large enough to split the normal Republican strength and throw the electoral vote to Wilson, and in 1924 the state went overwhelmingly for its own favorite son.

Transference to administrative agencies of powers traditionally associated with legislatures and with courts has destroyed old categories of political science, and necessitates a reappraisal of the structure of American governments. The story of the growth of quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial powers has been told too well to require extensive treatment here. With the development of the social service state, the legislatures, we are informed, have been illequipped to legislate in detailed fashion because of the quantity and the technicality of governmental activities and because of the need for flexibility and adaptability in the conduct of those activities. Two other reasons for delegation of legislative power may be advanced. The legislature may wish to devolve the responsibility of self-government on a particular industry or vocational group. Or again, it may desire to wash its hands of a particularly trying problem of public policy, and this it can do by turning the problem over to an administrative agency.

The need for federal supplementation of state and local funds in carrying on certain relief and work activities will undoubtedly continue, and even expand, in coming years. Although the economic and fiscal problems arising out of this situation usually receive the spotlight, the administrative aspects are no less important. To a large extent, the effectiveness of the programs of federal financial aid is determined by the administrative arrangements under which the funds are distributed and spent. To the political scientist, therefore, federal participation since 1933 in “normal” state and local public construction and in work programs designed for the needy unemployed is of particular interest, because in these instances profound modifications have been made in the traditional procedures for administering federal aid.

It is interesting to reflect that the changes which have taken place in federal aid techniques since 1933 came quickly and without warning. The administrative set-up of federal aid activities appeared to have achieved a rather stable and permanent form during the second decade of the twentieth century. Certain outstanding characteristics could be noted in the federal subventions then being offered. The term “federal aid” referred to annual, recurrent lump grants made by the federal government to participating state governments. Each state legislature wishing to take advantage of federal aid for a particular function would first set up or designate a state agency with power to perform the work involved. The state agency, in turn, would periodically draft a program to be submitted to the federal government for its approval.

The term “presidential short ballot” is applied to the ballot form in which the names of candidates for presidential electors are omitted and only the names of the candidates for president or for president and vice-president appear. The vote for the party presidential candidates on the ticket is a vote for the party electors whose names are filed with the secretary of state. The voter may feel that he is voting directly for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates; actually, he is voting for the electoral candidates of the party represented by his favored candidate for the presidency.

This shortened ballot form is the result of three developments: (1) provision for a group vote for the electoral candidates of each party; (2) the addition at the head of the ticket of the names of the presidential candidates, whether the electoral candidates are voted on as individuals or as a group; and (3) introduction of the voting machine. Each of these developments started near the turn of the century.

As in previous lists, mention is here confined generally to units specifically authorized by law or established by the President by executive order or Reorganization Plans under general authority vested in him. Changes in units created by heads of departments or independent establishments are excluded unless of major importance.

Administration of Insecticide Act and Naval Stores Act. Transferred to Agricultural Marketing Service from Food and Drug Administration by Order 865 of the Secretary of Agriculture of June 19, 1940, effective June 30, 1940.

Advisory Commission to Council of National Defense. On May 28, 1940, the President announced the creation of an Advisory Commission to the Council of National Defense, although the official nomination of members by the Council did not appear until the publication of the Federal Register for June 26. The Council consists of the Secretaries of War, Navy, Interior, Commerce, Agriculture, and Labor, and the act of August 29, 1916 (39 Stat. L. 649),authorizes it to nominate and the President to appoint an advisory commission. The members of the Commission receive no compensation, but are reimbursed for expenses.

The most tantalizing problems faced by students of international relations are those which revolve around the question of motivation in national action. The rôle of ideas and attitudes in determining the behavior of nations is an obtrusive factor in every international situation. Among characteristic ideologies appearing as a growing determinant of national action is the German ideology regarding Lebensraum. Here is one of those words which have been in the German language for a very long time, but which has been popularized by the National Socialists. Literally translated, Lebensraum means “living space,” and when interpreted by anyone in Germany it is taken to indicate all that which is necessary for guaranteeing the life and development of the German people—physically, politically, and economically. It embraces all kinds of issues based upon prestige, historical, and geographical considerations. The terms “equal status” and “self-determination,” indefinite though they were, may have seemed to have definite limits; but Lebensraum goes much beyond them. It is the greatest single underlying cause of the war and the keyword of the new empire for which Hitler and his followers are struggling. The Nazis became increasingly convinced that nothing can save Germany except a genuine expansion of her Lebensraum and the unconditional return of her old colonies. This new empire must be consolidated in one compact mass in the center of Europe. First, the people of the same blood—Austrians, Sudeten-Germans—had to be incorporated; then the territory of Bohemia-Moravia, because of its geographical and strategic position, even though its inhabitants were mainly Slavs; while Slovakia had to be granted “independence” on account of “internal” disintegration.

The National Archives was established in 1934 as an independent agency. The primary objectives of its staff have been described by the Archivist as, first, the concentration and preservation in the National Archives Building of non-current federal archives having permanent or long-time administrative value or historical interest; and, second, “the administration of such archives so as to facilitate their use in the business of the Government and in the service of scholarship.” Operations were begun in 1935 with a survey of federal records located in and near the District of Columbia. As it drew to a conclusion in 1939, the survey had resulted in the accumulation of reports on a total of 2,729,393 cubic feet of records.

Transfer of records to the National Archives Building was begun in December, 1935, and during the next four years more than 200,000 cubic feet of paper records were received. The materials, representing accessions from all 10 executive departments, some 30 independent agencies, four federal courts, and the United States Senate, occupied at the end of 1939 about one-fourth of the available stack space in the building. Non-current materials continue to be received daily, and although there are indications that the rate of transfer is leveling off, it will probably be some years before the century and a half of record accumulations will have been completely dealt with.

This paper has been prepared primarily for the purpose of suggesting certain aspects of the teaching problem in political science upon which our attention at this round table may be focused with profit. At the same time, I believe that the issues raised are of more than passing concern and should be considered as among the most important for political scientists during the coming decade. Furthermore, although this round table discussion has been limited to the basic course in political science, I believe that the time has come for appraisal of the entire undergraduate political science curriculum. Such an appraisal should concern itself with the content of our courses (which has been growing like Topsy) and the quality of teaching (which has traditionally been ignored on the ground that the professional educators are alone concerned with teaching methods).

Turning now to the specific subject of this round table, I believe that any discussion of the basic course in political science must concern itself with the following questions: (1) the objective of the course; (2) the materials most conducive to the attainment of that objective; (3) the methods most suitable in the organization and presentation of these materials; and (4) the personnel for teaching the basic course. I should like to make certain brief observations in regard to each of these questions.

Dear Professor —: I cannot at this moment lay my hand on your original letter to Dr. Moulton [president of the Brookings Institution], but as I recall it you expressed your desire to give in the department of political science courses which would prove of value to your students. You were particularly considering extending the work in public administration.

I have at one time or another given a good bit of thought to the question of value of courses in political science, and it seems to me we should consider three types of values: (1) cultural, (2) civic, and (3) vocational.

Cultural value, I should say, lies in giving the students a broad understanding of the world in which they live. Cultural courses lay a foundation upon which they may build as they go on through life. Such courses in political science should enable them, after formal school days are over, to follow developments, to understand, evaluate, and digest the more worthwhile news reports, magazine articles, and books that appear, and to grow in knowledge and, we hope, in wisdom.