"Investigation has shown that the greatest number of violations of law in large cities are due not so much to disrespect for authority of the Law as to ignorance of the Law, especially of that part of the Law covered by local ordinances. It is far more important for the welfare of the state that a child should be made to realize his present obligations to the commonwealth than that he should know the qualifications of a United States Senator. The belief that a knowledge of things close at hand should be acquired first, and that such knowledge should be made to include the personal relations of the child to the Law, is rapidly becoming an educational principle...This book is planned to meet the needs of fourth year children, but in the hands of an intelligent teacher it can be used both in higher and in lower grades...It is hoped, therefore, that the book will be of real help to all teachers who aim to bring children to a realization of their best selves, and to all children who are capable of appreciating the worth of good citizenship." --From the Preface.