In Popular Government Sir Henry Sumner Maine examines the political institutions of popular governments. The four essays included are: The Prospects of Popular Government, The Nature of Democracy, The Age of Progress, and The Constitution of the United States, together with an Index. Sir Henry Sumner Maine, a highly respected legal historian, a vigorous critic of democracy, and one of the best writers in the humanities of his generation, convinced many legal historians that law and legal institutions must be studied historically if they are to be understood.