Ttu iuH ol" l'uhlUMtUoii.
Tiik Wavxksucku HKPfiu.ii'AN', Offlro In
ftuyr' lulllin, ennt oMhe Court J!oiim!, In puh
kIi?1 every WiMiifs'lny morninir, at 83 pT
nnnum, ix adAsck, orK'J 50 if mt paVt with
in thuymr. Allrtiitjtcrlt1on nci-oiinh MLr
bf4ltlil nnniinlly. No p.i)H-r will bo M-nt
nut of Iho StiiU- unl.s p;iM for ix advanck, and
nil Kiirh ubH-riiHMtis will in variably e itlscon
tlnnl at th t xplratiim of tiio time for which
tll'W rt pnl'l.
rommunir.it intm on milifctHof looalorgcnoml
lntrt-.t urt! eTUillly sol.rlti',1. To wish re
utU'iilioii fiiviti-s ol' HiU klri'l nm-it Invariably It,-niToiiipuiit-il
by Hie iiMitin tin; rutitlmr, not fur
imhlb-atlrin, but as yii.ir.iiity auumM imMJMtion.
AH I'-th r-4 p.-Jtaiimiji to i)M-.ini-.-i.oi lim ottici!
tauit In- udilivv,, l t.) thf Alitor
political.
TIIK ISSl't.
Shnll Iho I.nynl IVlt- K-ilr Grrnt
Muttcrti or Ni'imlor ."Hiii-toii, !' luitiiuiii
-In I he V. H. Sen ttr, .luuunr) 31, 1MI1.
Mr. President, if I had not boon re
ferred to by my honorable friend from
Wisconsin Mr. Doolittle in the do
bate yesterday, I should not -desire to
speak on tins question, especially nt
this time. 1 fear that I shall not have
the strength to say what I wish to.
The issue here to-day is the same
which prevails thron-hout the country,
which will he the issue oftiiis canvas-,
and perhaps for years to come. To
repeat what 1 have had o, vision to
say elsewhere, it is between two para
mount ideas, each struggling I'.r the
supremacy. One is, that tin; war-to
suppress the rel)ciliin was right and
just on our part ; that the rebels for
feited their civil and political rights,
and can only be restored to them upon
such conditions as the nation may pre
scribe for its future safety and prosperi
ty. The other idea is, that the rebel
lion' was not sinful, hut was right;
that those 'engaged in it forfeited no
rights, civil or political, and have a
right to take charge of tie irState gov
ernments and lie restored to tneir rep- j
resentatiou in Congress just as if there
had been no rebellion and nothing had .
occurred. The immediate issue be
fore the Senate now is between the;
existing State governments establish-1
cd under the policy of the l'jc-idi iit of'
the United Slates in the rebel Stales
and theplan of reneo-tnietioii pn -cni.'d
by Congress, I
When u surveyor first enlers a new I
territory he ontleavoi-s to usce-.-tain the
exact latitude and longitude of a given I
snot, and from that can safely begin!
Jus survey ; turn so i will endeavor to
ascertain ft proposition in this debate
upon which parties tire agreed, and
start from that proposition. That
proposition is, that nt the end of the
war, in the spring of l Ku.i, the rebel
States were without Slate governments
of any kind. The loyal State gov
ernment!! existing at the beginning ol
the war had been overturned by the
rebels ; the rebel State governments
erected during the war had been over
turned by our annies, and a! lie end
of the war there were no govcnim-;its
of any kind, existing in those Slavs.
This fact was recognized distinctly la
the President, of the I'nit 'd Stales in
his proclamation under which the
work of reconstruction was cominenc. d
in North Carolina in l.-ilio, to wlii' ii 1
hog leave to rater. The oilers were
mere copies of this proclamation. In
that proclamation ho says :
"And wlwr"ns Hie r.-I"l.i m v ii' 1i Ire. 1 i n
nwil hy pur: i; m ol' tin- p.- 1 1 m' tuc I ' 1 1 i -i I
italic iit-niiHI the iioii'i-y c ij-tonleil iniliinri
lies of the Coveniinent tliercj'. in tlie in-isi
violent ami n:v illin feriiv 1ml vvIi.hu nr:m-
iztvl iinil iirmnl torccs Invu now I n nl!ti'"t
entirely overcome, bus in its rev il nli. m.iry
protfr8h deprived 111 pcii;! of th State of
North Citiolinit nf nil civil govcrnm int."
Here the President must be allowed
to speak for his parly, and I shall ac
cept this as a proposition agreed upon
on both sides : that, nt the end of the
war there were rtogoverni.ieals of any
kind existing in those States.
1 he fourth geetion of the fonrtharti
cle of the Constitution declares thai
''she United .tite- sliall g I ira rv ti
every State in this Union u -republican
form of government.
n.i . . .
1 Ins provision I
has never yet oeen aseenamc l i great
supervisory power given to tile United
States iu their orbits, to pre-cive them
from anarchy, revolution and rebellion.
The measure of the power thus con
ferred upon the Government of the
United States can only be determined
by that which is requisite lo guaranty
or maintain in each State a legal and
republican form of govi riniicnt.
Whatever power, therefore, ni-iy be
necessary to enable the Government
of the United States thus to maintain
in each State a republican form of gov
ernment is conveyed by this provi
sion. Now, Mr. President, when the war
ended and these States 'were fouud
vittiout Uovernments ot any kind, tlie
jurisdiction of the United States, under
this provision of the Constitution nt
onec attached ; the power to recognize
State Governments, to use the com
mon word, to reconstruct, to maintain
and guaranty republican State govern
ments in those States, at once attached
under thin provision. Upon this
proposition there is also a concurrence
of the two parties. The President has
distinctly recognized the fact that its
jurisdiction attached when those States
Nrorc found , without republican State
governments, and lie himself claimed
. to net under this clause of the Consti
tution. I will read the preamble of the
President's proclamation:
"Whereas, the fonrth section or the fourth
Article of ibe Constitution of lUe United Stated
declares that tho United State suuU guaran
tee to every State in the Union republican
gernmem, ina snail proteel cacn ot
thorn against Invasion and domestic violence i
ana wUorea. the President of tha United
8Ut is, by the Constitution, made Commander-in-Chief
ot the Army md Naw as well ui
chiuf civil iof4ieiuu Am..... .i.. i. -. .j
- . . uivi u. iuu iinie-i
States, and is bound bv solemn onth faithfully
to execute tlie offlire of Presideut of the United
State, and lo take caro tint the laws be f utU
fully eeouUd and whoreas, the rebellion
which Iuu been wa:ed bv a p.imD of the
people of tlie United, State ngaiust the proper
ly constituted authorities of the G iverniuont
thereof in the most violent and r -T.iltlag iv)nn
but whose organized and armed torees have
now been almost entirely overnom. has, iu
its rcvoluiionary progrcu, deprived the peo
ple of tho State of North Cinliua of all civil
government; and wlnircas. It bceom-s neces
sary and prooer to cirry out and enforce tlie
obliinilinn of the t'niu-d Slati-s to Hie peopla
f North (Jarolica in secnrinir them in the en
joyment ot a republican fonnof governmenL
1 1 it ' Af 1 "1 i r I
1 road tins, .Mr. i resident, for the
J AS. R S.l 7'.7.,S
VOL XI
purpose of showing that the President
inu i. unco .inies, in nis poney oi
reconstriu'tion, startctl out with a d is-
tinct recognition of the applicability of!
of this chiu -e of the Constitution, anil
that he based his system of reconstruc
tion upon it. It is true he recites in
this proclamation that ho is the Commander-in-Chief
-of the Army of the
I'liitcd States ; hut at the same time
he puts his plan of reconstruction, not
upon the cxen-i-e of the military
i power which is called to its aid, but on
I the execution of the guarantee provid
j ed by the clause of the ( 'on-ititution to
which I have referred, lie appoints
a Governor for Xorth Carolina and
for these other States, the olli -e being
c ivil in iis eh ir;i' i. r, but military in
; its eilccts. . l lie loverip r lias till tlie i
power of on" of the district commander-,
and, in fact, far greater power j
I than w as ci.nierre.l uponi icnerai 1'ope
or General Sheridan or any general
: in command of a district; lor it is
! further provided :
'Tint th military pnnimwulrrnl the ilrpnrt
incnt, .111 1 till nilic.Ts a.i-1 pvrsons in liri mili.
tury nirl nsvnl s -rvii uid mid iissi-t Die Slid
puivMon il i liivennir iu i-.in'in-j into cllout tlii
pioclaiii'itlon."
We are then agreed upon the second
position, that the power of the United
States to reconstruct and guaranty re
publican forms of government at once
applied when these States -wore found
in the condition in which tiny were
at the end of the war. Then, sir, be
ing agreed upon thesetwo propositions,
we are brought to the ipiesthjn as to
the proper form of exercising this
power and by whom it shall be exer
cised. The Constitution says that
"the I nitcd Stales shall guaranty to
every State in this Union a republican
form of government." J!y the phrase
;l'nit'-l States" hero is meant the
Government iff tho United States.
The UniledStaltscan only act through
the Government, and the clause would
mean pivci-ely the -timo thinx if it
rea l "the Government of the United
Slates shall giiarnnly to every Stale iu
this Union a republican form of gov
ernment," Then, as the Government of the
United Stales is to execute this emar-
antci
t ut t-
Slate
lie que.-tion arises.
what const i-
the ' iovcriiiiicut of
United !
'.' The I'rcsi.lent does not eon- i
Siitltlc til" G ivei'iim cii ; the Cobgress :
ii'
em.,!, tale tlie ( iovel'limcut ;
the ( iovel'limcut ' !
the judiciary docs not constitute the
Govei-iiliciit ; htlt all three together
('Hl-;
the.
G"V
tale the Go
larantce is to
,'i.nieut o ill
rnment ; and as
r executed by the
United States, il
that it nm-t be a
foilows I1CI
Jigi-laii ve
not as-iiiiic
wiiiioiu a
United Siai
prov!.-!i hi.
a- - ita to t
..irilv
et. 'J'he President could
to execute the tiai-;inlcc
..niiiiiti that he was the
..i ,i .i' i ..'i.i n .ii m Lieiaiiiii i'. nainiH or iiepiesenci
wi!iiinthompamngoU.i:it',jVl.,i Coa-rcsn nniil Siid Insuirjraion in said
t 'o'liti'esscuold 11' it of it
c -I'li; the ga trau! wiril-
out assumiag mat il wa
incut of the United Slat.
llic ( lovcrn
; nor could
judi
ciarv wit limit
a in
c assump
act of the
it mu-t be
pissed by
President
taps in a
lion. 1 he act must be lie
( iovcrnni -iit, oad therefore
a lcj;i.-lativc act, a law
Congress, snbniitted to tin
for his approval, and per.
proper case, subject to be reviewed by
I the judiciary.
j Mr. President, tliat this is neecssa
j rily the case from the simple reading
I of the Conslitution seems to me cau-
i..... i. v. .1. .:.! ti...
inn im: i"r ;i iiioioeiu ic hk-ii. a iu
., . , , . . ., ..
ti.ir.intee Inmsell, is assumiiv' to be
the Government of the United Slates,
which he clearly is not, but only one of
its co-ordinate branches ; and, there
lore, as liiis guarantee must be a legis
lative act, ii follows that the attempt
on the part of the President to exe
cute the guarantee was without authori
ty, and that the guarantee can only be
executed in the form of law, first to be
pissed by Congress and then to be
submitted to the President for his ap
proval, and if he does not approve it
then to be passed over his head by a
majority of two-thirds of each House.
That law, then, becomes the execution
nf the guarantee and is the act of the
Government of tho United Stales.
Mr. President, this is not aa open
question. I send to the Secretary nnd
ask him to read a part of the decision
of the Supreme Court of the United
States in the case of Luther vs. Borden,
as reported in 7 Howard,
The Secretary read as follows
"Moreover, the Consti'utbn of the United
States as tar as it baa provided for an emer
gency of this kind, and autho. ized the General
(.mvernment lo intertere in tho domestic con
cerm of a Stnto, has treated the sutiject lis
pon. tun iu us uaiure ami piaceu mo power in
the luinds of that department.
"Tlie fourth section of the fourth article of
the Constitulmn of the United Slates provides
thai the United Slates shall guaranty to eery
cute iu uic L.UUI11 n rcpuuiiuairiiinu Ol 'Tcril-
moni. and shall protift each of them a iln t
Invasion ; aim up.in me application ol tin:
Ijti-lalur or of the Kxeculive (when the
Legijlatuni cannot bo couvened) against
domestic viuli ore.
"Under this article of the Constitution It
rests with Coneress to decldo what government
U tlie established one in a Suite. For, as the
United Slates guarantees to each State a
licpubacan government, Congre" must
necessarily dtcide what government is cs'nb
lished In the State before it can determine
whe.uV.icr it is repuiiiic in or not. And when
tin) .-iiators and lteprcscnt-itive of a State
are ndmi'ted into the councils of tin Union
the authority of the government under which
they am appoiated, as, well as its republican
character. Is rerotmtzed by the proper con
'itiiU'Hial with.irtUiv.an4 its de'clst m is liiuding
upoB every other department of the Govern
ment, It iiUruo Hut the contest in this cose
did not lat lon enongh to bring tho matter
to this issue ; and s no S-Tiators or ltcpresen-
tativoi were elected ondur the authority ol the
Government nf whieh sir. Oarr Wai the bend.
Congress was not called upon to decide the
controversy. Yet tho right ta dec'ulo is
placed there, and not la the court. " v
Mr. Mourox. In this opinion of the
I Simrumf Pnlir tlin ITtil..l tnfnu
i 1 ....
delivered many years a., the right to
lTli.MNFSSlN THE UK
- MIT
WAYMSJH
I execute
the guarantee provided for
in tins ci une ot ttie Constitution is
placed in Congress ntul nowhere else,
and therefore the necessary readies; of
the Constitution is confirmed bv the
highest judicial authority which we
have.
Mr. Johnson. Po you read from
the opinion delivered by the Chief
.Justice?
.Mr. MoiiTox. Yes, sir.; the opin
ion of Chief Justice Taney. lie de
cides that this power is not judicial;
that it is one of the high powers con
ferred upon Congress ; that it is not
subject to be reviewed by th" Supremo
Court, because it is political in ils
nature. It is a distinct enunciation of
the fact that this guarantee is not to
be cyeeuted by the President, or by
the Sumvmo Court, hut bv the Con
gress of the United States, in the form
of a la w to be passed by that hotly and
to 1)0 submitted to the President, lor
his approval ; and should he disap
prove it, it may become a law by being
p:u-el bvji two-thirds majority over
his head.
Now, I will call the attention of
my friend from Wisconsin to some
other audi ritv. As he has been
pleased to refer to a firmer speech of
Miiiic to snow that 1 a in not quite con
sistent, I will refer fo a vote given by
him in 18(il on a very important pro
vision. On the 1st of July, lsiil,
the Senate having under consideration
as in Committee of (he Whole, "a bill
to guarantee to certain States w hose
governments have been usurped or
overthrown a republican form of gov
ernment, Air. Jirown, ot Missouri,
offered an amendment to strike out
all of the bill nfter the enacting clans?
and to insert a substitute, which I will
ask the Secretary to read,
Tin; Secretary read as follows ;
'Tint when the inli iliitant.s nf nnv Stale
have Iran lU'clnrctl in n state of iinu'rr."ctln
m dint (lei riitlcil Stales hy prorliuwtiim of
Hi.. IVsidwil, by t'nrco inul virtue of the net
i' .t it ii'd 'mii net further to proride for the eol
livi'nm nfilmiug on imp iits, and for oihor
piii-piis.-s," npprovod July i;i, lsiil, they shnll
he iind ure hi-reliy declared to lie incupahle of
rusting' any vote for cU'rln'n of President or
Vice President of Ihn United Stales, or of
clectiiiL' H-nators or Representatives In C'on-
irrcs until slid liHiirrecii'.n in said State is
snpiu-rssed or aliandoned. mid sai l inlmli!
l'mU ll;lve r,'lMrn"'l llll''lr oliedience to the
iiiiviaiiiiR'iu in me cuiii'ii aimed, iinil until
sacli return to obedience slall h i ilecl ired hv
pvoclatintioa of the PreM'!iit. iwifil by vir-
11 1 "" .". '"ires iiereatlLT lo ii'j ptisa-
iiu. n'uii'ui.iirj me nauje,
Mil. Miiiirox. The honorable Sen
ator from Wisconsin, voted for that in
Committee of the Whole, and on its
final passa'.-o. 1 call attention to tlm
am Iiuent, which declares lli.it thev
shall be
"Inrapihle nf mutiny n
nl Tresid.-nl nr Vice l'resl
nn.v v no fu' i-I .-ct irs
silent nf the United
State is piippress'jil or ulna loued, nnd paid
iulrihit lies have returned I . their ehedietiee
1 1 the (inverninent el'the United Stales, nnd
until such return and nliedience shall he de
elmvd by prDcla niiiinn of the President issued
hy mi net of virtue hv Con;r(Ms h ireiifler to bo
pissed li'iUi'inzin the saniu."
Keeogniing that
a slate of war
shall be regarded its continuing until
it shall bo declared no longer to exist
by the resident, in virtue of an act of
Congress to bo hereafter passed. I am
glad to find by looking at the vote,
that the distinguished Senator from
Maryland Mr. Johnson voted for
this proposition, and thus recognized
the doctrine for which I am now con
lending; that tiic power to execute the
guarantee is vested in Congress alone,
and that it is for Congress nlono to
determine the status and condition of
those States, anil that tho President
litis no power to proclaim peace or to
declare the political condition of tlioss
States until he slmll first have been
; hereunto authorized by an act of Con
gress, J therefore, Mr. President, take the
proposition as conclusively established
both by reason nnd authority, that
this clause of the Constitution can be
executed only by Congress; and taking
that as established, I now ptocced to
consider what arc the powers of Con
gress in the execution of tho guaran
tee, aiid hoV it' shall be cxe'eutetl,' and
what means may bo employed for that
purpose. The Constitution does not
define the means. It does not say
how the guarantee slmll be oxecuteil.
All that is left. to the determination of
r.,.,. i. i '.it... i v
vuuiu. jia iu iuu peculiar tnarae
terufthe means fliat must be employ
ed, that, I take it, will depend upon
tho peculiar circunistnnocs of each
case : and the extent of the power will
depend upon the other question as to
what may be required for tho purpose
of maintaining oj guarantying a loyal
republican form of govcrnmenttocacli
State. I use the word "loyal," al
though it is not used in the Constitu
tion, Iwcnuso loyalty is an inhering
qualification, not only in regard to
persons who are to fill public ollices,
but in regard to State Governments,
and wc have no right to recognize a
State Government that is not loyal to
the Government of tho United States.
Now, sir, as to tho use of tlie means
that arc not prescribed iu the Consti
tution, I call the attention of the Sen
ate to the eighteenth clause of section,
eight of the first article of the Consti
tution of tho Uuited States, which de
clares that:
"The Concrcss shall havn nnwar to matin
all laws widen shall he neocssary aud proper
for carrying into oxecution the foreg ilng pow
er and all other powers vested by the Con
stitution in the Ucveintiieut.of the United
auto or any uejmrunout or o.Tlcer tliereof,"
Hero is a declaration of what
wotild.othcrwino be a genorul principle
anyhow, that Congress shall have the
nmrup fn tAnajnll I., ivd unnn.. n . i
e'iv. v ti.wi,i, u.i.oui.-.xaiif- in i.-itr-
ry into execution ull powers that are
AS (II ITS TO SEE THE JtlGHT. Lincoln.'
H, PA. ,"W EDAFNI)
j vested in the Governient under thq
Constitution. As Congress has the
power to guaranty or maintain a loyal
republican government in each State,
it has the right to use whatever means
may ho necessary for that purposa.
As I heliirc remarked, the character
of the means will depend upon the
character ot tlie case, in one casa it
may he the use ol an annv j in anoth
er case perhaps it may bo simply pre
senting a question to the courts, ami
having it tested in that wav ; in an-
.i - ...
omer case it may go 10 me very
foundation nf the Government itself
Audi now propound this proposition :
fhtd if Canyrtvs, aj'kr diHlfraUon: af-
trr long end bhnily crprrimrr, shdll
enmi'lu tiic ennc'uxiun that hijnl rejnib
limn 7!i!i! 'jnrfi-)iiieitx cunnut fie arc
ii i ... i ii i .
iva (inn Mtutihtinm in me. nva fitutce
I'y.'ia ..'ir hait nf the iridic population
if ii(i3 a vkjm to raise up ana wikc ro-l-r
of a ci.tf of Mm w'm had no
ri'j'il to i''i.'." uihhr the, Sill.ti lairx
This is simidv the use of the neces
sary means in the execution of the
guarantee. If we have found after
repeated trials that loyal republican
State govdrnments, governments that
are intoned t answer, cannot bo
successfully founded upon the basis
of tho white populatimi, because the
great majority of tho population ara
disloyal, then Congress has a right to
raise up a naw loyal voting populatiiMi
for the purpose of establishing (u.3e
governments in (ho execution' of the
guarantee. 1 think, sir, this proposi
tion is so clear that it is not necessary
to elaborate it. We are not required
to find in tho Constiluthin a particu
lar grant of power for this tmrnose:
but we find a general grant .of nowerkpeople of the several States, but sim-
aim we met aiso anotner grant ol pow
er authorizing us to ttso what ever
means may be necessary to execute (he
first; nnd wc find that the Supreme
Court of the United States has said
that the judgement of Congress upon
this question shall be conclusive, that
it cannot bo reviewed by the courts,
that it is a purely political matter;
ami therefore the determination of Om
fj'i'cmt, that raisin'j up colored men to the
ri;ht nfmijfhirn ina meanx'neeeAwn lo
the. e.neutioii of that power, is a deter
mination vhich eannol he. reviewed by
the. court, and in eonelunire upon the
people of thU covntni.
The President of the United Slates,
assuming that he had the power to exe
cutethisgiiaranty, and baaing his prpo
laniatioii upon it, went forward in the
work of reconstruction. If was so an
nounced, if not bv himself, nt least
Ibi inally by tha 'Secretary of Slate,
Mr. 'Seward that the govorntneiils
which he would erect during tho va
cation of Congress were to bo erected
as provisional only, that his plan of
reconstruction and the work to be
done under it would be submitted to
Congress for ilsnpnroval or disapprov
al nt the next session. Jf tho Presi
dent had adhered to that determina
tion I believe that all would have
been well, and that the present state of
thing would not exist. Put, sir, the
Lxeeutive undertook finally to execute
tho guarantee himself without the co
operation of Congress. Ho appointed
provisional Governors, civinc to
them unlimited power until such lime
as the new State governments should
bo elected, lie prescribed in his
proclamation who should exercise the
right ot still rage in tho election of
delegates, And allow mo fir one mo
ment to refer to that, lie says in his
proclamation:
'No person shall lie qualified as nn elector
or b; eligible a. a member of such convention
unless ho has previously taken nnd subscribed
the oath of amnesty, as set forth In the Presi
dents proclamation of May29th, A. D. 1865"
which was issued on the sa'rho day and
was a part of same transaction
"And is a voter qualified as presorlhcd by
the cnnslitultitinn and laws of the State of
North Carolina in force immediately before
the 20th day of May, A I), letll." -- .
Tho persons having a right to vote
must have the right to vote by the
laws of the State, -nnd must,
in addition to that, have taken
the oath of amnesty. The Presi
dent disfranchised in Vdtingjfor dele
gates to tlie conventions from' two
hundred nnd fifty thousand to three
hundred thousand jnen. ' J lis disfran
chisement was far, greater than that
which has been done by Congress. In
tho proclamation of amnesty lie says :
- "Tho following cLisscs of persons nro
excepted from the beueUls of this proclama
tion'' 1
Ho then announced fourteen classes of
persons
"I. AU who arc or shall have been preten
ded civil or dipl jmatlo officers, oi otherwise
domeiilic or foreign ngenls, ot tho pretended
Confiiderato Gjverniuent."
'
"13. All person who have voluntarily
participated in said rebellion, and the estimated
value of whose taxable property U over tweuty
thousand dollars."
And twelve other classes, estimated
to number at least two hundred nnd
fifty thousand or three hundred thous
and men. whilo tho disfranchisement
that has been created by Congress docs
not extend perhaps to more that fbrv
five or fifty thousand persons nt the
furthest. These provisional governors,
under authority of tho President, were
to call conventions ; they were to hold
tho elections, and they wero to count
the votes ? they were to exercise nil
the powers that are beiiif exercised by
tho military commanders under the re
construction nets of Congress. After
these constitutions were formal the
President went forward nnd accepted
thorn aslieing loyal und republican in
their character. ' Ho authoized the vo
ters under tliem to proceed to elect
l'gibluluies,' members of Congress,
5, hoi
ann legislatures to elect Senators to
take their seats in this body. In oth
. 1 1 .
er words, fho President launched those
State governments info" full life and
activity without consultation with
or co-operation on the part of Con
gress. Now, sir, when it is claimed that
these governments arc legal, let it bo
remembered that they took their ori
gin under a proceeding instituted by
the President of the United States in
tho execution of this guarantee, w hen
it now stands confessed that lie could
not Ofsceuto the gutirantee. Put even
:c l. l. ...l .1 i ... i
u ne nati uu; power, let it DC lurtncr
borne iu mind that those constitutions
were formed by thethe conventions that
were elected by less than one-third of
tho white voters iu the States at that
time ; that tho conventions were elec
ted by a small minority even of the
white voters.; and that those conven
tions thus formed by a very sm-ill mi
nority have never been submitted to
the people of those States for tho rat-
tllcattou. 1 hey are no more tho con
stitutions of those States to-day than
tho Constitutions formed by the con
ventions now in session would bo if
we were to proclaim thorn to bo the
Constitutions of those Slates without
having first submitted them to the
people for ratification. How can it be
pretended for a moment, even admit
ting that the' President had tho power
to start forward iu tho work of recon
struction, that those Slate govern men fs
are legally formed by n small minority
never ratified by tho peoplotho peo-pjo
never having had a chance to vote for
them. They stand as more -arbitrary
constitutions, established not by the
piy ny lorco ot executive power.
And, sir, if wo-shall admit those
III! I . .
States to representation on this floor
mil in the other House under those
constitutions, when the thincr shall
have got hay on 1 our keeping nnd they
aro fully restored to their political
rights, they will then rise up and de
clare that those constitutions are not
binding upon them, that they never
made them ; and they will throw them
off, and with them will go the pro
visions which wero incorporated there
in, declaring that slaveryshould never
be restored and that their war debt was
repudiated. Those provisions were
put into those constitutions, but' they
have never been sanctioned by. the
pi'ople of those Stall's, . and they will
ea'st them out as not being their net
and deed, as soon as thev shall have
been restore 1 to political power iu this
Government. Ihereloro, I say that
even if ho concede that tho President
had the power, which ho has not, to
start forward in tho execution of this
guarantee, there can still bo no pro-
tense that those governments nre legal
and authorized and that we are bound
to recognize them.
The J 'resident of (ho United Slates,
in his proclamation, declared that
those governments were to bo formed
only by the loyal people of those
Stntcs; and I beg leave to call the at
tention of the Senato to that clause In
his proclamation of reconstruction.
Ho says:
"And with authority to exercise, within tho
limits of said State, all tho powers necessary
and proper to enable such loyal people of the
Stale of North Carolina to restore Said State to
its constitutional rchutras with the Federal
Government,"
Again, speaking of the army :
"And they aro enjoined to abstain from In
any way hindering. Impeding or discouraging
tho lirVal peoiflo from the organization of a
Slate government as herein authorized."
'Now, sir, so far from those State
governments having boon organized
liy the loyal people, they wero organ
ised bv the disloyal: every office pass
ed into tho hands of a rebel r tho
Union men had no part or lot in those
governments ; and so far from nnswer-
ing thef ttrposc for which governments
are intruded, they tailed to extend
protection i to tho loyal men, eitlicr
white or black. Tho loyal men were
murdered .with impunity: and I will
thank any Senator upon this floor to
point to a singlo case in any of the
rebel States where a rebel lias been
tried rihd: brought to punishment by
the civil authority for the murder of a
Union man. JNot one case L am told
i n .1.1 . .
can be louint. iiiosc uoveroments
utterly failed in answering the purpose
of civil governments; nnd not only
that, but they" -returned, the eolored
people to a condition of qwva slavery ;
they made them the slaves of society,
instead ot being, as they were before,
the slaves of individuals. Under va
rious forms of vagrant laws, they de
prived them ot tho rights ot freemen,
and placed them under the power and
control of their rebel masters, who
were filled with hatred aud revenge.
Jiut, jir. I'resulcnt, time passed on.
Congress assembled in Dccemlicr, '65.
ioratimo it paused. It did not at
once annul those governments. It
hesitated, At lust, iu 18G6, the con
stitutional amendment, the fourteenth
article, was brought forward as a basis
of sett lement and reconstruction ; and
there was atacit uudcrstuiiding,tliough
it was not embraced in any law or
resolution, that if the Southern people
should ratify and agree to that amend
ment, then their "State governments
would be accepted. Lut that amend
ment was rejected, contemptuously re
jected. The Southern people, counsel
ed and inspired by the Democracy of
the Norih rejected that amendment.
I hev wero told that thev wero not
bound to submit to. any conditions
whatever; that they had forfeited no
rights bv rebellion, Why," sir, what
ili I wc propose by this uinenlmcnl?4
Ei iron . a xu r i in. ism'it.
15v the first section wa declared that
afl men born upon our soil "are citizens
of 'tho United States a thing that
had lon been recognized by every
department of the Government hnfil
the Prod Scott decision was made in
l.S")7. The second section provided
that where n class or race of men wero
excluded from the right of suffrage
they should not be counted iu the
basis of representation m f obvious
justice- that no reasonable man fir a
moment could deny ; that if four mil
lion people down South were to have
no sulfrage, the men living in their
midst and surrounding them, and de
priving them of nil po'lkieat' rights)
should not have members bf Congress
on their account: I say the justice of
the second clause has never been suc
cessfully impugned bVmiy nrgitmont,
I care not how ingenious it mav be
Wlfcat was tho third clause? It was
that tho loaders of the South, those
men who had once taken an official
oath to support the Constitution of the
United States, ?nnd had afterward
committed perjur by going into the
rebellion, should Lo made ineligible to
any office under tho Government of
die United States or of a State. It
was a very small disfranchisement. It
was intended to withhold power from
thone leaders by whoso instrninenfalilv
we had lost nearly half a million lives
and untold treasure. Tho justice of
that (lislrunehisement could not he dis
proved. And what was the fourth
clause of the amendment? That this
government should never assume nor
pay any part of the rebel debt, that if.
it should never' pay tho rebels .fir
their slaves. This was bitterly op
posed in tho Xorth as well as 'in tlie
nouni. now could niiy man
that amendment unless he
npXsf.
wtis. in
fiivor of (his Government assuming a
portion or all ot the rebel debt and in
fiivor of pavintr tho rebels for their
slaves?. When the Democratic! nortv
North and South opposed that most
important ami perhaps hereafter to be
regarded as vital amendment they
were comniittiii'' themselves in man
ciple, ns they had been before by de-
laralion, to the doctrino that -this
Government was bound to nav fir the
slaves, and tlnp, it was just and riirht
that we should assume mi l ivn tho
cbel debt. 'V.
This amendment, as I have before
said, was rejected, and when Congress
assembled in. IVcamber, lxtiii, .thev
wore confronted Jhy tho fact that every
proposition of co:.ipro.iiisv had been
rejected ; every ImlfMvav measure I,.,,
been spurned by the rebels themselves,
and they had nothing left to do but to
begin tho work of reconstruction
themselves; and in February, 1 ,307,
Congress for the first timn entered
upon the execution of the guarantee
prdvidod for in the Constitution bv
the passage of the first reconstruction
law. A supplementary bill was found
necessary in March, another one in
July, und I believe another is .found
necessary nt this time; but the power
is wun congress. W hatever it shall
deem necessary, whether it lie in the
way of colored suffrage, whether it be
in tho way of military power what
ever Congress shall deem necessary in
the execution of this guarantee is con
clusive upon tho courts, upon evory
State and upon tho people of this na
tion. . Sir, when Congress entered upon
this work it had become nnnarcnt to
all men that hiyal republican State
governments could not bo erected and
maintained upon the basis of the
whito population. We had tried
them. Coiiiiress had ntteuihtcd the
work of reconstruction throujrfi the
constitutional amendment by leaving
the suitrago with the -viutc men, and
by leaving with the white people of
the South the oticstion as ti when tlie
colored people should exercise tho
right of suffrage, if ever; but when
it was found that th se white men
were as rebellious as ever, that they
hated this Government more bitterly
than ever; when it w'us found that
they prosecuted flic loyal men, both
whito and black, iu their midst; when
it was found that Northern men who
had gone down there wero driven out
by social tyranny, by a thousand an
noyances, by the insecurity' of life and
property, then it became apparent to
all men of intelligence that reconstruc
tion could not take place unon tho
basis of the white population, and
something else mu-it be done.
Now, sir, wliat was there left to do?
Either we must hold these people con
tinually by military power, or we must
use such machinery upon such, a new
basis as would enable loyal republican
State governments to be, raised, up ;
and in the last resort and I will say
Congress waited long, the nation wait
ed long, experience had to come to the
rescue ot reason before the tiling was
done in the last resort, and as the
last thing to be done, Conzress deter
mined to dig through all the rubbish,
dig through the soil and the shifting
sands, and go down to the eternal rock,
aud (here, upon the basis of the evcr-
IiLsting principle ot equal and exact
justice to nil men, we have planted tho
column ol reconstruction : and, sir, it
will arise slowly but surely, aud "the
gates of hell shall not prevail against
it." Whatever dangers we apprehend
from the introduction of tho right of
sulfrage of seven hundred thousand
nicn, just emerged from ''slavery, were j in the rebellion ".and confer suffrage
put aside in the. presence of a greater , only on those who were left. That
danger. Wrhy, sir, let mo say frankly j would have established negro sttpre
to my friend from Wisconsin that I j niacy by giving the negn? nn over
approached universal colored suffraa-e whel;
the South reluctantly, .Not because i
Tcmis ol" AtveitiMlii
ton n ii h u ,
AnvrirriMFiicsTs iiin-rti-!iit Ml .to per wprnm
furthri-o liiM-iitons, iiml (So rt'iila per Miliar.. -tir
eiicli iiilillliimiil jti-. rl lioi ; (l. n linen nrh'M
einiiit.il a Kipcirej. All IrnimluJilndverliseiiieipa
In In1 paid fur liuulviinee. ,
Hi'!srs VoriRi-sm I uinler hf tread" at local
news will le etiuri.''l invariant. 10 veiilHit Hue
(err.-M-li iitici'tluii. e t
A litH-nil ili'ilitt-tiim inaite to prrnensailvertlS".
IliK I'V the qiiMI-ter, Inilf-venr ur yiir. Sni-IhI
ii'iliee-i elmri'it oiie-littli more limn n-ittilaruil
vi rllsi-ini'itts.
-Ina ruiNTuftiofevrrv 1:1ml In Pllunnil t-'nn -ev
itilinn; i!nllit-!!Us, ll:iltl;-i,( 'arils I'll 111 phlvt
.ti'., er evi-rv vuHi-ty iiml style, i Stlivl lit Ilia
uli'irti-st nt'tl'-,'u '1 lie Kki'i'bi.ic.vn iHui Ima
Inst iK-pine-iitt?.! irnil every tlilnn In UiTltliit
Iiik line run In e vjjit'li! In Hie moat a-rlUiio
lliiilllli.rnlnl at til ii4'eKl rntf.
iii ii
I adhered to the miserable dogma that
this was tho white man's Government,
but because I entertained fears about
nt once entrusting a lnrgebody of men
iist"from slavery, to whom education
liad"bcoi denied' by law, to whom the
marriage relation had been iletitedf
who had been mado tho basest nnd
most abject slaves, with political
power. And ns tiio Senator has refer
red to n speech which I mndo iu Indi
ana in .lfsfio, allow, mo to Miow tiio
principle that not natal mo, for iu that
speech I said i
"In regard to tho question of admlttlnc llitj
freedmeii of the Southreu Slate to vojyjjllo
I admit thocii-il right of aU.mei). aiiUlhat
in lime ttlfmeit wi!P have thd fijjlrt to voto
without flhtinctioiiiif color or-Bie, I yet be
lieve Hi it in the ca,s jif femr.Jiiiliioii of
slaves just freod from hnnduire there 8liouJ,d bo
a feiiod of probation and prcttiratl.in tietoro
thev nre brt utjlit to tho' e'xerciso of polltic'aj.
pd,er." .-. .
Such was my feeling at that time,
for it had not then been determined
by the bloody expericiicoof the last
two yearn that wo could 'not rccoiv
struct upon tho basis of the white
population, mid such was tho opinion'
of n great majority of the people of the
Xorth; nnd it was not until n year
and a halt nfter that time that Ci
gross came to the conclusion that tliete
was no way left but fo' resort to
colored sulfiture timl to nil men
except those who wero distjuslified bv
the comaiissiuu of high crimes nni.1
misdemeanors. -
Mr, President, we bear much said
! 1... e -ii ?V i i . .
"' 1'U j-v.l,I?4 mi Mieoate .aim
through the press about the violation
of tho' Constitution. It is .said that in
the reconstruction measures of Con
gress we have gone outside of tho Con
slitution, nnd tho remark ofsomodis.
tinguished statesman: of the Itopubli.
can party is quoted to that effect. Sir,
if any h ading Republican has ever
said so ho spoko only for hinjsolf, not
for another. I deny tho sMemcijJi .
in Mo, I insist that these reconbtrues.
lion measures are as fully within the
powers of tho Constitution as any leg
islation that can bo bad not only by
reason but by authority) And who
nre tho men that aro talking so much
about, tho violation of the Constitution
and who pretend to be the especial
friends of that instrument? The great
masnot them onlyjjtfee. years ago
vfere in arms to.o.vQrtufn the Consti
tution mi l establish that of font-
gnmery in its place, or' wro 't.hoir
northern friends, who were aiding and
sympathizing in that undertaking. ,
I Iuu! occasion the other" iay fo
sp;ak of what, was described. n-i con
stitutional Union mini a man. living .
inside of Iho Federal lines during tho
war, sympathizing with the rebellion, )
and win- endeavored i aid tho .rebel
lion by insisting that every war meas- ,
ure Ibrtlie .purpose of suppressing it
was ii violation of tho Constitution of
tho United States. Now. those men .
who claim to bo the especial friend)
tho Constitution nre the men who
have sought to destroy it by force of '.
arms, nntf those throughout "the conn
try who havo given tliem aid and (
comfort. Sir, you will, remember that,
oneo a celebrated French woman was ,
being dragged to tho scaffold, and ns
she passed tho statue ,gf liberty she '
exclaimed : "How many crimes have
been committed in thy name;" and I ,
can say to the Conslitution, how many
crimes against liberty, humanity unci
progress are beiiig 'committed in thy
naine by these men who, whilo. they
loved not the Constitution and sought
ils destrnetion, now, for party pur-!'
poses, claim to belts especial friends,-.
My friend from Wisconsin vester-.
day compared what ho called theRadi-.
cal party of tho North to the radicals
of the South, and when he was nsked
tho question by csome Senator,' "who
are the radicals ot the South." ho said
"they aro the secessionists." Sir, tlie
secessionists of the South ard Demo
crats to-day, acting in harmony ami
concert with the DcmocratM party.
They were Democrat during the war
who prayed for the Success ot McClcl
lun and Pendleton, and who would
have been glad lo vote fir them.' They
wero Democrats during the War, m'cri '
who sympathized with the rebellion,
wiio uided in urinc-iug it on,- These
aro the radicals of the South, and my
lncnd from Wisconsin, after all, is act
ing with that radical party.
Tho burden1 of his speech yesterday
was that the reconstruction n-.cisares
of Congress are intended to establish'
negro' supremacy. ' Sir, this" proposi
tion is without auy foundation what-'
ever. I believe it was stated yester
day by the Senator from Illinois Mr.'
Tr'umbull'thaf' hi every State but
two the white voters regislercd but
nunilicrpdthe colored voters and the
fact that in two States the colored voters
out-numbered the white voters is ow
ing to the simple accident that there
aro more colored men in thofij States
than there are white men. Congress
has not sought to establish negro su
premacy, nor has it sought to establish
the supremacy of any class or party of
men. If it had sought to establish:
negro supremacy it would have been
an easy mutter by excluding frotm the
right of sniTrage all mcri who bait been
concerned in the rebellion in accor
dance with the proposition o the dis-
tingtiished Senator from Massachusetts,.
Mr. Sumner, in his speech at Wor
cester in 18G5. He proposed to ex
clude an men who had been couecrned
if that luul beca the object of CW'resa
t
! J-