JAMES G. BLAINE

Charles Sumner; his complete works, volume 13 (of 20)

Copyright, 1874,
BY
FRANCIS V. BALCH, Executor.

Copyright, 1900,
BY
LEE AND SHEPARD.

Statesman Edition.

Limited to One Thousand Copies.

Of Which this is

Norwood Press:
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.

CONTENTS OF VOLUME XIII.

A REPUBLICAN FORM OF GOVERNMENT OUR FIRST DUTY AND THE ESSENTIAL CONDITION OF PEACE.

Bills and Resolutions in the Senate, at the Opening of the Session of Congress, December 4, 1865.

This session of Congress was occupied by Reconstruction, especially the question of suffrage for the colored race, with differences between Congress and President Johnson, culminating at the next Congress in his impeachment.

Mr. Sumner, on the first day of the session, as soon as he could obtain the floor, introduced the following measures.

A bill to carry out the principles of a republican form of government in the District of Columbia.

A bill to preserve the right of jury trial, by securing impartial jurors in the courts of the United States.

A bill to prescribe an oath to maintain a republican form of government in the Rebel States.

A bill in part execution of the guaranty of a republican form of government in the Constitution of the United States.

A bill supplying appropriate legislation to enforce the Amendment to the Constitution prohibiting Slavery.

A bill to enforce the guaranty of a republican form of government in certain States whose governments have been usurped or overthrown.

A joint resolution proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

Concurrent resolutions declaring the adoption of the Constitutional Amendment abolishing Slavery.

Resolutions declaring the duties of Congress in respect to guaranties of the National Security and the National Faith in the Rebel States.

Resolutions declaring the duty of Congress, especially in respect to loyal citizens in the Rebel States.

This series of propositions attracted the attention of the country. Expressions of sympathy and gratitude were abundant. Colored fellow-citizens at Philadelphia addressed Mr. Sumner in earnest words.

“Philadelphia, Pa., December 6, 1865.

“Hon. Charles Sumner:—

“Dear Sir,—At a large and enthusiastic meeting of the colored citizens of this city, held in the Philadelphia Institute this evening, the undersigned were charged with the duty of conveying to you, in behalf of twenty-five thousand disfranchised Americans here, their most heartfelt gratitude for the noble, fearless, patriotic stand taken by you at the opening of the present Congress. No day of our lives seems brighter than that upon which the foremost champion of Freedom boldly directs the attention of the nation to a series of clear, sound, statesmanlike measures looking to the complete enfranchisement of America.

“We speak but faintly, though truthfully, when we say that four millions of Americans will ever cherish with the warmest gratitude of their hearts, and hand down as a precious legacy to their children, the name of Charles Sumner,—Charles Sumner, who has at all times and under all circumstances, even when friends faltered and foes exulted, stood firm, unflinching, immovable, uncompromising, on the rock of Justice and Liberty.

“God bless the Christian gentleman and scholar, the ablest of American statesmen! God bless the noble, spotless man, Charles Sumner! is the fervent prayer of four millions of disfranchised Americans, not less than of

“Yours, admiringly and sincerely,

“Ebenezer D. Bassett,[1]
Isaiah C. Wear,
Nathaniel W. Depee.”

Parker Pillsbury, the devoted Abolitionist, wrote at once from the office of the Antislavery Standard, in New York:—

“No need of many words to-day. Your openings yesterday were sublime,—a genuine Apocalypse! God grant it be but the key-note to the grandest oratorio ever performed by less than the morning stars and all the sons of God shouting together!”

Rev. Joshua Leavitt, an editor of the New York Independent, and a constant Abolitionist of great practical sense, wrote from New York:—

“We look to you to forbear when necessary, and to dare when the time is right.”

William Lloyd Garrison, an honored leader in the long warfare with Slavery, who had just returned from a lecture tour in the West as far as the Mississippi, wrote from Boston:—

“I have found but one opinion, whether the test was made publicly or privately, in regard to that questio vexata, Reconstruction,—and that is, that not one of the revolted States should be admitted into the Union without being put under a longer probation.… Thanks for your prompt action and untiring vigilance in this matter, in the series of resolutions presented by you to the Senate.”

William E. Walker wrote from Trenton, New Jersey:—

“You have ever been in the foremost rank in guarding and defending the rights of the colored people of this country with a sacred jealousy. I hail with inexpressible joy your manly, bold, and intelligent avowal of their civil and political rights, on the opening of the session of Congress. I feel assured that they will be opposed, and strongly opposed; but God grant to you, and the other fearless champions of Freedom’s cause, strength and ability to successfully defeat all opposition!”

Hon. Theophilus Parsons, the learned Law Professor and law writer, wrote from Cambridge:—

“Congress has hard work before it,—about as hard as Grant had to take Richmond; but I suppose it will be done somehow.”

Hon. Charles W. Upham, a scholar and writer, formerly Representative in Congress from the Essex District in Massachusetts, wrote from Salem:—

“Stick to the noble ground you have taken, and let reason and events put the President in harmony with you and the people.”

With such voices from the people the great work of the session began.

The bad spirit which belonged to the days of Slavery seemed also to return. The following, to Mr. Sumner from ——, dated “Paymaster General’s Office, Washington, December 11, 1865,” recalled other days.

“I conceive it to be my duty to impart the following information, in which you may be interested.

“Calling your name yesterday, in conversation with a citizen of this city, he casually remarked that you would probably be killed before the expiration of this session,—that two or three were sworn against you.

“I paid no apparent attention to the remark at the time, nor asked any question with regard to it; but, if I can serve you in the matter any further, I am at your command.”

Mr. Sumner did not notice this letter, or follow it with any inquiry. He was accustomed to such reports.

COLORED SUFFRAGE IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

Bill in the Senate, December 4, 1865.

A Bill to carry out the principles of a Republican form of Government in the District of Columbia.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That no person, in other respects qualified to vote within the District of Columbia, shall be excluded from that right by reason of race or color.

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That any person whose duty it shall be to receive votes at any election within the District of Columbia, who shall refuse to receive or shall reject the vote of any person entitled to such right under this Act, shall be liable to an action of tort by the person injured, and shall be liable, upon indictment and conviction, if such act was done knowingly, to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or to both. And where the person injured is of African descent, one half the jury impanelled to try the action or indictment shall be of African descent.

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That any person who shall molest any person entitled to vote under this Act, in the exercise of such right, shall, upon indictment and conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding three thousand dollars, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to both; and if the person molested was of African descent, one half the jury impanelled to try the indictment shall be of African descent.

This bill was read, passed to a second reading, and ordered to be printed.

December 6th, on motion of Mr. Sumner, it was referred to the Committee on the District of Columbia.

At the formation of the Committee, Mr. Sumner became, for the first time, a member of the Standing Committee on the District of Columbia. According to usage in the Senate, the Standing Committees are formed in a caucus of the predominant political party, acting on the report of a Nominating Committee appointed by the caucus. At the opening of the present session Mr. Sumner was a member of the Nominating Committee. While occupied in arranging the Committee on the District of Columbia, he remarked that his only wish with regard to this Committee was, that it should be so constituted as to report in favor of suffrage without distinction of color in the District. Mr. Sherman, of Ohio, who was a member of the Nominating Committee, said at once, “Then you must go on it.” Mr. Sumner replied, that he was much occupied on the Committee on Foreign Relations, of which he was Chairman, but that, if the Nominating Committee chose to assign him this new duty, he could not decline it. He was accordingly placed on this Committee, where he continued until the opening of the session in December, 1872, when, at his own request, founded on ill health, he was excused from all service on committees.

The members of the Committee were Mr. Morrill, of Maine, Chairman, Mr. Wade, of Ohio, Mr. Willey, of West Virginia, Mr. Sumner, Mr. Henderson, of Missouri, Mr. Yates, of Illinois, and Mr. Riddle, of Delaware. At the earliest meeting of the Committee, Mr. Wade’s bill to regulate the franchise in the District of Columbia, being first on the calendar, was proceeded with. At once the question arose of a general bill regulating suffrage in the District. To relieve the Committee from this embarrassment, and reach a prompt conclusion on the main question, Mr. Sumner moved, “That the Committee will report a bill simply prohibiting any exclusion from the elective franchise on account of color, with proper provisions to carry out this prohibition, and without undertaking to regulate the qualifications.” This motion was adopted.

December 20th, Mr. Morrill reported Mr. Wade’s bill with amendments, and, in reply to inquiry from Mr. Sumner, said that he was “inclined to call it up at the earliest possible time, but probably not before the contemplated adjournment [for the holidays].” Mr. Sumner then said:—

“I am very glad my excellent friend proposes to proceed with the consideration of that measure at an early day. I believe the country requires promptitude in such act of justice.”

January 10, 1866, the Senate, on motion of Mr. Morrill, proceeded with the bill, and adopted several of the amendments. An amendment providing that the elector “shall be able to read the Constitution of the United States in the English language, and write his name,” excited discussion, when the bill, on motion of Mr. Yates, was recommitted.

January 12th, Mr. Morrill reported the original bill with an amendment as a substitute. January 16th, it was taken up for consideration, when Mr. Davis, of Kentucky, spoke at length against it. From that date until June 27th it was not resumed, but the Senate during this interval heard suffrage discussed, especially on the Constitutional Amendment concerning representation. At the latter date it was taken up, on motion of Mr. Morrill. In the substitute there was no requirement of reading and writing as a qualification; but Mr. Morrill moved the amendment on this subject which had been reported before. On this important proposition the vote stood, Yeas 15, Nays 19. So it was rejected. After an elaborate speech from Mr. Willey, in which he proposed a qualified suffrage, the bill went over to another day, but was not resumed until the next session of Congress. The pressure of business, the fact that there would be no election until after the next session, the growing sense that the suffrage must be without educational qualification, and the uncertainty of carrying such a bill over the veto of the President, were the reasons for this delay.

Meanwhile, after a debate of several days, the House of Representatives, on the 18th of January, passed a short bill, striking the word “white” from the election laws of the District, and declaring that no person should be disqualified on account of color.

December 3, 1866, being the first day of the session, Mr. Sumner moved that the Senate proceed with the consideration of the Suffrage Bill, and then remarked:—

“It will be remembered that this bill was introduced on the first day of the last session,—that it was the subject of repeated debate in this Chamber,—that it was more than once referred to the Committee on the District of Columbia, by whose chairman it was reported back to the Senate. At several different stages it was supposed that we were about to reach a final vote. The country expected that vote. It was not had. It ought to have been had. And now, Sir, I think it best for the Senate, in this very first hour of its coming together, to put that bill on its passage. It has been thoroughly debated. Every Senator has made up his mind. There is nothing more to be said on either side. So far as I am concerned, I am perfectly willing that the vote shall be taken without one further word; but I think that the Senate ought not to allow the bill to be postponed. We should seize this first occasion to put the bill on its passage. The country expects it; the country will rejoice and be grateful, if you will signalize this first day of your coming together by this beautiful and generous act.”

The Chair, after recognizing the motion, ruled it not in order, according to a former precedent.

December 10th, on motion of Mr. Morrill, the Senate proceeded with the Suffrage Bill. Mr. Sumner joined in urging it:—

“Let us, so far as the Senate can do it, give suffrage to the colored race in the District; let us signalize this first day of actual business by finishing this great act.”

Debate ensued for four days, in which Mr. Morrill, Mr. Willey, of West Virginia, Mr. Wilson, of Massachusetts, Mr. Pomeroy, of Kansas, Mr. Anthony, of Rhode Island, Mr. Williams, of Oregon, Mr. Cowan, of Pennsylvania, Mr. Wade, of Ohio, Mr. Yates, of Illinois, Mr. Reverdy Johnson, of Maryland, Mr. Gratz Brown, of Missouri, Mr. Davis, of Kentucky, Mr. Sprague, of Rhode Island, Mr. Buckalew, of Pennsylvania, Mr. Doolittle, of Wisconsin, Mr. Dixon, of Connecticut, Mr. Saulsbury, of Delaware, Mr. Foster, of Connecticut, Mr. Frelinghuysen, of New Jersey, Mr. Hendricks, of Indiana, Mr. Lane, of Indiana, and Mr. Sumner, took part. The remarks of the last will appear in their proper place, according to date.[2] Among the amendments considered was one by Mr. Cowan to strike out the word “male,” so as to open suffrage to women, which was rejected,—Yeas 9, Nays 37. The amendment by Mr. Dixon, making reading and writing a qualification, was also rejected,—Yeas 11, Nays 34.

December 13th, the bill passed the Senate,—Yeas 32, Nays 13. The announcement of its passage was followed by applause in the galleries. On the next day the bill passed the other House,—Yeas 128, Nays 46.

January 7, 1867, the bill passed the Senate over the veto of President Johnson, by a two-thirds vote,—Yeas 29, Nays 10. On the next day it passed the other House by a two-thirds vote,—Yeas 113, Nays 38. And so it became a law, and also a model for similar legislation in the reconstruction of the Rebel States.

IMPARTIAL JURORS FOR COLORED PERSONS.

Bill in the Senate, December 4, 1865.

A Bill to preserve the right of trial by jury, by securing impartial jurors in the Courts of the United States.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in the courts of the United States in any State, whereof, according to the census Anno Domini eighteen hundred and sixty, one sixth part or more of the population was of African descent, every grand jury shall consist one half of persons of African descent who shall possess the other qualifications now required by law; and when the matter to be tried relates to any injury inflicted by a person of African descent upon a person not of such descent, or vice versa, or to any claim, suit, or demand between a person of such descent and one not of such descent, every petit jury shall consist one half of persons of African descent possessing the other qualifications now required by law. Upon any such trial, prejudice against persons of African descent, or against persons not of such descent, shall be ground of challenge, and, being established by proof, to the satisfaction of the judge, shall exclude the juror. And upon any such trial, inability to read or write shall be ground of challenge, and, the fact being found by the judge, shall exclude the juror.

This bill was read, passed to a second reading, and ordered to be printed.

December 13th, it was read a second time, and, on motion of Mr. Sumner, referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Towards the end of the session, July 7, 1866, it was reported adversely by Mr. Trumbull, and, on his motion, indefinitely postponed.

This effort to secure recognition of colored persons on juries was suggested by the ancient jury de Medietate Linguæ, first given by the statute of 28th Edward III., cap. 13, and used in cases where one party was a foreigner and the other a denizen. There were other cases where an analogous jury was impanelled, as in a criminal trial in the University courts, where the jury was half freeholders of the county, and half matriculated laymen of the University.[3]

OATH TO MAINTAIN A REPUBLICAN FORM OF GOVERNMENT IN THE REBEL STATES.

Bill in the Senate, December 4, 1865.

A Bill prescribing an oath to maintain a Republican form of Government in the Rebel States.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That hereafter every person in any State lately declared to be in rebellion, before he shall be allowed to vote at any election, State or National, or before he shall enter upon the duties of any office, State or National, or become entitled to the salary or other emoluments thereof, shall take and subscribe an oath or affirmation to maintain a republican form of government, as follows: “I do hereby swear (or affirm) that I will at all times hereafter use my best endeavors to maintain a republican form of government in the State of which I am an inhabitant, and in the Union of the United States; that I will at all times recognize the indissoluble unity of the Republic, and will always discountenance and resist any endeavor to break away or secede from the Union; that I will give my influence and vote at all times to strengthen and sustain the national credit; that I will always discountenance and resist any attempt, directly or indirectly, to repudiate or postpone, in any part or in any way, either the debt contracted by the United States in subduing the late Rebellion or the obligation assumed to the Union soldiers; that I will always discountenance and resist any laws making any distinction of race or color; and that in all ways I will strive to maintain a State government completely loyal to the Union, where all men shall enjoy equal protection and equal rights”: which, so taken and subscribed, shall be preserved in the proper office or department, according to regulations made by the President of the United States. Any person who shall falsely take such oath shall be guilty of perjury, and, on conviction, in addition to the penalties now prescribed for that offence, shall be deprived of his office, and rendered incapable forever after of holding any office under the United States.

This bill was read, passed to a second reading, and ordered to be printed. The same oath appears in the Scheme of Reconstruction.[4]

PART EXECUTION OF THE GUARANTY OF A REPUBLICAN FORM OF GOVERNMENT.

Bill in the Senate, December 4, 1865.

A Bill in part execution of the guaranty of a Republican form of Government in the Constitution of the United States.

Whereas it is declared in the Constitution that the United States shall guaranty to every State in this Union a republican form of government; and whereas certain States have allowed their governments to be subverted by rebellion, so that the duty is now cast upon Congress of executing this guaranty: Now, therefore,

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in all States lately declared to be in rebellion there shall be no oligarchy invested with peculiar privileges and powers, and there shall be no denial of rights, civil or political, on account of race or color; but all persons shall be equal before the law, whether in the court-room or at the ballot-box. And this statute, made in pursuance of the Constitution, shall be the supreme law of the land, anything in the Constitution or laws of any such State to the contrary notwithstanding.

This bill was read, passed to a second reading, and ordered to be printed.

The same bill, in another form, was introduced by Mr. Sumner, February 2, 1866, and afterwards moved as a substitute for the Constitutional Amendment on Representation.[5]

EQUAL RIGHTS OF COLORED PERSONS TO BE PROTECTED BY THE NATIONAL COURTS.

Bill in the Senate, to enforce the Constitutional Amendment abolishing Slavery, December 4, 1865.

A Bill supplying appropriate legislation to enforce the Amendment to the Constitution prohibiting Slavery.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That, if any person shall attempt to control, or shall by act or word claim any right to control, the services of any other person, contrary to the provisions of the foregoing section, the person so offending shall, upon indictment and conviction in the District Court of the United States for the district where the crime was committed, be punished by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars, or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years, or by both, to be inflicted at the discretion of the court; and it shall be no defence, nor cause of mitigation of sentence, that such claim or attempt is sanctioned by any pretended law of a State, or any judgment of a State court. But nothing herein contained shall be held to impair any other remedy now existing by Habeas Corpus or otherwise.

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That, in further enforcement of the provision of the Constitution prohibiting Slavery, and in order to remove all relics of this wrong from the States where this Constitutional prohibition takes effect, it is hereby declared that all laws or customs in such States, establishing any oligarchical privileges and any distinction of rights on account of race or color, are hereby annulled, and all persons in such States are recognized as equal before the law; and the penalties provided in the last section are hereby made applicable to any violation of this provision, which is made in pursuance of the Constitution of the United States.

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That, in further enforcement of the provision of the Constitution, the courts of the United States in the States shall have exclusive jurisdiction of all offences committed by persons not of African descent upon persons of African descent; also of all offences committed by persons of African descent; and also of all causes, suits, and demands to which any person of African descent shall be a party; and it is hereby declared that all such cases are to be treated as cases arising under the Constitution of the United States.

This bill was read, passed to a second reading, and ordered to be printed.

December 21st, it was read a second time, and, on motion of Mr. Sumner, referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

January 11, 1866, Mr. Trumbull, from this Committee, reported the “Bill to protect all persons in the United States in their civil rights, and furnish the means of their vindication,” which was passed, covering in part the ground of Mr. Sumner’s bill.[6]

REPRESENTATION ACCORDING TO VOTERS.

Joint Resolution in the Senate, to amend the Constitution, December 4, 1865.

Joint Resolution proposing an Amendment of the Constitution of the United States.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two thirds of both Houses concurring), That the following Article be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States as an Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which, when ratified by three fourths of such Legislatures, shall become a part of the Constitution, to wit:—

“Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union according to the number of male citizens of the age of twenty-one years having in each State the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State Legislature. The actual enumeration of such citizens shall be made by the census of the United States.”

This was the first resolution of the session. It was read, passed to a second reading, and ordered to be printed.

December 13th, on motion of Mr. Sumner, it was read a second time, and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

June 20, 1866, in company with other resolutions proposing Amendments to the Constitution, it was reported adversely by Mr. Trumbull, and on his motion indefinitely postponed.

Meanwhile the proposition had entered largely into debate, and had been discussed by Mr. Sumner.[7] It was superseded by the provision on Representation in the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. When moved, June 6th, by Mr. Doolittle, of Wisconsin, as a substitute for that clause, it was rejected,—Yeas 7, Nays 31. The yeas were Messrs. Cowan, of Pennsylvania, Davis, of Kentucky, Doolittle, Guthrie, of Kentucky, Hendricks, of Indiana, Johnson, of Maryland, and Riddle, of Delaware. It was no longer satisfactory to Mr. Sumner, who hoped for something better. When brought forward by him, it was in the nature of a tentative process.

SCHEME OF RECONSTRUCTION ON THE BASIS OF EQUAL RIGHTS.

Bill in the Senate, to enforce the Guaranty of a Republican Form of Government in certain States, December 4, 1865.

A Bill to enforce the guaranty of a Republican form of Government in certain States whose governments have been usurped or overthrown.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That, in the States lately declared in rebellion against the United States, the President shall, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint for each a provisional governor, with pay and emoluments not exceeding those of a brigadier-general of volunteers, who shall be charged with the civil administration of such State, until a State government therein shall be recognized as hereinafter provided.

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the provisional governor of each of such States shall direct the marshal of the United States, as speedily as may be, to name a sufficient number of deputies, and to enroll all male citizens of the United States resident in the State in their respective counties, and to request each one to take the oath to support the Constitution of the United States, and the oath to maintain a republican form of government, and in his enrolment to designate those who take and those who refuse to take the oaths, which rolls shall be forthwith returned to the provisional governor; and if the persons taking the oaths shall amount to a majority of the persons enrolled in the State, he shall by proclamation invite the loyal people of the State to elect delegates to a convention charged to declare the will of the people of the State relative to the reëstablishment of a State government, subject to and in conformity with the Constitution of the United States.

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the oath to maintain a republican form of government shall be as follows: “I do hereby swear (or affirm) that I will at all times hereafter use my best endeavors to maintain a republican form of government in the State of which I am an inhabitant, and in the Union of the United States; that I will at all times recognize the indissoluble unity of the Republic, and will always discountenance and resist any endeavor to break away or secede from the Union; that I will give my influence and vote at all times to strengthen and sustain the national credit; that I will always discountenance and resist any attempt, directly or indirectly, to repudiate or postpone, in any part or in any way, either the debt contracted by the United States in subduing the late rebellion or the obligation assumed to the Union soldiers; that I will always discountenance and resist any laws making any distinction of race or color; and that in all ways I will strive to maintain a State government completely loyal to the Union, where all men shall enjoy equal protection and equal rights.”[8]

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the convention shall consist of as many members as both Houses of the last constitutional State Legislature, apportioned by the provisional governor among the counties, parishes, or districts of the State, in proportion to the population returned as electors by the marshal, in compliance with the provisions of this Act. The provisional governor shall by proclamation declare the number of delegates to be elected by each county, parish, or election district; name a day of election, not less than thirty days thereafter; designate the places of voting in each county, parish, or district, conforming, as nearly as may be convenient, to the places used in the State elections next preceding the Rebellion; appoint one or more commissioners to hold the election at each place of voting; and provide an adequate force to keep the peace during the election.

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That the delegates shall be elected by the loyal male citizens of the United States of the age of twenty-one years, and resident at the time in the county, parish, or district in which they shall offer to vote, and enrolled as aforesaid, or absent in the military service of the United States, and who shall take and subscribe the oath of allegiance to the United States in the form contained in the Act of Congress of July 2, 1862, and the before recited oath to maintain a republican form of government; and all such citizens of the United States who are in the military service of the United States shall vote at the head-quarters of their respective commands, under such regulations as may be prescribed by the provisional governor for the taking and return of their votes; but no person who has held or exercised any office, civil or military, State or otherwise, under the Rebel usurpation, or who has voluntarily borne arms against the United States, shall vote or be eligible as delegate at such election.

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the commissioners, or either of them, shall hold the election in conformity with this Act, and, so far as may be consistent therewith, shall proceed in the manner used in the State prior to the Rebellion. The oath of allegiance and the oath to maintain a republican form of government shall be taken and subscribed on the poll-book by every voter in the form above prescribed; but every person known by or proved to the commissioners to have held or exercised any office, civil or military, State or otherwise, under the Rebel usurpation, or to have voluntarily borne arms against the United States, shall be excluded, though he offer to take the oath; and in case any person who shall have borne arms against the United States shall offer to vote, he shall be deemed to have borne arms voluntarily, unless he shall prove the contrary by the testimony of a qualified voter. The poll-book showing the name and oath of each voter shall be returned to the provisional governor by the commissioners of election, or the one acting, and the provisional governor shall canvass such returns, and declare the person having the highest number of votes elected.

Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That the provisional governor shall by proclamation convene the delegates duly elected, at the capital of the State, on a day not more than three months after the election, giving at least thirty days’ notice of such day. In case the capital shall in his judgment be unfit, he shall in his proclamation appoint another place. He shall preside over the deliberations of the convention, and administer to each delegate, before taking his seat in the convention, the oath of allegiance to the United States, and the oath to maintain a republican form of government, in the form above prescribed.

Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That the convention shall declare, on behalf of the people of the State, their submission to the Constitution and laws of the United States, and shall adopt the following provisions, hereby prescribed by the United States in the execution of the constitutional duty to guaranty a republican form of government to every State, and incorporate them in the Constitution of the State, that is to say:—

First. No person who has held or exercised any office, civil or military, except offices merely ministerial and military offices below the grade of colonel, State or otherwise, under the usurping power, shall vote for or be a member of the legislature or governor.

Secondly. Involuntary servitude is forever prohibited, and the freedom of all persons is guarantied in such State.

Thirdly. No debt, State or otherwise, created by or under the sanction of the usurping power, shall be recognized or paid by the State.

Fourthly. No person shall enter upon any office within the gift of the people of this State, until he has first taken the oath to support the Constitution of the United States and the oath to maintain a republican form of government. And the Constitution shall prescribe forms for these oaths substantially in accordance with the forms herein provided.

Fifthly. There shall be no distinction among the inhabitants of this State founded on race, former condition, or color. Every such inhabitant shall be entitled to all the privileges before the law enjoyed by the most favored class of such inhabitants.

Sixthly. These provisions shall be perpetual, not to be abolished or changed hereafter.

Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That, when the convention shall have adopted those provisions, it shall proceed to reëstablish a republican form of government, and ordain a constitution containing those provisions, which, when adopted, the convention shall by ordinance provide for submitting to the people of the State entitled to vote under this law, at an election to be held in the manner prescribed by the act for the election of delegates, but at a time and place named by the convention, at which election the electors described above, and none others, shall vote directly for or against such constitution and form of State government. And the returns of such election shall be made to the provisional governor, who shall canvass the same in the presence of the electors, and if a majority of the votes cast shall be for the constitution and form of government, he shall certify the same, with a copy thereof, to the President of the United States, who, after obtaining the assent of Congress, shall by proclamation recognize the government so established, and none other, as the constitutional government of the State; and from the date of such recognition, and after its legislature shall have ratified the Amendment to the United States Constitution abolishing slavery and prohibiting involuntary servitude, and not before, Senators and Representatives, and Electors for President and Vice-President, may be elected in such State, according to the laws of the State and of the United States.

Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That, if the convention shall refuse to reëstablish the State government on the foregoing conditions, the provisional governor shall declare it dissolved; but it shall be the duty of the President, whenever he shall have reason to believe that a sufficient number of the people of the State entitled to vote under this Act, in number not less than a majority of those enrolled as aforesaid, are willing to reëstablish a State government on the foregoing conditions, to direct the provisional governor to order another election of delegates to a convention for the purpose and in the manner prescribed in this Act, and to proceed in all respects as herein before provided, either to dissolve the convention, or to certify the State government reëstablished by it to the President.

Sec. 11. And be it further enacted, That, until the United States shall have recognized a republican form of State government, the provisional governor in each of such States shall see that this Act, and the laws of the United States, and the laws of the State in force when the State government was overthrown by the Rebellion, are faithfully executed within the State; but no law or usage contrary to any of the provisions herein directed to be inserted in the constitution of the State shall be recognized or enforced by any court or officer in such State, and such provisions shall be regarded as already incorporated into the law of the State; and the laws for the trial and punishment of white persons shall extend to all persons, and jurors shall have the qualifications of voters under this law for delegates to the convention. The President shall appoint such officers, provided for by the laws of the State when its government was overthrown, as he may find necessary to the civil administration of the State, all which officers shall be entitled to receive the fees and emoluments provided by the State laws for such officers. And he may permit, when he deems it expedient, elections to be made of such officers by the people entitled to vote according to the provisions of this Act; such officers to have the qualifications required for voters under this Act, and to hold their offices subject to removal by him. And all such officers, whether appointed by the President or elected by the people, shall, before entering on the duties of their offices, take the oaths to support the Constitution of the United States, and to maintain a republican form of government.

Sec. 12. And be it further enacted, That, until the recognition of a State government as aforesaid, the provisional governor shall, under such regulations as he may prescribe, cause to be assessed, levied, and collected, for the year eighteen hundred and sixty-four, and every year thereafter, the taxes provided by the laws of such State to be levied during the fiscal year preceding the overthrow of the State government thereof, in the manner prescribed by the laws of the State, as nearly as may be; and the officers appointed as aforesaid are vested with all powers of levying and collecting such taxes, by distress or sale, as were vested in any officers or tribunal of the State government for those purposes. The proceeds of such taxes shall be accounted for to the provisional governor, and be by him applied to the expenses of the administration of the laws in such State, subject to the direction of the President; and the surplus shall be deposited in the treasury of the United States to the credit of such State, to be paid to the State upon an appropriation therefor, to be made when a republican form of government shall be recognized therein by the United States.

This was read, passed to a second reading, and ordered to be printed.

December 21st, it was, on motion of Mr. Sumner, referred to the Joint Committee “to inquire into the condition of the States which formed the so-called Confederate States of America,” known as the Reconstruction Committee, of which Mr. Fessenden was Senate Chairman, and Mr. Stevens House Chairman.

Nothing as systematic and complete as this measure was ever adopted. The work of Reconstruction was piecemeal.

ADOPTION OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT ABOLISHING SLAVERY.

Concurrent Resolutions in the Senate, declaring the Adoption, December 4, 1865.

Concurrent Resolutions declaring the adoption of the Constitutional Amendment abolishing Slavery.

Whereas Congress, by a vote of two thirds of both Houses, did heretofore propose to the Legislatures of the several States for ratification an Amendment to the Constitution in the following words, to wit:—

“Article XIII. Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

“Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this Article by appropriate legislation.”

And whereas, at the time when such Amendment was submitted, as well as since, there were sundry States which, by reason of rebellion, were without Legislatures, so that, while the submission was made in due constitutional form to “the Legislatures of the several States,” in obedience both to the letter and spirit of the provision of the Constitution authorizing Amendments, it was not, as it could not be, made to all the States, there being a less number of Legislatures of States than there were States;

And whereas, since the Constitution expressly authorizes Amendments to be made, any construction which would render the making of them at times impossible must violate both its letter and its spirit;

And whereas, to require the ratification by States without Legislatures as well as by “the Legislatures of the States,” in order to be valid, would put it in the power of long-continued rebellion to suspend not only the peace of the nation, but its Constitution also;

And whereas the count of States in rebellion enables such States by silence to vote against the Constitutional Amendment, thus giving to their silence the same effect as a vote;

And whereas, from the terms of the Constitution and the nature of the case, it belongs to the two Houses of Congress to determine when such ratification is complete;

And whereas more than three fourths of the Legislatures to which the proposition was made have ratified such Amendment: Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That the Amendment abolishing Slavery has become and is part of the Constitution of the United States.

Resolved, That, notwithstanding the foregoing resolution, yet, considering the great public interest which attaches to this question, the Legislatures which have not ratified the Amendment be permitted to express their concurrence by the usual form of ratification, to be returned in the usual manner.

Resolved, That no one of the States, to the Legislatures of which such Amendment could not be submitted, by reason of rebellion against the United States and having no Legislatures, be permitted to resume its relations, and have its Legislature acknowledged and its Senators and Representatives admitted, until its Legislature has first ratified such Amendment in recognition of the accomplished fact.

These resolutions were read and ordered to be printed. They were also entered at length on the Journal of the Senate.

FIVE CONDITIONS OF RECONSTRUCTION.

Resolutions in respect to Guaranties of the National Security and the National Faith, December 4, 1865.

Resolutions declaring the duty of Congress in respect to guaranties of the national security and the national faith in the Rebel States.

Resolved, That in order to provide proper guaranties for security in the future, so that peace and prosperity shall surely prevail, and the plighted faith of the nation be preserved, it is the first duty of Congress to take care that no State declared in rebellion shall be allowed to resume its relations with the Union until after satisfactory performance of five several conditions, which conditions precedent must be submitted to a popular vote, and be sanctioned by a majority of the people of each State respectively, as follows.

1. The complete reëstablishment of loyalty, as shown by honest recognition of the unity of the Republic, and the duty of allegiance to it at all times, without mental reservation or equivocation of any kind.

2. The complete suppression of all oligarchical pretensions, and the complete enfranchisement of all citizens, so that there shall be no denial of rights on account of race or color, but justice shall be impartial, and all shall be equal before the law.

3. The rejection of the Rebel debt, and at the same time the adoption, in just proportion, of the national debt and the national obligations to Union soldiers, with solemn pledges never to join in any measure, direct or indirect, for their repudiation, or in any way tending to impair the national credit.

4. The organization of an educational system for the equal benefit of all, without distinction of race or color.

5. The choice of citizens for office, whether State or National, of constant and undoubted loyalty, whose conduct and conversation shall give assurance of peace and reconciliation.

Resolved, That to provide these essential safeguards, without which the national security and the national faith will be imperilled, States cannot be precipitated back to political power and independence; but they must wait until these conditions are in all respects fulfilled.

These resolutions were read and ordered to be printed. They were also entered at length on the Journal of the Senate.

RIGHTS OF LOYAL CITIZENS, AND A REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT.

Resolutions in the Senate, declaring the Duty of Congress, December 4, 1865.

Resolutions declaring the duty of Congress, especially towards loyal citizens in the Rebel States.

Whereas it is provided by the Constitution that “the United States shall guaranty to every State in this Union a republican form of government”;

And whereas there are certain States where, by reason of rebellion, no State governments are recognized by Congress;

And whereas, because of the failure of such States respectively to maintain State governments, it has become the duty of Congress, standing in the place of guarantor, where the principal has made a lapse, to provide governments republican in form for such States respectively: Now, therefore, in order to declare the duty of Congress,—

1. Resolved, That, whenever a convention is called in any such State for the organization of a government, the following persons have a right to be represented therein, namely: the citizens of the State who have taken no part in the Rebellion, especially all those whose exclusion from the ballot enabled others to carry the State into the Rebellion, and still more especially those who became soldiers in the armies of the Union, and by valor on the battle-field helped turn the tide of war, making the Union triumphant; and Congress must refuse to sanction the proceedings of any convention composed of delegates chosen by men recently in arms against the Union, and excluding men who perilled life in its defence, unless its proceedings have been first approved by those entitled to participate therein, as hereby declared.

2. Resolved, That the Constitution of the United States, being supreme over State laws and State constitutions on those matters upon which it speaks, and the duty being now imposed by it on Congress to legislate for the establishment of government in the States where government is overthrown, it is hereby declared that no supposed State law or State constitution can be set up as an impediment to the national power in the discharge of its duty.

3. Resolved, That, since also it has become the duty of Congress to determine what is a republican form of government, it is hereby declared that no government of a State recently in rebellion can be accepted as republican, where large masses of citizens always loyal to the United States are excluded from the elective franchise, and especially where wounded soldiers of the Union, with kindred and race, and also the kindred of others whose bones whiten battle-fields on which they died for country, are thrust from the polls to make place for the men by whose hands came wounds and death; more particularly where, as in some of those States, the result would be to disfranchise the majority of citizens always loyal, and give to the oligarchical minority recently engaged in rebellion power to oppress the loyal majority, even to the extent of driving them from home, and depriving them of all opportunity of livelihood.

4. Resolved, That, where, by reason of rebellion, there is a lapse in the State government, and it becomes the duty of Congress to provide a government, none can be accepted as “a republican form of government,” where numerous native-born citizens, charged with no crime and no failure of duty, and compelled to pay taxes, are left wholly unrepresented; and especially where a particular race is singled out and denied representation, although compelled to pay taxes; more especially where such race constitutes the majority of the citizens, and the enfranchised minority has for the time forfeited its rights by rebellion; and more especially still, where by such exclusion the oligarchical enemies of the Republic can practically compel it to break faith with national soldiers and national creditors, to whose generosity it was indebted during a period of peril.

These resolutions were read and ordered to be printed. They were also entered at length on the Journal of the Senate.

THE LATE SENATOR COLLAMER.

Speech in the Senate, on his Death, December 14, 1865.

MR. PRESIDENT,—Since Henry Clay left this Chamber by the gate of death, no Senator has passed that way crowned with the same honorable years as Mr. Collamer; nor has any Senator passed that way whose departure created such a blank in the public councils, unless we except Mr. Douglas. He was our most venerable associate; but his place here had not shrunk with time. Nor was he, when we last saw him, less important to our debates and to our conclusions than ever before. He still possessed all those peculiar powers of argument and illustration, seasoned with a New England salt, which he had from the beginning. He was not so old that he was not often the life of the body.

When he came into the Senate, it was after long and various experience as lawyer, judge, representative in the other House, member of the Cabinet, and then again as judge, in all which characters he had been single, pure, honest, faithful, and laborious. Though little of a traveller, he had seen much. He had also read much, and he had done much. But all the results of observation, study, and action had so passed into his nature as to become part of himself. If he expressed an opinion, even on law, it seemed to come from himself, and not from books. He was the authority. And yet he was fond of books, whether in his own profession or in other departments of study.

His fidelity assumed the form of accuracy in all that he said or did. He spoke accurately, and he was especially accurate with his pen. Perhaps nobody was apter in the style or language of legislation. He was an expert draughtsman, although, without doubt, too professional for a taste not exclusively professional,—indulging in traditional phrases, and those favorite superfluities of the lawyer, “said” and “aforesaid.” The great Act of July 13, 1861,[9] which gave to the war for the suppression of the Rebellion its first Congressional sanction, and invested the President with new powers, was drawn by him. It was he that set in place the great ban, not yet lifted, by which the Rebel States were shut out from the communion of the Union. This is a landmark in our history, and it might properly be known by the name of its author, as “Collamer’s statute.”

All who ever sat with him in the committee-room will long remember the carefulness with which he gave his counsels, and the completeness with which he explained them. Perhaps his wisdom and facility in business were nowhere more manifest. I seize this occasion to confess most gratefully my own personal obligations to him in this interesting relation.

The same character which appeared in the committee-room showed itself in conversation, enlivened by constant humor. He, too, had his “little story” for illustration; but in this respect he differed from the late President as one of his own Vermont mountains differs from an outstretched laughing prairie of the West. In manner he was Socratic. The curious observer, fond of tracing resemblances, might fancy that in the form of his head, and even of his person, he was not unlike the received image of Socrates, while his colloquial powers might again recall Socrates, as pictured by the affectionate Xenophon, “handling all who conversed with him just as he pleased.” He had also the same antique simplicity, and I doubt not he would have followed the wise man of Athens barefoot in the waters of the Ilissus. I would not push the resemblance too far, and I use it only for illustration, not for parallel; and yet, as I bring to mind our departed friend, he seems to assume this classical figure. Call him, then, if you please, the Green Mountain Socrates.

Debate, except on the highest occasions, is only conversation in public. With him it was conversation always. He spoke as he conversed, with the same pith and humor, and with the same facility. But his facility did not tempt him. In this gilded amphitheatre,[10] where the speaker is sacrificed to the galleries, as of old the gladiator was offered up to make a Roman holiday, he declined all display, and simply conversed; and such was the desire to hear him, that we gathered near to catch his words. He was not a frequent speaker, and he never spoke except when he had something to say; nor did he speak for effect abroad, but only for effect in the debate. Of course, he was too honest and too considerate of the Senate to speak without the preparation of reflection and study. Though at times earnest, he was never bitter. He never dropped into the debate any poisoned ingredients.

Sometimes he spoke with much effect, especially on law, or finance, or business. On the great question which for a generation overshadowed all others, and finally wrapped the country in the “living cloud of war,” he was sincerely antislavery, but with certain shortcomings which in this impartial tribute ought not to be concealed. His lenity toward our monster enemy showed itself unconsciously when he spoke of malignant Rebels as “those Southern gentlemen who had seceded,” and then again, when, at an earlier date, he spoke of “two civilizations”; but he bore kindly the reply, that civilization was only on one side. And yet on two occasions in this Chamber he strove for the Right very bravely, so that his position became historic. One of these was many years ago, shortly after he came into the Senate; the other was only last year. The historian and the biographer will describe these scenes. One of them is the fit subject of Art.

The earliest of these occasions was when, under the influence of the President of that day, backed by Jefferson Davis in the Cabinet, an illegal government was set up in a distant Territory, which, in defiance of the people there, proceeded to institute an infamous Black Code borrowed from Slavery. The President countenanced the illegal government, and smiled upon the Black Code. The representatives of Slavery in both Houses of Congress, with their Northern allies, indifferent to human rights, and greedy only of political power, sustained the President in his disregard of a fundamental principle of the Declaration of Independence, that governments derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed.” The contest was unequal. On one side was a struggling people, insulted and despoiled of their rights; on the other side was the President, with all the vast powers of the Republic, with patronage less than now, but very prevailing, and with a great political party yielding an unhesitating support. The contest reached this Chamber. Naturally it came before the Committee on Territories, where happily the good cause was represented by Jacob Collamer, of Vermont. The interest increased with each day; and when the Committee reported, a scene ensued without example among us.

The reports of committees are usually handed in and ordered to be printed; but now, at the impassioned call of a Senator from South Carolina,[11] the report of the Committee, whitewashing incredible outrages, was read by the Chairman at the desk of the Secretary of the Senate. The Chairman left his seat for this purpose, and stood face to face with the Senate.[12] For two hours the apology for that usurpation which had fastened a Black Code upon an inoffensive people sounded in this Chamber, while the partisans of Slavery gloated over the seeming triumph. There was a hush of silence, and there was sadness also with some, who saw clearly the unpardonable turpitude of the sacrifice. Mr. Collamer followed with a minority report, signed by himself alone, which he read at the desk of the Secretary, standing face to face with the Senate. Jesse D. Bright was at the time our President, but he had installed in the chair on that momentous occasion none other than that most determined artificer of treason and drill-sergeant of the Rebellion, John Slidell, who sat behind, like Mephistopheles looking over the shoulder of Truth,[13] while the patriot Senator, standing before, gravely unfolded the enormities that had been perpetrated. Few then present now remain; but none then present can fail to recall the scene. The report which Mr. Collamer read belongs to the history of the country. But the scene comes clearly within the domain of Art. In the long life of our departed friend it was his brightest and most glorious moment,—beyond anything of honor or power, whether in the cabinet or on the bench. For what is office, compared to the priceless opportunity, nobly employed, of standing as a buttress for human rights?

The other signal occasion, when he showed much of the same character, and was surely inspired by the same sentiment, was during the last year, when the illustrious President, who now reposes in immortality, undertook, in disregard of Congress, and solely by executive power, to institute civil governments throughout that region of the Union where civil governments had been overthrown,—imitating, in the agencies he employed, the Cromwellian system of ruling by “major-generals.” The case of distant and oppressed Kansas was revived. Who can forget the awakened leonine energy of the aged Senator, when, contrary to his custom, he interrupted another in debate to declare his judgment against the power of the President to institute permanent civil governments “to last beyond the war”?[14] The dividing line was clear. The President might exercise a temporary military power, but Congress must lay the foundations of permanent peace. This simple principle was, of course, only the corollary of that rule of Jefferson, which has become one of the commonplaces of our political system, asserting “the supremacy of the civil over the military authority.”[15] The eggs of crocodiles can produce only crocodiles; and it is not easy to see how eggs laid by military power can be hatched into an American State.

This interjected judgment was afterward developed in a speech, which for sententious wisdom and solid sense is, perhaps, the best he ever delivered. It is not long, but, like the Roman sword, it is effective from its very shortness. He spoke with the authority of years, but he spoke also with another peculiar authority; for it was he who drew the Act of Congress which placed the Rebel States under the ban.[16] Positively, earnestly, and most persuasively, he insisted that Congress should not abdicate its control of this question. His conclusion was repeated again and again. It was for Congress, he said, to say when that state of things existed which would entitle the Rebel States to perform their functions as integral parts of the Union. It was for Congress to decide this question, and not for the President, except so far as the President unites in an Act of Congress by his signature. And he asked, “When will and when ought Congress to admit these States as being in their normal condition?” To which he answers: “It is not enough that they stop their hostility and are repentant. They should present fruits meet for repentance. They should furnish to us, by their actions, some evidence that the condition of loyalty and obedience is their true condition again, and Congress must pass upon it; otherwise we have no securities.… And I insist that the President, making peace with them, if you please, by surceasing military operations, does not alter their status, until Congress passes upon it.” Then, again, filled with the thought, he exclaims, “The great and essential thing now to insist upon is, that Congress shall do nothing which can in any way create a doubt about our power over the subject.” And still pleading against executive interference, he says: “I believe, that, when reëstablishing the condition of peace with that people, Congress, representing the United States, has power, in ending this war, as any other war, to get some security for the future. It would be a strange thing, if it were not true that this nation, in ending a civil as well as a foreign war, could close it and make peace by obtaining, if not indemnity for the past, at least some security for future peace.”[17] This was among the last utterances of our patriot Senator. It is his dying legacy to his country. Let all, from President to citizen, heed its words. The aspiration so often expressed to-day, that he were now alive to take part in the restoration of the Rebel States, is fulfilled. He lives in his declared opinions, echoed from the tomb.

Say not that I err, because here at his funeral, seeking to do him honor, I exhibit him bravely standing front to front with executive power wielded by a President instigated by Jefferson Davis, and then again bravely standing front to front with executive power wielded by the gentle hand of Abraham Lincoln. In the first case it was to save an outraged people; in the other it was to vindicate the powers of the people of the United States in Congress assembled to provide guaranties and safeguards against the wickedness and perjury which had deluged his beloved country with blood. Say not that I err, because now, at his funeral, anxious that his best actions should not be forgotten, I commemorate this championship. He is dead, but the good he has done cannot die. And hereafter faithful Senators, struggling with executive power, will catch a new inspiration from his example. A bishop of the Church tells us that “all is not over, while there is a man left to reprove error and bear testimony to the truth; and a man who does it with becoming spirit may stop a prince or senate when in full career, and recover the day.”[18] Where this spirit has been shown, where an honored associate has earned this title to fame, I insist that it shall be made known.

“WHITEWASHING” BY THE PRESIDENT.

Remarks in the Senate, on a Message of President Johnson on the Condition of the Southern States, December 19, 1865.

December 19th, a message was read from President Johnson with regard to the condition of the Southern States, which was represented as “more promising than, in view of all the circumstances, could well have been expected.” The President said:—

“From all the information in my possession, and from that which I have recently derived from the most reliable authority, I am induced to cherish the belief that sectional animosity is surely and rapidly merging itself into a spirit of nationality, and that representation, connected with a properly adjusted system of taxation, will result in a harmonious restoration of the relations of the States to the National Union.”

Accompanying the message was a report to the President by Lieutenant-General Grant, who had recently made a tour of inspection through several of the States lately in rebellion, where he said, “I am satisfied that the mass of thinking men of the South accept the present situation of affairs in good faith.” In this spirit the report speaks of the “universal acquiescence in the authority of the General Government”; it declares that “the good of the country and economy require that the force kept in the interior, where there are many freedmen, should all be white troops,”—that “the presence of black troops, lately slaves, demoralizes labor, both by their advice and by furnishing in their camps a resort for the freedmen for long distances around,”—that “the citizens of the Southern States are anxious to return to self-government within the Union as soon as possible”; and it adds, that “they are in earnest in wishing to do what they think is required by the Government, not humiliating to them as citizens.”

Nothing was said in the message or the report of the condition of the freedmen, or of the continued denial of their rights.

Both these documents were read at length by the Secretary of the Senate. A report by Major-General Carl Schurz was also communicated; but this was not read. It was understood that this report was elaborate, and that it set forth the condition of the freedmen. Mr. Sumner, ascertaining that it accompanied the message, said: “If it is there, I think it had better be read.”

Several Senators. It is very long.

Mr. Sumner. At any rate, we can begin it.

The President pro tempore. The reading of the report of General Carl Schurz is called for. It will be read, if there be no objection.

Mr. Johnson [of Maryland]. I have no objection to the reading of the report; I should like to hear it; but the reading will take a good while, and it can all be printed in a day or two.

Mr. Sumner. Let the reading be begun.

Mr. Johnson. I submit to the Senator from Massachusetts that the printing of it, perhaps, will answer every purpose. It is a very long report, I see; at least, it seems to be so. I have, personally, not the slightest objection to its being read.

MR. SUMNER. It is a very important document. The Senate will remember, that, when the report was made on the condition of Kansas, every word of it was read at the desk.[19] Now the question before the country is immeasurably more important than that of Kansas. We have a message from the President which is like the whitewashing message of Franklin Pierce with regard to the enormities in Kansas. Such is its parallel. I think the Senate had better at least listen to the opening of Major-General Schurz’s report.

Mr. Johnson. I have no objection, if the Senate think they have time to listen to it; but I did not expect to hear any assault, direct or indirect, upon the President at this time.

Mr. Sumner. No assault at all.

Mr. Johnson then said: “I have seen nothing in the message which would warrant a reflection that any improper purpose had actuated the President in sending it here. He does not mean, as I suppose, to whitewash anybody who has offended.”

The Secretary proceeded to read the introductory paragraphs of General Schurz’s report, in which he states through what portion of the South he travelled, the points at which he stopped, his facilities for obtaining information, and the order in which the results of his observation would be detailed.

Mr. Sherman, of Ohio, “would much prefer to read this document in print,” and he moved to dispense with its further reading.

Mr. Sumner replied:—

I shall not object, if the Senator from Ohio thinks it proper, on this important occasion, to dispense with the reading. In my judgment the Senate cannot listen to anything of more consequence than this accurate, authentic, most authoritative report with regard to the actual condition of things in the States lately in rebellion. Here is an eminent citizen, lately a major-general in the army of the United States, sent by the President on a special mission to visit those States and to report upon their condition. The visit has been made,—not a hasty one, like that of General Grant, for instance, or of other officers or citizens, but a sojourn occupying time, extending through different States,—and the results are recorded in a careful document. Now, Sir, if the question were trivial, if it were transitory, I should think the Senator was right; but, if he persists in his motion, I shall not oppose it.

Mr. Sherman insisted upon his motion, and said: “It is unusual to read documents in this way.” Mr. Doolittle, of Wisconsin, called attention to a remark of Mr. Sumner, which he thought he ought “to qualify at least, if not altogether retract.” The objectionable remark was then stated. “Speaking of the message just received from the President of the United States, he said that it was like the whitewashing message of Franklin Pierce, to cover up the transactions in Kansas.… Now, Mr. President, I think the Senator from Massachusetts must have let fall that expression without due consideration”; and he concluded by saying: “I believe, Sir, certainly I think I ought to believe, that the honorable Senator from Massachusetts will at least modify or qualify, if he does not wholly retract, this strong expression.”

Mr. Sumner followed:—

Mr. President,—I have nothing to retract, nothing to modify, nothing to qualify. In former days there was one Kansas suffering under illegal power; there are now eleven Kansases suffering as that one; therefore, as eleven is more than one, so is the enormity of the present time more than the enormity in the day of Franklin Pierce.

Mr. Dixon, of Connecticut, said: “A charge has been directly made here by the Senator that the President has sent in a whitewashing report.… When such a charge as that is brought in the Senate, I think it calls for some notice, and I take the liberty, with all my respect for the Senator from Massachusetts, to deny that there is anything in that report of a whitewashing character.” Mr. Doolittle spoke again: “I was not pained because the honorable Senator differed from the President; I knew he differed from the President on this question; but I was pained, and I confess very much disappointed, to hear that Senator, as I should be to hear any other Senator on the floor of the Senate, question the truth, the integrity, or the patriotism of the President, however much he might disagree with me in opinion.”

Mr. Sumner spoke again:—

Mr. President,—I am sorry that I have given pain to honorable friends. I certainly did not intend it. They suggest that a question has been raised as to the policy of the President. I have raised no such question, and have expressed no opinion in regard to it. The Senator from Wisconsin dwells on that point, and reminds the Senate that the policy of the President was not in question. I knew it was not in question, and therefore I expressed no opinion upon it; for, when I speak here, I try to speak directly to the question. There was then no question on the policy of the President. Had there been, I should have been ready to meet it. At the proper time I shall meet it fully, plainly, unequivocally, I trust, as becomes a member of this body.

The only question, then, was on the character of the document just read; and that I exhibited, compendiously, as whitewashing; and then my honorable friends rise, one after the other, and, like two lexicographers, proceed with a definition of “whitewash.” I do not accept their definition. I intended no such thing as either the Senator from Connecticut or the Senator from Wisconsin attempted to impute. I have no reflection to make on the patriotism or the truth of the President. Never, in public or in private, have I made any such reflection, and I do not begin now. When I spoke, it was of the document read at the desk. I characterized it as I thought I ought.

My memory goes back in this Chamber further than that of many about me. I remember that other scene, when a whitewashing message came from Franklin Pierce. We all at that time called it whitewashing; and I am not aware that any one, even on the other side, undertook to play the part that my honorable friends from Wisconsin and Connecticut undertake to perform. The message was so called because we all felt that it was whitewashing; and I undertook at once, to-day, on listening to the document read at the desk, to characterize it precisely as the patriotic party of 1856 characterized the message of Franklin Pierce.

Mr. Dixon added, that, if Mr. Sumner had said that he did not intend his remarks in an offensive tone, but considered “whitewashing” a polite and proper word to apply to the message of the President, he should have accepted his explanation. Mr. Trumbull expressed a hope “that this unprofitable debate might cease.” Mr. Fessenden remarked: “This is a mere matter of definitions, and it ought to be referred to some maker of dictionaries.”

The motion of Mr. Sherman prevailed without a division, and the message and accompanying documents were ordered to be printed.

The report of General Schurz was a remarkable document, founded on an official visit, at the appointment of President Johnson, and with its accompanying papers occupied more than a hundred pages.[20] It bristled with testimony, not only from his own observation, but from that of generals and other officers on the spot. “An utter absence of national feeling”; “an entire absence of that national spirit which forms the basis of true loyalty and patriotism”; “although the freedman is no longer considered the property of the individual master, he is considered the slave of society,” with the notion “that the elevation of the blacks will be the degradation of the whites”; “the practice of corporal punishment is still continued to a great extent”; “the habit is so inveterate with a great many persons as to render, on the least provocation, the impulse to whip a negro almost irresistible”; “the maiming and killing of colored men seems to be looked upon by many as one of those venial offences which must be forgiven to the outraged feelings of a wronged and robbed people”; “the number of murders and assaults perpetrated upon negroes is very great”: these are words of General Schurz. The accompanying testimony supplies fearful details. All this was painfully inconsistent with the message of the President and the report of General Grant.

The marked effect of this incident shows the sensitive condition of the public mind. The word “whitewashing” became a text for the press on opposite sides. The interest also found expression in letters.

Wendell Phillips, the orator, always sympathizing with every earnest word for Human Rights, wrote from Boston:—

“Glorious! just the truth, and just the time and place to speak it, was your graphic and most effective description of the President’s message. I say this, not that you need confirmation, but because, hearing the clamor against you, it seems right you should have the ‘cheers’ as well as the ‘hisses.’”

Rev. Justin D. Fulton, a successful Baptist preacher, wrote from Boston:—

“Before I can begin my sermon, I want to send you my thanks for your noble stand in the Senate of the United States against the President and for the country. Last Sabbath, in the great congregation, I publicly thanked God that you used the word ‘whitewashing.’ The same thing I did in Albany; the same thing I do now.”

Hon. Thomas Russell, Judge of the Superior Court, and afterwards Collector of the port of Boston, wrote from Boston:—

“I only write to thank you heartily for your courage and fidelity. I would say, ‘Go on,’ but that is needless.”

Edward W. Kinsley, a merchant, who never forgot the claims of Human Rights or of personal friendship, wrote from Boston:—

“I know you are too busy to read any letter from me; but I cannot let the day pass without thanking you for the course you are taking in the Senate this session. Thank God, we have one man on the watch-tower who will not slumber or sleep.”

Hon. Samuel E. Sewall, the able lawyer and Abolitionist, wrote from Boston:—

“I do not know any man who is doing so much for the country, in the present crisis, as you are by your speeches and writings. We are all here watching the course of Congress with the deepest anxiety.”