808 



TJNTITED STATES. 



gaged. In speaking to the members of this regiment 

 I want them to understand that, so far as I am con- 

 cerned, I do not assume or pretend that I am stronger 

 than the laws of course, of nature or that I am 

 wiser than Providence itself. It is our duty to try 

 and discover what those great laws are which are at 

 the foundation of all things, and, having discovered 

 what they are, conform our actions and our conduct 

 to them, and to the will of God, who ruleth all things. 

 He holds the destinies of nations in the palm of His 

 hand ; and He will solve the question and rescue these 

 people from the difficulties that have so long sur- 

 rounded them. Then let us be patient, indus- 

 trious, and persevering. Let us develop intellectual 

 and moral worth. I trust what I have said may be 

 understood and appreciated. Go to your homes and 

 lead peaceful, prosperous, and happy lives, in peace 

 with all men. Give utterance to no word that would 

 cause dissensions ; but do that which will be credit- 

 able to yourselves and to your country. To the offi- 

 cers who have led and so nobly commanded you in 

 the field I also return my thanks for the compliment 

 you have conferred upon me. 



But it was early apparent that obstacles ex- 

 isted to a complete restoration of the people of 

 the Southern States to civil rights, beyond the 

 power of the President to set aside. On July 

 2, 1862, Congress passed an act requiring every 

 person who might subsequently be elected, or 

 appointed to any office of honor or profit under 

 the Government of the United States, either in 

 the civil, military, or naval departments, ex- 

 cept the President, to take the following oath 

 before entering on the duties of such office : 



I, A B, do solemnly swear (or affirm), that I 

 have never voluntarily borne arms against the Uni- 

 ted States since I have been a citizen thereof; that 

 I have voluntarily given no aid, countenance, coun- 

 sel, or encouragement to persons engaged in armed 

 hostility thereto; that I have neither sought nor 

 accepted nor attempted to exercise the functions of 

 any office whatever, under any authority or pre- 

 tended authority, in hostility to the United States ; 

 that I have not yielded a voluntary support to any 

 pretended government, authority, power, or consti- 

 tution within the United States hostile or inimical 

 thereto. And I do further swear (or affirm), that to 

 the best of my knowledge and ability, I will support 

 and defend the Constitution of the United States, 

 against all enemies foreign and domestic ; that I will 

 bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I 

 take this obligation freely, without any mental reser- 

 vation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and 

 faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which 

 I am about to enter, so help me God. 



By this oath, all persons in the Southern 

 States who had either directly or indirectly 

 been engaged in hostilities, were excluded from 

 holding judicial, revenue, legislative, military, or 

 naval Federal offices. By an act of Congress, of 

 January 24, 1865, no person can be admitted as 

 an attorney or counsellor of the Supreme, Cir- 

 cuit, or District Court of the United States, or 

 the Court of Claims, without taking the above- 

 mentioned oath. Several cases arose under this 

 act, known as the lawyers' test oath act, and 

 the question of the constitutionality of the act 

 came before the Supreme Court of the United 

 States, but no decision was rendered during the 

 year. That Court, however, set aside the rule 

 it had adopted, not to call the Southern States 

 for cases during the war, and ordered those 

 States to be called. It still remained, before 



restoration could be complete, that the oath 

 should be modified, and that members from the 

 Southern States should be admitted as Senators 

 and Eepresentatives in Congress. These mem- 

 bers had been elected in each Southern State 

 except Texas, previous to the commencement 

 of the session, and were mostly in Washington, 

 ready to take their seats. These subjects were 

 properly within the province of Congress, and 

 no decisive action was taken upon them by that 

 body during the year. The question of repre- 

 sentation was referred to a joint committee of 

 both Houses in December, together with all the 

 credentials of Southern members. Subsequently, 

 the Secretary of the Treasury and the Post- 

 master-General appealed to Congress to modify 

 the oath, as they were unable to find Southern 

 persons to fill a large number of offices who 

 could conscientiously take the oath. A com- 

 mittee of the House, of which Mr. "Wilson, of 

 Iowa, was chairman, reported against its modi- 

 fication or repeal. 



On the 12th of December the Senate of the 

 Federal Congress adopted a resolution calling 

 upon the President for information respecting 

 the condition of affairs in the Southern States. 

 To this request the President made the follow- 

 ing reply : 



"WASHINGTON, December IS, 1865. 

 To the Senate of the United States : 



In reply to the resolution adopted by the Senate 

 on the 12th, I have the honor to state that the rebel- 

 lion waged by a portion of the people against the 

 properly constituted authorities of the Government 

 of the United States has been suppressed ; that the 

 United States are in possession of every State in 

 which the insurrection existed, and that as far as 

 could be done, the courts of the United States have 

 been restored, post-offices reestablished, and steps 

 taken to put into effective operation the revenue laws 

 of the country. 



As the result of the measures instituted by the 

 Executive with the view of inducing a resumption of 

 the functions of the State, comprehended in the in- 

 quiry of the Senate, the people in North Carolina, 

 South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louis- 

 iana, Arkansas, and Tennessee, have reorganized their 

 respective State governments, and are yielding obe- 

 dience to the laws and Government of the United 

 States with more willingness and greater promptitude 

 than under the circumstances could reasonably have 

 been anticipated. The proposed amendment "to the 

 Constitution providing for the abolition of slavery 

 forever within the limits of the country, has been 

 ratified by each one of those States, with the excep- 

 tion of Mississippi, from which no official information 

 has been received ; and in nearly all of them meas- 

 ures have been adopted, or are now pending, to con 

 fer upon freedmen the privileges which are essentia. 

 to their comfort, protection, and security. 



In Florida and Texas the people are making com- 

 mendable progress in restoring their State govern- 

 ments, and no doubt is entertained that they will at 

 an early period be in a condition to resume all of their 

 practical relations with the Federal Government. In 

 that portion of the Union lately in rebellion, the 

 aspect of affairs is more promising than, in view of 

 all the circumstances, could well have been expected. 

 The people throughout the entire South evince an 

 audible desire to renew their allegiance to the Gov- 

 ernment, and to repair the devastations of war by a 

 prompt and cheerful return to peaceful pursuits. An 

 abiding faith is entertained that their actions will 

 conform to their professions, and that, in acknowl- 



