326 



RECONSTRUCT* 



and dave throuelmut theUi: The declara- 



tion lit' equality of civil right to all nalivc-lioni |MT- 

 - as made l>y Congress, was of limited effect ami 

 C"uld U' unmade at any MltMeqmilt time bv the same 

 authority, ami hence it was ncivssary. in OHMi in place 

 it ii|>on nn enduring h.u>is. that it should become part 

 of tin- Constitution of tin- United Stairs. In part lor 

 the accomplishment of this object AliX'lulllifnt XI V. 

 to the Constitution, which ha* already U-cn discu- 

 WM passed fur submission to the Stales in June. I MM.. 

 A already stated, Tennessee was the only State of 

 those that participated in the rebellion that promptly 

 ratified thi.s amendment, and thus having MOepted the 

 ii* of pacification and reconstruction tendered by 

 Congress, was, on July - J4. lf(j(>. by a resolution of 

 Congress, admitted to its former place in the Union 

 and to representation in Congress. 



Congress having thus definitely fixed llie terms unon 

 which Slates and individuals who had participated in 

 the rebellion should be admitted to full privileges under 

 th. 1 Constitution, and deeming it wise to place licyond 

 the executive authority any alteration of or interfer- 

 e:ice with these terms, withdrew from the, President 

 power conferred upon him in isr.i', enabling him l>y 

 proclamation to i>xtcnd to persons who hud partici- 

 pated in the rebellion pardon and amnesty. A failure 

 of all the States that had formed the Confederate gov- 

 ernment, except Tennessee, to accept the terms of 

 publication and reconstruction tendered by Amend- 

 ment XIV. was, in the judgment of Congress, ground 

 for placing those States under SOUK- definite regime. 

 AVhat civil authority existed in them w;is in the form in 

 which it was pi. iced" by tin 1 constitulioiis adopted under 

 the sanction of the provisional governors, while the 

 actual governmental control was in the hands of the 

 niilitury authority of the United Slates, notwithstand- 

 ing such civil authority as existed in those States was 

 there under the sanction of the 1'rcsident. and the 

 niilitary establishment by which that civil authority 

 had been practically displaced was under the supreme 

 control of the President. To solve this conflict of 

 jurisdiction. Congress on March ^.',. IM.7. passed an 

 act to provide for the government of the rebel States. 

 .icl declares ih.it no legal governments existed 

 in Virginia, North Carolina. South Carolina, (ieorgia. 

 Missis>ippi, Alabama, ]/oiiisiana. Florida, Texas, and 

 Arkansas. It divides those Stales into military dis- 

 tiicts and provides for the assignment of military offi- 

 cers to then-command, placing them under the military 

 authority. The military authority was to extend to the 

 'ion of rights of person and property, tho sup- 

 .11 of insurrection, disorders, and violence, and 

 to the punishment of disturbers of the public peace. 

 Military courts were authorized and all interference by 

 Slate authority declared null and void. Authority was 

 conferred uixm the enumerated Stales to form const i- 

 tutions and choose Senators and Representatives in 

 Congress, and it was declared that such States should 

 be readmitted to the Union and their Senators and 

 Ilepre- :u seats in Congress, when certain con- 



ditions should be complied wuh. These conditions 

 were as follows: The constitution should conform 

 to the Constitution of the United States; it should 

 be framed by delegates chosen by a majority of the 

 Votes of the people of I he States having the elee 

 toral qualifications prescribed by that act: il should 

 !> milled bv the same authority; it should i 

 proved by Congress ; _that no person excluded from 

 office by A mend men t X 1 V. should be eligible as memUT 

 of the convention to Ibrm such constitution or vote 

 for the same or hold office thereunder; that siu-h 

 Stall! should ratify Amendment XIV. ; that the 

 admission of the State and of its Senators and Rep- 

 resentatives to scat* in Congress should take effect 

 when that amendment should be ratified and ' 

 part of the Constitution of the United States. The 

 qualification of voters prc*cril>cd in the act were that 

 all male citizens of 111 years of age and upwards, of 



whatever color or previous condition, who had resided 



one \ ear in the Slate, should le entitled to Vi 

 cept where disqualified for participation in rebellion 

 or for felony at common law. The act fuither declared 

 ail civil authority within the Stale prior to admi- 

 provisional and subject to the military authority. 



l!y the act just mentioned Virginia constituted the 

 First Military District. North and Soul h Carolina tho 

 Second, (ieoruia. Alabama, and Florida the Third, 

 -ippi an>l Arkansas the Fourth, and Louisiana 

 and Texas the Fifth Military District. The IV 

 assigned to the command of the respective military 

 districts. M;ij. -(ten. J. M. Schofield to the First. Mai.- 

 li.ll. 1>. K. Sickles to the 'Second. M:ij -ticll. (i. ll. 

 Thomas to the Third, Maj.-(ien K < >. C ( rd to tho 

 Fourth, and Maj. -lien. P. II. Sheridan to the Fifth. 

 Maj.-lien. Thomas was at his own request, on the l.'ilh 

 of "March, lsi.7. rcfu ved from the command of the 

 Third Military District and Maj.-tieii. John IV 

 signed to thai command. 



The second proposed measure of ]iaeifieation and re- 

 construction was distinctly made to the enumerated 

 States and was rejected, or rather wholly net 

 As the former action by ( 'OIIL'IVSS had established the 

 civil status of the emancipated slave, at least in all 

 those States that by engagim: in rebellion had lost the 

 immunities secured by the Constitution, the last men- 

 tioned measure sought by the voluntary acceptance of 

 I hose Slates to place his political slatus on terms of 

 equality with all other citizens of the United States. 

 The plan of leaving the definition of those political 

 rights to the interested States under the influence of a 

 motive that might lead them to deal liberally with it 

 having failed, the solution of that iirave question was 

 placed distinctly upon Congress. Seldom in the history 

 of nations has so grave a responsibility fallen to the lot 

 of a legislative body, ll has been assumed from the 

 foundation of the government that all native-born male 

 per-oiis subject to tho authority of the United States 

 as citizens thereof, except such as were held in legal 

 slavery, were, unlc.-s affected by crime, entitled to equal 

 participation in the exercise of all civil and political 

 rights. This conclusion was derived from principles 

 that were regarded as fundamental to our s\ stem of 

 government, and were declared in all our constitutions 

 and public utterances. The fact that if the slave was 

 emancipated cili/enshiii and electoral privilege would 

 be necessarily conceded to him was one of the argu- 

 ments against emancipation. That contingency had 

 occurred, the slave having been emancipated, and the 

 question was pressed home upon Conirrcss whether 

 any just ground existed for excluding the emancipated 

 slave from that which under our institutions was the 

 logical and reasonable consequence of his emancipa- 

 tion. \\ as It sufficient to say lhat it might tend to 

 public inconvenience in some of the Stales that had 

 fostered (he institution of slavery to such an extent 

 that the majorities of their populations were emanci- 

 pated slaves? If the white citizens should be in tho 

 majority, the anticipated difficulty would not be serious; 

 if. on the other hand, the emancipated slaves consti- 

 tuted the majority of those populations, the quest ion of 

 expediency was confronted with one of principle, 

 whether on grounds of inconvenience the majority may 

 i-lently disfranchised to relieve the minority 

 irom inconvenience. Such had never been the practice 

 of our country and the ease was a new one. If Con- 

 gress, having the power to tix the political status of the 

 emancipated slave, should, after removing from him 

 the protection afforded by the interested protection of 

 the slave system, decline to extend to him the equal 

 protection of the laws, its only answer to the question 

 as to the reason id' such course would have to be either 

 that the emancipaled slave was uninformed and un- 

 skilled in the art of life and government or that he was 

 an African. The first of these responses would contra- 

 dict the principles on which popular governments are 

 founded, while the latter would be accepted by no en- 



