166 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



gress, and not by the President, for the reason 

 I have already stated ; but it is clear that the 

 first duty of Congress, under these circum- 

 stances, is to provide a mod& and manner by 

 which the condition of the States may bo 

 tested, and they may come back, one by one, 

 each upon its own merits, upon complying 

 with such conditions as the- public safety de- 

 mands. 



" I propose now to recall, very briefly, the 

 steps adopted by President Johnson in his plan 

 of reconstruction. I do this for the purpose 

 of presenting to the Senate, in a condensed 

 view, the precise plan of reconstruction adopted 

 by him, so that we may see at a single glance 

 the present condition of these eleven States. 

 When Mr. Johnson came into power he found 

 the rebellion substantially subdued. What did 

 he do ? His first act was to retain in his con- 

 fidence and in his councils every member of the 

 Cabinet of Abraham Lincoln, and, so far as we 

 know, every measure adopted by Andrew John- 

 son has had the approval and sanction of that 

 Cabinet. If there is any doubt upon any meas- 

 ure it is upon the recent veto message ; but up 

 to and including that message, so far as we 

 know and in matters of this kind we cannot 

 rely upon street rumors Andrew Johnson's 

 plan has met the approval of the Cabinet of 

 Abraham Lincoln. He has executed every law 

 passed by Congress upon every subject what- 

 ever, and especially has he executed the Freed- 

 men's Bureau bill. He placed at the head of 

 that bureau General Howard, one of the most 

 fit and worthy men in the United States, to 

 conduct the delicate affairs of that bureau, and 

 General Howard has never asked him for any 

 single act of authority, any single power, that 

 was not freely granted by President Johnson. 

 The Freedmen's Bureau is also under the con- 

 trol of Edwin M. Stanton. Every act passed 

 by Congress in any way bearing on this rebel- 

 lion the President has fairly and promptly ex- 

 ecuted. If there is any that he has failed to 

 execute I should thank any Senator to name it 

 to me, for I do not now recall it. Not only 

 that, but he adopted the policy of President 

 Lincoln in hcec verba, as I shall show hereafter 

 in examining his proclamations, and he extend- 

 ed and made more severe, as you may say, the 

 policy adopted by Mr. Lincoln. Not only that, 

 but in carrying out his plans of reconstruction, 

 he adopted all the main features of the only bill 

 passed by Congress the Wade and Davis bill. 

 I have the bill before me, but I have not time 

 to go into its details. My colleague, who re- 

 members the features of that bill, will know 

 that the general plan adopted by President 

 Johnson is the only plan that was ever adopted 

 by Congress. Let us look into President John- 

 son's plan a little more and see what it was. 

 His first proclamation was in reference to Vir- 

 ginia. In this proclamation, dated Executive 

 Chamber, May 9, 1865, he provided : 



First, That all acts and proceedings of the politi- 

 cal, military, and civil organizations which have been 



in a state of insurrection and rebellion within th 

 State of Virginia against the authority and laws of 

 the United States, and of which Jefferson Davis, 

 John _ Letcher, and William Smith were late the re- 

 spective chiefs, are declared null and void. 



" With a single stroke he swept away the whole 

 superstructure of the rebellion'. Then he pro- 

 vides for the execution of all the powers of the 

 national Government within the rebel territory, 

 extending there our tax laws. Perhaps Presi- 

 dent Johnson ought to have thought a little 

 about these proclamations when he disputed 

 the power of Congress to tax the people of the 

 Southern States. He was the first to extend 

 over those States the tax laws of the United 

 States, and appoint assessors and collectors of 

 internal revenue and collectors of customs in 

 the various ports. Then he provides : 



Ninth, That to carry into effect the guaranty of the 

 Federal Constitution of a republican Form of govern- 

 ment and afford the advantage and security of domestic 

 laws, as well as to complete the reestablishment of 

 the authority of the laws of the United States, and 

 the full and complete restoration of peace within the 

 limits aforesaid, Francis H. Pierpont, Governor of 

 the State of Virginia, will be aided by the Federal 

 Government, so far as may be necessary, in the law- 

 ful measures which he may take for the extension 

 and administration of the State government through- 

 out the geographical limits of said State. 



" That was the first element of his plan of re- 

 construction. The next was the amnesty proc- 

 lamation, issued on the 29th of May following. 

 In this proclamation he recites the previous 

 proclamation of President Lincoln, and then 

 goes on : 



To the end, therefore, that the authority of the 

 Government of the United States may be restored, 

 and that peace, order, and freedom may be estab- 

 lished, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United 

 States, do proclaim and declare that I hereby grant 

 to all persons who have directly or indirectly par- 

 ticipated in the existing rebellion, except as herein- 

 after excepted, amnesty and pardon, with restoration 

 of all rights of property, except as to slaves, and ex- 

 cept in cases where legal proceedings, under the laws 

 of the United States providing for the confiscation 

 of property of persons engaged in rebellion, have 

 been instituted, Ac. 



" And then in the oath of amnesty he pro- 

 vides that any person claiming the benefit of 

 the amnesty should swear that he will ' abide 

 by and faithfully support all laws and procla- 

 mations which have been made during the 

 existing rebellion with reference to the eman- 

 cipation of slaves.' Then he goes on and ex- 

 cepts from the operation of this amnesty some 

 fourteen classes of persons, more than quad- 

 rupling the exceptions of the previous procla- 

 mation of Mr. Lincoln ; so that if there was any 

 departure in this connection from the policy 

 adopted by Mr. Lincoln, it was a departure 

 against the rebels, and especially against those 

 wealthy rebels who gave life and soul and 

 power to the rebellion. 



" These were the agencies and organs under 

 which the plan of reconstruction was to go on. 

 Now I ask you, what conditions were imposed 

 on these people ? First, the adoption of the 

 constitutional amendment. He was pot will- 



