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CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



qualifications which are not common to other 

 Bections or other races of the world. I believe the 

 white man can govern it without the aid of the 

 negro ; and I do not believe that it is necessary 

 for the white man that the negro should vote. 

 If he ever does vote, it will be simply as a boon 

 to him. I think we can carry on the Govern- 

 ment without him. I think we have had abun- 

 dant proof of that. 



" Inasmuch as this was not a part of the ver- 

 dict of the war ; inasmuch as I do not believe it 

 to be necessary for the preservation of the Union, 

 but will endanger our national existence, I am 

 for the Union without negro suffrage, but I am 

 not in favor of turning the negro over to op- 

 pression in the South. I am in favor of legisla- 

 tion under the constitutional amendment that 

 flhall secure to him a chance to live, a chance 

 to hold property, a chance to be heard in the 

 courts, a chance to enjoy his civil rights, a chance 

 to rise in the scale of humanity, a chance to be 

 a man. I am in favor of this because we are 

 pledged to do it. We have given him freedom, 

 and that implies that he shall have all the civil 

 rights necessary to the enjoyment of that free- 

 dom. The Senator from Illinois has introduced 

 two bills, well and carefully prepared, which if 

 passed by Congress will give full and ample 

 protection under the constitutional amendment 

 to the negro in his civil liberty, and guarantee 

 to him civil rights, to which we are pledged." 



Mr. Hendricks, of Indiana, followed, in oppo- 

 sition to the bill. He said that the bill proposed 

 to make the Freedmen's Bureau permanent, and 

 to extend it over the States of the North as well 

 as the South. It asked for an appropriation of 

 nearly twelve millions of dollars to carry on the 

 operations. It provides for an army of officers 

 who are to be organized under the War De- 

 partment. It proposes to confirm the rights of 

 the colored people to lands under General Sher- 

 man's order, for three years, and authorizes the 

 officers to buy homes for the poor colored freed- 

 men. He further said : "The language is very 

 comprehensive. We propose, first, to legislate 

 against the effects of 'local law, ordinance, 

 police, or other regulation ; ' then against ' cus- 

 tom,' and lastly, against 'prejudice,' and to pro- 

 vide that if ' any of the civil rights or immu- 

 nities belonging to white persons ' are denied to 

 any person because of color, then that person 

 shall be taken under the military protection of 

 the Government. I do not know whether that 

 will be understood to extend to Indiana or not. 

 That will be a very nice point for the bureau 

 to decide, I presume, after the enactment of the 

 law. The section limits its operation to ' any 

 State or district in which the ordinary course 

 of judicial proceedings has been interrupted by 

 the rebellion.' 



" It is claimed that under the second section, 

 Congress may do any thing necessary, in its 

 judgment, not only to secure the freedom of the 

 negro, but to secure to him all civil rights that 

 are secured to white people. I deny that con- 

 struction, and it will be a very dangerous con- 



struction to adopt. The first section abolishes 

 slavery. The second section provides that Con- 

 gress may enforce the abolition of slavery * by 

 appropriate legislation.' What is slavery? It 

 is not a relation between the slave and the State ; 

 it is not a public relation ; it> is a relation be- 

 tween two persons whereby the conduct of the 

 one is placed under the will of the other. It is 

 purely and entirely a domestic relation, and is 

 so classed by all law writers ; the law regulates 

 that relation as it regulates other domestic re- 

 lations. This constitutional amendment broke 

 asunder this private relation between the master 

 and his slave, and the slave then, so far as the 

 right of the master was concerned, became 

 free ; but did the slave, under that amendment, 

 acquire any other right than to be free from the 

 control of his master ? The law of the State 

 which authorized this relation is abrogated and 

 annulled by this provision of the Federal Con- 

 stitution, but no new rights are conferred upon 

 the freedman. 



" Then, sir, to make a contract is a civil right 

 which has ordinarily been, regulated by the 

 States. The form of that contract and the cere- 

 monies that shall attend it are not to be regu- 

 lated by Congress, but by the States.' Sup- 

 pose that it becomes the judgment of the State 

 that a contract between a colored man and a 

 white man shall be evidenced by other solemni- 

 ties and instruments than are required between 

 two white men, shall not the State be allowed 

 to make such a provision? Is it a civil right 

 to give evidence in courts? Is it a civil right 

 to sit upon a jury ? If it be a civil right to sit 

 upon a jury, this bill will require that if any 

 negro is refused the privilege of sitting upon a 

 jury, he shall be taken under the military pro- 

 tection of the Government. Is the right to 

 marry according to a man's choice a civil. right? 

 Marriage is a civil contract, and to marry ac- 

 cording to one's choice is a civil right. Sup- 

 pose a State shall deny the right of amalgama- 

 tion, the right of a negro man to intermarry 

 with a white woman, then that negro may be 

 taken under the military protection of the Gov- 

 ernment; and what does that mean? Under 

 the seventh section, in such a case as that, when 

 you have taken the negro under the military 

 protection of the Government, perhaps sent a 

 squad of men after him, what is then to be done 

 when he is thus protected ? What is meant by 

 taking him under the protection of the Govern- 

 ment ? Does it mean that this military power 

 shall enforce his civil right, without respect to 

 the prohibition of the local law ? In other words, 

 if the law of Indiana, as it does, prohibits un- 

 der heavy penalty the marriage of a negro with 

 a white woman, may it be said a civil right is 

 denied him which is enjoyed by all white men, 

 to marry according to their choice, and if it is 

 denied, the military protection of the colored 

 gentleman is assumed, and what is the result 

 of it all ? I suppose they are then to be mar- 

 ried in the camp of the protecting officer with 

 out regard to the State laws." 



