UNITED STATES. 



753 



on Murch 8th, ho returned his thanlcs for their 



"kind c\ji-v inns ;i!id manifestations of ron- 



N-clared the pre-eiit W&t r -mled as 



: critic :il juncture in tlio affairs of the na- 



-scaroely less so than when an arm 



force sought to overthrow the. Gov- 



itt ; his Bl ; tketi, his course was 



inarL should stand by and defend the 



'.tution against all who might, attack it, 

 from wiiut.-ver quarter tlu 1 attack might OOQMJ 

 he should take no step backward in the matter. 

 Thi'-;i.' views of tin- 1'ivsident, so determined 

 in opposition to the plan of re- 

 construction, and its attendant measures, con- 

 templated by the large majority in Congress, 



approved hy a few individuals in each 

 HO-.HO of that body, by many of the Republican 

 party in the country, and by all composing the 

 Democratic party. Republicans in Washington 

 coinciding with his opinions, now formed an 

 organization designated as the " National Union 

 C'lnb," which might be the germ of similar 

 organizations through the Northern States, if 

 a general disposition to revolt from the more 

 extreme measures of the Radicals, as the 

 majority in Congress were called, should ap- 

 pear in the party. The basis of the organiza- 

 tion was expressed in a series of resolutions 

 denying the right of secession ; expressing con- 

 fidence in the ability, integrity, patriotism, and 

 statesmanship of the President; indorsing the 

 resolution of Congress in July 1861 ; asserting 

 from the Chicago platform of 1860, the impor- 

 tance of maintaining the rights of the States ; 

 declaring the constitutional right of the several 

 States to prescribe the qualification of electors 

 therein ; that, the Avar having closed, the rights 

 of the States should bo maintained inviolate; 

 that the States were entitled to representation, 

 and all loyal members should be received with- 

 out unnecessary delay; that no compromise 

 should be made by bartering " universal am- 

 nesty" for "universal suffrage;" and indors- 

 ing cordially the restoration policy of Pres- 

 ident Johnson, as in harmony with that of 

 President Lincoln, etc. This organization was 

 subsequently united with another of the same 

 character in Washington, and a national Union 

 executive committee appointed. One of the 

 first acts of the first-named organization was to 

 give an evening serenade on May -J:;d to the 

 President and the members of his Cabinet, in 

 order to elicit an expression of opinion upon 

 the existing political issues, from the immediate 

 advisers of the President, and to satisfy an anx- 

 iety to know with certainty the views of those 

 prominent officers of the Government. The 

 Secretary of the Navy, Mr. Gideon Welles, who 

 first of the members of the Cabinet app> 

 Baid: "You need not expect any remarks from 

 mo, for I do not intend to make any. You are, 

 one and all, I suppose, for the Union and for 

 the establishment of the rights of the States." 

 The Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Hugh Mc- 

 Oulloch, spoke freely and fully. He said : 

 "The general policy of the President in ref- 

 vi. 48 A 



eronco to the Southern States, and the popl 



:!y in anni against the Federal G 

 in en t, has com i -.-If to my deli 



judgment." The Secretary of War" ' 



inton, made a carefully prepared review 

 of tin- l.-ading measures of public 

 d. -lined his position with regard to each of tLcin, 

 He said : 



No one better than Mr. Johnson understood (be 

 solemn duty imposed upon the National Kxt-outivc to 

 maintain the national authority, vindicated at so 

 .1 sacrifice, and the obligation not to suffer the 

 just fruits of so fierce a struggle, and of so many 

 battles and victories, to slip away or t irn to ashes. 

 In many speeches to delegations from loyal States, 

 in dispatches to provisional governors acting under 

 his authority, ana in declarations made to the public 

 for their information, th'ere was no disguise of his 

 purpose to secure the peace and tranquillity of the 

 country on just and sure foundations. 



These measures received the cordial support of 

 every member of the Cabinet, and were approved bv 

 the sentiments declared by conventions in nc. 

 of the States. One point of difference presented it- 

 self, namely, the basis of representation. Bv some 

 it was thought just and expedient that the ngbt of 

 suffrage in the rebel States should be secured in 

 some form to the colored inhabitants of those > 

 either as a universal rule, or to those qualified by edu- 

 cation, or by actual service as soldiers who vci 

 life for their Government. My own mind inclined to 

 this view, but after calm and full discussion mv 

 ment yielded to the adverse arguments resting upon 

 the practical difficulties to be encountered in such a 

 measure, and to the President's conviction that to 

 prescribe rules of suffrage was not within the legiti- 

 mate scope of his power. 



He further said: "The plan of restoration, 

 or reconstruction, as it is sometimes called, now 

 pending before the Congress, merits a brief re- 

 mark. To the plan reported by the joint com- 

 mittee, I have not been able to give my assent'* 

 The Postmaster-General, Mr. Dennison, of Ohio, 

 regretted tho difference between the President 

 and Congress, and said : " I do not believe there 

 is any cause of separation between tho Pres- 

 ident and the majority in Cong: . if I 

 am not greatly at fault, time and discussion are 

 bringing the President and Congress rapidly 

 together on the basis of a common platform of 

 action." The Secretary of State, Mr. William 

 II. Seward, then at Auburn, Now York, made 

 an address to the citizens on May 22d. In his 

 view reconciliation between all parts of the 

 country, and the representatives of all parts, 

 was the most desirable measure, and he con- 

 cluded thus: "What, then, is my conclusion? 

 It is one, at least, that will bo permit; 

 harmonize with my past life. I am hopeful 

 hopeful of the President hopeful of Congress 

 hopeful of the National Union party hope- 

 ful of tho represented States hopeful of tho 

 unrepresented States above all, hopeful of tho 

 whole people, and hopeful of the continued 

 favor of Almighty God." 



The full approval of tho President, or the 



moderation and forbearance man theso 



S, served to increase tho confidence and 



ardor of \fr. Johnson's friends. They were ia 



the full faith that tho masses of tho poop! 



