166 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



ble to be oppressed and injured in their prop- 

 erty, perhaps in their lives, by the white peo- 

 ple of this District, and therefore it was deemed 

 best to give them the suffrage. I voted for it 

 cordially and cheerfully ; but I shall not be at 

 all embarrassed by that vote in any future ac- 

 tion 1 may take in regard to any other locality 

 where a different state of affairs obtains. 



" Again, it is said that we must reject Ne- 

 braska because the constitution she presents to 

 us is not republican in form. I confess I cannot 

 so understand it. It strikes me that, in view of 

 our past history, that statement is absurd. I 

 think I am right in saying that there has been 

 no new State admitted into this Union since its 

 formation, except Vermont, and perhaps Maine, 

 in whose constitution this particular exclusion 

 of colored men from voting has not been in- 

 serted. I think the constitution of every one of 

 the new States, except Vermont, and perhaps 

 Maine, has contained this identical provision. 

 Twenty of the twenty-six States now compos- 

 ing this Unioa have the same provision. Did 

 not the men who preceded us understand 

 whether a constitution was republican in form 

 or not ? Why did they admit Ohio, or Indiana, 

 or Illinois, or Michigan, or Wisconsin, or Min- 

 nesota, or Iowa, if they had not republican 

 constitutions ? It is said we are bound to ex- 

 clude Nebraska because we are required to 

 guarantee to each State a republican form of 

 government. We have the power to do that 

 thing, and if the States I have named are not 

 republican in form, why do we not go to work 

 and guarantee republican governments to States 

 that already have provisions of this kind in their 

 constitutions? I should be glad to know. 

 Why is not a provision brought in here to 

 guarantee to. Indiana a republican form of gov- 

 ernment if she has not one to-day ? Why is it 

 not done ? Why do not you require us in Iowa 

 to make our constitution republican in form ? 

 You have power to guarantee to us a republican 

 form of government. You say we have not a 

 republican form of government ; why do not 

 you give us one ? Why not? I do not know." 



The question being taken on the amendment 

 of the Senator from Missouri, it was rejected as 

 follows : 



YEAS Messrs. Cowan, Edmunds, Fessenden, 

 Grimes, Howe, Morgan, Poland, and Sumner 8. 



NAYS Messrs. Anthony, Buckalew, Chandler, 

 Conness, Cragin, Creswell, Dixon, Doolittle, Hen- 

 dricks, Howard, Johnson, Kirkwood, Lane, Nesmitb, 

 .Norton, Patterson, Eamsey, Riddle, Ross, Stewart, 

 Van Winkle, Wade, Willey, and Williams 24. 



ABSENT Messrs. Brown. Cattell, Davis, Fogg, 

 Foster, Frelinghuvsen, Guthrie, Harris, Henderson, 

 McDougall, Morrill, Nye, Pomeroy, Saulsbury, Sher- 

 man, Sprague, Trumbull, Wilson, and Yates 20. 



Mr. Edmunds, of Vermont, moved to add the 

 following as an additional section of the bill. 



And be it further enacted, That this act shall take 

 effect with the fundamental and perpetual condition 

 that within said State of Nebraska there shall be no 

 abridgment or denial of the exercise of the elective 

 franchise or of any other right to any person by rea- 

 son of race or color, excepting Indians not taxed. 



It was agreed to yeas 20, nays 18. 

 The bill was then passed by the following 

 vote: 



YEAS Messrs. Anthony, Cattell, Chandler, Con- 

 ness, Cragin, Creswell, Edmunds, Fogg, Fowler, 

 Henderson, Howard, Kirkwood, Lane, Morrill, Po- 

 land, Ramsey, Ross, Sherman, Stewart, Snmner, 

 Van Winkle, Wade, Willey, and Williams 24. 



NATS Messrs. Buckalew, Cowan, Dixon, Doo- 

 little, Foster, Grimes, Hendricks, Howe, Johnson, 

 Morgan, Nesmith, Norton, Patterson, Riddle, and 

 Saulsbury 15. 



ABSENT Messrs. Brown, Davis, Fessenden, Fre- 

 linghuysen, Guthrie, Harris, McDougall, Nye, Pom- 

 eroy, Sprague, Trumbull, Wilson, and Yates 13. 



In the House, on January 15th, the bill was 

 considered, when Mr. Boutwell, of Massachu- 

 setts, offered the following amendment : 



Strike out the third section in the following words : 

 And be it further enacted, That this act shall take 

 effect with the fundamental and perpetual condition 

 that within said State of Nebraska there shall be no 

 abridgment or denial of the exercise of the elective 

 franchise, or of any other right, to any person by 

 reason of race or color (excepting Indians not 

 taxed). And insert in lieu thereof the following : 



And be it further enacted, That this act shall take 

 effect with the_ fundamental and perpetual condition 

 that within said State of Nebraska there shall be no 

 abridgment or denial of the exercise of the elective 

 franchise or of any other right, to any person by 

 reason of race or color, excepting Indian snot taxed; 

 and upon the further fundamental condition that the 

 Legislature of said State, by a solemn public act, 

 shall declare the assent of said State to the said fun- 

 damental condition, and shall transmit to the Presi- 

 dent of the United States an authentic copy of said 

 act, upon receipt whereof the President, by procla- 

 mation, shall forthwith announce the fact, whereupon 

 said fundamental condition shall be held as a part 

 of the organic law of the State : and thereupon, and 

 without any further proceeding on the part of Con- 

 gress, the admission of said State into the Union 

 shall be considered as complete. Said State Legis- 

 lature shall be convened by the territorial govern- 

 ment within thirty days after the passage of this, 

 act, to act upon the condition submitted herein." 



Mr. Boutwell said : " We are engaged in 

 the great work of reconstructing this Govern- 

 ment, and I suppose if we are committed to 

 any thing it is this : that in the ten States not 

 now represented there shall hereafter be no 

 distinction on account of race or color. Our 

 friends in Tennessee are engaged in a life and 

 death struggle for the establishment of the 

 principle that a man as a man has a right to 

 participate in the Government. In the State of 

 Iowa the contest is now going on for the 

 amendment of their constitution, by which they 

 purpose to strike from the text a provision cor- 

 responding exactly to that which is incorpo- 

 rated in the constitution of the proposed State of 

 Nebraska. 



" Under these circumstances, and after great 

 deliberation, I am resolved as one member riot 

 to give my support to any proposition which 

 shall contravene the great purpose we have in 

 view, which the country seeks as the consum- 

 mation of the great war through which we 

 have passed the recognition of the rights of 

 all men to participate in the government of the 

 country." 



