UNITED STA 



7:55 



it.-il to the Reconstruction Committee of 

 that Inn! v. Tho resolutions embraced tin- fol- 

 lowing points : 1. Tlio right to wield the bal- 

 lot ! are American riti/.en.s, und, as 



sndi, entitled to it. "2. Hi-ran-.' wo are tax- 

 payers, and, as Mich, ju-tly entitled to full r.-p- 

 rc-entation in tin- Stato and Fi-drral (Jovi-ni- 

 iiH-nt. ::. HceaiHe wo aro patriots, and, a 

 havr proved our loyalty to the country, by our 



M-riiieing behavior in the hour of her 

 Kcraiiso it is a national und in- 

 herent right pertaining to every native-born 

 American citi/.en, whether white or black, who 

 has readied his majority. 



art ion of Congress, during the larger part 

 of tho session of l^o; -Y.7, was coiiliiied to the 

 pas-age of acts requiring the elective franchise 

 to be granted to all persons in the Territories, 

 without regard to color, upon the admission of 

 such Territories as States of the Union, and in 

 the extension of the franchise in tho District of 

 Columbia. All these measures were returned 

 by the President to each House with his objec- 

 tions, and subsequently passed by tho consti- 

 tutional majority. Thus the act relating to tho 

 District of Columbia conferred the elective 

 franchise upon every male person, without any 

 distinction on account of color or race. (See 

 CONGRESS, U. S.) The President, in his veto 

 (January 5, 1867) message, objected that the 



:ire "initiated an untried experiment for 

 a people who have said, with one voice, that it 

 is not for their good." (See PUBLIC DOCUMENTS.) 

 The bill for the admission of Colorado as a 

 provided that " there shall be no denial 

 of the elective franchise, or any other rights, to 

 any person by reason of race or color, except- 

 ing Indians not taxed." The President, in his 

 veto message on January 28th, represented the 

 action of the people against such a provision, 

 their numbers, etc., and said, " After the most 

 careful and anxious inquiry on tho subject, I 

 cannot perceive that the proposed proceeding 

 is in conformity with the policy which, from 

 the origin of the Government, has uniformly 

 prevailed in the admission of new States." This 

 bill was not again reconsidered during the ses- 

 sion. The bill for the admission of Nebraska 

 contained a section which provided that the bill 

 should not take effect except upon the funda- 

 mental condition, "that within the State of 

 Nebraska there shall be no denial of the elec- 

 tive franchise, or of any other right, to any 

 person by reason of race or color, excepting 

 Indians not taxed." The President, in his veto 

 message of January 29th, says of this section, 

 that it is "neither more nor less than the as- 

 sertion of tho right of Congress to regulate the 

 elective franchise of any Stato hereafter to be 

 admitted. This condition is in clear violation 

 of tho Federal Constitution, under the pro- 

 visions of which, from the very foundation of 

 the Government, each State has been left free 

 to determine for itself tho qualifications neces- 

 sary for tho exercise of suffrage within its 

 limits." The bill became a law, and the consti- 



tution of the proposed Stato was amended In 



compliance with it- stipulation, and 



Imitte.l a^ ;i Mate int..) the Federal I 

 A bill relating to the Territories /. i 



xisscd by Congress, which provided '" that, 

 from and after the pa-,age of thi- 

 .-hall be no denial of the electirc franchise in 

 any of the Territories ..f the I 'nited States, now 

 or hereafter to bo organized, to any < 

 thereof, on account, of rare, color, or previous 

 condition of .-ervitude." This bill was r 

 by the Piv-idont on January 14th, and not 

 having been returned by him to the House of 

 Congress in which it originated, within the 

 time prescribed by the Constitotion, it became 

 a law without his approval. 



The constitutional principle iv-pectmg the 

 elective franchise, as it had been held by the 

 people up to that time, was stated in th 

 message of the Piv-ideiit on the N'ehraska bill 

 as quoted above. The action of Congress thus 

 far was taken with due regard to tho same 

 principle, and their legi.-hition, on the elective 

 frandiise, had been exclusively confined to tho 

 Territories as unorganized and unrecognized 

 States. But the franchise in the States was re- 

 garded as beyond their reach, except through 

 an amendment of the Constitution. No real 

 advance had, therefore, been made in the ex- 

 tension of the franchise to the negro race of 

 the country, if the District of Columbia be ex- 

 cepted, in which the blacks are more numerous 

 than in all the other Territories. 



In this position of affairs, Congress, on March 

 2d, adopted an entirely new system of n 

 ures relative to the States with which the war 

 had -been carried on. The principle upon 

 which these measures were based is tin; 

 pressed in the preamble to the first act : 



Whereas, No legal State governments, or adequate 

 protection for life or property now exists in the 

 rebel States of Virginia, North Carolina, South Caro- 

 lina. Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Flori- 

 da, Texas, and Arkansas ; and, whereat, it is neces- 

 sary that peace and good order should be enforced in 

 said States until loyal and republican State govern- 

 ments can be legally established ; therefore, & it en- 

 acted, etc. 



These States were then divided into military 

 di-t ricts, and it was further provided that, " un- 

 til the people of the said rebel States shall by 

 law be admitted to representation to the Con- 

 gress of the United States, all civil governments 

 that may exist therein shall be deemed provi- 

 sional only, and shall be in all respects subject 

 to the paramount authority of the United 

 States, at, any time to abolish, modify, control, 

 and supersede the same, and in all elections to 

 any office under such provisional governments 

 all persons shall bo entitled to vote under the 

 provisions of the fifth section of this act." 



Thus these States, when regarded as con- 

 quered territory, could not claim to possess any 

 rights under the Federal Constitution other 

 than such as might be granted by the will of 

 the conqueror. The right to regulate the elec- 

 tive franchise, recognized as belonging to the 



