122 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



the citizen is the doctrine which, so far as I 

 am concerned, I shall insist upon putting into 

 the Constitution of the United States as a part 

 of the fundamental law." 



Mr. Grimes, of Iowa, said: "Without re- 

 gard to sex or color ? " 



Mr. Pomeroy: "Yes, sir; without regard 

 to sex or color. If the resolution is to be post- 

 poned, as I suppose it is to be, I shall prepare 

 an amendment looking in that direction." 



The resolution was set down for Thursday 

 yeas 37, nays 11. 



In the House, on the same day, Mr. Bout- 

 well, of Massachusetts, moved to reconsider 

 the vote by which the bill to secure equal 

 privileges and immunities to citizens of the 

 United States and to enforce the provisions of 

 article fourteen of the Constitution, and the 

 joint resolution proposing an amendment to 

 the Constitution, were recommitted to the Com- 

 mittee on the Judiciary. He -said : " This 

 measure is the last, as far as I can foresee, of a 

 series of great measures growing out of the re- 

 bellion, and necessary for the reorganization 

 and pacification of the country, with which 

 the Republican party to a large extent, through 

 their Representatives and Senators in the 

 Thirty-eighth, Thirty-ninth, and Fortieth Con- 

 gresses, has been charged. I say that this 

 measure, as far as I can foresee, is the last of 

 those great measures, and for this reason : if 

 we secure to all the people of the country, 

 without distinction of race or color, the privi- 

 lege of the elective franchise, we have then 

 established upon the broadest possible basis of 

 republican equality the institutions of the 

 country, both state and national. 



" As I proceed I shall state the reasons why 

 I am not willing to rely exclusively upon a law 

 of Congress, and also the reasons why I think 

 it not wise to submit a constitutional amend- 

 ment without the aid of legislation. The first 

 section of the bill is in these words : 



That no State shall abridge or deny the right of any 

 citizen of the United States to vote for electors of 

 President and Vice-President of the United States or 

 for Kepresentatives in Congress, or for members of 

 the Legislature of the State in which he may reside 

 by reason of race, color, or previous condition of 

 slavery ; and any provisions in the laws or constitu- 

 tion of any State inconsistent with this section are 

 hereby declared to be null and void. 



TH O - , fi A A u 1 ",r T ' " li wil1 De seen tliat tlie first section of this 



expressed B^i7 lp ll i? S^V" 1 b bi "' wMch contains a11 the essential Provisions 



expressed. ] Jut it wiR be very difficult to se- with reference to the right of suffrage, limits 



the operation of the law to elections for Presi- 

 dent and Vice-President, Representatives in 

 Congress, and to members of the State Legisla- 

 tures. It will also be seen, by the argument 

 which I shall submit, based upon the Constitu- 

 tion of the United States, that the powers of 

 Congress are probably broader than those set 

 forth and asserted in the section of the bill 

 which I have just read ; but, inasmuch as I 

 believe all the objects which we are now 

 seeking can be accomplished by the legisla- 



to the Constitution of the United States pro- 

 vides for its ratification by the Legislatures of 

 the States, instead of by conventions ; and that 

 has been the usual mode, and I am not sure 

 but that it has been the uniform mode of pro- 

 posing amendments to the Constitution when 

 they have been proposed by Congress. At any 

 rate, it has been the mode in recent times. 

 Now, sir, there are reasons, and it seems to me 

 very strong reasons, existing at this time why 

 this proposition, if submitted, should be sub- 

 mitted to conventions and ratified by conven- 

 tions of the States, instead of by the Legisla- 

 tures. I propose, therefore, when the matter 

 shall come before the Senate for its considera- 

 tion, to move to strike out the word ' Legisla- 

 tures ' and insert 'conventions,' so as to pro- 

 vide that the proposed amendment shall not 

 be valid until ratified by conventions of three- 

 fourths of the States. 



" The reasons for this I will not give now at 

 any length ; but I will barely state that it 

 seems to me so important a proposition as this 

 should be ratified by bodies selected for that 

 very purpose. In my own State it is peculiar- 

 ly important, because, in the first place, the 

 Legislature in that as in other States is not 

 chosen for that purpose ; and then again, as is 

 well known, the Legislature of the State of 

 Connecticut does not represent the people, in 

 consequence of the peculiar mode of our repre- 

 sentation. It may be said that the same re- 

 mark may apply to a convention ; but I take 

 it if Congress order the ratification to be made, 

 if at all, by a convention, it would be in the 

 power of Congress to say that the convention 

 should be chosen in such a manner that it 

 should represent the people ; that it should be 

 chosen in some mode, distributing its members 

 in some way, so that the convention would rep- 

 resent the people of the State. 



" If it is proposed by the sovereign power 

 of Congress to the people of the whole country 

 to change the suffrage laws of the State of 

 Connecticut, it does seem to me that Connecti- 

 cut, as a component part of the whole country, 

 should have the power of expressing its opin- 

 ion on that subject aside from all other ques- 

 tions, and that the question should be pre- 

 sented to the people of the State of Connecticut 

 for their consideration ; and the only mode of 

 doing iUs, as it seems to me, to submit it to a 

 convention of the people chosen for that pur- 



- 

 cure an expression of the voice of the people 

 by the Legislature, especially if that Legisla- 

 ture were chosen before the subject was sub- 

 mitted to them." 



.v Mr * J omero ^ of Kansas, said: "I am for 

 the enfranchisement of every human being in 

 this country who is an American citizen. But 

 if we are going to change the fundamental law' 

 I do not propose to allow the States to make 

 any inequalities among their citizens unless 

 they have committed crime. The equality of 



