CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



139 



came from the House of Bepresentatives, or 

 the one offered by the committee, by which 

 they could be debarred from the right of suf- 

 frage. It places these men precisely upon the 

 same ground with all others ; but it still leaves 

 the States the power of establishing an educa- 

 tional or property test by which they would 

 cut off the great mass of colored men. I think 

 this is the best of the three, but that it would 

 be still better to adopt an amendment declar- 

 ing who shall have the right to vote, making 

 it uniform throughout the United States, and 

 leaving no question of construction for the 

 States." 



Mr. Williams, of Oregon, said: "Mr. Presi- 

 dent, I send to the chair an amendment "which 

 I shall propose to the report of the Committee 

 on the Judiciary in due time." 



The Chief Clerk : " The amendment now 

 submitted proposes to strike out all after the 

 words ' article fifteen ' and insert : 



Congress shall have power to abolish, or modify any 

 restrictions upon the right to vote or hold office pre- 

 scribed by the constitution or laws of any State.'' 



Mr. Sumner, of Massachusetts, said : " I am 

 now brought directly to the proposed amend- 

 ment of the Constitution. Of course, the ques- 

 tion stares us in the face, why amend what is 

 already sufficient? "Why erect a supernumera- 

 ry column ? 



" So far as I know, two reasons are assigned. 

 The first is that the power of Congress is doubt- 

 ful. It is natural that those who do not sym- 

 pathize strongly with the equal rights of all 

 should doubt. Men ordinarily find in the Con- 

 stitution what is in themselves, so that the 

 Constitution in its meaning is little more than 

 a reflection of their own inner nature. As I 

 am unable to find any ground of doubt, in sub- 

 stance or even in shadow, I shrink from a prop- 

 osition which assumes that there is a doubt. To 

 my mind, the power is too clear for question. 

 As well question the obligation of Congress to 

 guarantee a republican form of government; 

 or the abolition of slavery ; or the prohibition 

 upon the States to interfere with the rights and 

 privileges of citizenship, each of which is be- 

 yond question. 



"Another reason, assigned for a constitu- 

 tional amendment is, its permanent character 

 in comparison with an act of Congress which 

 may be repealed. On this head I have no anx- 

 iety. Let this beneficent prohibition once find 

 a place in our statute-book, and it will be as 

 lasting as the national Constitution itself, to 

 which it will be only a legitimate corollary. 

 In harmony with the Declaration of Indepen- 

 dence and in harmony with the national Con- 

 stitution, it will become of equal significance, 

 and no profane hand will touch its sacred text. 

 It will never be repealed. The elective fran- 

 chise once recognized, can never be denied; 

 once conferred, can never be resumed. The 

 rule of equal rights once applied by Congress 

 under the national Constitution will be a per- 

 manent institution as long as the republic 



endures ; for it will bo a vital part of that re- 

 publican government to which the nation is 

 pledged. 



" Dismissing the reasons for the amendment, 

 I turn to those which make us hesitate to pre- 

 sent it for ratification. There are two. The 

 amendment admits that, under the national 

 Constitution, as it is, with its recent additions, 

 a caste and an oligarchy of the skin may be 

 set up by a State without any check from Con- 

 gress; that these ignoble forms of inequality 

 are consistent with republican government; 

 and that the right to vote is not an existing 

 privilege and immunity of citizenship. All this 

 is plainly admitted by the proposed amend- 

 ment, thus despoiling Congress of beneficent 

 powers and emasculating the national Consti- 

 tution itself. It is only with infinite reluctance 

 that I can consent to any such admission, which, 

 in the endeavor to satisfy ungenerous scruples, 

 weakens all those texts, which are so important 

 for human rights. 



" The hesitation to present the amendment 

 is increased, when we consider the difficulties 

 in the way of its ratification. I am no arith- 

 metician ; but I understand that nobody has 

 yet been able to enumerate the States whose 

 votes can be counted on to assure its ratifica- 

 tion within any reasonable time. Meanwhile, 

 this great question, which cannot brook delay 

 which, for the sake of peace and to complete 

 reconstruction, should be settled at once is 

 handed over to prolonged controversy in the 

 States. I need not depict the evils which must 

 ensue. A State will become for the time a 

 political caldron, into which will be dropped 

 all the poisoned ingredients of prejudice and 

 hate, while a powerful political party, chanting 

 like the witches of Macbeth 



* Double, double, toil and trouble, 

 Fire, barn ; and caldron, bubble 1 



will use this very amendment as the pudding- 

 stick with which to stir the bubbling mass. 

 Such a controversy should be avoided, if possi- 

 ble ; nor should an agitation, so unwelcome and 

 so sterile, be needlessly invited. ' Let us have 

 peace.' 



" Of course, if there were no other way of 

 accomplishing the great result, the amendment 

 should be presented, even with all its delays, 

 uncertainties, and provocations to local strife. 

 But happily all these are unnecessary. The 

 same thing may be accomplished by act of Con- 

 gress without any delay, without any uncer- 

 tainty, and without any provocation to local 

 strife. The same vote of two-thirds, required 

 for the presentation of the amendment, will 

 pass the act over the veto of the President. 

 Once adopted, it will go into instant operation, 

 without waiting for the uncertain concurrence 

 of State Legislatures, and without provoking 

 local strife so wearisome to the country. The 

 States will not be turned into political caldrons, 

 and the Democratic party will have no pudding- 

 stick with which to stir the bubbling mass. 



" I do not depart from the proprieties of this 



