The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1857-12-16
ADHERE TO FACTS.

The Philadelphia Press, in its zeal to vindcate
the cause it has recently espoused, has overlooked
an important fact for hardly believe that it
would willingly misrepresent 1t is with regard to
the action of Congress- relative to the admission of
Wisconsin in ls47. The Press says
WHERE DID TIE SoUTH STAND IN 1850 I'm ls47
Wisconsin, in convention regularly authorized by Con
gress and legally elected by the whole people of the
ofy voting dacquiescng in the election made State
constitution and sent it to Congress demanding admis
sion State under it, The convention had omitted to
submit their constitution to vote of the people and
Congress, therefore, sent back to the people Of Wisconsin
and required il to be submitted before she could be ad
mitted into the union and it submitted and APP
proved 'RaiGaaah
' The law sayssee. vol. g. U. S. Statutes at Large
page l79
CSC. 4. And be FURTHER enacted That it is made and
declared TO be fundamental condition of the admission
of said of Wisconsin into the Union that the con-
stuton adopted at Madison the sixteenth day De-
Genber in the year 1896 shall be assented by the
qualified electors in the and at the times pre-
scbed in the ninth section of the twentieth article of
said constitution And such assent shall be
given the President of the United States shall announce
the same by proclamation and therefrom, and without
any further proceedings the part of Congress- the adj
mission of said State of Wisconsin into the Union on
equal footing in all respects whatever with the original
States, shall be considered Us complete" .
The section in the constitution of Wisconsin re-
ferred to in the act above quoted is in these words
see American Constitutions, p. 466 !...l.a
q This constitution shall be submitted at an election
TO be held the second Monday in March next for rat
fcaon rejection to all white male persons of the age
of twenty years upwards who shall then be resi-
dents of this Territory and citizens of the United States
or shall have declared their intention to become such in
conformity with the laws Of Congress the subject of
naturalization and all persons having such quaica-
tions shall be entitled to for against the adoption
of this consttuton and for all officers first elected I'M
der 1t and If the constitution be ratified by the said
electors it shall become the constitution Of the State of
Wisconsin. On such of the ballots for the consti
Triton shall be written printed the word yes ; and on
such against the constitution the word mo- The
election shall be conducted in the prescribed
by law and the returns made by the clerks of the boards
of supervisors county commissioners las the may
be- to the governor of the Territory at time before
the tenth day of April next and in the event of the rat
caton of this constitution by amaoty of all the votes
given it shall be the duty of the governor of this Terri
tory to make proclamation Of the same, and to transmit
digest of the returns to the senate and assembly of the
State the first day of their session An election shall
be held for governor and lieutenant governor treasurer
attorney general members of the State legislature and
members of Congress- the second Monday of May next
and other further notice of such election shall be
quired." sa8A .Fl ,.r. l.ss.l. ..,..,, ....s,,.
Thus it will be perceived that the convention did
not stated by the Press, omit to submit their con-
stitution to vote Of the people, nor did Congress-
therefore send back to the people of Wisconsin,
and require it to be submitted before she could be
admitted into the Union. Congress only required
that the constitution should be submitted I'm the
manner and at The times prescribed by the convention
itself 1t was no condition imposed by Congress,
but requirement that their convention had made,
and which Congress had no power to comteract.
The fact that Congress paid such attention to the OBJ
legations which the Wisconsin convention had inn
posed upon the people of that Territory only proves
that their authority was considered supreme. F n
81 So it was in the case of Iowa In March, ls45, an
act for the admission of the States of Iowa and For
da into the Union passed, both States being In
cuded in the same bill. The convention that formed
the constitution of Iowa required that it should be
submitted to the people, and Congress therefore
caused this section to be incorporated in the bill
M SIC. 4 dnd Be Il further enacted That it Is made and
declared TO be fundamental condition of the admission
of said State OF Iowa into the Union that 80 much Of
this relates TO the gaid State Of Iowa shall be as
sented to by majority Of the qualified electors at their
township elections in the and at the time pre-
scrbed in the 9Th section of the 18th article Of the con
sttuon adopted at Iowa city the first day OF Novem.
Der ammo Domni eighteen hundred and forty four or by
the Legislature Of said State And soon as such assent
shall be given the President Of the United States shall
announce the same by Proclamation and thercfrom and
without further proceedings on thc part Of Congress- the