The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1857-11-05

: TN IA
decided in the case Of slave and find in the pub
shed writings of Mr. Justice Story bis letter approving
the decision Of Lord Stoel and in effect, approving
N advance the detenninaton OF The court as 70 bred
Scott
Nothing remains except the question whether the court
decided correctly in deciding that bred Scott was not
citizen of the United States little calm eonsdeation
OF the question viii relieve of all doubts IN that point
AT the time when the constitution of the United States
was formed the future Union consisted of the thirteen
British colonies which had fought the battles of ma
tona Independence and of the vast unorganzed terrific
which, by compacts between the colonies, and by the
treaty OF peace, had become their common property
Each of the thirteen colonies States independent
Of the Others except in so they associated by
sundry common rights interests by the imperfect
political bonds of the confederation SO emphatcaiy
true Is this that in the early legislation under the co
sitntion North Carolina and Rhode Island which at
first refused TO accept the constitution, treated as
alien governments. Rhode Island especially, conscious
of the fact which the federal government well as the
early coonzer of the country have strangely overlooked
that Naraganset bay not merely the best but the only
faultess maritime barber the Atlantic coast of North
America, conceived the idea of remaining out OF the
Union and thus enjoying to the full the unelualed com
mercal capabilities OF her marine position the hilacy
of which idea speedily demonstrated TO her by the
enactment of acts of Congress deprvng her OF partc
patton in the commercial benefits Of the Union,
AT that time the question of citizenship one internal
to each of the States which respectively determined for
themselves who citizens and who not, They did
this, sometimes by general laws and sometimes byspecia
for legislative acts natuazing aliens either by in
diyduals by classes, quite frequent in the prim
tive history of the several States Indeed we shall
in the sequel they may, now determine the
question of citizenship for themselves and within them
selves but neither Of them has power to determine it for
other States or for the Union. S
The inhabitants of the United States at that time
sisted of three distinct native the Indians,
and two foreign, the Africans and the Europeans OF
these three races one only the Europeans were the peo
pie of the United States They he Europcans the
people who issued the Declaration of Independence;
and they the people who ordained and cstab-
lhed the constitution OF the United States Neither the
Indians the original occupants of the soil of the United
States the Africans who, like ourselves hither
from across the Atlantic, people citizens, or, in any
phrase of designation parties either to the Dec
araton of Independence or the constitution Of the United
States The men of European ruce-the white men as
distinguished from the red and the black mem
constituted the political society of which they alone
co-equal members while the Indians and Africans
not citizens, but subjects.
That such the relation of the three races, each to
the other is indicated not only by the nature of things
above stated but also by pertinent acts of Congress- Of
which it succs to cite one the most emphatic and con-
clusivenameIy, the act o establish uniform rule of
naturalization = that is to determine in what aliens
may be converted into citizens of the United States The
puryiew of this act is confined in express terms to free
th persons And it is well settled law that this
er of naturalization under the constitution is vested
clusively in Congress.
is perfectly clear therefore, that negro alien can
not, by naturalization become citizen Of the United
but IL argued tnat negroes iItcu
States not Aliens and that they are, therefore, ct
natural born citizens, to the language OF the
constitution That argument is founded in manifest er-
rorthe false assumption that every person born In the
country is citizen Of it. This false assumption peryades
all the reasoning of the republican presses and orators
who crticise the decision of the Supreme Court in the
of bred Scott The Legislature of New Hampshire
has pushed this to its EXTREMIST point by resolving
very soenly but very inconsderatey, that all persons
born In the State arc therefore, citizens of the State
How false that is be at by considering the
of the Indians.
Certainly the Indians in this country are nar enough
for they indeed the only native Americans in the
true Of the party language of the day But they
not born citizens of the State in which they may hap
pen to be born they horn citizens of the United
States That has been adudicatcd ngain and again by
the courts Of the several States well by those of
the United States They may be made citizens of the
United States not however under the general natnrakn
ton laws but either by treaty OF by special law Thus
in the treaty Of Dancing Rabbit Creek there is stipua-
ton according to which the Choctaw Indians may, If
they please be converted into citizens of the United
States SO, by an act OF Congress- II Is provided that,
certain contingency the ''Stockbrdge tribe of In
dians and each and every one of them, shall then be
deemed to be- and from that time declared to be, citizens
of the United States These two examples prove that
the Indians not in constitutional right of birth citi
of the United States
The of the Indians to dispose of another fall
lacy in the criticisms Of the decision in the of bred
Scottwhch is the erroneous idea that when man is
by the constitution law of State citizen of that
State he is so taco citizen of the United States That
is not true Thus by the constitution of the State Of
Wisconsin certain Indians made citizens, with the
press decaraton that they shall continue to be SUCH
even although not citizens cf the United States.
The constitution of Wisconsin, also that OF behi-
gam to expose another Kindred faacy, namely
the idea that when by the law Of any of the States
of the Union person is made citizen Of That state lac
thereupon becomes citizen OF each OF the other States
For the constitution of each If these States conies the
political rights of citizenship after brief resdcnce} all
white persons Of foreign birth who shall have declared
their intention to become citizens of the United States
II would be quite ridiculous to pretend that aliens of
this class entitled to the rights of citizenship IN Mas
sachusetts. sE5. #sss a.sa 4.l |
Now why should Africans born in the United States,
be entitled to larger rights than Indians They are not
Nothing but the pervesc negrophlisn of the day could
have imagined that they And, but for the morbid
state of the public mind that subject there could not
have been either surprise anger to find the Supreme
Court, when the before them, deciding this
point in obedience to wcestablislcd constitutional doe
and unbroken practice the administrative departments
of the government of the United States.
For the there has been the most pcrnacious mis-
representation and pcvesion of the effect of the decision
of the Supreme Court In far regards personal rights
of the Africans IT Is utterly false to say that IL dcprivcs
them of the power to defend their rights of person
property by suit at law They may in certain courts
of the United States by virtue Of citizenship Thorc
multdes OF citizens of the United States who cannot do
IT, Such of them live in the Territories cannot at
least in the form here under consideration for the
crcse of the right in question is limited to such persons
of the time citizens Of the United States and
also Of some State. And to Africans, the courts Of
State or Territory in which they reside open TO