The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-03-03


and admission of new States. ] have seen thi!
principle illustrated in this House since l hav,
| had the honor of a place on this floor.
By the Constitution of Illinois, all votes cas-
| for two of her Representatives, elected to tn,
Thirty fourth Congress- were declared void BY
reason of disabilities imposed upon them by tht
amended Constitution of that State. On thi
| ground, their seats were contested by gentlemen
who received all the legal votes cast, if the su
peradded restrictions of the State Constitution
| of Illinois were to be allowed TO control tn,
| rights of the people under the Federal Constitu.
| ton. This House disregarded the State restric.
tons, because it contravened the rights Of the
people under the Federal Constitution, and deci
ded that votes for Representatives in Congress
| given for persons having the qualifications pre-.
scribed by the Federal Constitution, were valid
the State Constitution to the contrary notwith-
| standing. The conclusion that any State Con-
sutution, or State law, which conflicts with the
Constitution of the United States, and impairs
any right, political personal guaranteed there
by, is null and void, logically results from that
provision which declares the Constitution of the
United States, and the laws and treaties made
IN pursuance thereof, to be the supreme law OF
the land. To the right understanding of the
limitations of the Constitution of the United
States upon the several States, it ought not to
be overlooked, that whenever the Constitution
guarantees to its citizens right, either natural
or conventional, such guarantee is in itself a
limitation upon the States; whenever the Con-
stitution confers a general power to legislate or
make treaties, the limitation arises only upon
the rightful exercise of the power In the one
case it is the Constitution, in the other it is the
law or treaty, that is the supreme law.
The Oregon Constitution, in its first section,
second article, violates a law of the United
States unless, indeed, your proposed act of adj
mission, being inconsistent with pre-existing
law of the United States, be a repeal of that law
shall not consider the question of the repeal of
the naturalization laws at this time. / take it
for granted that gentlemen who insist on the
passage of this BILL and the establishment thereby
of this Oregon Constitution the fundamental
law of that Territory, do not advocate a repeal
of the naturalization laws of the United States.
The second section of the second article of the
Oregon Constitution contains these words:
In all elections otherwise provided for this
tutOn," every white male ofioreign birth ofthe
age OF twenty and upwards who shall have resided
IN the United States year and shall have resided this
state during the months Immediately preceding such
election and shall have declared his intention TO become
citizen Of the United States year preceding
ton" = shall be entitled a all elections
authorized by law"
Now, sir, this is simply provision that aliens,
upon one years residence, after a mere declara-
ton of intention to become citizen of the Uni
ted States, may vote at all general elections, for
all Federal and State officers; that aliens, by
reason Of one year 8 residence after declaration
of intention, may elect your Representative in
Congress, and select the State Legislature to
choose your United States Senators, and elect
Presidential electors for the purpose of choosing
a President and Vice President of the United
States. ! do not hesitate to say that this pre-
sents the question, whether a State may transfer
the sovereignty of the ballot which is the ulti-
mate sovereignty of the country, to aliens, on
one years residence, and a mere declaration of
intention to become citizens of the United States
when it suits them, and not before. If there
were no other objection to this Constitution
might surrender my individual judgment to the
bad precedents in the cases of the admission OF
Michigan, Wisconsin, and, more recently, of
Minnesota. / think such concessions to new
States most pernicious in policy, and of doubtful
constitutOnality
By declaring his intention TO become a citizen
Of the United States, an alien does not renounce
his allegiance to the Government of his native
country, nor does he acknowledge any allegiance
to ours. He only gives notice that he may do SO
at his pleasure. lie may never carry out his in
tention, and there is no law to compel him.
When the Oregon enabling act passed this House,
in the Thirty-fourth Congress, it was so amended,
by an overwhelming vote of the House, as TO
limit the elective franchise in the election of del
egates 10 frame Constitution for Oregon, and
in the ratification thereof TO citizens of the Uni
ted States. That act never passed the Senate.
But like amendment to the Minnesota enabling
act was, in the Senate, voted for by every SEN
ator present at the time, except one. The Con-
stituton of the United States in its first article
provides that the Representatives in Congress
" shall be chosen by the people of the several
States; and that the electors shall have the
qualifications requisite for electors of the most
numerous branch of the State Legislatures of
the several States The people here referred to
are the same community, or body polite, called
in the preamble Of the Federal Constitution,
" the people of the United States" They are
citizens of the United States and no other people
whatever. II has always been well understood
amongst urists in this country, that the citizens
of each State constitute the body polite of each
community, called the people of the State and
that the citizens of each State in the Union are
ipso fdeto citizens of the United States STORY
on the Constitution, vol. 3, p. 5G5.)
Who are citizens of the United States Sir,
they are those, and those only, who owe allegi-
ance to the Government of the United States :;
not the base allegiance imposed upon the Saxon
by the Conqueror, which required him to medi-
tate in solitude and darkness at the sound of the
curfew; but the allegiance which requires the
citizen not only to obey, but to support and de-
fend, if need be with his life, the Constitution of
his country. All free persons born and domi-
ciled within the jurisdiction of the United
States, citizens of the United States from
birth all aliens become citizens of the United
States only by act of naturalization, under the
laws of the United States. What | have said on
this question of United States citizenship, and
the words the people" used in the Consti-
tuition Of the United States, is sustained by jul
rists aud the decisions of the courts, Federal
and State.
Rawle writes as follows
The citizens State the citizens of the
which appertm them citizens of those respective Com
monweahs accompanied them the formation Of the great
compound Commonwealth which ensred. They became
latter without ceasng be
former and he whowas subsequently born citizen state
became, the moment OF his birth, citizen Of the United
States '-RdWie on the Constitution, page So
Chancellor Kent says
slave, born in the United States. be manumt,ei or
otherwise lawfully discharged from bondage or If black
be born within the United states and born free he
thenceiorward citizen - Kenrs Cum, ith ed
page 25I-Note
For the benefit of the other side of the House,
who profess a more than Eastern devotion to the
Supreme Court of the United States, and its de-
cision in the bred Scott case, quote from the
opinion of the Chief Justice in that case the fol-
lowing:
are Synonymous terms and mean the same thing They
both describe the political body who, according
power and conduct the Government through repre-
scntatves '-ls Hacurd, s. C. e. page 4oi
undertake to say, that the terms "people of
the United States" and "people of the several
States" as used in the Constitution of the United
States, have invariably received this judicial con-
struction in all our courts, State and National
and on this point challenge contradiction.
| In the same case, the same court says further
" true every person. and every class and description
Of persons who were, the time Of the adoption of the
Constitution recognised citizens the several States be
came also citizens Of this political body but none
bv and
terty but for else And the personal rights and
privileges guaranteed to citizens OF this sovereignty