Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1864-02-22
From the Harrisburg Patriot and Union.
Amos Kendall ON the Crisis.
LETTER v.
To The Unconditional Union Men of the United


Siafes:
For the purpose of making more palpable the
character of the Presidents plan of reconstruc-
ton, let US look little into the structure Of our
government To prevent a msconstruction as to
the meaning ofthe Constitution, the tenth amend
ment was adopted in the following words. viz:
"The powers not delegated to the United States
by the Constitution. nor prohibited by it to the
States reserved to the States respectively, or
to the people" Suffrage is the basis of all our
free institutions. Through that right the people
elect directly or indirectly, all our rulers State
legislators, governors and Judges members Of
Congress. President and Vice President Federal
judges, and all the army of office-hoders under
the State and National Governments The
power to regulate suffrage, who declare who may
vote and who NAV not s'is not delegated to the
United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited
by it 20 the States" 1t is therefore reserved
to the States or the people,
There is no such thing as United States voters:
on the contrary, the whole fabric of the general
government is built upon State suffrage Art
sec. 2. e the Constitution, provides as follows:
1.-The House of Representatives shalt be com.
posed of members chosen every second year by
the people of the several States and the cleo ors
(voters) of each state shall have the qual6ca-
tons requisite for electors of the most numerous
branch of the state Legislature"
In other words, all the people OF the several
States who are qualified by their State constitu
tons and laws to vote for members of the most
numerous branch of their State legislatures, and
no others, have right to vote for members OF
the House OF Representatives. Senators of the
United States are chosen by the State legisla-
lures, who derive their power from the same
voters The electors of President and Vice Pres
iden also derive their existence and power directly
or indirectly from the same voters.
Thus it is. that through the exercise Of power
reserved to the States or to the people," voters
qualified by the Constitution and laws of the sew
eral States form the foundation Of our entire sys-
tenn Of government He who looks into the Con
stitution OF the United States for any grant of
power, express or implied, authorizing Congress
or the Executive to prescribe qualifications for
voters, whether voting far State officers, members
of Congress or President and Vice President will
not lind 1t. No such power was given or intended
to be given, and its assumption is q bloc at the
heart and life Of constitutional liberty.
Now let US consider the act of the President in
connection with these principles and the state of
things in Louisiana The President recognizes
that State as State in the Union. It's constu.
tons and lows, constituting its government and
regulating the right of suffrage, remain intact,
not having been abolished or altered by the re.
belliOn They have been so far rescued from
rebel grasp that the people i'm large portion of
| the State might exercise that right unntimidated
by armed rebels. But they are restrained; not
BY the rebels, but by the army of the United
States.
The President assumes that the government of
Louisiana has been subverted by the rebellion of
some of her sons, and that, consequence of
that rebellion, all her sons have lost the right of
suffrage-an assumption without reason or law.
/ He then proceeds to grant the right TO such of
them will take the oath prescribed by him
we say grant, for however obscured by cunning
phraseology, il amounts to grant. The essence
of the transaction is more clearly expressed in the
| following words, viz:
Whereas, by reason OF the rebellion of por-
ton OF the people of Louisiana, all the citizens of
said State have lost their right of suffrage; now
4, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United
States, by virtue Of what2 do hereby give, grant
and convey to so many OF said citizens as shall
take the oath aforesaid the right to vote for State
officers members of Congress, electors of Presi-
dent and Vice President; TO have and hold said
rights as long as they shall keep the oath anl no
| leneer."
Now, by what authority is this grant made?
But one pretext n being alleged for it, and that
is scarcely worthy of notice II is that the Pres
ident has right to grant an amnesty and to
annex conditions to that amnesty. We concede
the principle, with the reservation that the con-
ditions must in themselves be lawful We ad-
/ init that when citizen has forfeited life and
property by rebellion, the President may spare
his life by amnesty, and leave his property to
coniscation. But he can not accomplish any
unlaw full purpose through the conditions of an
amnesty. He can not overthrow State institutions
through the conditions of amnesty TO traitors
| against the United States. He can not. by such
conditions, overthrow the legitimate State gov
ernments. He Fan not exact an oath of
treason to the State. condition of
pardon for treason against the United States. He
can not righttuliy grant, modify restrict the
right o; suffrage within State recognized to be
in the Union; for that entire power is reserved
to the States or the people" But in this plan
We have the overthrow of State Institutions, the
subversion of the legitimate State Government,
the assumption by the President OF the pow err to
grant and esulate suffrage-all to be affected
through the conditions of an amnesty; con-
ditions, too, effectiug alike the innocent and the
guilty, the loyal aud the disoyal. Who ever be
lore heard of an amnesty, with or without con-
ditions. To those who had committed no crimey
/ These assumptions of power would be less OBJ
noxious upon the Sumner theory, unsound as 1t
is, that the seeded States have ceased 10 be the
States of the Union and should be treated rs ter
rtories in which no local government exists Ii
such were the law aud the fact. the assumption
of power might not be so glaring But by rec
! ognizng louisiana as a State in the Union, the
President virtually admits that her people have
the same rights as the people of Massachusetts
aud New York, and yet he treats them MS il they
had no right and no government. A State in
the Union without government, whose people
have no right To establish one without leave from
the President. While treating the seeded States
as conquered territory. whose people have lost
all political rights eifectualy as in the Sum
ner theory, this plan has one distinctive feature.
/ which, were not the men VA power so perfectly
unselish snd unannbi,iou~, IL might be imagined,
. co m mendel IL tu their Ia ia tn brin0
into the Senate aud House Ut Representatives, a
host of members to vote with the radicals Of
Massachusetts. IL is to bring into the electoral
college n host of electors aid in the re election
of Mr. Lincoln t.i.faa
There are still some features IN this plan re
quirinR further Developments.
AMOS KENDALL.
| I...... mi 1901