Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1865-09-06
SPEECH OF
HON.G.S. BOUTWELL,
CT HsASSA SACEsUsETFS.
GA tae sseCOnS;rIICiioEi Of isse
Southern States.

| throw Of the rebellion. impose urc; u
| obligations and duties more important
| and solemn than have rested anon the
| American people at any Trevloua re'io"
| m their history. We are able. io|r,C-.
Tor the first time to rejoice III t'.~ eoun-
| plete. or. at least. in the near i1!t.neni
Of the great truths contained ia the sec
md paragraph Of the Declaration Of In.
! dependence. Our ancestors said: we
/ hold these truths to be sali-eyideut; that
all men are created equal, and that they
| are endowed hy their Greater wiJh GER
| tain natural. essential and uualienahle
| rights, among which are life. liberty, and
/ the pursuit Of basp ucsa.' They helirv-
| ed these cardinal truths; and Mr.. JetieT-
| son, in the originia drai; of the peclara
\ ton of independence, charged tGe INiug
| If Great Britain. IA addition e" many oih
| ar allegations, with the pFo-u'iucut crime
| If having countenanced he African slave
I trade, and opposed al measures 80? H.
| overthrow or restriction. We have passed
through a great struggle, which WAS iirc
! essary incident Of CuT ~aii0nal lie. due
70 the fact. which ra7~ s-r csn compra.
hend, and which 1t is neither disgi=Icc e"
our fathers nor dishor0r 20 .s 10 confess.
that our national system contained a fun
! 4amental error: namely, that i vas pos
| sIblC 10 set up and maintain perUIe0ent-
| iy government based in part upon the
| principle that all men are created ecuEl.
| and in part unon the principle that = Ger
| rain portion OF mankind have the rjglt
| 20 hold a certain other portion IN Bond
| ge. This was the experiment j.: GOVERN
nent tried here 10y the adoption oi inc
| Constitution of 1889, and the experiment
mas failed. The government which wa
| then set up, founded in part uron tie
| principles of freedom, ana IL part upon
| The principles OF slavery, has failed: it
! aas gone down in blood, amid horrors
such as have not often been witnessed in
| Christian countries. There mas been no
allure of republican institutions; moth
! 'ng has occurred TO diminish our conf
| ience Il the capacity Of the people To-
1 govern themselves hut cn lhe other
| hand, their conduct n relation 10 the
| questions and Issues OF the times Is the
| Su6lImest event of history, ana furnishes
| conclusive evidence that Just govern
! ments are strong, oud democratic govern
| nents are wise. The question before Us
/ IS, whether out OF inns struggle there
shall come a nation purified and glorious
and permanent in its institutions and in
It's policy or not.
Thus far, under Providence, the Union
and the cause of justice have triUmphcd.
We look upon the past with satisfaction.
marred IN two Particulars only: first that
50 many of the brave men of the repub-
| ic have fallen IN defence of its princi-
piles and of its integrity; and secondly,
| that he who was the moderate, consistent
md trusted leader of the people, finally
! became the great martyr 10 republican
institutions, to the right of this nation
to be free
| congratulate myself. and | congratu-
late you, that in the course of remark on
which purpose to enter tonight, | fol-
low the lead of that great man,-whO, in
iectually and morally. will stand among
the foremost men of this country, of this
age, and of the world,-in reference 10
he rights Of the negro race us citizens Of
this country and inhabitants of this CON
tlnent. We know now, from the record
exposed since his death, that it was one
n the objects which he had near tc III
! neart. To secure 10 the negro population
the right OF suffrage, without which, |
shall, as | think, be able to show you,
there can, in this country. and under re-
publican institutions. be no security for
any other right whatever.
We have come out of the war triumph
antly. We entered upon il, four years
lgO, reluctantly, uncertain as To the Is
sue. There Were those who. seeing be
yond the present moment, were assure.i
hat the people who occupied the CONT
Bent, the descendants of the men who
N the trst paragraph of the Declaration
IF independence, before the Constitution
vas formed, OF the Union, in terms. had
an existence, declared that these then
united colonies constituted one people,
would never give up their right To be the
inhabitants OF country indlVisible and
perpetual That expectation. gentlemen,
uas not only been realized, but we have
suUJugated those who. more than thirty
years ago, REASONABLY conspired for the
overthrow of this government, for the de
sJruction OF republican institutions on
this continent, and for the suppression of
the hopes of liberty and of lreemen
throughout the world. They are Subiu-
gated; and the question remaining for
you, citizen soldiers, for you. citizens of
The republic, to decide, Is whether, in
Ihe reconstruction OF the government,
those men, and they who, like them in
principle, are ike them also in purposes.
shall re appear 10 guide, control, disturb.
and finally ruin the republic, or whether
you will reconstruct the nation upon the
eternal principle of the Declaration Of
independence, that ''all men are c-c-ted
equal Justice, justice Is the only foun-
Iauon lor craftsmanship, the only secur-
Ity Tor national life; ana our fathers. IN
departing from the principle OF Justice
IL the original construction of this gov
ernment, left 10 their posterity the woes
through which we have passed Belicy-
ing, as 90, that these horrors and stcri
hces and sutferings are a Just Judgment
d Heaven upon this nation for its great
SIn IN reference to the institution OF sla-
very which Is but Cne form Of Injustice.
so here ana everywhere during these
four years, l do pledge and have pledged
myself TO resist the reeStablishment of
this government upon the principle of in
justice. II there be those, few or many,
who, IN their anxiety to reconstruct their
government speedily, and according to
| its ancient forms, choose to foTego the Sc
curitles which ought to be taken, have
| no lot or path with them. ! prefer to
! stand alone upon the principle of justice
as the only foundation on which the gov
eminent can securely rest. And if there
be those who choose to take the responsi-
ollity of becoming, in the eyes Of roster
Ity, the agents for the repetition of the
woes which we have endured. lot the re
sponsibliity be upon them. feel assur
ed, however, that Whatever may be the
prejudices oi some, whatever may be the
influence OF tradition upon others, what
ever may be the distinctions Of race or
color that exist among US, the people of
this country are finally to reestablish the
government upon distinct enunciatiOu of
the doctrine that "ail men are created
equal" Building upon that foundation,
the nation will withstand the storms and
the Hoods of time; but if you build up
on injustice, upon wrong, upon distlnc-
tons OF race, or color, or upon taste, you
build upon the sand, and when the storms
come, and the winds blow, and the rains
fail, then will the structure that you have
reared be brought down in ruin upon
your hands.
Nor is the triumph of the day limited
to the restoration of the Union AS a re-