The colored American., 1866-01-13

They are excluded because Of The van
Of sufficient self>sOntrcl sud pndeyelope,
ideas. They are native born and under
stand our language, and, in not . fey
Icases, our institutions Of government also
/ but they have not arrived at the year
of discretion which admits Of frmness o
decision in the most important affairs o
! life. Hence they are declared unfit by
all nations, to participate in the ballot
box.
The third class which are excluded
are women. They are excluded from the
simple reason that they are, or ought to
be part of man, and that their sphere il
anywhere but in the arena of politics and
governments. The Head Of the Woman
is the man, says the Scriptures, and all
civilized nations have accepted that posi-
tiOn, and keeps her, as they ought to keep
her, away, and free from the tumult Of
politics.
Thus there are three classes excluded
from participating in the choice ofrulers
and lawmakers although these three
classes have to bow to the mandates of
those whom they never authorised to
make them !, yet the reasons for their ex.
clusion are accepted by themselves and
all others as being both good and sufici~
ent. Now, those same reasons are used
by a certain class in order to effect the
exclusion of the colored man from parti>
cipating in these same benefits. The late
slaveh 'lder and his Northern friends de-
clare that colored men are totally unfit
for enjoying The privilege of saying who
shall judge them and make laws for their
obedience, because they haze been slaveS.
Let us see if this objection is a reasonable
one. The fact of them being slaves un~
doubtedly declares that they are ggno-
rant, because they were not allowed to
read and write, and on account of this
deficiency in mental culture, they stand
in precisely the same relation to suffrage
as the Foreigner does. But is there not
3 number-and an immense number they
do make-Who have this much valued
P.i~ilesv suyiug who strzrr govern
them, but who are as far behind, in point
Of intellectual development, as the late
slaves arel How many thousands are there
of enfranchised qoltite voters who know
no more about the qualifications of a
candidate for Office, but what they gather
rom word Of mouth and in the political
debate of the barroom. They cannot
'ead word for themselves, and, in con-
are totally unable to form an
opinion of the greatquestions
If the day, or who IS or IS not the proper
parties toplace in Office to work out thef e
questions. Their ignorance makes them
become the willing tools of the stump
1emagogue and the dupes of the
plausible retoric of the political ora
;or, so that the man with the sweet
st tongue and the smoothcst bum
rum captivates their ears and also their
'otes. Yet they are HAULED to the polls
nd compelled to vote because they haze
Ohite skins on their bodies. The South.
rn planter, or the monoyocracy of the I
ountry, has no fears of their ignorance
Q the contrary, they want them to re
lain in that condition so that they can
end them all the more easily to their
'hims and wishes. But they raise
critic howl when bare mention is made
elevating q colored man to tnat posi-
on. Because he is ignorant cannot be
le basis Of their objections, SO long as |
icy have the same amount of ignorance
nOng themselves. Their only ground !,
r objections must Lie in the fact that he
As a black skin, and if this is really all ,
'e foundation which their objections (,
st upon, it must appear, in the eyes Of !
Tery man Of common sense, prejudice, I
ID prejudice alone that gives birth to j
iese objections. The Oolored man is 9
ltiVe born, and thus far he is ahead Of y
% Foreigner, and if he is ignorant, he is 4
It so ignOEant as him, for the language
the country is his mother toueue. and q