The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1866-04-14
The Civil Rights BILL.
Washington, April 5th, 1866
SENATE

1oe C1v1l Rights Bill.
Washington, April 5th, 1866
SENATE
At one o'clock the message of Preside n.
JohRson vetoing the civil rights bill was
taken up.
Mr.. RevERDr JOHNSON took the floor and
spoke At length n opposition to the vetoed
bill. Mr.. johnson combatted the remark of
4r. Trumbull that the President had n o pow
sr to veto . bill passed by two thirds major.
ity Of both Houses also his use of the case
passed upon BY Chief Justice Marshall
alleging that the decision was inapplicabe to
the argument. He said that there was not a
word in the Constitution giving power to any
department OF the Government to declare wh O
shall be citizens. Mr.. johnson then cited
from the opinions in the Dred Scott case to
show that in consequence of the blood that
was supposed to run IN his veins, his
descent from African ancestors ,ndhis having
come % the United States q slave, he could
got become . citizen of the United States,
Mr.. Justice Curtis held that the Constitution
q the United States assumed that citizenship
might be acquired by nativity that it was
the common law that it was the law OF the
civilized world. that he who was born in
country, and not made slave, at the mo>
m,nt be was born, By any municipal ragula-
sion, became BY virtue of his birth, . citizen
but he BY no means hell that the consequence
of his being q citizen of the United States by
virtue of his brit, made him citizen of any
State of the United States. Judge Curtis
said: my opinion is that under The Colsti-
tuition Of the United States every free person,
born on the soil of free State, who is a
citizen of that State By force OF its Cons.itu-
tion or laws, is . citizen of the United States"
Mr.. Johnson discussed at length the
grounds of the decision that the Constitution
has not empowered Co.'S gress TO create priv>
ilcged classes within the States, who alone
shall have the privilege of declaring citizen-
ship. He contsnded that the right of deter>
mining who were and should be citizen, was
among the powers reserved for the States
This section processes to be passed in the
exercise of positive aud absolute power to
change laws, not to declare what the lsw was
It assumes that birth alone does not confer
citizenship and assuming that no citize nship
could exist in consequence of birth alone,
It declares that birth, in spite of State cons,i-
tutions aud State laws, shall confer citizen.
shin. Now with all Difference to the opinion
Of the honorable Chairman of the Committee
on the Judiciary {Mr. Trumbull), it seems to
mo that the bill proposed to change the whole
theory OF the Government. The provision of
the bill granting to such persons the right, of
citizens WAS untenable and Judge Trum>
bulls citation Of Kent was simply that every
nation is bound to protect It's citizens.
He then addressed himself To tie section
Of the bill defining the punishment of State
Judges. He said the bill goes upon the the
ory that there is but one government
Murder aud robbery, and many other offence.
whsch no one ever dreams of try;n, in any
bat State court, are to be transfer ed TO the
United States Courts. Ny honorable friend
ssa,es. Whose fault is it that eleven States
are not represented here?r He certainly does
not ask this in An al captanium style, as he
aaimsdverted upon that in referring to the
President. He saws their hands are reeklng
with the blood of their fathers. What have
they done? They have abolished slavery.
Some of them have even gone farther than
the honorable member himself, and though
ssms Of them have fought on tao field of
battle, they can take that oath as conscien-
tiously as the honorable member or myself.
Congressional legislation is necessary, it is
said. Well, they applied here in the month
of December, and 1t is now April it may be
until June or until December, as rumor has
it. can go into the State of the honorable
member himself and find hundreds of men
jus, as disloyal as any in those States. What
IS disioyal in the modern acceptatlon of the
term? A short time ago it WAS disIoYal to
oppose the President. Now it is disloyaI to
support him. 1t is only loyal to u phod
Congress. The Supreme Court has recogni-
zed these States as being in the Union, and
has for weeks been trying cases from them.
It is appreheuded that mischief will result
if they are admitted here. Mischief of what
nc IL Il
only mischief that l am aware of that can
result
Nr. President, my friend adverts in rather
severe terms to the President. The president
stated that in his opinion the bill is uncon-
stitutional, and thinking SO, it was his duty
to interpose his objections. If he had not
done 80 he would have been false to his
plighted faith. As TO any suspicion of dis
loyalty against him, his whole political course
disproves that. In 1861 was here, but not
. member Of the Senate, and 1 heard him
standing in the midst of those who were plot
ting to destroy the Union, fire words that
burned, and denounce their attempts at rebel
lion. .-.-.. ---
Nr. NrE-WilI the Senator allow me to
ask him . question?
Mr.. JoHSsoY-Certainlv
Mr.. NYI-Did lie not admit, at the same
time, the right Of secession ?
Mr.. JOHSsoN-Csrtainly not quite the re-
serve. The most prominent public man who
advocated it was the late lamentei President
Lincoln, in a speech in lS47.
NJ. YArEs said that, under the slavery
amendment, he entertained the opinion that
freedmen we're entitled to the same rights
and privileges As any other citizens of the
United States. The authorities quoted by
the Senator from Maryland only held before
the adoption of the slavery amendment The
Senator from Maryland had offered an amend.
ment to tho Freedmen's Bureau bill, which
recognizes his Mr.. Yate's) position rs the
correct one. ---
Mr.. CowAH said, as it seemed that no ar,
rangement could be made, he proposed to sa
. few words. He looked upon the qxestion
A. purely . legal one. This bill was ven>
turesome one, but it could not affect all the
purposes which its friends desired. The
rights conferred by the first section ofthe bill
are without reservation or restriction. 1t
does not confer rights as upon white citizens,
but confers them absolutely. If this was in
tended - . remedy for the wrongs of the
emancIpated African, it was no remedy at all !;
and to hold it up to the world as such was a
deiusion and . snare. They were to go in
the State Courts; and if they do not do them
justice, they were TO go to the District Courts.
Ws'kuow that the poor Africans are not like
~ TO have any cases over the value of $50 or
800, and BY the time they got through with
litigation and lawyers fees, how much of it
would be left !? l have no ether word for the
bin than atrocity. It is ana so it will be