American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1866-07-28
The Black Republicans Two Years
Ago and NoW.-soms Interesting
"Reminiscences With Comm art5,

1Su d-lu NuWt~EUluS !ESCI Ct tluS
"reminiscences, With Comm aIt5.
We have seen the Federal Govern
ment recognising the official acts If
Governor appointed by the mill
tary, without the consent of any por-
ton of the inhabitants land the leg
islature could have been appointed
in the same Way, and these acts are
called those of Il sovereign State of
the American Union! In the in.
stance we CAV III a previous article,
that of Tennessee, We have seen this
We have seer this Governor super
coded By on e chosen by tenth of
the voters, at the suggestion and
by the die tation Of the President,
and the legislature, chosen in tie
same mar nar, elected Senators to
the Cofgr ess Of the United States,
who were received without an objec-
tion-no man at that day daring to
question the right Of the military
chief o. the nation to adopt any
measnr he thought proper to secure
the gre at aim OF the war-and Eav-
ing he id their seats tor two years,
by the action of the Senate alore
they arc excluded from this body, no
char re being preferred against them.
Here :, then. we have two govern
mnr IS recognized as the estate OF
Ter nessee," and vet another, in EN-
by o, holds its place in the minds
ey e, and this one, excluded from ex-
er cising it3 heavan-derived rights,
6 ives charactei to the conduct Of the
{ onspirators who are opposing thu
reconstruction policy % the lreSl
dent, and labOring to fomcnt animos-
tiles and heart -burnings between tho
two great divisions, which time cas-
never remove. We mean, OF course,
the only government which can
claim the right to speak for the State
and act in her hehalt-that of the
-people. The majority of SiXty-odd
Thousand of the free and patriotic
voters of TennesSee-ad the same is
trup of the ten other Confederate
:States-constitute TIE state, and no
d .ludtd minority, who hold their
power by stealth, or By the aid OF
mercenary soldiers of another gov
eminent, have the least right to
sneak in her name The seal OF Ten
ressee, affixed to an official docu
ment by the usurper BrOwnlOw, is
political forgery, and the day viii Is
certainly come, as that the sun now
s,lumincs the sky, when the people
of that honest State, in common witt
others in a similar condition, will re
puAiate these acts of traitors an,
usurperS, and denOunce then az
frauds upon their rights, falsehoO1'
and stains upon their judicial prminc
and Ebels upon their political ant
national cscutcheons; and the per
petrators of these great crimes wi
he scornpd as traitors to the State
over which they have ruled. and il
whose name they have falsely am
presumptuOusly claimed the priv
lege to speak.
We have seen, then, a sovereig
State existing, or acting, throug
four distinct governments, and "
they have written constitutions
which il is clearly taught that stat
can only have one government, ar
this must be changed by herself,
changed at all. We do not mean
AK the country cannot be subiuga
e. and a foreign government place
ovor her. This has been done
most or all of the eleven sefedl'
s,o+ss What we mean is, tn
t,sse cxerpn.' ents are not rPcogniz
h. the Constitut. ;pn, and unti' III
are fully pstb"ed t. !" :" 80 :.
these substituted govern "e".S -
not act for the people under me
Constitution, concpding IL them on
aporfion of their former rig1s q