The national Republican. [volume] (Washington City [D.C.]) 1866-1870, 1866-04-24

collapse Under the Constitution 1t never
had any validity. II was always null and
void-an illegality; more, sir, crime. IL
rested not upon its right, but upon its sword
When that was taken it vanished. And all
that remains to the great eonspirators are
the disappointed hopes and hideous dreams,
unrealized, of madness, folly and ambition.
But what effect did the rebellion have
during its existence upon the forms Of gov
eminent, upon the persons exercising the
functions Of government, and upon the laws
themselves existing before the rebellion in
these StatesR l answer, generally, the re-
bellion from the beginning was an attempt
ut revolution, to dissolve the allegiance Of
those States and their people to the Consti-
tuition Of the United States, and to transfer
that allegiance to the new confederation OF
States; and for the time being just such
changes were made in their form Of govern
ment and functonaries and laws as would
aid that object, and no more.
Bear in mind, the rebellion did not con-
template destroying these States or reducing
them into Territories at ALL The prominent
idea was, or pretended 10 be, to save to the
States greater rights and powers and sover-
eighty than were conceded to them in the
Union under the Federal Constitution, one
Of which was this right Of State secession.
The whole purpose Of the rebellion was to
transfer the allegiance Of those States from
the Federal Union to the confederation Of
the South. Our whole purpose was to pre-
vent that, and save those States in the Union
and compel them and their people to ac-
knowledge their allegiance to it.
We struggled to save the States in O more
perfect Union under our Constitution.
They struggled to save the States with
20. r;,, anil in tho annfn1nra
ton.
Upon this the war was made by them, and
upon that issue it went on until the end.
Neither party belligerent sought to de-
stroy, but to save the States.
Neither party sought to destroy, but to
save a republican form of government in
each of those States
Neither party sought to take from the
people Of those States the right to choose
their Governors and Legislatures, and to
have their own judicial officers nor to take
away the right of representation in national
Government.
But the real issue was whether these Off
GERS would bear allegiance to the Federal
Union or to the rebel confedcracy. Neither
party struggled to take from the people of
those States their right to govern themselves,
under their own State laws-which, after all,
is republican gOyernment-nOr to disturb
the great body of those State laws. Except
in SO far as they aided the Union or the rebel
cause, neither sought to make any change,
or claimed the right to make any, whatever
Is is true that slavery, to defend which was
the ayowed object of the rebellion, and
which became during the war the chief sup
port Of its armies was put directly in issue.
1t was the cornerstone Of their confederacy |;
and tuhan tho rnnfn1.rupvv fall
stone was of course buried in its ruins.
can AFFIRM, then, that neither the State nor
its government, neither its Office of Cover
nor, its Legislature, or its judiciary, were
during the rebellion, sought TO be DESTROYED
or changed in any manner by either bellig-
erent party, any further than it bore upon
the question of allegiance to the Union upon
one side or to the rebel cOniederacy upon
the other, and to the existence or destruction
Of slavery.
But for slavery, and questions growing
out Of it, and ambitions and ideas iostered
by it, there never would have been any re.
belion at all.
No change was sought in the status of the
States, in the forms of their governments
or in their laws except for or on account OF
slavery alone.
Take the case of Georgia, the empire State
of the South. Did the rebellion attempt to
destroy the State of Georgia, as State? Not
at all. 1t did attempt to dissolve all relations
with the United States, and transfer them to
the rebellious confederacy; to throw Off allie,
glance to the Federal Constitution, and come
under the confederate constitution; in short,
to take Georgia as State out of the Union
and put it into another union, in new con,
federation. Had the rebellion succeeded
would the State of Georgia have been de.
stroyed? 1t would certainly have ceased to
be State in this Union, but it would have
still existed as powerful State, not as
Territory, in its new political relations. The
great body of its constitution would remain
the same, the great body Of its civil and
criminal laws the same, as before the rebel
lion. All the laws on contracts, bargain
sale, and conveyance of real estate; all the
laws concerning real or personal estate; the
laws of marriage; the family relations; and
generally all the right md remedies affecting
persons and property and personal liberty
would have remained the same. No effort
was made materially to change them. The
only effect, in case the rebellion had sue
ceeded, would have been to make Georgia q
State outside Of this Union, a State in an
other union.
Now that the rebellion has utterly faileC
10 put INC otule OF georgia INTO new union
did the attempt to do SO, and the crushing Of
that attempt put Georgia as State out Of
this Union? or destroy Georgia as Il State in
this Union? or reduce Georgia from State
in this Union to be Territory? This seems
to be the view advocated by my colleague in
his elaborate and able speech upon this reso
luton. 1t is due to him and TO the important
questions involved that give some further
attention to this part of the subject.
l shall not go over the ground | have
already trod will only observe that it is be
yond belief to suppose that the people or the
State of Georgia themselves ever intended to
reduce themselves from the condition Of q
State to the condition of a Territory. Their
ruling idea, their intensest wish, was to exalt
the State and make its sovereignty para
mount. 1t was with them passion. II be.
came their frenzy. The United States had
no such purpose either
have already shown You that by all the
legislation of Congress, by every proclama.
ton Of the President neither Congress nor
the President ever held any other language
than what was expressed in the last clause of
the resolution of July ~ lsGl, that our pur,
pose was TO maintain the supremacy of the