Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1866-10-20
The Rixh,. Of Citizenship.

The Rights OF C~itizenship.
Those who seek some excuse for oppos-
ing the Congressional policy OF recon-
struction have inveighed with much en-
phasis. against the first section of the pro-
posed amendment to the Constitution, de.
claring that it confers upon negroes the
right Of suffrage. The amendment is as
follows:
"All persons or ~natualized in the Uni
ted States and subject to the jurisdiction
thereof, are citizens Of the United States,
and Of the State wherein they reside. No
State shall make or enforce any law which
shall abridge the privileges or immunities
OF citizens Of the United States; nor shall
any State deprive any person of life, lib
erty or property without due process Of
law; nor deny to any person within its
jurisdiction the equal protection Of the
laws"
Webs,er's dictionary defines the word
CITIZEN to mean q ''man who has the
privilege Of exercising the elective fran
chise, and to purchase and hold real es-
tate" High as Mr.. Webster's abilities
may have been as a photographer, he was
no, a lawyer, and gave = layman's loose
definition to a law term. A citizen 10 not
necessarily a voter. Neither is a voter
under the laws OF Illinois necessarily q
citizen Of the United States, all aliens who
were residents of the State at the adoption
Of our present Constitution in lS4S being
made thereby voters, whether they are
citizens or not.
Gen. Baker. Of Indiana, very forcibly
argued this question in q recent speech at
Whea,land, in that State. The Demo-
cratic stump orators had been making
what they considered a strong point, by
alleging that amendment we have quoted
was intended by Congress to confer, and
if adopted would confer, the right Of suf-
frage upon all the male negroes in the
country OF lawful age. Gen. Baker
showed conclusivsly that the right TO vote
is no, an element to citizenship. By the
laws Of Congress, . foreigner cannot
be naturalized and become an Ameri-
can citizen until he has resided
FIVE years in the United States; but
under the Constitution Of Indiana, a
foreigner Of proper age, who shall have
resided one year in the United States, and
six months in the State, and shall have
declared his intention to become a citizen,
shall be entitled to vote. Here, then, is a
voter who is not a citizen. Neither is
citizenship essential to the right Of hold
ing real estate, as declared by Mr.. Web
ster's dictionary. Any person, under our
law, Of foreign birth, who is an actual
resident Of the United States, is compe-
tent to hold and convey real estate.
Women and minors are citizens under
the avs Of the United States, but no one
pretends that they are voters. II the dec
~laration that the amendment confers the
elective franchise on negroes be true, it il
also true that it confers It On female %
well as male negroes; OF minors as well as
persons Of twenty-one, for its language is:
An persons born or naturalized in the
| United States . . are citizens OF
the United States" Our Democratic"
friends in proving that a citizen is q voter
prove altogether too much.
The whole superstructure Of the theory
being based on a falsehood, the argument
will not hold. Chancellor Kent had some
reputation as a constitutional lawyer ;
and, though no never made a dictionary,
his legal definitions are perhaps more
valuable than Noah Webster's. He de-
clares tina, a citizen is a free inhabitant
of the United States, or naturalized under
the laws OF Congress-" This definition Is
clear and simple, and is firm throughout.
The object Of the amendment is simply to
give an authoritative definition OF the
term, and to prevent the rights OF citizens
from being abridged by State laws. 1t con-
fers no right. not naturally inherent in citi-
zenship, as we have a~bundantly shown. for
IL il could be construed as conferrng the
elective franchise on negroes, it certainly
confers it also on women and persons
under age.
We cannot better conclude this argu-
ment than with General Bakers " illus
tration: Amy man." he says, "who
can understand what it is to be a member
Of a family need have no difficulty in
comprehending what it is to be an Ameri-
can citizen. If the person in the case is
born in the family, or adopted into 1t by
those having the right to make the adop-
ton, he need have 10 hesitancy in claim
ing membership in that family. SO II q
person is born in the national family, or
adopted into it by naturalization, he need
not hesitate to say, i I'm q member OF
the national family. 1 Am an American
citizen But the mere fact Of citizenship
in the family does not decide whether the
person enjoying it is to govern or to be
governed in the family. The infant in the
cradle and the father at the head OF the
household are both aud equally members
Of the family. So, also, is the great ma
,ional family. We are all members Of it,
and, however humble or however exalted,
are equally entitled to be protected in our
homes, in our persons, in our lives, in oui
liberties, and in our property. But this
RICH, OF protection carries with 1t no right
to exercise political power either BY voting
or by holding Office. If we are in search
of political rights we must lake them jus,
as we End them in the Constitution and
the laws of the State and nation, and Il
dissatisfied with these, we may seek theii
amendment in the regularly appointed
way."