The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1867-01-12
ly proper to present them to their Sen
ators and Representatives In Congress.
RECoNsTRUcTION AND CONSTITUTIONAL.

RECONSTRUCTION AND CONSTITUTIONAL
baav AMENDMENT.
The people Of the North have no
been animated by a spirit Of resent
ment and revenge, in their dealing;
with the South, since the conclusion
of the rebellion On the contrary
they,aia7e earnestly hoped that the
people of the South would kindly anG
sincerely accept the situation, and co
operate with them IN the settlement
of our national difficulties upon per.
manent basis; and had the Southern
people met them in this spirit, ad
justed their Constitutions and laws tC
the new order of things, rendered jus.
tice and given equal protection to all
their n citizens, cCnhscatlon, dlsfran-
chisement and punishment would
scarcely have been demanded. When
upon the surrender of Lees army
General Grant gave dissolution to the
Confederate officers and soldiers, upon
the sole condition of not again bear
ing arms against the Republic, the
nation ,acquiesced in his conduct al
most without a murmur, and when all
the rebel forces laid down their arms,
and the war was at an end, the misfor-
tunesiof the South, the fallen and pros
trate condition of the people inspired
In the, North feelings amounting to
almost, compassion and forgiveness.
At that time the South declared full
submission, asked for lenient terms,
but claimed no rights and dictated no
conditions. But since then the tenn
per of her people seems to have un-
-dergone radical change. They have
passed from submission to defiance,
and the mercy which was extended
to them has been. requitted in bloody
prosecutions upon the Union men and
negro population in their midst.
Their course has had its natural and
inevitable effect upon the public mind
of the-Rorth which is rapidly passing
from mercy and forgiveness to the
stern demands Of justice and the ex-
action of the penalties for treason.
The logic of events against which the
arguments of the statesman weigh
not, n40qlds the public mind and
sweepsfft on rapidly from conclusion
to conclusion. The Impossible of
yesterday is the possible of to-day,
and the radiealism of to-day becomes
the conservatism of to- morrow.
The patriotic and loyal members Of
Congress who voted for the Winter
Davis bill in 1864, would stand
aghast before it as scheme of recon
struction in 1866. It was then thought
the wisest thing to be done, but we
can now see in the light of two years
experience how fatal it would have
been to the nation It was manifest
from the beginning that no scheme
of reconstruction could be or ought
to be accepted by the people of the
North, which did not involve the
equalizing of representation In Con-
gress and the electoral college. The
people of the North could not consent,
honorably to themselves, nor without
a disregard to the principles of Re-
publican government, that those late
ly in rebellion should return to their
places in the Government, and retain,
in perpetuity, the right to represent
four millions Of eolored people whom
they deprive of all political rights.
which would give to them after 1870
at least thirty votes In the electoral
college and in the House of Repre-
sentatives. Should the Southern
States bepermitted to return without
the rectifcation of this great wrong it
would constitute source of constant
ly increasing dissatisfaction in the
North, would be regarded as an in
tolerablej burden and would danger
ously threaten the future peace of the
country. s1e nl3oe -I,g a1H us
l have received from the Secretary
of State of Ithe United States an Of
fetal copy of a joint resolution passed
by Congress at the late session, two
thirds of leach house concurring, pro-
posing to the States an amendment to |
the Constitutional the United States.
which [ herewith submit for your |
consideration. u83g q
The irstsclause of the amendment |
establishes the great fact that all per-
sons born In the United States are
subject to the Jurisdiction thereof, !
are citizens of the United States. and |
of the State wherein they reside, and |
that no State shall abridge the priv /
leges or immunities of citizens of the |
United States, or deprive any person
of life, liberty or property without
due process of law, or deny to any
person within its jurisdiction the
equal protection of the laws.
The second clause establishes
equality of representation in the lower
house of Congress, and in the electo-
raj college, by excluding from the
basis of representation any race or
class of people who are deprived of
the right of suffrage, and thus takes
away from all the States the right to
have representation for the colored
people in their midst, unless they first
give them the right of suffrage. 1t
proceeds upon the principle that white
people do not have their political
rights enlarged by reason of having in
their midst colored population whom
I hav daprirra &C oil rol;+,ooI ILL