The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1867-01-24

a wealthy STAKEHOLDER secured his election to
congress by setting free q considerable num-
Der of his slaves, who went to the polls and
voted for him in . body. In Tennessee, 9
person well known in his day, was first eleet-
ed to congress by negro votes. John Petit,
of Indiana, said in his place, in the senate,
in 1851 ~ k
"Many of the states have conferred this right
(of sufrage) upon Indians and many ,both norsa
and south, have conferred it upon free negreo'
without property. Old Cave johnson, OF Tennes-
see, an honored and respectable gentleman, ior-
merly postmaster general and, o,a mo ,Uas
time member of the other house. toid me with
his own lips that the first time ne was elected TO
congress from Tennessee, in 1873, It was by the
votes of free negroes and ne told me aow.-
Free negroes iH Tennessee were then allowed sby
the constitution of the state to vote; and he was
an iron manufacturer, and had large number of
free negroes as wen as slaves in his employ. |
well recolIeet the number he stated. One hundred
and free negroes went to the ballotbox
and elected him to congress the first time no was
elected"
In Maryland, colored men voted until 1888.
In North Carolina, they originally voted
Judge CASTOR, in legal opinion, in 1888,
said: IA
cIne very congress WHICH IKdHitu CouStitu
ton the state constitution of 1870 was chosen
| by freeeholders. That constitution extended the
elective franchise to every freeman who arrived
| at the age of twenty-one, and paid public tax
and it is matter of universal notoriety that un-
der free persons, without regard to color, claim
ed and exercised the franchise until it was taken
from free men of color, few years since, by our
| amended constitution"
| We print here the clause in the Tennes-
see constitution of 1876, which secured to
free colored men the right to vote at the
polls: ~as - ~ a=E
ARTICLE III. Sec. 1.--A1l freemen of the age
| Of twenty-one and upwards, possessing freehold
in the county where he may vote, and being al
inhabitant of any one county within the state six
months Immediately preceding the day of cleo
ton, shall be entitled to vote for members of th'
general assembly for the county in which they
| shall respectively reside.
Under this constitution every free negro
| in the state who owned an acre or half an
acre of land, or town lot 20 feet square
voted, for forty years-till ls36-for county
state, and federal officers, or sheriff, repre-
sentative in the legislature, governor, con
| gresham, and president ofthe United States
Mr.. McEwen. a well-known citizen of Nash
vile, native of Tennessee, wrote, last Sep
tember.to the Nashville Union, the following
! reminiscence of the exercise of this right:
"In the election for state officers, governor, dc
4 in 1927, had in my employ free negro. Oh
the day of the above election he asked the prvileg
| of accompanying me to the polls, wishing me
| certify his freedom. I did so. / saw him vot
for governor" ss J. ks~5AAS. So -
The celored men voted for General San
Houston. John Bell boasted that he wa
twice elected to congress by negro votes.
But Tennessee is not the only slave stat
where free negroes have exercised the RICH
of suffrage. They were permitted to vote
| North Carolina until 1885, when in that stat
| also the constitution was revised, and th
colored people were DISTINGUISHED. III
4 Nashville Onion, discussing this questle
e last year, wrote that Senator Douglas, IN til
: debate on the admission of Minnesota hi
o the Union, stated, as an historical ineidei
8 | land was not contradicted by the North Ca
It DINA senators present. that distinguish
t North Carolinan emancipated a large nun
e | Der of negroes in order to make them voter
+ | to elect him to the legislature of the state.
4 1t may be well, now, to enquire why
n was that, one by one, the southern stat
!. | changed their constitutions and exclude
t colored men from the privileges of voting
The answer is easy, and well known to mo
zz - -
l MISUNDERSTANDING states These arita1o