The Tiffin weekly tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1859-1868, 1867-10-24
Eleolive Franchise.

z ship, aud now the ovorshadowin
g. question is, "Shall that race hdlA
5 rrancbised?' Shall it be empoEeyf
} to speak in the selection Of Fed6fa
and State ofieors2
In answering this question We mr.
driven back to the examination o
some principles and facts, olcmeutar!
in our mixed, fedOratiyo and State
system Of government. .it.I
At Grst, whom sepera c, indopcnd
ent government was determined upon
the confederation was formed. Undel
it the colonies or States fought out
Independence So soon as public
attention was Withdrawn from the
struggle for independence, 1t began
to scrutinizc the workings OF the gov
ernmcnt under the confederation
| The sense Of common cause aud dan
gers which bad held them together
during tho war, being then no longer
felt, gave way TO a study Of the cou.
federation. That study resulted in q
general judgement of its iusuiiciency,
and a dem nd for a "moro perfect
union" To effect that more perfect,
union, the nation shed the old skin of
confederation, aud appeared in the
constitution, framed and adopted, un.
der the Presidency of Washington.
The people were then con.ious Of
the iusuilicieucy of the articles of
confederation, for tho argumc mt
dyaiast the confederation, and for tho
constitution, is found in the proam
bic. II is:
"Wc, tho people of the United
States, in order to form more per.
feet union, establish Justice, ensure
domestic tranquility, provide for the
common defence, promote the gen.
eral welfare, aud secure the blessings
of Liberty to ourrolves aud posterity,
do ordain and establish this oonstitu.
tion for the United States Of America
The ends to be attained, just above
enumerated, compass all the lcgiti.
mate ends Of government. The con.
stitutiou adopted to attain these ends
was, a, the time Of its adoption by
the trainers Of it, and the people, be.
lievcd to be perfect, 1t had in it,
they thought, the elements Of dem.
ocratic republican government. 1t
was a government, "by the people, OF
the people, fer the people" This
fact distinguished it from all other
human governments, namely; Thoj
Td cas based on Tie cqaaiiy Of man
ia political and cicH rights.
But, iu fact, the people who or
daiucd the constitution, had before,
aud AZ the time Of ordaining the con.
stitution, State governments, which,
thirteen in number, covered the
whole territory that was covered by
the constitution. Those State gov
ornmcnts, which wcro then thought
to be republican in form, has in cael
provisions as to the elective fran
chise.. Upon this point, of the clcc
tive franchise, they differed. IL
some States nearly all persons, with
out regard to color, were electors
The prejudice then, against the Airi
can, was not so great as now, IL
some States a property qualification
existed. In some States by it, many
Of the white people were disfran
ehiscd All were more liberal thar
are the monarohs Of Europe, will
which they could and did make com
parsons.
/ With this variety in the cloctiv,
franchise, in the States existing, tn,
constitution was framed. Each State,
delegates clung to the conditions oI
clcetoship in their respective States
Although most obvious that ther,
should be uniformity iu the olcctiv,
franchise throughout tho States, 5,
tenacious were the States. through
thor delegates, for their respective
preferences, that the convention
made but little provision nPOu tn
subject.
What that provision is, and th
power implied in it, will be the sub
d mat % onnihnr orfi,1o