Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1867-02-20
RECONSTRUCTION.

RECONSTRUCTION.
SPEECH OF HON. S. SHELLABAR
GER, OF OHIO,
In the House of Representative, Janu
airy "a, 1867, on the Bill, No. 543
to provide for restoring to the State
lately in Rebellion, their full POliti-
cal Rights.
Mr.. SHELLABAReER. 1 would like K
make the first thing 1 say on this occa
sion the most agreeable thing which
shall say and with that design, shall
say first, that am not about to make
an hours speech. Laughter
Mr.. Speaker, the man who Is now
the acting President of the United
States once said to me, in speaking o.
a bill like the one now before the
House, that it was a measure to dis
solve the. Union. That proposition hai
been 80 often repeated by members
upon the other side of this Hall, dur
ing the debates now under considera
tion, that 1 thought the House would
probably pardon me if 1 should at
tempt to condense into few sentences
q suggestion or two in regard to thai
declaration, repeated so often and worn
out so thoroughly as it is; and with the
purpose of making the shortest state
ment that can, of condensing it into
as few sentences as 1 can, trust the
House will pardon me for reading part
of what have to say about it. / say
it now, not because 1t is either new or
important-important l mean as pre-
senting any thing novel fer the cousid-
Grafton of the House, present it only
because the declaration has been re-
peated again and again with apparent
earnestness by gentlemen on the oppo-
site side,ofth Hall, and as being worthy
the attention of gentlemen on this
side.
Every argument and every view and
every method of presentation and state
ment which ever has been or which
ever can be devised to enforce this doc
trine, to wit, that the nation has no
power to guaranty to these reVolted
districts loyal republican governments,
condense themselves into but two. One
of these methods runs thus: that as
all loyal men confess that by no seces-
sion, rebellion, or other possible or con-
ceiVable act of its people, can any
State, or the people thereof, withdraw
from the Union, therefore these rebel
States are in the Union. If in the Un-
ion then, as there can be no State in
the Union which is not entitled to two
Senators and at least one Representa-
tive, therefore. these revolted States are
entitled to such Senators and Repre-
sen tatives and to all the other powers
and representations of States, and any
legislation denying this is usurpation
and unconstitutional. Now, it is abso-
lutely self-evident that if this view es-
tablishss anything, it establishes this
also, namely: that during the entire
war. these rebel States were entitled to
elect our rulers. because if you admit
that during the war thes States and
their people ceased to have such pow
ers to elect Senators, Representatives
and Presidents, then you admit that it
is possible for a State and a people TO
do that which in law either forfeits or
their power to elect the ma
tons rulers, and the whole argument
30 far as based on this point, IS aban-
doned. Now, notice here that they
who make this argument deny that in
dividuals who go into rebellion can de-
citizenize themselves so as that the
United States may, as to any indiYid-
ual accept his remuneration of any
power appeTtsining to citizenship, and
declare him to have ceased to have the
powers of one of the people, and elect
ors of State. Note carefully, also,
that these same persons all maintain
that it is wrong, and most of them that
it is illegal, to try and punish as trait
ors, those who Haged this rebellion,
and in pursuance of this doctrine their
vote nearly solid
against Furnishing as a traitor Davis,
the head of the rebellion. Now, this
it is aVerred is the constitutional law
Of the Republic.
Mr.. Speaker, may l borrow from
Mr.. Greeley a method of H.
lustrsting this kind of constitutional
law? -...-..
Whatever is 4 principle of our Con-
stitution Is capable of being written
put into explicit and affirmative re-
guirements of the Constitution. Let
Us write the above constitutional law
put in language, not unjust or tortured,
but fairly stating what this doctrine af-
firms. 1t reads thus when written
out:
Article nine, section one. When
ever hereafter 8 causeless rebellion
shall arise, and war be wsged against
The United States, so great and bloody
that the rebellion shall in fact abolish
and overthrow all the constitutions-and
laws of eleven States of this Union
which recognize the supreme authority
of such Union, and shall remove from
office all officers who have taken an
path to support the Constitution of the
United States, and shall enact and en-
force in the place of such loyal oonsti-
tutions and laws only such as recognize
the supreme authority of usurped and
rebel governments, and in the place Of
such loyal officers shall put such legis
lators and officers alone as shall swear
TO support such rebellion, and shall
kill, imprison or Danish all such per-
sons in such eleven States as will not
Md in the said war to destroy this On
ion, and shall continue to wage such
war four years. and therein shall kill
three hundred thousand of the loyal
people, and by starving and other prac-
ices Of barbarians, shall murder sixty
thousand and more, and shall inhict
upon the nation a debt of 1000, 900,
BOO, and shall lay waste and desolate
the entire land, and shall not cease
'uch war until totally overthrown in
overwhelming and crushing defeat,
hen, and in all such cases, the people |
70 actually engaged in such rebellion,