Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1867-10-11
TIE
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The first division Of parties in the
limited States was that OF F-EDERALIsTs
and REPUBLICANS. or the latter, JET
PERSON, MADISON and MACON were the
Chiefs. Long afterwards, the word Re-
PUBLICAN was displaced and the word
DEMOCRATIC substituted for it. But the
latter name was a misnomer, because,
however Democratic the form Of governs
mert OF q State may be, the Govern
ment Of the Nation never was and never
was meant 10 be g Democracy. The
United States was intended TO be a Re
public, formed by q Union Of States, and
not by the ~coaIescence aud concretiOn Of
the individual citizens Of the States into
one people.
It was intended that nothing, under
the National Government, should be de-
cfded by the numerical majority Of votes.
There was no intention TO reproduce On
a gigantic scale, Over vast area Of cOun-
try. the tickle and tumultuous AtheDian
Demos or Roman Pebs,-the Popuisce
rs Sovereign. The Fathers did not in
tend that the crude effervesence Of the
popular vii for the moment should be
condensed into Law OF executive action.
They did not mean to put the small
states 81 the mercy Of the large ones, the
minority az the mercy Of the majority,
or one section 20 the mercy Of the other.
They did not mean that the country
should become q Democracy. They did
not mean that the Republic should be
necessarily a. short-Iiyed as q MUSHROOM
or the gourd Of the Prophet JONAH.
They meant, we repeat, that nothing
whatever should ever be determined by
direct OF indirect vote Of the mere
numerical majority Of the voters Of the
United States.
First Of al, they left it absolutely TO
each State 70 determine what portion OF
classes Of its people should possess the
right Of suffrage; while the number OF
the whole white population Of a State
and Of three-fftEs Of its negroes deter
mined the number Of its representative
in Congress. II New Hampshire and
Connecticut, FOR example, had the same
population, each would have the same
number Of Representative as the other,
although the right Of suffrage might be
50 restricted ia one that it had only half
As many voters s. the other. The right
20 vote was nowhere one Of a. iuhe-
rent and essential rights Of citizenship.
In the House Of Representatives, the
States were represented, by Represent
etives elected by each State or by Dis
tricts Of q State, in proportion 10
their population, excluding Indians not
csxed aud including three-fhhs Of the
slaves.
But in the Senate, the States, large
and small, were equally represented
and no law could be enacted without the
concurrence Of the House and Senate.
The small States, therefore, could with
ease deflst, I'm the Senate, the viii Of the
majority Of the whole people Of al the
States, IS expressed in the House OF
Representative and this alone made
the government republican and not
democratic. The Senators, also, were
not to be elected by the people but by
the Legislature Of each state, which
might consist Of one body or Of two;
and the houses, If there we're two, might,
III indeed they ought not to) vote sepa.
rately, q msjority Of the votes Of esch
House being necessary to elect; so that
the Senator elected might or might not
be the choice Of q majority Of the people
or voters Of the State.
The President and Vice President were
not to be elected by the people, but by
Electors to be appointed, mot elected,
in each state, In such manner as the
Legislature should direct. Neither was
each State represented in the Electoral
Colleges by 3 number Of Electors pro-
portioned TO its population or to the
number OF It's voters but by rs many as
II had Senators and Representatives ia
Congress.
Thus Delaware, Rhode Island, or 3
newly admitted State with but one
Representative, was to have three
electoral votes. Each cast a vote three
times IS large az its population entitled
IL 10. New York and other large States,
with twenty-five, thirty, or forty Repre-
~sentatives, were 10 have only two Elee-
tors each, more than Representatives;
the vote Of each exceeding that 70 which
lis population entitled il, by only small
rer ecntum. With thirty Represents
tives. the electoral vote Of New York is
thirty-two with q Representative, !
that Of Delaware is three. Surprising
the number Of voters in each to be the
same. in proportion to the population,
the weight Of the vote Of a single voter
Il New York, compared with that Of 3
.ingle voter in Delaware, ia As l 215 to 3.
New England, with twelve Senators,
not only hsg twelve votes in the Senate