Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1868-02-14

themselves and In February, 1857, Con-
gress for the first time entered upon the
execution Of the guarantee provided for in
the Constitution by the passage OF the first
reconstruction law. a supplementary bill
; was found necessary in March, another one
in July. and believe another is found ne
cessary at this time; but the power is with
Congress. Whatever it shall deem neces-
sary, whether it be in the way Of colored
suffrage, whether it be in the way of mill
tary power - whatever Congress shall
deem necessary in the execution of this
guarantee, is conclusive upon the courts,
upon every State, and upon the people of
this nation.
Sir, when Congress entered upon this
work it had become apparent to all men
that loyal Republican State governments
could NOT be erected and maintained upon
the basis of the white population. Wehsd
tried them. Congress had attempted the
| work Of reconstruction, through the con-
stitutional amendment, by leaving the suf-
frage with the white men, and by leaving
with the white people OF the South the
question as to when the colored people
should exercise the right of suffrage, if
ever. but when it was found that those
white m en- were as rebellious as ever, that
they hated this Government more bitterly
than ever; when 1t was found that they
prosecuted the loyal men, both white and
black, in their midst, when it was found
that Northern men who had gone down
there were driven out by social tyranny,
by thousand annoyances, by the inse
curity of life and property, then 1t became
apparent to all men of intelligence that
reconstruction could not take place upon
the basis of the white population, and
something else must be done.
What was left to be done? Either
military power must be continued in the
South, or such machinery used upon such
new basis as would enable loyal repub
lican State governments to be raised up.
Congress and the nation had waited long,
and experience hac to come to the rescue
of reason before the thing was done Up
on the basis of the everlasting principle of
equal and exact justice to all men, We
have planted the column of reconstruc-
ton; and it will arise slowly but surely,
and "the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it." The speaker admitted that he
:lad approached universal colored suffrage
in the South reluctantly. Not because he
adhered to the miserable dogma that this
was the white mans Government but be-
cause he had entertained fears about at once
entrusting a large body of men just from
slavery, to whom education had been de-
MED by law, to whom the marriage rela-
| ton had been denied, who had been made
the basest and most abject slaves with po-
lit1cal power. He referred to a speech
made by him in 1866 to show the prin-
ciple that then actuated him, in which he
admitted the equal rights OF all men, and
that all would in time have the right to
vote, regardless of color or race, but his
feelings at that time were that Z" in the case
of four million of slaves just freed from
bondage there should be period of pro-
baton and preparation before they are
brought to the exercise of political power"
1t had not then been determined by two
years bloody experience that we could not
reconstruct upon the basis of the white
population, and such was the opinion of
a great majority of the people of the North;
and it was not until year and half after
that time Congress came to the conclusion
that there was no way left but to resort to
colored. suffrage and suffrage to all men
except those who were disqualified by the
commission of high crimes and misdemean-
Ors
Mr.. President, we hear much said in the
course of this debate and through the
press about the violation of the Constitu-
ton. 1t is said that in the reconstruction
measures of Congress we have gone out
side OF the Constitution, and the remark
of some distinguished statesman Of the
Republican party is quoted to that effect
Sir, if any leading Republican has ever
said so he spoke only for himself, not for
another. deny the statement IN toto. L
insist that these reconstruction measures
are as fully within the power of the Con-
stitutiOn as any legislation that can be had,
not only by reason but by authority. And
who are the men that are talking so much
about the violation of the Constitution and
who pretend to be the especial friends of
that instrument? The great mass of them
only three years ago were in arms to over
turn the Constitution and establish that of
Montgomery IN its place, or were their
| Northern friends, who were aiding and
sympathizing in that undertaking.
Mr.. Morton spoke of what was de-
sciibed as a Constitutional Union man
one living inside of the Federal lines DUR
ing the war, sympathizing with the rebel
| lion, and who endeavOred to aid the rebel
lion by insisting that every war measure
for the purpose of SURPRISING it was q
violation of the Constitution of the United
States. Now these men who claim to be
the especial friends of the Constitution are
the men who have sought to destroy it by
force of arms, and those throughout the
country who have given them aid and
comfort. He could say to the Constitu-
ton: "How many crimes against liberty,
humanity, and progress are committed III
thy name by these men, who, while they
loved not the Constitution and sought its
destruction, now, for party purposes, claim
to be its especial friends" Mr.. Morton, in
reply to the assertion Of Mr.. Doolittle that
the Radicals at the South were the seces-
sionists, stated the fact that the secession
lists of the South are Democrats to-day,
acting in harmony and concert with the
Democratic party. On the charge made
that the reconstruction measures of Con-
gress are intended to establish negro
supremacy at the South, Mr.. Morton
said
Sir, this proposition is without any
foundation whatever I believe it was
stated yesterday by the Senator from Hi
nois Mr. Trumbull] that in every State
but two the white voters registered out
numbered the colored voters; and the fact
that in two States the colored voters out
number the white voters is owing to the
simple accident that there are more
colored men in those States than there are
white men. Congress has not sought to
establish negro supremacy, nor has it
sought to establish the supremacy of any
class or party of men. If it had sought to
establish negro supremacy it would have
been an easy matter by excluding from the
| right of suffrage all men who had been