Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1868-03-18

sacred honor, to the truth ana mainten-
ance Of the principle, ''that all men are
created equal" had taken this view,
why did they not, as modern Democrats
would have done, insert the word
white" before the word "men" in the
deolaration7 That immortal doeu-
ment, the most sublime of human pro-
duetions, could never get through this
body without such an amendment.
Why was it that a majority OF the thir-
teen colonies that achieved our nation
al independence, permitted not only
men Of visible admixture here, but
absolute negroes to vote in them, and
that, too, in Southern States for years
and years after the adoption of our
federal constitution? / should like to
hear some Democratic Senator explain
the reason.
Is the mental lnfsriory of the negro
sufficient reason for the disfranchise-
ment Of every person who has in his
veins visible admixture of African
blood J The coloreG people as q mass
may be ignorant. How could it be
otherwise, since our race has hung,
whipped, exiled for generations every
one who should dare to teach them
even the eternal truths of the Great
Master. But, cir, ignorant as they are.
they are no more ignorant than thous-
ands OF white people whom no one pro
poses to disfranchise. While this is
true, might also say with perfect
truthfulness, that there are many men
in Ohio who would be disiranchised
were this bill to become law, who for
mental resource, culture, and capacity.
would not suffer by comparison with
any Senator upon this floor; and
speak with sense of high respect for
the array of talent surrounding me.
l might further say, that ignorant as
the black man is, IN one respect at any
rate he has exhibited q wisdom far sn-
perior to that of many thousand white
people in the State of Ohio. When the
black, HrAthful cloud which for years
had been gathering volume and inten-
sity in our southern sky, rushed sud
denly up to the zenith and opened the
hood-gates from which was deluged up.
on Us the bloody baptism Of 1851
when our experiment of self govern
ment, with all its clustering hopes. was
trembling. tottering upon the verge of
failure-Ehen the maelstrozn Of south.
ern hate and fury had our old ship, al
most rudderless and and sailorless, up
on the last inner circle, and the fearful
plunge into the unknown chaos below
seemed to be ineVitable-when was to
be decided for as and for the world, for
the present and for the teeming mill
lions of the oncoming future, the great
question of supremacy between the IL
val ideas of liberty and its opposite,
which had entered into our govern
ment in its ncipiency-when, in that
time of despair and sinking hope, the
cry went forth for man-msterial to the
living wall behind which the nations
heart was beating-then, sir, in that
hour of peril, when the prayers of the
righteous seemed as unaVailing as did
the curses of the damned, these self
same black men, one visible drop of
whose blood you would make politi-
cal Cain-maIk, threw themselves into
the breach, side by side with our white
heroes, the lustre of whose achieve
ments is too noble to be dimmed by
any act or thought of justice to the
colored man. Then. sir, this to be os-
tracised class, to man, knew enough
to know the question, the danger, the
duty of the hour-kneW enough to be
upon the side Of the Union, and this is
very much more than can be said of
many thousand white people in the
State Of Ohio. There was not black
man in our State, or in the Union, who
did not know enough to be upon the
SIDE or the 0rfon. andmany or them
struck great blows for the right, that
made secession tremble to its founda-
tion stone--thst bent again again the
bow of promise across our skies; that
bid the golden-hair angel of hope to
lift up her head and smile through her
tears. But he is not to vote. o, no /!
The uncleau spirit that once ruled to
the south of US, borne northward by
some bat-WiDged imp of darkness,
whispers that they are to be disfrsn-
chised because, forsooth, they are igno-
rant upon governmental and patriotic
questions while the thousands Of white
men who took refuge in Canada until
the danger should pass by-who were
either too ignorant 10 know, or too
base and dastardly to do their duty,
are to manage the affairs of our State |
and Government. Such, sir, is the po- |
litical faith of the men who are friend
" TO this bill This is the idea you are
trying to legalize in Ohio.
1t is, sir, no part of my purpose at |
~. ti,,a ~ aptar unon a disot, .aoa Of /
the relative merits of the white and !
black races as they exist in our coun-
try to-day. | am tolerably white msn |
and all my prejudices and be-
liefs, as is human nature, are decidedly |
in favor of the race to which | belong. |
But no question Of superiority Of race !
is involved in the matter now before |
the Senate, or can ever arise as between |
these two races in our country. The |
black people are too Insignificant in 1
too docile and unaspirIng in |
TO occasion any apprehen-
sion of q question of this character eV-
er arising. A question Of race, as be-
tween the descendants of any people, !
must never enter into the politics Of
our country, or we may become in
YolVed in difficulties that will be Of
disastrous consequences to US. All the |
colored man wishes for himself, or
rather all that philanthropy asks for
him, is that he be recognized as a men, !
Der, a poor, weak, dependent member,
if you please, of the universal brother
hood of man, and to be allowed to be
all that he can be-. believe, sir, that |
his individuality must soon be swallow
ed up, efaced, oblitersted by the |
mighty elemsnts surrouding him, and
in which he is a mere soluble speck in |
the great sea. To this result the his
tory of the past and the facts of ethno-
logical science point most unrhis
taksbly.
In the meantime it seems to me to
be an outrage upon even handed jus
tice to attempt to disarm him Of the
ballot, that WeapOa- Of freemen, that
must be his only defense against these
aggressions and tyrannies, which, un-
der deVilish law Of human mind, the
strong are always attempting upon the
weak and bowed down. | am not un-
sir, that in giving ntterance
to these thoughts l am earning what
ever derisiVe sobriquet the opponents
of these truths may be pleased to sub
Htitute for the now obsolete term aboh
tionist, but believe nevertheless that
/ can stand up straighter before my
fellow men, that can look inward with
more approval, and upward with a