The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1868-01-21
will the Reconstruction Acts
stand?

livides itself into tive parts: first, wheth-
II these acts will stand If the Supreme
Court should not pass upon them; and
whether the Supreme Court will
pronounce them void.
Independently Of possible decisions
by that high tribunal, it is incontestible
hat the great body Of the Southern
whites, and a large proportion OF the
Northern people. believe the Reconstruc.
ton acts unconstitutional, and are not
likely to change their belief. The: South
ern whites, thus believing, and thus sup
ported in their belief by great party in
the North, will never submit to these
acts except by military coercion. But
military coercion is costly, and impatience
under the pressure Of taxation will soon-
er or later compel the federal govern
ment to withdraw its armies, when the
unpropped structure will fall into imme
diate collapse. The moral certainty Of
this result, as the final termination Of
the experiment (unless it be previously
arrested by the Supreme Court, is SO
great that only heated partisans can ex-
pect the negro governments to be durable
But the question is about to be again
brought before The Supreme Court, and
in such form that the Court cannot dis
claim jurisdiction. There is we'll found-k
ed expectation that the decision will be~
against the constitutionality Of the Law;
and if SO, the Reconstruction experiment
will explode at oncesin the hands Of its
conductors. A lawyers reason for ex-
pecting this result would rest upon the
constitutional argument; but the popular
expectation is supported by the admis-
sions of Republicans. As q specimen Of
these admissions, We insert the following
paragraph from the Evening Post:
ave wish that some of the wiseacres
at Washington would tell us how soon
the Southern States are to be reconstruct
led'if the acts Of reconstruction are them
selves to be tinkered every few days.
When these acts soere originally presented
sce thought them unscise, impracticable,
AND EVEN UNCONSTITUTIONAL, bat we
soers williag to acquiesce to their adoption
in order to secure a re-establishment Of
the States, and prevent the adoption c
sobat might be aoorss. Once within the
Union, with their equal constitutional
rights acknowledged, the States would
have full power to frame and modify
their institutions as they pleased.
The Times, another Republican journ-
al has a hundred times avoved its opin-
ion that the Reconstruction acts are not
authorized by the Constitution. Thad-
Ieus Stevens has again and again declared
that in passing them Congress acted out
side the Constitution, and he has spoken
i in the most contemptuous terms of the
Republicans who believe or pretend 9TH
erwise. At least one of the Senators
who voted for them has confessed that be
thought them unconstitutional. atthe time,
and that he accepted them only to escape
worse evils. Attorney General Stanbury
who argued against the jurisdiction Of
the Supreme Court, in the cases which
came before it last spring, expressed him
self against the constitutionality OF the
] acts, in his eighth of January speech
4 Y With ylgoT ana smPnrS,s r..,;..S 49, Aas
hs.. s'a.nsu aa as cans.ass -''
e = : nroha II s bIa sh.. sss the sunrem. f,or,t
J when the subject was before it last spring
I shared the opinion of the Evening Post,
..e.e.y a. ass;s;aS ~ N.,,
la .nas an aass's ;.sh;as % &C.,. - sas.. s, I
:. ,sa ,hat ,;ass as - h. - novsrf,l llv hsclsd
- ~ 'a' .ss Na...o.. NJ, - - -. ~, asr;s;nn
- 80 AZ. L.. me,s,5 80 49, 49,
ssa,aos sss1oasad I .na ,ea;sls,;on vori5 b.vs
.ss sss.ss Sr..l = q -. s.s..;...;.s
pesu auUP.o. - ~ las ~ ~ !
suu uuue1 .uan0 -. .uu 11s1 ~. ~ =. !,
GouI.. peslues' - was supPuss1 snas :
.ne oo!.u aa.,eu :. asa'0. :. -.
vou.' :. Uu'u arI ny .sSs sA0 s1s-.s - y
.ne inevi'apie ns JuuseS Wsle ploDs'
oiy nos sofry ,nss .np 'sSss 0ame ~ -
sucn snaps suae sne oou's 'ouiu ~
take Jurisuic1ion " ehsn.
olnce tnese cases were argued the sls-
uation has IN all respects changed. The
domineering strength Of the Republican
, party, by which Congress was supported,
has been broken. All expectation that
the South would ever acquiesce is extin-
guished. Congress will no longer dare
to reorganize the Supreme Court or to
defy its decisions. The independeuce Of
that tribunal then impaired By Repub.
lican menaces, has been restored And
as case IS about TO come before 1t o. o.
E which 1t has undoubted l1rlsdictlon, Il
will decide one way or the other; ane
there can be no reasonable doubt that L
will decide against the constitutlonali'y
OF the heconstruction law.
A decision to tnas eIect aow, WI 3 9
INFINITELY more service 'nan y coula nave
lbeen last spring. Ihen, le W0QlQ nave