The States and Union. [volume] (Ashland, Ohio) 1868-1872, 1868-05-06
PLATFORM OF TIE NJ
5RAoY 0F dHIOy ADOPTED
JANUARY 8, 1868.

the imPIOVeu afpect lSpolHlcal AFFAIRS
as evidenced by the State elections of
1867, and that they look forward with
hope and confidence o the result of
that momentous struggle, aud upon
which depends, in SO great a degree,
the future peace and prosperity of the
Union.
Resohped, That, .nIalterably oppos-
d to the doctrines which lead to con.
solidation, we renew with uDfagging
zeal and increased enefgy, our attach
ment to that political creed which has
ever been so s%taunchly adhered to by
our organization through days cf troub
lie and disaster, as we'll as good fortune
and prosperity, which was thus ex-
pressed by Thomas Jefferson : Equal
and exact justice to all men, of what
ever state or persuasion-religious or
political-peace, commerce and honest
friendship with all nations, entaneling
alliances with none;sthe support Of the
State Government III all their rights,
as the most competent administration
of u domestic concerts and the sur
est bulwark against tanti-republicdn
tendencies; the preservation of the
General Government in its whole con
stiiutional yigor as the: sheet anchor of
peace at home and safety abroad a
jealous care of the. rights of elections
by the people; and the supremacy OF
the civil over the military authority"
Resolved, Tha. we condemn the
legislative usurpations of Congress,
and particularly the several acts of re-
construction so-eS1kd, as violative of
the Constitutional compact between
the States, and as utterly subersive of
every principle of self government
that distinguishes a free PEOPLE.
Resoleed, That We r opposed tic
any measures which recognize that
the integrity of the Union was ever
broken-that any CT its members were
ever out, and that we determinedly re
sist that the Southern States no longer
being in Instruction, or at war, with
the Federal Government, are entitled
to the full State recognition and con-
stitrtional representation in Congress,
and the electoral colleges giveG to all
the States, and the denial of it to them
by Congress, and its efforts to dictate
by military force a government for
them are unconstitutional, revolution
airy and despotic. 81
Resoloed, That we: are opposed both
in principle and policy, to negro suf
frage ; fiat the State Of Ohio-having
by the emphatic majority of so, 900 re-
jected it for herself-it is sternly op-
posed to its forced imposition upon
other States, and that we stigmatize
such an imposition by the Federal
Government as a most base usurpa-
ton.
.Resolced, That the practical effect
Of the so. called Reconstruction act of
congress Is to deliver. over ten States
to the political andsocial control of ne
groes aud to place the lives. liberties
aud fortunes of the Whites residing
therein, in the hands of q barbarous
people,, an Mat il, would inevitable
lead either ttwar Of 1aces or to the
Africanization Of the South.
Resolred, That Notwithstanding the
enormous and conceded frauds in the
creation of the public debt, the faith
of the country is pledged to its pay
ment, principal and interest, accord
ing to The terms of the several acts CT
Congress, under which the bonds rep
resenting the debt were issued, but
not otherwise, and we are opposed to
any plan for extending the times of
payment, thus increasing the amount
of gold interest to more than the prin
cipal, or To any declaration by Congress
that the principal is payable in gold,
which would virtually add more than
a thousand millions to the burthen of
the debt, and to the whole insane fl
n%ancial policy of which these measures
are a part. 5gp 49,
ResotUed That, neither forgetting
nor denying our ancient faith that
gold and silver coin form the currency
Of the Constitutions, we declare that
the fiye.twenty bonds should be paid
in the same currency received by the
Governments for their issue, and that
by. the withdrawal of the monopoly
granted to the National Banks this re-
suit can be accom- plishedF without an
undue or dangerous increase of paper
money, now the only circulating medi-
um, thus relieving our people from the
burthen of a debt, the tendency of
which is always TO corrupt and enslave,
and our Government from The reproach
of paying a favored class in gold, while
d~ischarging its debts to all others i'm
Guiding pensions to widows and sol@
diers, in an inferior currency. .us
Resolved, Tha. this plan violates no
law, impairs no contract, breaks no
faith, aud instead of retarding a return
to specie payments, is the shortest
because the only safe way of reaching
that end. .f@E& es
Resolred, That al the property Of
the country, Including the Govern
ment bonds, which receives the equal
protection of the overnment, should
bear an equal share in its burthens.
Resohed, That we, Indignantly reject
the principle derived from the feudal
system-fhat the masses of the people
belong to the AGovernrbents under
which they live, which in another form
is commended for by the monarchies of
Europe, Including Great Britain,
once a subject always q subject-that
we on the contrary maintain that ap
individual can, by emigration and resi-
dence in another country, forswear his
previous allegiance, aud be admitted in
to all the, civil aud political rights Of
his new home-that American citizens
by adoption and naturalization are en-