New-York tribune., 1868-08-12
SPEECH OF THE HON JOHN A. BINGHAM
IT FHEELLNG. W. Va.

.h.s,aI Doaker After being introduced TO the
vast assemblage and oompimentlng inc h"pnnic"nS o
Wheeling for the interest they manifested IN the canvass
Mr. Bingham said;
men and would not stand before you weak and worn
been impered and still IN peril We have entered
uDop the last battle Of seven years war LOT thc @
~ me Repubic and for the supremacy Of the national
yndcaOn OF no right and for the redress O no 49, o
million of men in arms lifted their hands against to
faTe of American Government. and sought 10 dslneu
Der this beautiful land Of ours which Goa ~ m IN s
dence gave fathers. which they t5anvu rs ta Who
and charged to transmit undyl9gGu G " mn r feuoT
are to come after us That Kepeimon, vn MY conntrv
citizens, waged not Simply py ng ou d.Snotisrr Inon
men hut bv the representatives OF every desloIs upV
the earth, continued an armed mn e rpsource which
numbers engaged IN t snctive 80 vears and
the parties commanded for -FOUR CONSECUTIVE sefS any
AMI iss5 when the broken battaons Of Rebellion un
der Lee surrendered to the victorious egons OF the re
,nic uder the hero OF the century, Ulysses ). Grant
tFnthusastic cheers Said one OF the heroes OF that
war-the who wrote ms name IN lndelDle E fna[aG
I "ne before the Rebelh6n rs suppressed; irSt
il must be conquered by the bayOnet last II must DC
conquered by the ballot Renewed cheerlnSI Inc Hso
was accomplished when the surrender was made TO
Grant; last is 10 be accomplished, II 1t DO accom-
Plshed, and in this generation under the lead Oh
Ing Ing election Of 1868. iApplauseI The last
viii be the greater Of the two aehieyeineTtGs ACHE, TGc
question in lsCs may be stated in few simple words
words plain and simple that even waNtaIlng man
cannot err therein IL may be stated thus Shall the Re
public survive perishi Or II may be stated thus Al
ibCs commit their institutions TO the friends OF those IN
situations 1t true, my country men, III 1905 as II was
in 1901, or throughout the pTosIess 9I Is srct
but two the party OF patriots ana the party oi taos'
leheers the party that Is Tor the supeiaCS VI Cv Nh
Is for the unity of the Republic and the party tat Is LOT
its tsdismenbcfment There is not a connected with
this miserable rebel organization North, South East or
West who leads, VINO directs VINO COrOi9 Tue ACTON Vi
that party and who prominent tins day before tue peO
ready spoken this night WITHIN your nearing IN & Va
the supremacy Of the Constitution ana the ulty ol he
Republic II Seymour ever says wOId OF thal soIl ne
whispers it in dreams lLaughter ~ nnus no PlSTo, P, IN
the thing called the Den0craue PLATFORM vi piuVlPeS pP
announced in the City OF New YORK, some where between
the fourth and ninth Of July last During an the asJ
generation, during the last 80 years al oNeL % Go W O
the young were taught 10 believe that IL was
10 snnul the acts of the peoples represent
atives Congress assembled and finally TO sever the
Union and dissolve it like the baseless fabric OF a
vision There were no words written IN ihe C@9hstltu @
tOu with sufficient planness 10 put down forever
the south nndeT th Instruction of such master spirits
Calhoun McDufie and Hamilton; and scores OF Others
that | might but whose names Will readily
recur 10 you fully ndOctrinated in the belief that
the highest sovereignty in this land was the sovereignty
OF the several States; and that the National Coy
ernment IN the words OF Salhoun, was Dut Si6o 6
agency the principals OF which were tHe several nuo
thus, they seeded IN eleven oOIetn STATES, anu @ uv
olared themselves separate confederation Inc yOuhg
men were without excuse, 1Or Goa had even tuel to
l OF intellect They knew the use OF night reason they
understood mother tongue. They might have read IN
which Washington and ms iustrious associates placed
there, that state shall enter INTO any contedeIaIon
tLeess, believing they did believe, that the states
within its territorial limits they secedethey did re-
vot-thoy did rebel and rdged this land over with the
OF the land laid down their lives sacrifice for the
Perpetmy OF American institutions, APpaussefJ da sf
Bingham spoke of the efforts OF Congress 10 reconstruct
the aepSet Known as the Fourteenth Article and Of
the Endorsement OF the Congressional pohey Dy e peo
ocratc ought remember that the first principle OF
Democracy submit to the will of free people law
fully declared by the majority. and especially when that
Will is declared on the si0e Of humanity ana justice ana
equal rights 10 each secured by the combined power OF
all IApplause.l That your amendment IN sub
stance. 1t placed every man and woman ana cmld, IN
all the hereafter-czen and stranger strong and weak,
wise and simple under the equal protection OF the law
and for the first time in American history expressly de-
elared that no State OF tins Union sla deny 10 any per
the hereafter, within its jurisdiction the equal pro
grace 1s6s The people being diverted from the main
question in 1867 in my own state and IN the state OF New
is called minority IN ago Sne LeeS4'9TgSS 9 ia inS in
the year 1868 before the proclamation Of the
ratification of this Observation-Disclosures IN minority
the peOpe-accdentay in the majority IN the Iegisla
ture-they repealed the recorded Will OF the people ana
declared that this amendmdntthis perpetual prohibition
Of State secession and state rebelonsn0uld mol 80 INTO
Ihe Constitution. Under the lead OF senator val an
of NewJersey who sent out ms letter for some $4,000
stand Of arms III the Northwest to be put INTO the hahds
Of tue uDarmed insurgents il ONO and Indiana, the
Legislature OF NewJersey yentured on the work OF repeal
Aludug TO the deuuuciatiOn Of the amendment by Gen
Wade Hampton and other eXrebels, the speaker asked
the ire OF these guilty men who live only by the
grace OF God and the grace impaired by Him TO the We
tOT.Ous triumphant people OF this land! Applause
will tell you very plainly briefly and truthfuly what Is
tn Amendment which strs the blood OF the former
leaders and champions OF rebellion. First, II contains the
provision which referred before that no State shall
hereafter deny TO person the equal protection OF the
laws All naiionaes lost in the presence of Amer
can Institutions. and within the territorial limits Of the
Republic III that greater, nO5ler better nationality,
American nationality. lAppduse.l For that reason
for the equal protection OF every man. because that
the Constitution Of my country the protection Of every
equally by the law, within the limits OF the Republic
Irrespective OF creed or former nationality II II were
Otherwise, what would become OF TINS beautiful land OF
RS. Is the descendent of the sturdy German from
ancestral woods the angry Shades OF Hermann
beat back 900 years ago the foot of the Roman invader
the heroes scholars aud reformers, 70 boast Of
his Faheraud here in America, under the equal prOtec
tOn American law, to the exclusion Of Irshmen En-
glishmen, SC9tchmen, Welshmenf Let us be Ameri-
cans matter what your ancestry, what the immediate
stock Of your origin. Standing on American
SCh, under the protection of American law, let US be
american, altogether American and for the great prn
cipcs OF American Institutions the equal protection OF
each by the combined power OF all. H. said Mr.. Blng
ham, American institutions ever TO attain the end
or which they ordained IN the beginning that to
say TO establish justice aud insure the blessings Of lib
eriy II will only be attained when make your laws
Just that there human being within the whole
broad land who shall not be beneath their protecting
II there be any man here who thinks be ought TO
have any special privileges in this respect that
within your gaes,' frendess and homeless let him rise
IN his place and let his neghbors look upon him. This Is
opposed by this Democratic party in the year
after all that eyes have this unmatched and
unparalleled conflict tor the mantanaGe OF Tree lnstitu-
rOns. Say these deInagogues at New-York, 1t is an
nsurpaton and II is unconstitutional TO amend the Con-
sttuOn oy the consent OF theeOutns OF the states OF
this Union that IT shall read in all the hereafter NO
State shall deny to any person citizen or stranger the
equal protection OF the laws (Appauseg leave its
discussion Go home and consider Of it, Print il
onyour tickets when you 90 TO the polls If you s be Of
that mind trust a new hshV may SHINE upon
you that will teach yOn better But If you re
man Of that mind print at the head OF your ticket.
opposed 10 that amendment which declares no state
shall deny any person the equal protection OF the
laws ana when you 80 70 te M PoI & on % oy Win
read til you dare ana see tRe Diasphe WIN nor scar