Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-04-09

Join w. Forney and band of negro
mirEtrels serenaded the President "for |
making the ratification of the fifteenth |
amendment the subject of message TO |
Congress, " and Forney announced to the |
President that sthcy called upon him to |
express their profound qualification for |
the proclamation, which seals the great
work of their emancipation" To this
the President responded as follows:
~ can assure these present that no
coilsummation, since the close of the war,
affords me SO much pleasure as the ratifi-
cation of the fifteenth amendment to the
constitution by three-fourths of the States
of the Union. have felt the greatest
anxiety ever since I was called to this
House, to know that this was to be Sc
cured. 1t looked Ike the realization OF
Independence. Applause cannot say
near so much on this subject as would
like to, not being accustomed to speaking,
but ! thank you for your presence this
evening"
It is comica. notion which the Radi-
Gals have been asserting for few years
past, that the object of the Declaration of
Independence was to give liberty to ne
groes. But that is great misconception
of it. 1t was declaration by the colonies
of their independence of the British mo
nsrchy. 'eWe do declare that these unit
ed colonies are, and of right ought to be
free and Independent States"-that was
the declaration; and it was fully realized
in September, 1888, by treaty of peace
with Great Britain, in which she recognize
eel her former colonies as ''free sovereign
and independent States. Their relations
among themselves, they afterward settled
by compact known as the Constitution
of the United States. The Philadelphia
Age very truly says that they never
thought or said any thing about ne
groes in adopting the Declaration of InGe-
pendence. Negroes at that day were
dealt in as merchandise by all the civiliz
ed nations of the earth. The slave
trade was in full force. The New
England States were engaged in it; all
the States were receiving slaves through
| it. Jefferson did put an objection to the
slave trade into the draft of the Declare
| ton of Independence, but the Continental
Congress struck it out. Gen. Grant knows
| al this, as we can prove. Only two days
before, Gen. Grant had sent his message
to Congress announcing the ratification of
the fifteenth amendment if he did not
write it, at least he read it; and it states
what was the condition of the negroes at
the time of the Declaration of Independ-
ence, and for some years after, till Ameri-
can humanity abolished the slave trade,
and threw over the negro, even when q
slave, the protection of the law. Gen.
Grant said in his message
ga measure which makes at once four
millions of people voters, who were here
tofore declared by the highest tribunal in
II lohl1O IOl CltlLOuo VI OulbCu OIdbcS,
nor eligible to become so, with the asser-
ton that at the time of the Declaration of
Independence the opinion was fixed and
universal in the civilized portion of the
/ white race, regarded as an axiom in morals
as well as in politics, that black men had
no rights which white men were bound to
respects indeed a measure of grander
Importance than any other act of the kind
from the foundation of our free govern
nent to the present time"
The author of this message correctly
quotes the case of Scott VS.. Sanford,
commonly called tie bred Scott case. 1t,
indeed, only reasserted the familiar doc
trine that the negro was not citizen.
This has always been the doctrine of
nearly every State in the Union up to at
least after commencement of 'the late
unpleasantness." We learn from the Presi-
dents Message, that on Wednesday, March
the goth, the law as laid down by
the highest tribunal of the land
was altered in the only way it could
be altered-by an amendment to the
Constitution. President Grant proclaims,
and Secretary Fish certifies, that the pro-
| posed fifteenth amendment to make
negroes citizens, has been ratified by
| three-fourths of the State. Grant alludes
in his message to the condition of the
negro at the time of the Declaration of
Independence, and quotes the historical
assertion, which nobody can deny, of his
unfortunate condition, at that period.
That assertion was long used as piece
of political clap-trap by the Radicals.
Instead of quoting the bred Scott de-
cision, as stated above, the Radicals chose
to represent it as deciding that the negro
in this country had in 1856 emo rights
which white men were bound to respect"
There may have been people stupid and
| ignorant enough to credit this version Of
the bred Scott case, but President Grant
in overturning it at last, as he says, with
his fifteenth amendment, has to state it cor
| rectly. The historical assertion about the
negro at the time of the Declaration, he
also cites with substantial correctness
from the bred Scott decision. This shows
pretty conclusively that the author of the
message is not the author of the silly little
speech with which Grant greeted his
April-fool visitors For the satisfaction
of the reader who may be curious in regard
tothe matter, we will quote the often mis-
represented remarks of Judge fancy in
his opinion. No Radical who has even a
smattering of historical knowledge will
deny them; indeed the most ignorant
Radical will admit them, now that they
| are proclaimed by the head of his party.
Chief Justice fancy said:
'1t is difficult at this day to realize the
state of public opinion in relation to that
unfortunate race which prevailed in the
| civilized and enlightened portions of
| the world at the time of the De-
cltration of Independence, and when
| the Constitution was framed and adj
opted But the public history of every
European nation displays it in man
ner too plain to be mistaken. They
had for more than century before been
| regarded as beings of all inferior order
and altogether unfit to associate with the
white race, either in social Or political re-
| IatiOns and so far inferior that they had