Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1870-04-30

governments hcNANiitss" ~ i"li"
Tie guarantee clause deiegalipg
The power 10 Congress % enforos
and maintain "a Republican form ol
government ia every State ia this
Union" was sustained in the con
trOyerSy upon ils Original adoption
with great perlinaeily and power
by Alexander llaYaill0n IN The FED
sralist This eShnselor oi Wash,
ington, aud the ablest champion ol
the asvOeaies 0f a strong Federal
form in o0nlradislinetiOn 20 a loose
confederation Of sovereign States
declared that "withOut this guaranr
tee Of n Republican goyernmeht,
usurpalion might rear its crest IN
each State and trample upon ue
liberties Of tho people, while phe
National government could legally
do nothing more than behold its
entertainments with indignation and
regret" The guarantee was adop'
ted. Bat notwithstanding It's Dc
sign TO secure the political homoge,
neity of the. Union Of States, ahi
its Necessarily implied power 10 en-,
force and maintain IT, that power
was n6t eSStfisSa for n period of
eighty years, because the party OF
State sovereignty was supromo In
Government. ,Whilo slaSery was
the controlling interest Of this na'
ton and shaped It's policy through
out all tho changes Of rival parties,
this clause was nevSr cited, invoked
or enforced. Hence 10 PRESERVE
property Fights ID slasSs ifoin tho
inevitable effects Of an enforcement
of the guarantee clause, the doctrine
of State sovereignty in tho local
affairs Of n State, with the right OF
each State "to judge for itself, as
we'll of infractions rs the mode and
measure of redress, became the ba-
sip or EtliliGal combinations which,
willis siasefy existed, wis the means
of the very preservation OF the 10.
stitution from the application OF tho
guarantee clahsc. Hence wo s6o
why the resolutions OF '9S and 80
were so cherished, the fugitive slave
law enacted, and local State sover-
eighty doctrihes %sfc 60 vigorously
maintained for half n century.
The adherents Of Federal SHprcm-
acy md State Sovereignty finally
appealed to tho umpire of arms for
an Interpretation. The decision,
written with the sword and i'll The
blood of a million Of lives, was fin.
al, that the Constitution was a bond
of permanent national union, and
not treaty Of certain Independent
powers.
also terminated slavSry, and with
the end of slavery Terminated the
State Sovereignty doctrine, by
which, Ind for which it had been so
long maintained. With this final
Interpretation. of the, general gov
erhmtht by an appeRl To The last
resort, came, for the first time in the
history of this nation, an era for an
exercise of National control, under
the clause guaranteeing to every
State q Republican form of govefn-
mcnt."
Tho suttcssor of "the great ex-
FOUNDER" urged with power only
by his predecessor, that
this clause should be the corner
stone in the reconstruction Of the
new Union. 1t was made so. The
United States government not only
exertistu international rights as
conquerors, to dictate terms, but it
proceeded under strict Constitution
al forma tt demand the ratification
of tho XIffth, XIVth ahd XVIII
amendments i, ahd the adoptioh Of
local constitutions recognizing equal
rights, and thus guaranteed a Re-
publican form of government" to
each Of the reorganized States. The
duty to guarantee implibs the duty
to maintain a Republican, form Of
government. in each. of tH6 Stateo,
and herein is u bond that will ce-
mcnt for centuries tho fabric of the
New Union.
Illustrative of the apparent won
derful change in our government,
(Which is really, but the first appli.
cation Of ID fihdameRtal power in
the old cofistitution), is the recent
by CoHgfess, to main
tain d Republican State government
in Georgia. That State has just
adopted a constitution Republican
in form, and ratified the XVIII
amendment. That Amendm6tt
provided that "all persons born and
naturalized in the United States, are
citizens of the United States, and
the State wherein they reside;" that
"no State shall make or enf6rte any
law whleh shdll abfidge the privi-
leges Of immuRitiss of citizens of
the United States;" aid That, "Con-
gress shall have power to enforce, by
appropriate legislation, the provi-
sions of this article. Georgia was
admitted. But once in the Union
and feeling her dignity as sover-
eign State-over the local affairs Of
which, under aundcr Constitution as
1t was" Congress could have no
control-unmiudful of "the march
to the sea-" aiid the great political
revolution that had followed her
Legislators, in the face of the Amend
ment they had just ratified, proceed
cd to expel 80 Of their citizens elect
because of color.
Georgia overlooked The corner
stone of the guarantee clause in the
old constitution, upon which her
own reconstruction was based and
the ever tccming words, as TO sap
propriate Legislation" in the new.
BY the adoption Of an amend
rftht granting power to enforce by
HDnroDriate lgdislatiop. the States