Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-07-10
THEFOURTEENTH AMEND
MENT.
What it Means and What it
was Intended to Cover.
The Debate i'm the United States
Senate.

Senate.
800 -ss I-- ~
We extract from the Congressional
Globe, first session Of thirty ninth Con
gress, 1866, part 4, pages 2,897-S 9
2, 900, that portion of the debate in thu
Senate on the third section of said amend
meut, which relates to the political dis
abilities therein imposed gzau seesa
Section 3. No person shall be a Senatoi
or Represeutatiye in Congress OF eleetol
of President and Vice President, or hold
any office, civil or military, under the
United States, or under any State, who,
having previously taken an oath, as
member of Congress, or as an officer Of
the United States, or as member of any
State Legislature, or as an executive Of
judicial officer of. any State, 10 support
the Constitution of the United States,
shall have engaged IN insurrection or re.
bellion against the same, or given aid OF
comfort to the enemies thereof. But
Congress may, by vote of two-thirds OF
each House, remove such disability.
From the Congressional Globe.
Mr.. Hendricks.-I move to amend the
amendment by inserting after the word
"shall" in the thirty seventh line the
words ''during the term of his office.n
presume I understand the idea upon
which this section rests. 1t is, suppose
that the men who held office, and upon
assuming the office took the oath pre-
scribed by Constitution, become obligated
by that oath to stand by the Constitution
and the oath, and that going into the re-
bellicn was not onlya breach of their alle-
glance, but a breach of their oath. ]
presume this is the theory of it; and
that persons who have violated the oath
to support the Constitution of the United
States ought not to be allowed to hold
any office. If it does not rest upon that
proposition, then / am not able to see
why these men should be excluded more
than others who have violated their allie
glance. Now, sir, what is the obligation
prescribed in the sixth article of the Con-
stitution2
''The Senators and Representatives be-
fore mentioned, and members of the sew
eral State Legislatures, and all executive
and judicial officers both of the United
State and of the several States, shall be
bound by oath or affirmation to support
this Constitution.
presume that that oath means that in
the discharge of the duties of the office
the party will support the Constitution of
the United States. have not examined
any authorities on this subject and have
seen no opinion expressed upon it, but
presume that is the meaning and force
of the oath. When a Senator of the
United States take the oath to support
the Constitution of the United States it
means, that as Senator, in the discharge
of his official duty, he win obey the
Constitution and in no respect violate its
provisions. If member of State Leg
islature take that oath l presume it
means that as legislator for the State
he will respect and obey the Constitution,
and when his term of Office has expired,
| suppose the oath ceases to be obligatory
upon him, or rather that the oath has
done its work. If he has obeyed the
oath while he held the office, suppose
his obedience to it is no longer required
by virture of the..oath itself. Everybody
by virtue of his allegiance is bound to
obey the Constitution of the United
States, to stand by the Union.
But this oath of itself is an oath OF
Office, binding upon him as an officer; else
why is it that Senator taking this oath
serves six years, and he is reelected, he
is sworn again2 For the simple reason
that he is entering upon another term OF
service, and for that term of service he
must take this official oath, to obey the
Constitution of the United States. l pre-.
sumo this oath means as if it read, ''Sen.
ators and Representatives, and all Other
officers in the United States shall be bound
by an oath or affirmation to support the
Constitution of the United States in their
offices" | know of no other purpose
that there can be to require a special oath
from an officer.
If this be the proper construction OF
the oath-and do not express an opin-
ion upon the subject with great deal of
confidence-then the amendment which
propose to this section ought to be
adopted, because after the term of ser
vice has expired in any particular Office
the official oath is satisfied, and the party,
becomes one of the mass of the COM
munity, and if he went into the rebellion
he went into it violating his allegiance,
like any and all other citizens who with
him went into the rebellion. 1t is for
this reason propose the amendment.
Mr.. Heward-l hope this amendment
will not be adopted. / do not regard the
constitutional oath referred to by the
Senator from Indiana, precisely in the
same light in which he presents it. II
| understand him rightly, he
holds that although a person may
if he has not committed insurTection
during the continuance of his term of
office, but commits that act after the ex-
piration of that term, the previous taking
of the oath by him adds to the act no ad-
ditional moral guilt. do not concur
with him in that view. 1t seems to me
that where person has taken solemn
oath to support the constitution OF the
United States, there is fair moral impli-
CdJlOu ludI dLlCl WdIu
an act which in its effect would destroy
the constitution of the United States
without incurring the guilt of at least
moral perjury. l desire to see such q
comment made upon the violation of the
oath of Office by insurgents as will stigma
tie that act for all time to come, and !
think the loyal people Of the States are OF
the same opinion. r,s ..r
Mr. Salisbury had supposed the
| Senate would have adopted this amend.
ment without any discussion. The pro.
position of the Senator from Indiana, in
my Judgment is so plain, that did moi
suppose it could have been questioned,
| that the oath person takes when he en-.
| ters upon the exercise of an office, or a;
preparatory to the discharge of the duties
of an Office, relates simply and solely to
that Office, and does not extend beyond it.
never heard the Interpretation of the
oath of Office, as given by the Senator
| from Indiana, questioned before. shall.
therefore, vote for his amendment
Mr.. Van Winkle-If | understand The
language and effect of this amendment,
it is intended to debar those who were
| under that oath of Office at the time they
went into rebellion from here after hold
| ing Office either under the State or Ma
tional Government l certainly concur
1 with the Senator from Indiana. that tht