Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1870-02-18

bellion was undertaken to preserve and
perpetuate human slavery, and, within ten
years from the date of the first secession
ordinance, the great struggle has been
terminated in the adoption Of the Thir-
teenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth
Amendments, which abolish slavery, pro-
hibit compensation therefor, secure the
civil and political equality and citizenship
of all the people of the United States, and
make every male citizen of the United
States competent voter at all elections
For the first time in our history, impair
tial suffrage has been made the national
law, and its nnal establishment might
appropriately be followed by a removal
from the statute book of every political
Acknowledgement known to the law.
Armed with the ballot, it is a denial of
the intelligence and patriotism OF the
whole people to assume that they maJ
not Successfully defend themselves from
the Vaccinations of the gradually dimin-
ishing number of those who participated
in the late rebellion. The Democratic
party has been the bitter opponent OF the
Publications of these amendments. When
the amendment abo fishing slavery was
proposed in Congress there were but tAree
or four Democratic members who hadethe
courage to support it. When it was be-
fore the Legislature of the States the
Democratic members>all voted against it.
When it was before Congress, Mr.. George
H. Pendleton took the high ground that
| it was not constitutional for Congress to
propose, nor for the several States to
ratify, an amendment abolishing or
prohibiting slavery; and that, though
such an amendment might pass
through all the forms of law, it
could never be valid, and could never, in
fact, be entitled to respect or recognition
as part of the Constitution. That. though
slave-owners might have their property
taken from them and the slaves might be
declared free, the legal title of the owners
in their property and the obligation of
servitude by the blacks would remain,
because they were indestructible. The
Democrats in Congress and the State
Legislatures as resolutely opposed and
resisted the Fourteenth and Fifteenth
Amendments, and on each of these cues
tions they are on record as having deter
minedly protracted the close of the rebel
lion to the present day. Their advice
and their example, aided by the ambition
of Andrew johnson, delayed until 1870
the recon struction which might have
been Completed in 1866. The very inten-
sity Q chat opposition, more than any
other cause, produced the Fifteenth
Amendment, and made it's ratification es-
sential to the future security of the ma
tional peace.
For twenty years the peculiar condition
Of the negro race has been the absorbing
topic of our national politics, and one
great cause why the American people
should rejoice at the final adoption OF
these amendments is that the negro has at
last been reduced to common level with
all other people, his civil and political dis
tinction removed, and henceforth legisla-
ton will be general and include all races
alike. The negro, by being merged polit-
ically with the rest of the people, ceases
to be an object for special attack or special
defence, and thus drops out of general
politics Hereafter he has to run the race
of life, dependent like all others, upon his
own energy, ability, and worth Ohicagc
Tribune, Feb. 4.