Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-09-01
ALLAN G. THURMAN.
His Late Speech at Columbus.
What the New Departure
Amounts to.
Enduring Wrong is Not En-
dOrsing.

COLUMBUS, OHIO, August 9l.-It hav
ing been understood that the reports o
Senator Thurman's speech, owing to tn
lateness of the hour he spoke, were i'm
perfect, revised report has been furnish
ed the Ohio Statesman. He considered
| first the claims of the Administration Il
the support of the country on the ground
| of having restored the rebellious States tC
their proper relations to the Government
So far as the Republican party in Con
gress have done their work the effect has
been to retard the work of reconstruction,
in support of which he referred to the
act compelling the formation of new Con-
stitutions.
The ssNeyV Departure.''
On the New Departure he said:
Now my friends, it has been common
for the Republican party of this country
to say that the Democrats have taken a
New Departure, and that New Departure
they allege consists in saying that we
have been wrong and the Republicans
have been right. l say there has never
been any such confession as that. We
are as much opposed to what has been
done as when we gave our votes against
it.
Why, if should see a man strike another
in an unlawful and brutal manner in the
street, throttle and knock him down and
trespass upon his rights, and l should see
his wounds and bruises and see him bleed
ing, should be compelled to say that he
was down and bleeding, but who would call
that confession that the villain who
outraged him had done what was pro
PERI Laughter. So, when these men
throttled the Constitution and ruined the
peace of the country; when they made
the South almost az ruinous as in the
midst of war, we demonstrated, and b.
cause we cannot deny that they have
done it; because we cannot deny that the
thing has been accomplished; because we
are compelled to admit the fact that the
reconstruction laws have been executed,
and the amendments to the Constitution
fastened upon Us, we are told fOrsOoth,
that we admit the Radicals were right
and we were wrong. That's logic for
you.
Amendment XIV. 62H
The Fourteenth Amendment to the Con-
stitution was passed. We opposed it.
Why did we oppose ii? Because it pro-
vided that all the people in the United
States should be equal before the law?
There is not one Democrat from the Ohio
River to Cansds-nOt one in the United
States-who opposed it upon any such
ground. That has always beer the law in
Ohio. That has always been the law in
the Northern States. The Democrats, he
said, opposed the Fourteenth Amend
ment, first because of its DISTINGUISHING
clause, because it DISTINGUISHED the men
of influence, of intellect of education,
whose aid was most necessary to restore
peace TO the South. Secondly, because
the language was ambiguous, and was
such as would enable an ambitious Pres
ident and Congress to usurp power
that belongs 10 the individual States, and
to overthrow every one Of the reserved
rights of the people of the States. Aud
were we not right2 for it is under
the ambiguous and Loose language of
that amendment that the infamous Ku
klux bill was passed under q pretense
of authority derived from that loose and
ambiguous language.
II this Interpretation were correct the
President would have power in the State
of Ohio tn dsplace the Governor,
dethrone the legislature, turn cut of office
their Judges aod establish martial law
from one end of the State to the other,
whenever he thinks or pretends to think
it is necessary for him take martial pos
session Of Ohio, in order to protect the
rights of individuals. We were right then
in opposing that amendment thus framed
and thus phrased.
Amendment XIV.
The Fifteenth Amendment we oppose
because, first it was q fraud upon the
people in the way that the thing was
and carried out, and a direct |
of the solemn pledges of the |
dominant party, made in the platform at
Chicago. We opposed it for stronger
than that. We said it was per- |
fec:ly moDstrous that you should turn
over at least one half of these Southern |
States to the control of a race, not one in |
ten of whom could read, much less |
write, and of whom not one in thou |
sand had the least idea of the government |
under which he lived, and under watch |
they were now 10 discharge the duties of |
law makers. If the time should come |
when they should be educated up to
proper standard to enable them to eXerN |
else this right with IN diligence, and to |
the welfare of the country, we said II |
would be right.
Now what has been the effect of this |
in the reconstructed States down South, |
with their preponderance of negro voters2 |
The result has been that they are tine |
worst governed part of Gods globe this |
DAY. These States have been delivered |
over to the tender mercies of the carpet !
baggers and adVenturers of the North, |
and of the mesner men, the scsllawsgs |
of the South, and with the negroes IN |
with them they govern almost |
every one of those States, and how do |
they govern them2 When the war end ed |
these States were Frustrated to a degree |
we can hardly realize, rsvaged by their |
own armies as well as ours. The people |
were PROSTATE, their currency was worth !
nothing, thousands and tens of thousands |
of their farms lay desolate under the |
scourge of the war. They were ruined |
in fortune, humbled and PROSTATE in
spirit. That was time when it behoov-
ed US to take them by the hand and help
them up. Just at that time this Republi-
can party, these carpet baggers and seal
awags took hold of the government in
these States.
Amendment NEEI.
As TO the thirteenth amendment abol-
shing slavery, Senator Thurman said
they had never made any objection to it,
and that no man could point to any act |
Of the Democrats in the Northern States |
that even approved of slavery.
The rest of his speech was devoted to |
a review of the finances of the admins.