The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1872-10-31

LCheers.]
But it was soon found, in the country,
and IN the Congress representing the
country, that the mere fact of declaring a
man not to be a slave did not constitute
him freeman, in other words, removing
the shackles of slavery did not clothe q
man with power of defending himself in
MS rights freeman, and the difficulties
which had been existing for more than
two score years, In reference citizenship
in his country, was unchanged by the
amendment, and existed when
the war closed as much as when the war
began.
Let me explain myself,
IN THE OLD CONSTITUTION,
before these amendments were passed
these words were written "The Citizen
of each state shall be entitled 10 all
privileges and immunities of citizens in
the several states"
Now the meaning of that is very plain
to you and to me. The meaning of that
is that |, citizen of Maine, if l choose to
come to Wisconsin and settle, would be
entitled to all the privileges and immu
AA'ASo "hlNh wy EIljACG6 vi w ISCOAeII.
enjoy. 1t means that between Maine and
Wisconsin, between the states anciently
known Is the United States, this provision
OF the constitution had full force and eff
Il ct. Bnt the moment you made change
southwark, below a certain line. these let
tiers Of the constitution were lifeless and
dead.
Now take my own state, where we are
constantly
ENGAGED IN NAVIGATION.
A large number of colored men were
sailors. A ship would sail from Maine
to Charleston for cotton. Among the
crew there would be two or three colored
men. AS soon as the ship landed in
Charleston harbor, the colored men would
be seized and put into prison and detained
there as long as the ship remained In port.
The ship was obliged to pay for their
1t the ship sailed away
and did not pay the costof their main.
tenance they we're liable to be
SOLD INTO HELPLESS SLAVERY,
in order to pay the expenses of their
But If British ship ar
rived in the same port with full crew of
colored men, these men were made Just
as safe in Charleston as you were in Chi
cago. And thus the CALLING discrimina>
ton was made, that a British flag could
protect personal rights in an American
port better than an American flag; could.
(CheeEs.)
This case operated so long that the
state of Massachusetts, undertook to carry
it to
LEGAL ARBITRAMENT,
and sent to South Carolina an agent, on
behalf of that State, to bring the case be-
fore the courts and the older portion of
this assembly, will probably remember
that the gentleman who went on that mis-
sion was the venerable Samuel Hoar. He
was driven from Charleston by mob, and
barely escaped with his life.
Thus il was
WHEN THE WAR BEGAN
thus it was when the war closed. There
was no common standard of citizenship.
In the whole United States, repeat, there
was no common standard of citizenship.
The difficulty all rested on this that
South Carolina and Louisiana, and Ala
bama, declared that they would never
consent that Maine and Illinois should
determine Tor them the question of citi-
zenship; and that the very fact that
Maine and Illinois would admit man to
citizenship did not make it imperative
upon South Carolina and Louisiana, or any
other southern state to recognize that cit
izenship. Therefore. you see, that when
this war closed, after the Thirteenth
amendment was adopted, the whole Uni
ted States, which had been in the Union
for eighty years, were baptiscd anew in a
sea Of blood, had not within it's length
and breadth common standard Of Amer
lean citizenship.
Now am not going to present to you
what is commonly called in the
choice phrase of the Democracy,
THE "NIGGER QUESTION"
I am not going to present to you the
question of citizenship question which
is broader than that Of any race and that
which pertains to the American citizen
regardless of race, and regardless of birth
place. The Republican party, seeing this
trouble, seeing what trouble it had given
rise to in the past and what greater troub
lie it might brew in the future, determined
to add another amendment to the consti-
tuition; and therefore they proposed to
submit to the people
THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT
to the Constitution OF the United States.
And, gentlemen, I beg you to reflect that
the founders of our government purpose
~ made il difficult to amend the consti
tuition. 1t is no easy matter to add an
amendment to the constitution. It re-
quires two-thlrds of the House and two
thirds of the Senate to so much as pro-
pose the amendment. And when propos-
ed, as you all know, it requires three
fourths Of all the States to agree to it.
And, yet, against these tremendous diff
c,,,l tias tka Pom, h rt.z 81