Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1875-09-01
THE RECONSTR UCTTON Pro
CESS
BY SAMUEL 7. spnAR. D. d.

lahbuage IN respect 10 inc recOnstrut
ton measures adopted by Congress
"In adjusting the relations of tb
rebel states to the general Governmen
and in conforming their constitution
and laws to the condition of affairs
which accompanied and followed tn,
destruction Of slavery, many thing
were done which all must conccde il
was impossible to justify by the lettel
Of the constitution and which theii
authors and supporters must defend on
the ground that from the extraordinary
oiroumstauuvs suull All iiuperiuOs ncccs
lsity had sprung as the trainers Of the
Constitution could not possibly antici-
pate and, therefore, could not provide
for. How far this defense should in
any particular instance be accepted as
conclusive and satisfactory is ques-
tion not necessarily involved in the
present discussion. What now con.
Germs us is that these extraordinary
cases of congressional Intervention shall
stand exceptional and not be justified
on the guaranty of the Constitution
and accepted as guides and preccdents
for future action. To accept them as
such would be to put an end to the
constitutional union made known to us
in the writings of the federalist and ex-
pounded in the decisions of Marshall,
Story, fancy and Chase"
The process by which the fourteenth
amendment was ratified is, we presume,
one Of the things to which J Judge Cooley
here refers. To understand this pro
cess, we need to recur for u moment to
the ratification of the thirteenth amend
ment proposed by Congress, February
|, 1865, and declared on tho 18th of
December, 1865, to be ratified by the
vote of twenty-seven states. Among
the states thus voting we find Virginia,
Louisiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, South
Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and
Alabama-eight in all. The consttu-
tional capacity of these states as then
organized to vote upon the amendment
was assumed in submitting il to them,
and then assumed again in counting
their votes. Except upon this assump-
tion, applicable to every one of them,
the amendment has never been consti-
tutionally adopted. The whole num-
Der Of states at the time was thirty
six Of which twenty-seyen states were
just three-quarter.
The fourteenth amendment was on
the 18th Of June, 1866, proposed to the
legislatures of the several states by
concurrent resolution of the two houses
of Congress. The result of the voting
upon this amendment up to April /,
1867, was as follows; |. Twenty-one
of the so-callcd loyal states had ratified
it, and three-namely, Iowa, California
and Nebraska--had acted not at ALL 2.
Ten of the so-called insurrection states
namely, Virginia, North Carolina,
South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Ala
bama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas ana
Arkansas--had voted against it. Thus
tho record stood after the proposition
had been before the country for nearly
q year. The amendment, of course,
had failed of being ratified The afllr-
native votes of the three states that
had not acted at all would not be sufll-
cient for its adoption. Nebraska hav-
ing been admitted into the union on
the 1st of March, 1867, the number of
states was then thirty-sevcn.
Congress, by the reconstruction act
passed on the I'd of March, 1867, de-
clared "the rebel states OF Virginia,
North Carolina, South Carolina, Geor-
gia, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana,
Florida, Texas and Arkansas" to be
without "legal state governments, di-
vided them into "military districts"
placed each district under the authority
of an army officer to be appointed by
the President, and by the supplemental
acts of March 23 and July 10, 1867,
provided for the adoption of new Con-
stitutions and the creation of new state
governments in these states. The fifth
section of the first act stated, as follows,
the conditions upon which these states
should be entitled to representation in
Congress.
"That whom the people of any one
Of said rebel states shall have formed q
constitution of government in conform
ity with the constitution Of the United
States in all respects, framed by con-
vcntion of delegates elected by the
male citizens of said State twenty-one
years old and upward, of whatever race,
color, or previous condition, who have
been resident in said State for one year
previous to the day of such election,
except such as may be disfranchised
for participation IN the rebellion or for
felony at common law and when such
constitution shall provide that the cleo
tive franchise shall be enjoyed by all
such persons as have the qualifications
herein stated for electors of delegates
and when such constitution shall be
ratified by majority of the persons
voting on the question Of ratification
who are qualified as electors for dele
gates and when such constitution shall
have been submitted to Congress for
examination and approval and Con
gress shall have approved the same
and when said state, by vote of its
legislature, elected under said constitu-
tion, shall have adopted the amend
ment to the constitution of the United
States proposed by the thirty-ninth
Congress and known as article fourteen;
and when said article shall have become
a part of the constitution of the United
States, said state shall be declared en-
titled to representation in Congress
and Senators and Representatives shall
be admitted thereirom, on taking the
oaths prescribed by law and then and
thereafter the preceding sections of this
act shall be imperative in said state
Prorided, that no person excluded from
the privilege of holding office by said
proposed amendment to the constitu-
ton of the United States shall be cligi-
bic as member Of the convention TO
franc constitution for any of the said
rebel states, nor shall any such person
vote Tor members of such convention"
The ratification Of the fourteenth
amendment, as one of the results Of
this act and the two acts supplemental
thereto, and of the proceedings taken
under them, was first announced by
Secretary Seward, on the goth of July,
1868, or about two years after its sub
mission to the states. Mr., Seward first
enumerates twcnty-one states that had
ratified the amendment up to April 1st,