The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1878-03-15
EQUALITY OF CITIZENSHIP.

no De conuuued.l
EQUALITY OF CITIZENSHIP.
NU1mEE THREE
To THE EnrroR OBJ THE NEW NORTHWEST:
IL is "a well known principle Of our
government that no citizen, nor class Of
citizens, has the right, either naturally
or constitutioually, TO deprive another
citizen, or class Of citizens, Of their in-
herited or acquired citizenship, and its
consequent privileges and responsihili-
ties. And, as the men Of our nation had
persistently, and in defiance Of this prin-
ciple, deprived the women Of the exer-
else Of the right Of suffrage, even deny
ing that they were citizens, and COM
pelling them to submit to arbitrary and
unjust laws; and as the exlgeucies Of
war had thrown upon our nation a class
of people, men and women, who had
hitherto been held in domestic slavery,
but having received their freedom,
must either become citizens or aliens,
and as the tide Of immigration had
brought, and was still bringing to our
shores persons from all countries, and Of
all races, who would Of course avail
themselves Of our liberal naturalization
laws and become citizens, 10 was thought
best by our farseeing and wise statesmen
in Congress assembled to put forever at
..r D. as
and as such, entitled to all the rights,
privileges, and immunities of citizen
ship, by adopting the Fourteenth aud
Fifteenth Amendments to the COustitu-
tion Of the United States. These amend
ments were, as is reqaired by the Con-
stitution, ratified by the legislatures Of
two-thirds Of the States.
These amendments we will now ex-
anime. The first section Of the Four
teeuth Amendment reads: "All persons
born or naturalized in the United States,
and subject TO the jurisdiction thereof,
are citizens Of the United States, and Of
the State in which they reside. No
State shall make or enforce any law
which shall abridge the privileges or
immunities Of citizens of the United
States, nor shall any State deprive any
person of life, liberty, or property
without due process Of law, nor deny to
any person within its jurisdiction the
equal protection Of the law" The only
construction that can be put upon this
section is that the terms persons and
citizens include both men and women,
and that both are alike entitled TO all
the rights Of citizenship, and an equal
protection Of the laws in their exercise Of
these rights.
The second section of the Fourteenth
Amendment has reference TO the appor-
tioument Of representatives among the
several States, and is the only section i'm
the whole Constitution in which the
word male appears. Il reads: "Repre-
seutatives shall be apportioned among
the several States according TO their re-
spective numbers, counting the whole
number Of persons in each State, ex-
cluding Indians not taxed" Let me
just say that the second section of this
amendment is for the apportionment of
representation among the several States
after the abolition Of slavery. In the
original Constitution, article first, sec
tion second, third clause, IL provides
that representation and direct taxes
shall be apportiOned among the several
States, according to their respective
numbers, which shall be determined by
adding TO the whole number Of free per-
sons, including those bound TO service
for a term Of years, and excluding In
dians not taxed, three-fifths Of all other
persons. These other persons had not
become free and independent citizens,
aud il was therefore necessary TO read
just the representation, hence the first
part OF the second section Of the Four
teenth Amendment was enacted for that
purpose. "But when the right to vote
at any election for the choice Of electors
for President and Vice-President Of the
T United States, Representatives in Con-
gress, the executive and judicial officers
{ OF state, or the members of the legis-
lature thereof, is denied to any of the
male inhabitants of such State, being
twenty-one years of age and citizens
Of the United States, or in any way
abridged except for participation in re-
bellion or other criane, the basis of rep
I resentatiOn therein shall he reduced in
the proportion which the number OF
such male citizens shall bear TO the
whole number Of male citizens twenty
one years Of age in such State" Thus
you see that in any contingency that
may arise where any Of the male inhab-
itants Of a State shall be denied the