The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-02-06


1t is in no captious spirit that the Journal
calls attention to the gross inaccuracy con-
tained in the following extract from prog
ress of the World" in the February issue
of the Review of Reviews relative to the re-
construction policy of the Republican party:
When the war was ended the Southern peo-
pie were either fit to be intrusted with the
management of their own State and local
affairs or else they were not fit. In the
latter case their affairs should have been
temporarily managed FOR them by military
administration on principles of justice. The
policy adopted was neither the one thing
nor the other The right broad-minded So
fution-as it may now be easy to see-would
have been the full restoration to the South
ern people of local control of their own af-
fairs, with such accompanying limitations
IS might have seemed justifable under the
circumstances. The true way to restore the
South to the Union was to restore the South
to its own people.
The assumption of the foregoing is that
the Congress of 1865 and 1866, or that which
succeeded it, adopted the reconstruction
policy which was finally given the force of
law and under which the seeded States
were restored to the Union, and that this
was the first and only attempt of the Re
publicans to restore the States to what
Abraham Lincoln. in his last speech alluded
to as "their former practical relations to
the Union" Such is not the case The
Thirty-ninth Congress, about as soon as it
had assembled in December, 1865, create
the joint special committee on reconstruct
ton. That committee proceeded to consider
measures which, after long discussion, took
the form of proposition to add fourteenth
amendment to the Constitution. The resolu-
ton submitting the existing fourteenth
amendment to the Constitution to the States
was passed by the Senate June g. 1856, and
by the House June 10. The notification 70
the States was given June 16.
1t may be doubted if any one will now
condemn the Republican Congress for sgb-
hitting the propositions embraced in the
amendment to the States. 1t did not disfran-
chise an ex-Confederate leader in the South
All could vote and all could hold office ex-
cept those who had violated an oath to pro-
tect the United States, and that class could
hold office, after. upon application, Congress
had removed their disabilities. No man ever
applied to a Republican Congress for the re-
moval of his disability and was refused.
Upon the adoption of the amendment by
Congress an act was passed entitled "A bill
to provide for restoring the States lately in
instruction to their full political rights"
which is as follows:
Whereas. IT is expedent that the States
lately in insurrection should at the earliest
date consistent with the future peace and
safety of the Union. be restored to fun par
ticipation in all political rights: and
Whereas, The Congress did by Joint reso-
luton propose for rat ification to the Legis-
latures OF the several States, as an amend
ment TO the Constitution of the United
States, an article I'm the following words
there the fourteenth amendment is in
sertedl-
BE 1t enacted That whenever the above
recited amendment shall have become part
of the Constitution of the United States and
any State lately in instruction shall have
ratified the same and shall have modified it's
Constitution and laws in conformity there
with. the senators and representatives from
such State, If found duly elected and auali-
fed, may. after having taken the required
oaths of office, be admitted into Congress as
such.
The foregoing preamble shows that the
Republicans were anxious TO have the States
lately in insurrection resume their former
relations in the Union. The ratification of
the proposed fourteenth amendment secured
to the United States the results of the war,
made the Union debt sacred and put the pay
ment of the rebel debt beyond possibility
BY the amendment no man was deprived Of
the right to vote, much less was his prop
erty confiscated. How did the Southern
people receive this offer, so fair and so easy
of compliance? Tennessee accepted the
terms even before declared. but the Legisla-
ture of every other State rejected the pro-
posed amendment by emphatic votes. Thus
the earnest efforts of the Republicans to re-
store the seeding States to the Union were
rejected. Under such conditions the Re-
publicans. having been emphatlcally in
dorsed by the voters of the North in the
elections during the fell of 1866, had no
other alternative than to adopt some other