The advocate. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1901-1913, 1907-08-01

under which members of the House
and Senate from all the = seeding
states would resume their places In
the Congress Of the United States
with power to legislate for the whole
country, and with power In combinar
.tion with those who had sympathized
with them from the North, to pre-
vent any legislation that would give
any guarantee against resumpt ton
of hostilities II that should ever be
possible, or against such procee dings
as would enable them to nullffy by
the ballot all we had gained by the
bullet. = ...f =" s.... ,
1t was a serious situation. There
were many troublesome questions to
deal with. One was as to the in
volatility Of the debt contracted to
preserve the Union. Another was as
to the reputation OF the debt con-
tracted by the Southern Confederacy
to destroy the Union. Another was
as to the sacredness Of pensions for
definition OF citizenship of the Uni
ted States. Another was as to the
basis Of representation in the Con-
,gress and Electoral College. AM
other was as to the proper protec-
ton of the slaves who had been
freed, and as to the claims on ac-
count Of their emancipation, l..
CHANGE WAS IMPERATIVE ...
These were questions of vital
character. A number of them could
not be dealt with by mere statutory
provisions. A change in the organic
law, was absolutely essential. After
much consideration the Fourteenth
Amendment was proposed, This was
very comprehensive document. It
embodied the settlement of all these
questions. No complaint of unfair
ness has ever been made as to the
settlement it made of any OF these
questions, except that as to suffrage; 4;
and there wass no just ground for
any complaint as to that. Under all
the circumstances 1t was most gen
erOus. This provision was, having
direct reference to the peculiar con-
ditions in the South, that each State
should settle for itself who should
exercise the right Of suffrage. If a
State did not wish to give its Negro
population right to vote 1t was not
required to do SO. The only d!sad-
vantage to which such State was sub
iected, if it denied Negroes the right
to vote, was that it should suffer a
corresponding reduction In the basis
of representation in Congress and in
the Electoral College Under the
constitution, prior to the Thirteenth
Amendment, In determining the basis
Of representation, Ave slaves were
counted as three. This was called
the three-hfths rule.
When slavery was abolished and
all were free each man counted as
one. The result OF the. Thirteenth
Amendment was, therefore, to IN
crease the representation In the Sc
ceding States, SO that these States
that had been in rebellion, by reason
of the abolition of slavery, had great
er political power when restored to
their place in the Union after their
attempt to overthrow the Govern
ment than they had prior thereto.
This we did not object to provided
they allowed the colored men, who
composed so large a part of that bas-
Is Of representation, the right Of suf-
frage; but we did object to 1t If that
right of suffrage should not be al
lowed to the colored man, for 1t did
not seem right then, and, looking
back now through 40 years of peace
to that troublesome period, 1t does
not seem right now. that the white
men of the seeding States should
have full representation for them
selves and an additional representa-
ton equally as large for their col
ored population, and that they alone
should do all the voting.
DOUBLE POLITICAL POWER
Especially did this not seem right
to men who had just gone through
the struggles Of q great war, when
1T was remembered that this double
power Of voting was to be given to
the men who had waged that war
and be wholly denied to the black
men, who, although in large sense
unpTepared for an Intelligent exer-
else OF the right Of suffrage, were yet
nevertheless known to be absolutely
loyal to the Union and the great pur-
poses Of the men who had saved 1t.
This Fourteenth Amendment was,
therefore, NOS only necessary, but 1t
was just and generous.
"The Southern States should have
gladly and gratefully accepted it, but
instead Of accepting 1t, every one OF
them promptly and in what appeared
to be an offensive spirit and manner,
rejected It, Under the leadership
and Inspiration of President John
son they proposed to force their way
back into their places in the Govern
ment without any terms or condi-
ttons whatever, except such as Presi.
dent Johnson and they themselves
might impose. To this program the
loyal men, who had saved the Union,
would not consent. They had no
right to consent. They were anxious
to do everything reasonable to bring
the seeding States back into the Un-
lon and make them feel at home and
happy there, but they were not will
ing to jeopardize for mere sentimen-
talism all that had been gained.
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