Restoration and the Union Party: Speech of Hon. Henry J. Raymond, of New York, on the Conditional Admission of the States Lately in Rebellion to Representation in Congress (Classic Reprint) baixar o livro de graça

Excerpt from Restoration and the Union Party: Speech of Hon. Henry J. Raymond, of New York, on the Conditional Admission of the States Lately in Rebellion to Representation in Congress Mr. Raymond - Mr. Speaker, I regard the action which this House may take upon the bill now before it as of very great importance. The bill embodies principles which touch very nearly the fundamental principles of our Government; and it proposes measures which must affect in a very serious manner the peace and welfare of the country. I venture to hope, Sir, that every member of this House will bring to its consideration a mind unbiased by prejudice and uninfluenced by passion, and that he will act upon it with sole and exclusive reference to its probable effect upon the prosperity and welfare of our common country. I know how difficult it is to withstand the influence of habit and association, personal and political, upon our action here; but if there ever was an occasion when it was incumbent upon each one of us to do all in our power thus to emancipate ourselves from undue and improper influences, I think, Sir, that occasion is offered by the bill which now awaits our action. When this Congress met, Sir, now seven months ago, the war against the rebellion had been closed for half a year. The President of the United States, exercising what he believed to be his rightful authority as the chief Executive of the nation and Commander-in-Chief of its armies, had set in motion the machinery of government in the States where it had been suspended by rebellion. He had appointed Provisional Governors, by whom, under his authority, Conventions and Legislatures were summoned, and elections were held; and those Governors, Legislatures and Conventions, took steps to bring the States back to their normal condition, so far as exercising the power of self-government was concerned. When we met in December last but little remained to be done to complete the work of restoration. The temper of the people in the Southern States was that of submissive and loyal acquiescence in the results of the war. All that remained was to heal the wounds the war had made, and embody in proper form the principles it had established. At an early day of the session, as early as, was proper and convenient, I stated, in the course of some remarks on the general subject, what I thought Congress ought to do - the specific action it ought to take, to complete the work of restoration; and, with the leave of the House, as it is very brief, I will read the paragraph in which that statement was embodied: "In the first place, I think we ought to accept the present status of the Southern States, and regard them as having resumed, under the President's guidance and action, their functions of self-government in the Union. In the second place, I think this House should decide on the admission of Representatives by districts, admitting none but loyal men, who can take the oath we may prescribe, and holding all others as disqualified, the Senate acting, at its discretion, in the same way in regard to representatives of States. I think, in the third place, we should provide by law for giving to the freedmen of the South all the rights of citizens in courts of law and elsewhere. In the fourth place, I would exclude from Federal office the leading actors in the conspiracy which led to the rebellion in every State. In the fifth place, I would make such amendments to the Constitution as may seem wise to Congress and the States, acting freely and without coercion. And sixth, I would take such measures and precautions by the disposition of military forces as will preserve order and prevent the overthrow, by usurpation or otherwise, in any State, of its republican form of government." Nearly all of these points have been covered by the action which Congress has already taken. The status of the Southern States has been substantially recognized