Reconstruction "There was a dramatic need for another amendment" after the slavery-abolishing 13th Amendment was ratified at the end of 1865, Hetrick says. In Not all of the ideas Stevens voiced in his speech were implemented. He supported banks, internal improvements and public schools, and spoke out against slavery; Jacksonian Democrats; and Freemasons, believing that they were contriving plans to unfairly gain government positions. Whether they should ever have all men of both sections, without exception, agreed would depend on the will of Congress, if the United States were victorious. Thaddeus Stevens was a Republican congressman from Pennsylvania who became the face of the opposition to Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson's lenient approach to the South after the Civil War. If, perchance, the accumulated quicksands render it impossible to reach in every part so firm a basis, then it becomes our duty to drive deep and solid the substituted piles on which to build. The policy and personal disputes between Johnson and Stevens helped frame the Reconstruction era, mirroring the divisions present in the nation as a whole. Dead men cannot raise themselves. . Having these States, as we all agree, entirely within the power of Congress, it is our duty to take care that no injustice shall remain in their organic laws. Having witnessed the oppressive slave system at close range, he early developed a fierce hatred of bondage and defended numbers of fugitives without fee. depict the ruin that would follow. This amendment supplies that defect, and allows Congress to correct the unjust legislation of the States, so far that the law which, operates upon one man shall operate equally upon all. The first of those amendments is to change the basis of representation among the States from Federal numbers to actual voters. Call you this liberty? Some answer, Your civil rights bill [the Civil Rights Act of 1866] secures the same things. That is partly true, but a law is repealable by a majority. The leader of the Radical Republicans in the House, Stevens was a lawyer, politician, and staunch abolitionist. Following the Civil War, Stevens served on the Joint Committee on Reconstruction and played an important role in drafting both the 14th Amendment and the Reconstruction Act of 1867. The Black Codes passed in those states to keep the freed slaves from exercising their new freedoms further angered the Radical Republicansand even most moderate Republicans. However, he also urged colleagues to remember the crimes of the Confederacy. That time ought to be present now. the Constitution shall have been so amended as to make it The veto of the President and their votes on the bill are conclusive evidence of that. No Government official, from the President and Chief Justice down, can do anyone act which is not prescribed and directed by the legislative power. Of course the rebels claimed no such rights; for whether their States were out of the Union as they declared, or were disorganized and out of their proper relations to the Government, as some subtle metaphysicians contend, their rights under the Constitution had all been renounced and abjured under oath, and could not be resumed on their own mere motion. There is more reason why colored voters should be admitted in the rebel States than in the Territories. 251-252. . This amendment once adopted cannot be annulled without two thirds of Congress. On the result of the war depended the fate and ulterior condition of the contending parties. Twenty years ago I denounced it as a despotism. Omissions? All Rights Reserved. Mr. Speaker, I am very anxious that this bill should be proceeded with until finally acted upon. If it be just, it should not be denied; if it be necessary, it should be adopted; if it be a punishment to traitors, they deserve it. The entire speech appears below. Radical Republican congressional leader during Reconstruction (1865-77) who battled for freedmen's rights and insisted on stern requirements for readmission of Southern states into the Union after the Civil War (1861-65). It matters but little, with this admission, whether you call them States out of the Union, and now conquered territories, or assert that because the Constitution forbids them to do what they did do, that they are therefore only dead as to all national and political action, and will remain so until the Government shall breathe into them the breath of life anew and permit them to occupy their former position. My only objection to it is that it is too lenient. . describe a time when you were treated unfairly. We have allowed them the unwonted privilege of attending church, if they can do so without offending the sight of their former masters. Certainly many people shared his outrage and desire to see the former Confederates punished, but his particular bitterness ran counter to the feelings of many others who wanted to see a quick reconciliation with the South and who cared little about anything more than rudimentary freedom for former slaves. . Congress seemed fully in control. The same law which condemns or acquits an African should condemn or acquit a white man. Lincoln had already authorized reconstructed governments in Arkansas, Louisiana, Virginia, and Johnson's home state of Tennessee, and Johnson continued Lincoln's goal of quickly restoring local sovereignty to the states. The President is for exonerating the conquered rebels from all the expense and damages of the war, and for compelling the loyal citizens to pay the whole debt caused by the rebellion. In opposition to these things, a portion of Congress seems to desire that the conquered belligerent shall, according to the law of nations, pay at least a part of the expenses and damages of the war; and that especially the loyal people who were plundered and impoverished by rebel raiders shall be fully indemnified. I waive now the question of punishment which, if we are wise, will still be inflicted by moderate confiscations, both as a reproof and example. Such shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.Constitution United States, art.I, sec. To Stevens, the procedure by which a territory becomes a state was the logical blueprint for this process. They would merely misrepresent their constituents. Thaddeus Stevens speech of December 18 1865; Address of a convention of Negroes held in Alexandria Virginia August 1865; Alexander Stephens on Reconstruction April 11 1866; Report of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction June 20 1866; Charles Sumner Opinion on the trial of Andrew Johnson 1868 Congress denies that any State lately in rebellion has any government or constitution known to the Constitution of the United States , or which can be recognized as part of the Union. An Address Delivered to the Citizens of Lancaster, Sept. 6, 1865. The film claims that it was "Based in Part on Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln . homesteads, and hedge them around with protective laws; In that time, too, the loyal Congress could mature their laws and so amend the Constitution as to secure the rights of every human being and render disunion impossible. We have unchained them from the stake so as to allow them locomotion, provided they do not walk in paths which are trod by white men. outside or defunct States, and providing proper civil . BlackPast.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and our EIN is 26-1625373. Image Details The Joint Committee on Reconstruction proposed a constitutional amendment to address issues in Southern states. ?)(qUC Then each House must judge whether the members But if full justice could not be obtained at once I would not refuse to do what is possible. They have determined to defend these rights against all usurpers. inveterate rebels are invited to participate in our legislation. They have determined that while in their keeping the Constitution shall not be violated with impunity. Unless the rebel States, before admission, should be made republican in spirit, and placed under the guardianship of loyal men, all. He graduated at Dartmouth College in 1814, removed to York, Pennsylvania, was admitted to the bar (in Maryland), and for fifteen years practiced at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Congress alone can do it. Combining patriotic and religious imagery, it depicted Americans rebuilding a pavilion representing the United States. . The parties acknowledged each other as such, and claimed to be governed by the law of nations and the laws of war in their treatment of each other. And I need hardly say that the first time that the South with their copperhead allies obtain the command of Congress it will be repealed. We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! Start your constitutional learning journey. Image Details The Joint Committee on Reconstruction, comprising members from the House and Senate, gathered testimony on conditions in the South from 144 witnesses. As a leader in Congress, Stevens fought to end slavery and promote civil rights and racial equality. Thaddeus Stevens, (born April 4, 1792, Danville, Vermont, U.S.died August 11, 1868, Washington, D.C.), U.S. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. The first two years of Congressional Reconstruction saw Southern states rewrite their Constitutions and the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment. In other words, that they are not out of the Union, but are only dead carcasses lying within the Union. If we do not furnish them with The Southern territories could have non-voting representation, and it would be Congress, which would ensure that they could not exercise any power until Congress was convinced they would pose no further threat to the Union. of contract, or of managing the ordinary business of life. But the Constitution limits only the action of Congress, and is not a limitation on the States. Thaddeus Stevens, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives during Abraham Lincoln's presidency, fought to abolish slavery and helped draft the 14th Amendment during Reconstruction. It is obvious from all this that the first duty of Congress is to pass a law declaring the condition of these outside or defunct States, and providing proper civil governments for them. . In . As there are no symptoms that the people of these provinces will be prepared to participate in constitutional government for some years, I know of no arrangement so proper for them as territorial governments. A majority of Congress desires that treason shall be made odious, not by bloody executions, but by other adequate punishments. history and of all future ages. We have imposed upon them the privilege of fighting our battles, of dying in defense of freedom, and of bearing their equal portion of taxes; but where have we given them the privilege of ever participating in the formation of the laws for the government of their native land? 2 April 1865-August 1868 (Pittsburgh: 1 0 obj Johnson's policies allowed many former Confederates to regain political power. Congress and in the Electoral college. 4 0 obj Thaddeus Stevens,of Pennsylvania, on the abolition of slavery. To those white leaders, voting rights for the freedmen, as advocated by Radical Republicans, were out of the question. Stevens was an opponent of slavery before the war and after the war sought to secure the rights of the newly freed population in the former Confederacy. That decision has taken away every protection in everyone of these rebel States from every loyal man, black or white, who resides there. Whose especial duty is it to do it? electors; and I know of no better place nor better My policy asserts full power in the Executive. I. If we do not furnish them with homesteads, and hedge them around with protective laws; if we leave them to the legislation of their late masters, we had better have left them in bondage. Link couldn't be copied to clipboard! Stevens completed his undergraduate education and moved to York, Pennsylvania, where he taught classes at a one-room school during the daytime and studied law in the evenings. Unless the law of nations is a dead letter, the late war between two acknowledged belligerents severed their original compacts and broke all the ties that bound them together. Excerpts from Henry Carey The Harmony of Interests Agricultural, Manufacturing & Commercial 1851, Excerpts from Henrey Carey The Slave Trade Domestic and Foreign 1853, Excerpt from Frederick Law Olmsted A journey in the Seaboard Slave States 1856, The Constitution of the Confederate States of America 1861, McClellan Letter to Lincoln on His Evacuation from the Penninsula Campaign 1862, Thaddeus Stevens speech of December 18 1865, Address of a convention of Negroes held in Alexandria Virginia August 1865, Alexander Stephens on Reconstruction April 11 1866, Report of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction June 20 1866, Charles Sumner Opinion on the trial of Andrew Johnson 1868, Exerpt from James W. Grimes Opinion on the Trial of Andrew Johnson 1868, Resolutions of a meeting of the Illinois State Farmers' Association April 1873. The conclusion of the Civil War may have halted the direct warfare between the Union and Confederate armies, but disagreements among Northerners over what to do with the South were just beginning. Melancthon and others were ripe scholars and sincere reformers, but none of them had his courage. In rebuilding, it is necessary to clear away the rotten and defective portions of the old foundations, and to sink deep and found the repaired edifice upon the firm foundation of eternal justice. suffrage. Now, sir, if that decision be the law, then it becomes the more necessary that we should proceed to take care that such a construction as that shall not open the door to greater injuries than have already been sustained. There are those who admit the justice and ultimate utility of granting impartial suffrage to all men, but they think it is impolitic. Not in the judicial branch of Government, for it only adjudicates and does not prescribe laws. How difficult in a day to unlearn it. Admitted to the Maryland bar, he moved to Pennsylvania to practice law in 1816. ( Thaddeus Stevens, speech to Congress, March 19 1867). In States that have never been restored since the rebellion from a state of conquest, and which are this day held in captivity under the laws of war, the military authorities, under this decision and its extension into disloyal States, dare not order the commanders of departments to enforce the laws of the country. Since the conquest they have been Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. Their subjects had liberty of motion and of labor, but the laws were made without and against their will; but I must declare that, in my judgment, they were as really free governments as ours is to-day. In either case, it is very plain that it requires the action of Congress to enable I them to form a State government and send representatives to Congress. The white Union men are in a great minority in each of those States. It would not be wise to prevent the raising of the structure because some corner of it might be founded upon materials subject to the inevitable laws of mortal decay. Thaddeus Stevens, Speech in favor of black suffrage, House of Representatives, January 3, 1867. A few moments may be profitably spent in seeking the meaning of each of these terms. The following speech lays out what he felt Congressional Reconstruction should encompass. They had all been melted and consumed in the fierce fires of the terrible war. UJxCA**]=#TSWr];227~|}&Y&QHV +JG{4ef1R+2#{2yTy$H. The infernal laws of slavery have prevented them from The [members of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction] are not ignorant of the fact that there has been some impatience at the delay in making this report . These are great advantages over their present codes. Though many Northerners were ambivalent about African American suffrage, the Black Codes turned public opinion against Johnson and his moderate approach to Reconstruction. I need not Rather than debate the presidential plan, Stevens took a different tack, questioning the very propriety of having the executive branch direct Reconstruction policy. He publicly condemned the Confederacy and even initiated the exclusion of traditional Southern senators and representatives from a congressional meeting in 1865. Corrections? Congress must create States and declare when they are entitled to be represented. There they can learn the principles of freedom and eat the fruit of foul rebellion. Importantly, the speech placed Congress itself in charge of Reconstruction policya fact that galled President Andrew Johnson, who promoted a relatively simple reinstatement process for Southern states. <> Military rule is necessarily despotic, and ought not to exist longer than is absolutely necessary. Among the people I believe it will be the most popular of all the provisions; it prohibits rebels from voting for members of Congress and electors of President until 1870. They ought never to be recognized as capable of acting in the Union, or of being counted as valid States, until the Constitution shall have been so amended as to make it what its framers intended; and so as to secure perpetual ascendancy to the party of the Union; and so as to render our republican Government firm and stable forever.
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