1870. This was virtually a complete disfranchisement of the Southern people, and although only temporary, it was felt to be contrary to the spirit of our institutions and too indiscriminate a punishment. It was accordingly stricken out by a unanimous vote. In its place Senator Howard proposed a clause which forms section 3 of the 14th Amendment as it now stands. This clause, while it withheld certain privileges of citizenship from participants in the rebellion who had previously held civil or military office and had taken an oath to support the Constitution of the United States, did not affect the vast majority of Southerners; and it provided that Congress might, by a two-thirds vote of each house, remove the disability of those who were excepted from the restoration of privileges. Moreover, in place of the plan supported by Blaine and Conkling for reducing the basis of representation, the Committee on Reconstruction presented a proposition which better satisfied the conservative element, and which stands to-day as section 2 of the 14th Amendment. It provided that in case the right of any male inhabitant of a State to vote was denied or abridged for any reason "except for participation in rebellion or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be 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." It was argued that in this way fairness was assured, as a State could have no right to claim representation for that portion of her population which was denied the franchise.

On June 8, 1866, the final touches were put on the resolution. Five days later the House concurred in the Senate's revision, and the 14th Amendment was ready for the ratification of the States.

Johnson's followers and the Democrats bitterly opposed 1On May 29, Congressional Globe, 39th Congress, 1st Session, p. 2869.

the submission of this amendment. The more extreme of them asserted that the Republican majority acted from purely partisan motives. Fearful for the continuance of its supremacy, it desired to place before the States a measure so distasteful to the South as to ensure its rejection. In that way there would be an excuse for additional legislation to prevent the States from obtaining representation, and to preserve Republican control. The composite character of the amendment provoked severe criticism. It was claimed that the sections should be submitted to the States as separate articles, to give opportunity for the rejection of some and the ratification of others. Senator Doolittle moved an amendment to this effect, but the solid reconstruction majority could not be shaken, and the five sections were submitted to the States to stand or fall together. Technical objections were deemed unworthy of consideration when it was supposed to be necessary for the safety of the Union that all the sections should be ratified.

The inadvisability of submitting a constitutional amendment while eleven of the States were not permitted a voice in legislation was strongly urged by the opposition. The President reiterated the protest in his message of June 22, affirming that the submission of the proposed amendment to the States through the executive department was a purely ministerial duty, in no way committing the department to an approval of the action. The first section of the amendment was condemned as a subtle plan eventually to force negro suffrage upon the people as an incident of negro citizenship. It was claimed that the second discriminated too, severely against the Southern States with their large preponderance of colored population, and that the third virtually forced them to insult their most respected citizens—a humilia1 See Pollard's Lost Cause Regained, p. 74.

2 Senate Journal, 39th Congress, 1st Session, p. 502.

tion which would drive them to renewed insurrection.

The

validity of some of the objections was proved by subsequent history; some have proved groundless; others still remain among the unsettled questions.

The reconstruction legislation of the first session of the 39th Congress closed with the restoration of Tennessee to the Union. Other measures were under consideration, but were not acted upon until the following session. The attitude of Tennessee, since her re-organization under the provisions of the proclamation of 1863, had been the most consistent of any of the Southern States. From March 3, 1862, until March 3, 1865, Johnson, as military governor, had preserved law and order to a great extent. The formal reorganization of the State was undertaken by a convention of the loyal citizens convened January 8, 1865, acting upon the recommendation and personal approval of Johnson. This convention proposed the amendments to the constitution of the State, made necessary by the changes brought about by the war, and they were adopted by the loyal voters of the State on February 22. On March 4 a governor and legislature were elected, who assumed their duties on April 3. The work of the legislature was characterized by an apparent eagerness to do all that should be done by a State loyal to the Union.

The popular ratification of the amendments to the Constitution distinguished the action of Tennessee from that of the other Southern States, and this fact, united to her uniformly consistent attitude, formed the ground for the recommendation of the Committee on Reconstruction that this State should be restored to her former rights and privileges. This recommendation, in the form of a joint resolution, was reported from the committee by Mr. Bingham on March

'On the reorganization of Tennessee, see Blaine, Twenty Years of Congress, ii, 50-52, 214-17; Cox, Three Decades of Federal Legislation.

5,' but no action was taken until July 20. Tennessee's prompt action in ratifying the 14th Amendment' was taken as good evidence that her government was thoroughly reconstructed, and the State entitled to representation. Accordingly a substitute resolution, noting these facts, was introduced and passed, the Senate amending and passing it three days later. This declared Tennessee to be restored to her former relations to the Union, and entitled to representation in Congress,3 but the preamble was used as a vehicle for the assertion of the sole power of Congress to restore State governments. President Johnson, while approving the resolution, explained in his message that his approval was "not to be construed as an acknowledgment of the right of Congress to pass laws preliminary to the admission of duly qualified representatives from any of the States," nor as committing him" to all the statements made in the preamble."

The session had proved far from fruitless, although nothing but the preliminary steps had been taken. The Freedmen's Bureau and civil rights bills constituted a temporary protection to the freedmen; the right of habeas corpus still remained suspended and military authority prevailed throughout the conquered region. The 14th Amendment was before the people, to be a rallying point for the autumn campaign. The lines between the presidential and congressional parties were now closely drawn. Each knew the strong and the weak points of its opponent. The issue must now be turned over to the people as final judges of its merits. The congressional elections of the fall would decide the issue, and also the future method of reconstruction.

1House Reports, No. 30, pt. 1; McPherson, History of the Reconstruction, pp. 105-6.

2 Ratified by the Senate July 11, yeas, 15, nays, 6; by the House July 12, yeas, 43, nays, II. Tennessee was the third State to ratify the amendment, Connecticut and New Hampshire being the first two.

2

* McPherson, History of the Reconstruction, pp. 151-4.

CHAPTER IV.

THE CAMPAIGN OF 1866.

1. The four months following the adjournment of the first session of the 39th Congress were full of excitement. The public was thoroughly aroused, and all incidents were considered in the light they threw upon the question of the hour. The President's uncompromising hostility to the 14th Amendment brought about a crisis in the Cabinet.' William Dennison, Postmaster-General, was the first to declare the impossibility of maintaining cabinet relations with the President. He resigned on July 11, and A. W. Randall, of Wisconsin, First Assistant Postmaster-General, was appointed in his place. Mr. Randall was a devoted adherent of the administration, and president of the National Union Club which called the convention of August 14. The second resignation was that of James Speed, Attorney-General, on July 18. Coming from Kentucky, Mr. Speed had had the reputation. of being quite conservative in his views regarding reconstruction, and his formal notice of separation from the President created no little excitement. His intimate connection with the administration gave unusual force to his denunciation of its policy, made at the time of taking the chair as permanent president of the convention of Southern loyalists. Henry Stanbery of Ohio was appointed as his successor, and retained his position until he resigned to assist in the defense of the President in the impeachment trial. A few days after Mr. Speed's withdrawal, the Secretary of the 1 Blaine, Twenty Years of Congress, ii, 219–220.