Chapter 9

“This shows us the nature and the end of republican government. It is a government founded on the general interest and equality.”[175]

Admirable words!—in themselves a definition. And here, before closing this testimony, let me call attention to two authorities, contemporary with our fathers, which stand apart,—one English, and the other German. The first is that of Dr. Richard Price, the friend of JohnAdams, who very early appreciated the American Revolution, and vindicated it before the world. Here is his idea of good government, compendiously expressed:—

“Legitimate government, as opposed to oppression and tyranny, consists only in the dominion ofEqual Lawsmade withcommon consent, or of men overthemselves; and not in the dominion of communities over communities, or of any men over other men.”[176]

The German was none other than the great thinker, Emanuel Kant, who, in his speculations on Perpetual Peace, says, that to this end every state should be a Republic, which he defines:—

“That form of government whereevery citizenparticipates by his representatives in the exercise of the legislative power, and especially in that of deciding on the questions of peace and war.”[177]

The statement of Kant is as simple as Pure Reason, which is the title of his great work. It claims plainly for “every citizen” a share in the government, and is the deliberate conclusion furnished by this eminent philosopher, whose name, rarely quoted in politics, is an unimpeachable authority.

Such is the definition of a republican form of government, as found in the history, declarations, opinions, and public acts of the Fathers of our country, reinforced by the authority of foreign intelligence and the example of France. From this presentation of authorities not to be questioned we pass easily to another stage of the discussion, where the conclusion is the easy and irresistible sequence.

Bringing these lapsed States to the touchstone, we see at once their small title to recognition as republican in form. Authentic figures are not wanting. The census of 1860 discloses the population of the States in question.

A glance at this table is enough. Taking the sum total of population in the eleven States, we find 5,447,220 whites to 3,656,112 colored persons; and you are now to decide, whether, in the discharge of imperative duties under the National Constitution, and bound to guaranty a republican form of government, you will disfranchise this latter mass, shutting them out from those Equal Rights promised by our fathers, and from all copartnership in the government of their country. They surpassin numbers, by at least a million, the whole population of the Colonies at the time our fathers raised the cry, “Taxation without Representation is Tyranny”; and now you are to decide whether to strip them of representation, while you subject them to grinding taxation by tariff and excise, acting directly and indirectly, dwarfing into insignificance everything attempted by the British Parliament. Our fathers could not bear a Stamp Act in making which they had no voice, and they braved terrible war with the most formidable power of the globe rather than pay a tax of threepence on tea imposed by a Parliament in which they were unrepresented. Are you ready, Sir, in disregard of this great precedent, and in disregard of all promises and examples of past history, to thrust a single citizen out of all representation in the Government, while you consume his substance with taxation, subject him to Stamp Acts, compel him to pay a duty of twenty-five cents a pound on tea, and then follow him with imposts in all the business of life? Clearly, if you do not recognize his title to representation, you must at least by careful legislation relieve him from this intolerable taxation. Some of the millions you thrust out already contribute largely to the public revenue. How, then, can you deny them representation? Their money is not rejected. Why reject their votes? But if you reject their votes, you cannot take their money. As you detect no color in their money, you ought to detect no color in their votes.

In this denial of the right to vote there is a surpassing tyranny, being nothing less than a confiscation of the highest property the citizen can possess. To take his money is robbery; to appropriate his house orland is spoliation; but house and land are less than the right by which the citizen is assured in all other rights. Lord Chief Justice Holt spoke as became one of England’s greatest magistrates, when he said from the bench: “A right that a man has to give his vote at the election of a person to represent him in Parliament, there to concur to the making of laws which are to bind his liberty and property, is a most transcendent thing and of an high nature.”[178]But this “most transcendent thing” is taken from a whole race on an excuse insulting to them as members of the human family.

Unhappily, too many people discern the wrong only when they personally feel its sting. Suppose now the case reversed, and white citizens in South Carolina despoiled of this “most transcendent thing” by the predominance of the colored race, so that “black” instead of “white” marks participation in government. But, if such discrimination is just where the white prevails, it would be equally just where the black prevails, and it would be as constitutional in one case as in the other. Unquestionably a black man’s government is as constitutional as a white man’s government. But the white man could not easily endure the degradation; nor can it be doubted that Congress would promptly insist that it was inconsistent with republican government, and would apply the proper remedy. Failing in this duty, what other discrimination could it arrest? The Anglo-Saxon might exclude the Celt; the Celt might exclude the Anglo-Saxon; both might exclude the German, and the fearful antagonisms of race would have full play. Other battles than the Boyne would be the signal of discord, and other parties than Orangemen would stalk upon the scene.

If, looking at these States together, the case is clear, it becomes clearer when we look at them separately. Begin with Tennessee, which disfranchises 283,079 citizens, being more than a quarter of its whole “people.” Thus violating a distinctive principle of republican government, how can this State be recognized as republican? The question is easier asked than answered. But Tennessee is the least offensive on the list. There is Virginia, which disfranchises 549,019 citizens, being more than a third its whole “people.” There is Alabama, which disfranchises 437,930 citizens, being nearly one half its whole “people.” There is Louisiana, which disfranchises 350,546 citizens, being one half its whole “people.” There is Mississippi, which disfranchises 437,406 citizens, being much more than one half its whole “people.” And there is South Carolina, which disfranchises 412,408 citizens, being nearly three fifths its whole “people.” A republic is a pyramid standing on the broad mass of the people as a base; but here is a pyramid balanced on its apex. To call such a government “republican” is a mockery of sense and decency. A monarch “surrounded by republican institutions,” as at one time was the boast of France, would be less offensive to correct principles, and give more security to Human Rights.

Plainly such a government is not a “democracy,” where all the people assemble and govern in person; nor is it a “republic,” where they assemble and govern by representatives, according to the distinction presented by Madison in the “Federalist.”[179]A representative government is a government by the people, not less thana democracy, provided all the people are represented. Representation is a modern invention of incalculable value to embody the will of the people. A republic, like a democracy, cannot tolerate inequality. Wherever a favored class appears, whether in one or the other, its republican character ceases. It may be an aristocracy or oligarchy, but it is not a democracy or a republic.

It is not difficult to classify our Rebel States. They are aristocracies or oligarchies. Aristocracy, according to etymology, is the government of the best. Oligarchy is the government of the few, being not even aristocracy, but an abuse of aristocracy, as despotism is the abuse of monarchy. Perhaps these States may be characterized in either way; and yet aristocracy, especially in origin, has something respectable, which cannot be attributed to a combination whose single distinctive element is color of the skin.

The eminent French publicist, Bodin, in his definition of aristocracy, says that it existswhere a smaller body of citizens governs the greater;[180]and this definition has been adopted by others, especially by Montesquieu. But it is not satisfactory. Hallam, whose judgment is of the highest value, after discussing its merits, proposes the following most suggestive substitute:—

“We might better say, that the distinguishing characteristic of anaristocracyis the enjoyment of privilegeswhich are not communicable to other citizens simply by anything they can themselves do to obtain them.”[181]

These words completely characterize the aristocracy of color; for this aristocracy is plainly in the enjoyment of privileges not communicable to other citizens by anything they can themselves do to obtain them. Are we not reminded that “the Ethiopian cannot change his skin,” neither can we “make one hair white or black,” and “which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature”? Aristotle, the great intelligence of Antiquity, whose illumination has reached everywhere, used congenial language, when, in reply to those who would have magistracy and power distributed unequally, according to some rule of personal superiority, he said, “If this is a correct rule, then complexion, or stature, or some similar advantage, might be made the excuse for superiority in civil rights”; and he illustrates the unreasonableness of such a rule by showing, that, in a company of musicians, the best flute is not given to the most noble, but to the artist who will use it best; thus making merit the only qualification, and discarding color, which is accidental and unchangeable.[182]

The famous French founder of the school of Doctrinaires, Royer-Collard, so remarkable for sententious thought, was in the habit of saying that “the sovereignty of Reason is superior to the sovereignty of the people.” But both declare the equal rights of all. The rule of inequality is plainly unreasonable; and what a mockery is that sovereignty of the people which sanctions any denial of equal rights! In different spirit, the consummate French writer, Louis Blanc, devoted to reform, has declared that “the republic is above universal suffrage,”—meaning that even universal suffrage cannot subvert it. But in each is Equality. Universal suffrage openly proclaims this right; and what is the republic without it?

To show that our Rebel States are aristocracies oroligarchies might suffice. But we must not forget, that, born of Slavery, they have the spirit of that iniquity, so that they are essentially of a low type. Founded on color of the skin, they are, beyond question, the most senseless and disgusting of all history. Would you learn to what they must incline? Listen to the frank words of the Venetian master, the famous Father Paul, while, in a state refined by art and elevated by glory, he counsels the privileged class how to use their powers. “If a noble,” says he, “injure a plebeian, justify him by all possible means; but should that be found quite impossible, punish more in appearance than in reality. If a plebeian insult a noble, punish him with the greatest severity, that the commonalty may know how perilous it is to insult a noble.”[183]Such is the terrible rule announced in a document which taught how to make the power of Venice perpetual. But this same spirit predominates still in the Rebel States. It rages there with more revolting cruelty than Venice ever witnessed. And such is the government now claiming recognition as “republican.”

The pretension is hateful on another ground. It is nothing less than a caste, which is irreligious as well as unrepublican. A caste exists only in defiance of the first principles of Christianity and the first principles of a republic. It is heathenism in religion and tyranny in government. The Brahmins and the Sudras in India, from generation to generation, have been separated, as the two races are still separated in these States. If a Sudra presumed to sit on a Brahmin’s carpet, he was punished with banishment. But our recent Rebels undertake to play the part of Brahmins, and exclude citizens, with better title than themselves, from essential rights, simply on the ground of caste, which, according to its Portuguese origin (casta), is only another term for race.

But the pretension is yet otherwise hostile to good government. Here is a monopoly on a gigantic scale and with an unprecedented field, in a country which sets its face against all monopolies as unequal and immoral. If any monopoly deserves unhesitating judgment, it must be that which absorbs the rights of others and engrosses political power. How vain to condemn the petty monopoly of commerce, while allowing this vast, all-embracing monopoly of Human Rights!

Clearly, most clearly, and beyond all question, such a government is not “republican in form.” Call it oligarchy, call it aristocracy, call it caste, call it monopoly; but never call it a republic.

Of course such a government can exist only in defiance of the National Constitution, and it isthe duty of Congressto interfere against it.

The guaranty is by the United States; therefore Congress must perform it; and, in the discharge of this eminent duty, it must affix the true meaning to the requirement, declaring what is a republican government, and supplying the long-sought definition. Here Congress is sole and final arbiter, binding all other branches of Government. Let a State make office hereditary,—let it shut from the courts all who have not the “blueblood” of ancient ancestry,—let it accord to a favored class controlling power and influence,—let it apply any discrimination on account of race or color, whether against Anglo-Saxons, Celts, or Germans, whether against black or white,—let it do any of these things, all so plainly inconsistent with constitutional requirement, and the legislative power of the nation must recall the State from its aberration, and bring it home to the republican standard.

President Johnson, in his recent annual message, says:—

“In case of the usurpation of the government of a State by one man or anoligarchy, it becomes a duty of the United States to make good the guaranty to that State of a republican form of government.”

The President forgets to mention an aristocracy, and does not add, what is true, that the authority bound to make good the guaranty is the sole judge of the exigency. To this end everything centres in Congress, whose powers are commensurate with the occasion. In aid of the guaranty are those other words providing that Congress “shall have power to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the powers vested by the Constitution in the Government of the United States.” Under this ample provision there is a duty to be performed, by any means that seem best. The jurisdiction is complete, and it is in Congress. If any authority were needed for this proposition, it would be found in the words of Chief Justice Taney himself, speaking for the Supreme Court of the United States:—

“The fourth section of the fourth article of the Constitution of the United States provides that the United Statesshall guaranty to every State in the Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion, and, on the application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened), against domestic violence.“Under this article of the Constitution, it rests with Congress to decide what government is the established one in a State. For, as the United States guaranty to each State a republican government, Congress must necessarily decide what government is established in the State, before it can determine whether it is republican or not.”[184]

“Under this article of the Constitution, it rests with Congress to decide what government is the established one in a State. For, as the United States guaranty to each State a republican government, Congress must necessarily decide what government is established in the State, before it can determine whether it is republican or not.”[184]

In the exercise of this power two courses are open. One is to impose an irrepealable condition upon the unrepublican States, requiring them, before recognition, to re-form their governments to the satisfaction of Congress. The other, and more direct, is by Act of Congress, in performance of the guaranty, and according to the plenary authority “for carrying into execution the powers vested by the Constitution in the Government of the United States,” to provide all needful safeguards in the unrepublican States, and especially to place the Equal Rights of All under the guardianship of National Law.

Against the exercise of this power there are but two arguments. First, that the Constitution, by providing that “the electors in each State shall have thequalificationsrequisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State Legislature,” has reserved to each State the power of excluding citizens merely on account of color, even though constituting more than a majority of the population. The other argument is, that, since certain States at the North have disfranchised the fewcolored persons within their borders, the United States are so far constrained by this example that they cannot protect the millions of freedmen in the Rebel States from disfranchisement, and cannot save the Republic from the peril of crying injustice. I know not which of these two arguments is the least reasonable, or rather, which is the most reprehensible. They are both unreasonable, and both reprehensible. They both do violence to the true principles of the National Constitution, if not to common sense.

It is true, that, according to the text of the Constitution, each State may determine the “qualifications” of electors; but this can have no application to an exigency like the present, where, at the close of a prolonged and desperate rebellion, the United States are obliged to guaranty to certain States a republican form of government. In the performance of this guaranty, the United States will look only at the essential elements of such a government, nor more nor less, without regard to State laws. But I am unwilling to rest the argument here. Even assuming that there has been no lapse of State governments, so as to bring the guaranty into operation,—assuming that we are in a condition of assured peace,—then I utterly deny that the power to determine the “qualifications” of electors can give any power to disfranchise actual citizens. It is “qualifications” only which the States can determine,—meaning by this limited term those requirements of personal condition regarded as essential to the security of the franchise. These “qualifications” cannot be in nature permanent or insurmountable. Color cannot be a “qualification,” any more than size, or quality of hair. A permanent or insurmountable “qualification” is equivalentto deprivation of suffrage; in other words, it is the tyranny of taxation without representation, and this tyranny, I insist, is not intrusted to any State. This is the very ground taken by Mr. Madison, when defending the National Constitution in the Virginia Convention.

“Some States might regulate the elections on the principles ofEquality, and others might regulate them otherwise.… Should the people of any State, by any means, be deprived of the right of suffrage,it was judged proper that it should be remedied by the General Government.… If the elections be regulated properly by the State Legislatures, the Congressional control will very probably never be exercised. The power appears to me satisfactory, and unlikely to be abused as any part of the Constitution.”[185]

With these decisive words from a chief framer of the National Constitution, backed by the reason of the case, I dismiss this objection to the little consideration it deserves. And I dismiss to the same indifference the other objection, that our hands are tied because certain Northern States have done a wrong and mean thing. Pray, Sir, how can the failure of these States affect the power of Congress in a great exigency under the National Constitution? Duty here is identical with power. No matter if the power has been long dormant, it is none the less vital. It is like the slumbering statute which Cicero describes as a sword in the scabbard,tanquam gladius in vagina. It only remains that it be drawn forth.

This duty is fortified by the Constitutional Amendment, which, after providing for the abolition of Slavery, empowers Congress to “enforce” it by “appropriatelegislation,” thus heaping Ossa upon Pelion. Clearly, under these words, Congress may do what in its discretion seems “appropriate” to this end, and there is no power to call its action in question. On this point the authority of the Supreme Court, in the weighty judgment of Chief Justice Marshall, is explicit.

“The government which has a right to do an act, and has imposed on it the duty of performing that act, must, according to the dictates of reason, be allowed to select the means; and those who contend that it may not selectany appropriate means, that one particular mode of effecting the object is excepted, take upon themselves the burden of establishing that exception.…“Let the end be legitimate, let it be within the scope of the Constitution, andall meanswhich are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that end, which are not prohibited, but consist with the letter and spirit of the Constitution, are constitutional.”[186]

“Let the end be legitimate, let it be within the scope of the Constitution, andall meanswhich are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that end, which are not prohibited, but consist with the letter and spirit of the Constitution, are constitutional.”[186]

These words of the Chief Justice are reinforced by a kindred declaration from another great authority, Mr. Justice Story, speaking also for the Supreme Court, on an important occasion.

“The Constitution unavoidably deals in general language.… The instrument was not intended to provide merely for the exigencies of a few years, but was to endure through a long lapse of ages, the events of which were locked up in the inscrutable purposes of Providence.… Hence its powers are expressed in general terms, leaving to the Legislature from time to timeto adopt its own means to effectuate legitimate objects.”[187]

Apply these words to the present case, and theconclusion is irresistible. Whatever legislation seems “appropriate” to “enforce” the abolition of Slavery, whatever means seem proper to this end, must be within the powers of Congress under the Constitutional Amendment. You cannot deny this principle without setting aside those most remarkable judgments which stand as landmarks of constitutional history. But who can doubt that the abolition of the whole Black Code, in all its oligarchical pretensions, civil and political, is “appropriate” to “enforce” the abolition of Slavery? Mark the language of the grant. Congress may “enforce” abolition, and nobody can question the “means” it thinks best to employ. Let it not hesitate to adopt the “means” that promise to be most effective. As the occasion is extraordinary, so the “means” employed must be extraordinary.

But the Senate has already by solemn vote affirmed this very jurisdiction. You have, Sir, decreed that blacks shall enjoy the same civil rights as whites,—in other words, that with regard to civil rights there shall be no oligarchy, aristocracy, caste, or monopoly, but that all shall be equal before the law, without distinction of color. And this great decree you have made, as “appropriate legislation” under the Constitutional Amendment, to “enforce” the abolition of Slavery. Surely you have not erred. Beyond all question, the protection of the colored race in civil rights is essential to complete the abolition of Slavery; but the protection of the colored race in political rights is not less essential, and the power is as ample in one case as in the other. In each you legislate for the maintenance of that Liberty so tardily accorded, and the legislation is just as “appropriate” in one case as in the other. Protection in civilrights by Act of Congress will be a great event. It will be great in itself. It will be greater still, because it establishes the power of Congress, without further amendment of the National Constitution, to protect every citizen in all his rights, including of course the elective franchise. There are precedents of Congress, as well as of courts, which are landmarks; and this is one of them.

Therefore, as authority for Congress, you have two sources in the Constitution itself,—first, the guaranty clause, and, secondly, the Constitutional Amendment, each sufficient, the two together a twofold sufficiency. To establish the Equal Rights of All, no further Amendment is needed. The actual text is exuberant. Instead of adding new words, it will be enough, if you give those that exist the natural force belonging to them. Instead of neglecting, use them. Instead of supplementing, interpret them. An illustrious magistrate once retorted upon an advocate, who, dissatisfied with a ruling of the court, threatened to burn his books, “Better read them”; and so would I say now to all who think the Constitution needs amendment, Better read it. Yes, Sir, read it in the principles proclaimed by the Fathers before the Revolution, read it in the declarations of the Fathers when they took their place as a Republic, read it in the avowed opinions of the Fathers, read it in the public acts of the Fathers; and in all this beaming, diffusive light you will discern the true meaning. Then again read it in that other light which, as from another sun, newly risen at midday, streams from the obligation of Congress to “enforce” the abolition of Slavery. And yet again read it in the glowing illumination of the war. In whichever light you read it, you will find always the same irresistible meaning. Even if the text were doubtful, the war makes it clear. The victory which overthrew Slavery carried away all those glosses and constructions by which this wrong was originally fastened upon it. For generations the National Constitution has been interpreted for Slavery. From this time forward it must be interpreted in harmony with the Declaration of Independence, so that Human Rights shall always prevail. The promises of the Fathers must be sacredly fulfilled. This is the commanding rule, superseding all other rules. This is a great victory of the war,—perhaps the greatest. It is nothing less than the emancipation of the Constitution itself.

Mr. President, such is the testimony of history, authority, and Constitution, binding the judgment, and leaving no alternative. Thus far I have done little but bring together the diversified testimony and weave it into one body. It is not I who speak. I am nothing. It is the cause, whose voice I am, that addresses you. But there are yet other things, even at this late hour, craving utterance. And here, after this long review, I am brought back to more general considerations, and end as I began, by showing the necessity of Enfranchisement for the sake of public security and public faith. I plead now for the ballot, as the great guaranty, andthe only sufficient guaranty,—being in itself peacemaker, reconciler, schoolmaster, and protector,—to which we are bound by every necessity and every reason; and I speak also for the good of the States lately in rebellion, as well as for the glory and safety of the Republic, that it may be an example to mankind.

Let me be understood. What I ask especially is impartial suffrage, which is, of course, embraced in universal suffrage. What is universal is necessarily impartial. For the present, I simply insist that all shall be equal before the law, so that in the enjoyment of this right there shall be no restriction not equally applicable to all. Any further question in the nature of “qualification” belongs to another stage of the debate. And yet I have no hesitation in saying that universal suffrage is a universal right, subject only to such regulations as the safety of society may require. These may concern (1.) age, (2.) character, (3.) registration, (4.) residence. In ancient Greece there was what is called a Timocracy, where a certain amount of property was required; and this condition has modern example, even among us. But it is entirely out of place now. Nobody doubts that minors may be excluded, and so also persons of infamous life. Registration and residence are both prudential requirements for the safeguard of the ballot-box against the Nomads and Bohemians of politics, and to compel the exercise of this franchise among neighbors and friends, where a person is known. Education also, under certain circumstances, may be a requirement of prudence, particularly valuable in a republic, where so much depends on the intelligence of the people; but it is of doubtful value, especially where patriotic votes are needed to crush treason or counteract fraud. There is something worse than inability to read and write. These temporary restrictions do not in any way interfere with the right of suffrage, for they leave itabsolutely accessible to all. Even if impediments, they areeasily overcome. At all events, they are not in any sense insurmountable; and this is the essential requirement of republican institutions. No matter under what depression of poverty, in what depth of obscurity, or with what diversity of complexion a man has been born, he is nevertheless a citizen, the peer of every other citizen, and the ballot is his inalienable right.

The ballot ispeacemaker; and is it not said, “Blessed are the peacemakers”? High among the Beatitudes let it be placed, for there it belongs. Deny it, and the freedman will be the victim of perpetual warfare. Ceasing to be a slave, he only becomes a sacrifice. Grant it, and he is admitted to those equal rights which allow no sacrifice. Plutarch records that the wise man of Athens charmed the people by saying thatEquality causes no War, and this “pleased both the rich and the poor.”[188]In another place the same ancient records the wise man as declaring it “that which would occasion no tumult or faction.”[189]But this is peace. How god-like in transforming power alike on master and slave! The master will recognize the new citizen. The slave will stand with tranquil self-respect in presence of the master. Brute force disappears. Distrust is at an end. The master is no longer tyrant. The freedman is no longer dependant. The ballot comes to him in his depression, and says, “Use me, and be elevated.” It comes to him in his passion, and says, “Use me, and do not fight.” It comes to him in his daily thoughts, filling him with the strength and glory of manhood.

The ballot isreconciler. Next after peace is reconciliation. But reconciliation is more than peace. It is concord. Parties long estranged are brought into harmony. They learn to live together. They learn to work together. They are kind to each other, even if only as the Arab and his horse; and this mutual kindness is mutual advantage. Unquestionably the ballot promises this great boon, because it brings all into natural relations of justice, without which reconciliation is a vain thing. Do you wish to see harmony truly prevail, so that industry, society, government, civilization may all prosper, and the Republic wear a crown of true greatness? Then do not neglect the ballot.

The ballot isschoolmaster. Reading and writing are of inestimable value, but the ballot teaches what these cannot teach. It teaches manhood. Especially is it important to a race whose manhood has been denied. The work of redemption cannot be complete, if the ballot is left in doubt. The freedman already knows his friend by the unerring instinct of the heart. Give him the ballot, and he will be educated into the principles of government. Deny him the ballot, and he will continue alien in knowledge as in rights. His claim is exceptional, as your injustice is exceptional. For generations you have shut him out from all education, making it a crime to teach him to read the Book of Life. Let not the tyranny of the past be apology for further exclusion. Prisoners long immured in a dungeon are sometimes blinded, as they come forth into day; but this is no reason for continued imprisonment. To every freedman the ballot is the light of day.

The ballot isprotector. Perhaps, at the present moment, this is its highest function. Slavery has ceased in name; but this is all. The old master still asserts an inhuman power, and now by positive statutes seeks to bind his victim in new chains. Let this conspiracy proceed unchecked, and the freedman will be more unhappy than the early Puritan, who, seeking liberty of conscience, escaped from the “lords bishops” only to fall under the “lords elders.” The master will still be master, under another name,—as, according to Milton,

“New presbyter is but old priest writ large.”

Serfdom or apprenticeship is slavery in another guise. To save the freedman from this tyranny, with all its accumulated outrage, is a solemn duty. For this we are now devising guaranties; but, believe me, the only sufficient guaranty is the ballot. Let the freedman vote, and he will have in himself under the law a constant, ever-present, self-protecting power. The armor of citizenship will be his best security. The ballot will be to him sword and buckler,—sword with which to pierce his enemies, and buckler on which to receive their assault. Its possession will be a terror and a defence. The law, which is the highest reason, boasts that every man’s house is his castle; but the freedman can have no castle without the ballot. When the master knows that he may be voted down, he will know that he must be just, and everything is contained in justice. The ballot is like charity, which never faileth, and without which man is only as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. The ballot is the one thing needful, wanting which, rights of testimony and all other rights are no better than cobwebs, which the master will break through with impunity. To him who has the ballot all other things shall be given,—protection, opportunity, education, a homestead. The ballot is the Horn of Abundance, out of which overflow rights of every kind, with corn, cotton, rice, and all the fruits of the earth. Or, better still, it is like the hand of the body, without which, man, who is now only a little lower than the angels, must have continued only a little above the brutes. We are fearfully and wonderfully made; but as is the hand in the work of civilization, so is the ballot in the work of government. “Give me the ballot and I will move the world” may be the exclamation of the race despoiled of this right. There is nothing it cannot open with almost fabulous power, like that golden bough which in the hands of the classical adventurer unclosed the regions of another world, while, like that magic rod, it is renewed as in the verse,—

“One plucked away, a second branch you seeShoot forth in gold and glitter through the tree.”[190]

“One plucked away, a second branch you see

Shoot forth in gold and glitter through the tree.”[190]

If I crowd these illustrations, it is only that I may bring home that supreme efficacy which cannot be exaggerated. Though simple in character, there is nothing the ballot may not accomplish,—like the homely household lamp in Arabian story, which, at call of its possessor, evoked a spirit that did all things, from the building of a palace to the rocking of a cradle, and filled the air with an invisible presence. As protector it is of immeasurable power,—like a fifteen-inch Columbiad pointed from a Monitor. Ay, Sir, the ballot is the Columbiad of our political life, and every citizen who has it is a full-armed Monitor.

Having pleaded for the freedman, I now plead for theRepublic; for to each alike the ballot is anecessity. It is idle to expect any true peace while the freedman is robbed of this transcendent right, and left a prey to a vengeance too ready to wreak upon him the disappointment of defeat. The country, sympathetic with him, will be in perpetual unrest. With him it will suffer; with him alone can it cease to suffer. Only through him can you redress the balance of our political system and assure the safety of patriot citizens. Only through him can you save the national debt from the inevitable repudiation awaiting it, when recent Rebels in conjunction with Northern allies once more bear sway. He is our best guaranty. Use him. He was once your fellow-soldier; he has always been your fellow-man. If he was willing to die for the Republic, he is surely good enough to vote. And now that he is ready to uphold the Republic, it is madness to reject him. Had he voted originally, the Acts of Secession must have failed, treason would have been voted down. You owe this tragical war, and the debt now fastened upon the country, to the denial of this right. Vacant chairs in once happy homes, innumerable graves, saddened hearts, mothers, fathers, wives, sisters, brothers, all mourning lost ones, the poor ground by taxation never known before, all testify against the injustice by which the present freedman was not allowed to vote. Had he voted, there would have been peace. If he votes now, there will be peace. Without this you must have a standing army, which is a sorry substitute for justice. Before you is the plain alternative of the ballot-box or the cartridge-box: choose ye between them.

Reason, too, in every way and with every voice, cries out in unison with necessity. All policies, all expediencies, all economies take up the cry. Nothing so impolitic as wrong; nothing so inexpedient as tyranny; nothing so little economical as the spirit of caste. Justice is the highest policy, the truest expediency, and the most comprehensive economy. In this inspiration act. Do you wish to save the national credit, still imperilled by fatal injustice, and to secure gold as the national currency? Then do not let the question of Equal Rights disturb the country with volcanic throes. You complain that labor is unorganized, and that the cotton crop fails. Do you wish labor to smile and cotton to grow? Then sow the land with Human Rights, and encircle it round about with Justice. The freedman will not, cannot work, while you deny his rights. Cotton will not, cannot grow in such an atmosphere. Absurd to expect it. Using the freedman as you now do, you imitate those barbarous Irish who insisted upon ploughing by the horse’s tail, until an Act of Parliament interfered to require ploughing by harness. The infinite folly must be corrected, if for no higher reason than because it is unprofitable. But it is contrary to Nature, and on this account renders the whole social system insecure. Where Human Rights are set at nought, there can be no tranquillity except that of force, which is despotism. The philosophy of history, speaking by one of its oracles, the great Italian Vico, confirms this lesson, when it says, most sententiously, that “nothing out of its natural state can either easily subsist or last long.” Truer words were never uttered, as statement of philosophy, or warning to injustice enacted into law.

Gratitude, in unison with necessity and reason, takes up the cry, insisting that we shall not fail in duty to benefactors. It is difficult to measure the extent of this obligation, which is vast in proportion to regard for Human Rights and the value set upon the Union. By their strong arms and patriot example the national strength was aggrandized. As Freedom stamped her foot, black armies sprang from the ground. To save the Republic they toiled, digging trenches and making of their bodies breastworks; for the Republic they bled. Toiling and fighting, they became copartners in the government. And shall we now disown the copartnership? Receiving them into our embattled lines, the Republic is estopped against all denial of their Equal Rights. Acts stronger than words created the unimpeachable estoppel. They aided the victories by which the Republic was assured in unity. Is there no assurance for them also?

If that “more perfect union” proclaimed in the National Constitution as a primary object has been obtained at last, it is through them. If the terrible crime of Slavery, for which the Republic suffered in strength and good name, is ended, and the Republic thereby exalted, it is through them. They helped our deliverance. To them, therefore, are we bound as debtor to creditor, as just man to benefactor. By their undoubted service we are under perpetual obligation of doing to them as they did to us. We must deliver them. Here justice commands; but another sentiment, proceeding from the heart, lends persuasive influence. Failing in present duty, the Republic will lose a precious possession, as full of sweetness as of strength.

Back to Index Next