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. But the. Whatever law punishes a white man for a crime shall punish the black man precisely in the same way and to the same degree. There are periods in the history of nations when statesmen can make themselves names for posterity; but such occasions are never improved by cowards. In the meantime, the freedmen would become more enlightened, and more fit to discharge the high duties of their new condition. <>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 612 792] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S>> My only objection to it is that it is too lenient. The next day Watson went to the employer of the colored man and complained. 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. The effect of this provision will be either to compel the States to grant universal suffrage or so to shear them of their power as to keep them forever in a hopeless minority in the national Government, both legislative and executive. learn the principles of freedom and eat the fruit of foul Heaven forbid that the southern states, or any one of them, should be represented by this floor until such monuments of freedom are built high and firm. We . The freedom of a Government does not depend upon the quality of its laws, but upon the power that has the right to enact them. Whatever means of redress is afforded to one shall be afforded to all. No sane man believed that they had any organic or municipal laws which the United States were bound to respect. >IQ Any exception to this rule has been a work of grace in Congress by passing healing acts. The President could not even create bureaus or Departments to facilitate his executive operations. . The abolition of slavery slowly became Steven's primary political focus and, as a result, he emerged as one of the nation's most militant Radical Republicans. These are great advantages over their present codes. University of Pittsburgh Press, 1998). power, we shall deserve and receive the execration of There are several good reasons for the passage of this bill. . What are the great questions which now divide the nation? In 1868, he led the charge to impeach Johnson, who was narrowly acquitted in the Senate. ?)(qUC In the immediate aftermath of the war, however, Congress was not in session, and Johnson did his best to implement Lincoln's plan in Congress's absence. 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. white, will be oppressed, exiled, or murdered. I know they had fewer rulers and more subjects, but those rulers were no more despotic than ours, and their subjects had just as large privileges in governing the country as ours have. suffrage. A few moments may be profitably spent in seeking the meaning of each of these terms. Congress denies it and asserts the right to belong to the legislative branch. without a hut to shelter them or a cent in their pockets. I have long since wished that capital punishment were abolished. But great events fix the eye of history on small objects and magnify their meanness. He might have extended the laws of his empire over them, allowed them to retain portions of their old institutions, or, by conditions of peace, have fixed upon them new and exceptional laws. 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. 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. All Rights Reserved. In the Reformation there were men engaged as able and perhaps more learned than Martin Luther. the Constitution shall have been so amended as to make it 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? This I take to be the great question between the President and Congress. 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. However, he also urged colleagues to remember the crimes of the Confederacy. Even that is not left to the Commander-in-Chief. <> Since the conquest they have been governed by martial law. stream The material spans the years 1811-1927, with the bulk of the collection dating from 1850 to 1868. In . Delivered only seven months after the war ended and on the same day that the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery, went into effect, Stevens's speech represented the view of a group in Congress known as the Radical Republicans. Now, Mr. Speaker, unless Congress proceeds at once to do something to protect these people from the barbarians who are now daily murdering them; who are murdering the loyal whites daily and daily putting into secret graves not only hundreds but thousands of the colored people of that country; unless Congress proceeds at once to adopt some means for their protection, I ask you and every man who loves liberty whether we will not be liable to the just censure of the world for our negligence or our cowardice or our want of ability to do so? 2 April 1865-August 1868 (Pittsburgh: He insists that those of our people who were plundered and their property burned or destroyed by rebel raiders shall not be indemnified, but shall bear their own loss, while the rebels shall retain their own property, most of which was declared forfeited by the Congress of the United States. That short delay would not be injurious. The Candidates in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Race, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Name: Thaddeus Stevens, Birth Year: 1792, Birth date: April 4, 1792, Birth State: Vermont, Birth City: Danville, Birth Country: United States. It is claimed for him by some as the Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy. . Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. But I never dreamed that all punishment could be dispensed with in human society. We have allowed them the unwonted privilege of attending church, if they can do so without offending the sight of their former masters. And yet I am amazed and alarmed at the impatience of certain well-meaning Republicans at the exclusion of the rebel States until the Constitution shall be so amended as to restrain their despotic desires. acting in the Union, or of being counted as valid States, until An ancient philosopher, whose antagonist admitted that what he required was just but deemed it impolitic, asked him: Do you believe in Hades? I would say to those above referred to, who admit the justice of human equality before the law but doubt its policy: Do you believe in heIl?. Ask, what is the policy of Congress? and the answer is not always at hand. There are several good reasons for the passage of this bill [Military Reconstruction Act]. If we fail in this great duty now, when we have the power, we shall deserve and receive the execration of history and of all future ages. Stevens died in Washington, D.C. on August 11, 1868. As a leader in Congress, Stevens fought to end slavery and promote civil rights and racial equality. If the doctrine enunciated in that decision be true, never were the people of any country anywhere, or at any time, in such terrible peril as are our loyal brethren at the South, whether they be black or white, whether they go there from the North or are natives of the rebel States. The law of last session with regard to Territories settled the principles of such acts. What can be plainer? 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. If they do not enfranchise the freedmen, it will give to the rebel States but thirty-seven Representatives. Nearly six years ago a bloody war arose between different sections of the United States. The war was acknowledged by other nations as a public war between independent belligerents. To Stevens, the procedure by which a territory becomes a state was the logical blueprint for this process. Throughout this period Stevens urged that Southern plantations be taken from their owners and that part of the land be divided among freedmen, with proceeds of the balance to be used toward paying off the national war debt; this confiscation plan failed, however, to gain congressional support. inveterate rebels are invited to participate in our legislation. As a politician in Pennsylvania, he supported free public education and suffrage for African Americans. take care of themselves. Congressional Globe, 39th Cong., 2nd sess., Jan. 3, 1867, pp. of Thaddeus Stevens, Vol. our blood and treasure will have been spent in vain. Start your constitutional learning journey. During the war, as the powerful chair of the Ways and Means Committee, Stevens pushed Lincoln for emancipation of the slaves. In In other words, that they are not out of the Union, but are only dead carcasses lying within the Union. RECONSTRUCTION. I pronounce it no nearer to a true Republic now when twenty-five million of a privileged class exclude five million from all participation in the rights of government. Two years after moving to Pennsylvania, Stevens was admitted to the bar and began practicing in Gettysburg. The Civil Rights Act became the first major piece of legislation to be passed despite a president's veto. It were better for the black man if he were governed by one king than by twenty million. . Thaddeus Stevens speech of December 18 1865 The President assumes, what no one doubts, that the late rebel States have lost their constitutional relations to the Union, and are incapable of representation in Congress, except by permission of the Government. Without it all are sure to be ruled by traitors; and loyal men, black and white, will be oppressed, exiled, or murdered. we had better have left them in bondage. To reconstruct the nation, to admit new States, to guaranty republican governments to old States are all legislative acts. Then each House must judge whether the members Thaddeus studied at Caledonian Secondary School in Vermont, entered the University of Vermont, but was suspended in the second year and entered Dartmouth College to study law-related studies and delivered the commencement speech as a commencement speaker at the 1814 . In failing health, Stevens had requested to be buried in Shreiner-Concord Cemetery in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, because the state accepted all races. This doctrine does not mean that a negro shall sit on the same seat or eat at the same table with a white man. 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. Thaddeus Stevens, "Reconstruction" Speech, September 6, 1865. The 14th Amendmentprohibiting local and state governments from depriving citizens of "life, liberty or property," among other important protections for citizenslater served as a basis for civil rights legislation. The leader of the Radical Republicans in the House, Stevens was a lawyer, politician, and staunch abolitionist. Such a course would soon surrender the Government into the hands of rebels. Lincoln may have been the only one who could have made this arrangement work, but he was assassinated in April 1865, leaving his vice president, Johnson, as the executive in charge of Reconstruction. Not in the Executive, for he only executes and cannot make laws. The same law which gives a verdict in a White mans favor should give a verdict in a black mans favor on the same state of facts. Whatever law protects the white man shall afford equal protection to the black man. Lincoln had called for reconciliation in his second inaugural and Gettysburg addresses, but Stevens disagreed vehemently, pushing for the punishment of the Southincluding the disenfranchisement of all Confederatesand full citizenship rights for the freed slaves. The infernal laws of slavery have prevented them from The law of nations then fixed their condition. Under such governments, while electing members to the territorial Legislatures, they will necessarily mingle with those to whom Congress shall extend the right of suffrage. They were subject to the controlling power of the conquerors. They, with their kindred Copperheads of the North, would always elect the President and control Congress. rebellion. As a politician in Pennsylvania, he supported free public education and suffrage for African Americans. Whatever law allows the white man to testify in court shall allow the man of color to do the same. President Johnson's opposition to these measures created a schism between him and Stevens, and eventually led to the president's impeachment. ( Thaddeus Stevens, speech to Congress, March 19 1867). be elected from the North, will always give a majority in We know Thaddeus Stevens as an ardent abolitionist who championed the rights of blacks for decadesup to, during, and after the Civil War. All Rights Reserved. and whether the election and returns are according to Courtesy Library of Congress (LC-BH83-613), (1849) Charles Sumner, Equality Before the Law: Unconstitutionality of Separate Colored Schools in Massachusetts, (1963) Malcolm X, Message to the Grassroots, African American History: Research Guides & Websites, Global African History: Research Guides & Websites, African American Scientists and Technicians of the Manhattan Project, Envoys, Diplomatic Ministers, & Ambassadors, Foundation, Organization, and Corporate Supporters. Are such men fit to sit in the places of statesmen? Mr. Speaker, that charge, as I have stated, is. Call you this liberty? The 1857 Dred Scott decision in the. Congress alone can do it. If we do not furnish them with requisite qualifications of age, residence, and citizenship; Steven called for action and change but deadlock in congress blocked his agenda. Petition to US Congress for Womens Suffrage, President Andrew Jacksons Message to Congress On Indian Removal, Canada Bans Commercial Fishing in Lakes St. Clair and Erie, Great Britain Withdraws from the Concert of Europe. During the dictatorship of Pericles his laws were just, but Greece was not free. The infernal laws of slavery have prevented them from acquiring an education, understanding the common laws of contract, or of managing the ordinary business of life. presenting themselves from a recognized State possess the if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'wikisummaries_org-large-mobile-banner-1','ezslot_1',121,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-wikisummaries_org-large-mobile-banner-1-0');By the time Congress arrived to begin its session in December 1865, a confrontation between the two opposing systems of Reconstruction, as well as Johnson and Stevens, was imminent. Together with Charles Sumner in the Senate, the Pennsylvania native opposed President Lincoln's Reconstruction plan as too lenient. They must come in as new states or remain as conquered provinces. Whose especial duty is it to do it? 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 endobj Image Details A popular print from 1867 was an allegory of Reconstruction. . Congress refuses to treat the States created by him as of any validity, and denies that the old rebel States have any existence which gives them any rights under the Constitution. 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. They each raised more than half a million armed men. I do. Unless the rebel States, before admission, should be made republican in spirit, and placed under the guardianship of loyal men, all. That time ought to be present now. Instead of seeking the quick reconciliation that Lincoln and Johnson promoted, Stevens was comfortable both with the process of Southern reintegration taking years and with Congress being the final arbiter of when each Southern state could rejoin the nation. ?]J2Tw7@F VQ"EQ[?-p_' (E*@zEg* UWQ?-]B[zel}%&H&HR[l`l6$zU~_}s:P)}zVYg7/kxQUDkzd|gno@>nN;q{DG 5%Z. The leader of the Radical Republicans in the House, Stevens was a lawyer, politician, and staunch abolitionist. . No other branch of the Government, no other Department, no other officer of the Government, possesses one single particle of the sovereignty of the nation. Executive summary: Republican Reconstruction leader American political leader, born in Danville, Vermont, on the 4th of April 1792. On his tombstone were carved the words he had composed, explaining that he had chosen this place so that he might illustrate in death the principle he had advocated throughout a long life; namely, Equality of man before his Creator., United States politician and military officer. For while some in Congress may have believed that enough was done to assist them already simply by being freed, the only thing essentially done was what was morally right (the bare minimum) by freeing them of the confinements of dependence they had been succumbed to, and then leaving them . No former laws, no former compacts or treaties existed to bind the belligerents. Possibly with their aid loyal governments may be established in most of those States. No one then pretended that the eleven States had any rights under the Constitution of the United States, or any right to interfere in the legislation of the country. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. He desires that the States created by him shall be acknowledged as valid States, while at the same time he inconsistently declares that the old rebel States are in full existence, and always have been, and have equal rights with the loyal States. Now different degrees of punishment are inflicted, not on account of the magnitude of the crime, but according to the color of their skin. Let us at least escape that condition. . Andrew Johnson as soft toward the South, he introduced the resolution for his impeachment (1868) and served as chairman of the committee appointed to draft impeachment articles. I know of no Republican who does not ridicule what Mr. Seward thought a cunning movement, in counting Virginia and other outlawed States among those which had adopted the constitutional amendment abolishing slavery. They formed an entirely new constitution; a new and distinct government, called the confederate States of America. They passed their own laws, without regard to any former national connection. 251-252. . Ooops. Unless the Constitution should restrain them, those States will all, I fear, keep up this discrimination and crush to death the hated freedmen. 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. Stevens had a long history of opposition to slavery and was outraged over the secession of the South. governments for them. What madness! SUMMARY On May 8, 1866, Thaddeus Stevens delivered this speech introducing the 14thAmendment in the U.S. House of Representatives. This Congress is bound to provide for them until they can 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. 4 0 obj Then Persia, with her kings and satraps, was free; then Turkey is free! He argued that, since the Confederate states had divorced themselves from the Union, there was no arrangement so proper for them as territorial governments. Neither the president nor the judiciary had the power to create states out of unincorporated territories before the Civil War, nor should they have the power to do so now, according to Stevens. On the result of the war depended the fate and ulterior condition of the contending parties. .I need not depict the ruin that would follow. x\YF~W$cGGH-Ky41}@P v>~{"_-(LlQUQXkga_QU Now, you must divide them between loyalists, without regard to color, and disloyalists, or you will be the perpetual vassals of the free trade, irritated, revengeful South. I know there is between those who are influenced by this cry of negro equality and the opinion that there is still danger that the negro will be the smartest, for I never saw even a contraband slave that had not more sense than such men. describe a time when you were treated unfairly. proper for them as territorial governments. Melancthon and others were ripe scholars and sincere reformers, but none of them had his courage. In the second place, it is a necessity in order to protect the loyal white men in the seceded States. With them the blacks would act in a body; and it is believed that in each of said States, except one, the two united would form a majority, control the States, and protect themselves. Your donation is fully tax-deductible. The states of the entire southern half of the nation had seceded, but they were again under federal jurisdiction after the Union victory. 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. The papers of lawyer and United States representative from Pennsylvania Thaddeus Stevens (1792-1868) consist of 4,750 items (7,769 images) in eight containers and one oversize folder. War out west has begun and it seems as the US may be drawn into conflict with its southern neighbors. I hope I have a heart as capable of feeling for human woe as others. In 1849, Stevens was elected, as a Whig, to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. Popular interest in punishing or governing the South, as well as in ensuring justice for freedmen, waned, however, as Northerners prioritized a return to prosperity. An Address Delivered to the Citizens of Lancaster, Sept. 6, 1865. After the Confederacy was defeated, the southern states were devastated wrapinknot - wrapinknot by ragtag online; ! The employer offered to pay Watson every dollar that he might assess for the damage that had been done. . Stevens successfully prevented the first few new state governments implemented under Lincoln and Johnson's Reconstruction plan from being recognized, refusing to seat the senators and representatives elected by those states. . Do not tell me that there are loyal representatives waiting for admissionuntil their States are loyal they can have no standing here. . The commander of an army who should find his enemy intrenched on impregnable heights would act unwisely if he insisted on marching his troops full in the face of a destructive fire merely to show his courage. The Federal arms triumphed. Thaddeus Stevens (April 4, 1792 - August 11, 1868) was a . ascendency to the party of the Union; and so as to render Though many Northerners were ambivalent about African American suffrage, the Black Codes turned public opinion against Johnson and his moderate approach to Reconstruction. President Lincoln, Vice President Johnson, and both branches of Congress repeatedly declared that the belligerent States could never again intermeddle with the affairs of the Union, or claim any right as members of the United States Government until the legislative power of the Government should declare them entitled thereto. Alert to the return to power of traditional white Southern leadership, he argued that the seceded states were in the condition of conquered provinces to which restraints of the Constitution did not apply. I need not Early in his career, he developed a hatred for bondage and, subsequently, defended many fugitives without charging them legal fees. A small donation would help us keep this available to all.
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