Subjugation of the States of Tennessee, Louisiana, Arkansas, and
Virginia.--Object of a State Government; its Powers are "Just
Powers"; how exercised; its Duty; necessarily sovereign; its Entire
Order; how founded; how destroyed.--The Crime against Constitutional
Liberty.--What is the Government of the United States?--It partakes
of the Nature of a Limited Partnership; its Peaceful Objects.--
Distinction between the Governments of the States and that of the
United States.--Secession.--The Government of the United States
invades the State; refuses to recognize its Government; thus denies
the Fundamental Principle of Popular Liberty.--Founded a New State
Government based on the Sovereignty of the United States
Government.--Annihilation of Unalienable Rights.--Qualification of
Voters fixed by Military Power.--Condition of the Voter's Oath.--
Who was the Sovereign in Tennessee?--Case of Louisiana.--
Registration of Voters.--None allowed to register who could not or
would not take a Certain Oath; its Conditions.--Election of State
Officers.--Part of the State Constitution declared void.--All done
under the Military Force of the United States Government.
The most painful pages of this work are those which now present the
subjugation of the State governments by the Government of the United
States. The patriot, the lover of his country and of the liberties of
mankind, can not contemplate these facts without a feeling of grief
which will not be comforted. That the work of the fathers of the
republic, that the most magnificent system of constitutional
government which the wisdom of man has devised, should be turned from
its object, changed from its order, rendered powerless to protect the
unalienable rights and sovereignty of the people, and made the
instrument by which to establish and maintain imperialism, is a
revolution unlike any other that may be found in the history of
mankind. The result established the truthfulness of the assertion, so
often made during the progress of the war, that the Northern people,
by their unconstitutional warfare to gain the freedom of certain
negro slaves, would lose their own liberties.
It has been shown that the governments of the States were instituted
to secure certain unalienable rights of the citizens with which they
were endowed by their Creator, and that among these rights were life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that they derived their just
powers from the consent of the governed; and that these powers were
organized by the citizens in such form as seemed to them most likely
to effect their safety and happiness. Where must the American citizen
look for the security of the rights with which he has been endowed by
his Creator? To his State government. Where shall he look to find
security and protection for his life, security and protection for his
personal liberty, security and protection for his property, security
and protection for his safety and happiness? Only to his State
government.
The powers which the State government possesses for the security of
his life, his liberty, his property, his safety, and his happiness,
are "just powers." They have been derived from the unconstrained
consent of the governed, and they have been organized in such form as
seems most likely to effect these objects.
Is the citizen's life in danger from violence? The State guarantees
his protection, and it is its duty to rescue him from danger and
obtain redress from the offender, whether an individual or a foreign
nation. Are the freedom and personal liberty of the citizen in danger
from unlawful arrest and imprisonment? The State guarantees both, and
it is its duty to secure and preserve his freedom. Is the property of
the citizen in danger of a violent and unjust seizure and unlawful
detention or destruction? The State government guarantees his title,
restores the property, or obtains damages. Is the personal property
of the citizen in danger of robbery or abduction? The State
government throws over it the shield of its protection, and regards
the burglar and the robber as the enemies of society. It is
unnecessary to proceed further with this enumeration.
The duty of the State government is to give to its citizens perfect
and complete security. It is necessarily sovereign within its own
domain, for it is the representative and the constituted agent of the
inherent sovereignty of the individuals. For the performance of its
duty of protection it may unite with other sovereignties; and also,
for better safety and security to its citizens, it may withdraw or
secede from such Union.
It will be seen that the entire order of the State government is
founded on the free consent of the governed. From this it springs;
from this it receives its force and life. It is this consent alone
from which "just powers" are derived. They can come from no other
source, and their exercise sources a true republican government. All
else are usurpations, their exercise is a tyranny, and their end is
the safety and security of the usurper, to obtain which the
unalienable rights of the people are sacrificed. The "just powers,"
thus derived, are organized in such form as shall seem to the
governed to be most likely to secure their safety and happiness. It
is the governed who determine the form of the government, and not the
ruler nor his military force, unless he comes as a conqueror to make
the subjugated do his will. The object, or end, for which these "just
powers" are derived from the consent of the governed and organized in
such form as seems most likely to effect that object, is solely to
secure the unalienable rights of men--such as life, liberty,
property, justice, peace and order, and the pursuit of happiness.
It will now be seen by the reader that, whenever any one of the
features of this order is perverted in its origin or progress, or
thwarted, or caused to deviate from its natural operation by any
internal or external interference, the order is destroyed, and the
State government, which represents it, is subverted, turned from its
object, changed from its natural purpose, rendered powerless to
protect the unalienable rights of its citizens, and made an
instrument to strengthen the hands of despotism. The commission of
such a subversion of the peaceful and fraternal States of this once
happy republic is fearlessly charged upon the Government of the
United States, as in itself constituting a monstrous crime against
constitutional liberty; and it is asserted that, when the
circumstances attending the deed are considered--the rage against a
whole people, the pillage, the arson, the inciting of servile war,
the slaughter of defenseless non-combatants, the devastation of whole
peaceful regions, the indiscriminate destruction of property--no
parallel can be found in the annals of mankind.
What, then, is the Government of the United States? It is an
organization of a few years' duration. It might cease to exist, and
yet the States and the people continue prosperous, peaceful, and
happy. Unlike the governments of the States, which find their origin
deep in the nature of man, it sprang from certain circumstances which
existed in the course of human affairs. Unlike the governments of the
States and of separate nations, which have a divine sanction, it has
no warrant for its authority but the ratification of the sovereign
States. Unlike the governments of the States, which were instituted
to secure generally the unalienable rights of man, it has only the
enumerated objects, and is restrained from passing beyond them by the
express reservation of all delegated functions. It keeps no records
of property, and guarantees to no one the possession of his estate.
Marriage, from which springs the family and the State, it can neither
confirm nor annul. It partakes of the nature of an incorporation for
certain purposes, beyond which it has neither influence nor
authority. It is an anomaly among governments, and arose out of the
articles of agreement made by certain friendly States, which proposed
to form a society of States and invest a common agent with specified
functions of sovereignty. Its duration was intended to be permanent,
as it was hoped thus to promote the peaceful ends for which it was
established; but, to have declared it _perpetual_, would have been to
deny the right of a people to alter or abolish their government when
it should cease to answer the ends for which it was instituted.
The objects which its creation was designed to secure to the States
and their people were of a truly peaceful nature, and commended
themselves to the approbation of men. They were stated by its authors
in a form called "the preamble" of their work, which is in these
words:
"We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect
union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for
the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the
blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and
establish this Constitution of the United States."
Mankind must contemplate with horror the fact that an organization
established for such peaceful and benign ends did, within the first
century of its existence, lead the assault in a civil war that
brought nearly four millions of soldiers into the field, destroyed
thousands and thousands of millions of treasure, trampled the
unalienable rights of the people under foot, subverted and subjugated
the governments of the States, and ended by establishing itself as
supreme and sovereign over all. Some Christian writer has suggested
the thought that there may not be a spot of the earth's surface in
the Old World but has witnessed the commission of some human crime or
been wet with human gore. How nearly true this may be of the New
World's once-vaunted asylum for the victims of despotism, misrule,
and oppression, these pages can bear some testimony. After all, it is
the civil disorders, the violations of rights, and the perversions of
wise and useful institutions, that are the most disastrous in their
consequences. They last for ages; and often, too often, the lapse of
time brings no remedy to the suffering people. In their despair, they
say the past is gone for ever--a new era has opened; but what
horrors may be developed in its revolving years no mortal can
foresee, so they hug the chains they feel powerless to break.
How distinct in its nature and objects was the Government of the
United States from the governments of the States, may be seen from
that which has already been said. The former was established by
common consent to look after the common interests. It was to make
peace or war with foreign nations, protect the frontiers, extend the
boundaries, decide disputes between citizens of different States, and
administer general affairs in a manner to promote the peace, the
order, and the happiness of all. But, to the fostering care of the
State government, the man, the citizen, the head of the family, the
parent, the child, the woman, the scholar, and the Christian all
looked with full confidence as to their natural and divinely
sanctioned protector against all foes within or without; and relied
upon its ever-present arm for the safety and security of their
persons, their homes, their property, and their institutions. How
wofully the confiding people were betrayed when the usurper came, let
some of the Northern States answer!
Now let us proceed to notice the acts of the Government of the United
States, which subjugated the State governments. The details in the
case of Tennessee have been already stated. In that instance, the
government of the State, which derived its powers from the consent of
the governed, so that they were "just powers," found, in the
discharge of its duty to protect the institutions of its people, that
there were no means by which it could fulfill that duty but by a
withdrawal from the Union, so as to be rid of the Government of the
United States, and thus escape the threatened dangers of usurpation
and sectional hostility. It therefore resolved to withdraw from the
Union, and the people gave their assent to this resolution; so that
the State no longer considered itself a member of the Union, nor
recognized the laws and authority of its Government. The Government
of the United States, then, with a powerful military force, planted
itself at Nashville, the State capital. It refused to recognize the
State government, or any organization under it, as having any
existence, or to recognize the people otherwise than as a hostile
community. It said to them, in effect: "I am the sovereign and you
are the subjects. If you are stronger than I am, then drive me out of
the State; if I am stronger than you are, then I demand an
unconditional surrender to my sovereignty." It is evident that the
Government of the United States was not there by the consent of those
who were to be governed. It had not, therefore, any "just powers" of
government within the State of Tennessee. For, says the Declaration
of Independence of our fathers, governments "derive their 'just
powers' from the consent of the governed." It is further evident
that, by this action, the Government of the United States denied the
fundamental principle of popular liberty--that the people are the
source of all political power. In this instance, it not only
subverted the State government, but carried that subversion to the
extent of annihilation. It, therefore, proceeded to establish a new
order of affairs, founded, not on the principle of the sovereignty of
the people, which was wholly rejected, but on the assumption of
sovereignty in the United States Government. It appointed its
military Governor to be the head of the new order, and recognized no
civil or political existence in any man, except some of its notorious
adherents, until, betraying the State, he had taken an oath of
allegiance to the sovereignty of the Government of the United States.
Now commenced a system of denial of unalienable rights, for the
methods of the usurper are the same everywhere. Freedom of speech was
suppressed by the imposition of fines on those using "seditious"
language, and the demand of security for their future humility. The
freedom of the press was suppressed by suspension of publications and
the confiscation of the offices. Personal liberty was destroyed by
arrests, imprisonment, and exile.
In process of time, an effort was made to erect a form of State
government which should be subservient and subject to the United
States Government. For this purpose, no one could be a voter until he
had bound himself by an oath to support and defend the Government of
the United States. Under the State governments, manhood, which came
by nature, and residence, which came by one's own will, were
sufficient qualifications for the voter.
It will be apparent from this statement that the voter's right to
cast his ballot came not to him as an unalienable right, but rested
upon the permission of the Government of the United States, as his
sovereign, to whom his allegiance was due, and to whom he was
required, in the first instance, to bind himself by an oath of
allegiance without any mention whatever of a State government.
Indeed, a little later, the same oath was required with additional
conditions before a man was permitted to vote for a State
constitutional convention, or for delegates to such a convention.
These conditions were, that he would faithfully support all acts of
Congress and all proclamations of the President of the United States,
passed or made during the rebellion, having reference to slaves.
Thus, the voter's right was made to rest, not only upon his binding
himself in allegiance to the United States as his sovereign, but in
the binding by oath his consent to certain unconstitutional acts and
proclamations expressly designed to destroy one of the most important
institutions of the State. This, sustained by a military force, was
exacted by the United States Government as the lord paramount--the
sovereign within the State. At the same time, the action of the
voter, which should be perfectly free and unconstrained (for, under
American political principles, he is the sovereign over all), is
limited and bound down by an oath faithfully to support certain acts
to which it was presumable he had ever been conscientiously opposed.
Under these circumstances, who was the sovereign in Tennessee? The
Government of the United States. Where was the government of the
State of Tennessee and the sovereign people? The former was subverted
and overthrown, and the latter subjugated. The approval by Tennessee,
under such circumstances, of Article XIII, as an amendment to the
Constitution of the United States prohibiting the existence of
slavery, was of no force; for consent given by a party under
constraint has neither legal nor moral validity. The State
Constitution was so amended as to contain certain new provisions
prescribed by the Government of the United States by a so-called
convention of delegates elected by the voters above specified, and
then submitted to these voters, and said to be ratified by them. They
were little more in numbers than a handful of the people of
Tennessee. Was this a Constitution amended and approved by the
consent of the people of Tennessee, the only sovereigns known under
our institutions, or was it a Constitution amended and voted for by a
small fraction of its population acting under the authority of the
Government of the United Stales, as the only sovereign in the State?
Admitting, even, that those who voted for the amended Constitution
were the only legal voters in the State, the Government of the United
States was no less an unlawful intruder and usurper when it
prescribed the amendments of the Constitution and designated the
voters. Nevertheless, this work was recognized by it, as constituting
a republican State government under the Constitution.
Let us next notice some points in the subversion of the State
government of Louisiana. One of the earliest steps taken for a civil
organization, after the occupation of New Orleans, was to make a
registration of voters. The United States Government was in
possession by military force, and the object was to secure its
permanent supremacy. Therefore, the oath which was administered to
the person applying for registration contained this condition:
"I now register myself as a voter, freely and voluntarily, for the
purpose of organizing a State government in Louisiana, loyal to the
Government of the United States."
It was also announced, with the approval of the military Governor,
that any person swearing falsely to any material part of the oath
would be deemed to be guilty of perjury, and be liable to prosecution
and punishment. The effect of this measure was to secure a
registration only of persons who would maintain the supremacy of the
Government of the United States. A proclamation was next issued by
the commander of the United States forces for an election of State
officers under the laws and Constitution of the State. It was
declared that these officers, when thus elected, would constitute the
so-called civil government of the State, under the Constitution and
laws of Louisiana, "except so much of the said Constitution and laws
as recognize, regulate, or relate to slavery," which were also
declared to be inoperative and void. It was further provided, in the
same proclamation, as follows:
"In order that the organic law of the State may be made to conform to
the will of the people and harmonize with the spirit of the age, as
well as to maintain and preserve the ancient landmarks of civil and
religions liberty, an election of delegates to a convention for the
revision of the Constitution will be held," etc.
The effect of these acts was to establish a number of persons,
pledged to support the Government of the United States, as the only
qualified voters in the State, and to elect so-called State officers
and delegates to a so-called Constitutional Convention by their
ballots. But this was a work that could be done only by the sovereign
people acting through their lawful State government. It was not so
done, because the Government of the United States, with a powerful
military force, had taken possession of New Orleans, refused to
recognize the officers of the State government, and sought to capture
and imprison them, although it recognized the validity of the State
Constitution in part, and commanded these things to be done as if it
was the ultimate sovereign over all.
Thus the government of the State was subverted, the Constitution of
the State in part set aside, and the sovereignty of the people
trampled down by a power that had no rightful authority for such
acts. Subsequently, a so-called convention was held, a so-called new
Constitution adopted, complying with the views of the Government of
the United States, the amendment to the Constitution of the United
States as above mentioned was adopted, the State Representatives were
admitted to seats in Congress, and the people acquiesced in the fraud
which they had not the power to correct.
The proceedings in the States of Arkansas and Virginia, which
resulted in an entire subversion of the State Governments, the
destruction of the sovereignty of the people, and the establishment
of the supremacy of the Government of the United States, have been
stated on a preceding page.