FORMATION OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON RECONSTRUCTION.
Lack of Excitement -- Cause -- The Resolution -- Dilatory
Motions -- Yeas and Nays -- Proposed Amendments in the
Senate -- Debate in the Senate -- Mr. Howard -- Mr. Anthony
-- Mr. Doolittle -- Mr. Fessenden -- Mr. Saulsbury -- Mr.
Hendricks -- Mr. Trumbull -- Mr. Guthrie -- Passage of the
Resolution in the Senate -- Yeas and Nays -- Remarks of Mr.
Stevens on the Amendments of the Senate -- Concurrence of
the House -- The Committee appointed.
Since it was known throughout the country that members-elect from
Tennessee and other States recently in rebellion would appear at
Washington on the opening of the Thirty-ninth Congress, and demand
recognition of their right to represent their constituents, all eyes
were turned to observe the action which would be taken on the subject.
It was anticipated that the question would be sprung at once, and that
a season of storm and excitement would ensue, unparalleled in the
political history of the nation. Since the American people are
exceedingly fond of excitements and sensations, the expectation of
trouble in Congress drew immense numbers to its galleries on the first
day of the session. Lovers of sensation were doomed to disappointment.
Correspondents and reporters for the press, who were prepared to
furnish for the newspapers descriptions of an opening of Congress
"dangerously boisterous," were compelled to describe it as
"exceptionally quiet."
The cause of this unexpected state of things was the fact that the
majority had previously come to the wise conclusion that it would not
be well to pass upon the admission of Southern members in open session
and amid the confusion of organization. As there was so much
difference of opinion concerning the _status_ of the communities
recently in rebellion, and such a variety of considerations must be
regarded in reaching wise conclusions, it was deemed advisable that
the whole subject should be calmly and deliberately investigated by a
select number of able and patriotic men from both Houses of Congress.
Accordingly, on the first day of the session, soon after the House was
organized, Mr. Thaddeus Stevens offered the following important
RESOLUTION:
"_Resolved_, by the Senate and House of Representatives in
Congress assembled, that a joint committee of fifteen
members shall be appointed, nine of whom shall be members of
the House, and six members of the Senate, who shall inquire
into the condition of the States which formed the so-called
Confederate States of America, and report whether they or
any of them are entitled to be represented in either House
of Congress, with leave to report at any time by bill or
otherwise; and until such report shall have been made, and
finally acted upon by Congress, no member shall be received
into either House from any of the said so-called Confederate
States; and all papers relating to the representation of the
said States shall be referred to the said committee without
debate."
To avoid the delay occasioned by a protracted debate, Mr. Stevens
called the previous question. The minority perceived the impossibility
of preventing the final passage of the resolution, yet deemed it their
duty to put it off as far as possible by their only available
means--"dilatory motions." They first objected to the introduction of
the resolution, under the rule that unanimous consent must be given to
permit a resolution to come before the House without notice given on a
previous day. To meet this difficulty, Mr. Stevens moved to suspend
the rules to enable him to introduce the resolution. On this motion
the yeas and nays were demanded. To suspend the rules under such
circumstances required a two-thirds' vote, which was given--one
hundred and twenty-nine voting for, and thirty-five against the
motion. The rules having been suspended, the resolution was regularly
before the House. A motion was then made to lay the resolution on the
table, and the yeas and nays demanded. Thirty-seven were in favor of
the motion, and one hundred and thirty-three against it. Before a call
for the previous question is available to cut off debate, it must, by
the rules of the House, be seconded by one-fifth of the members
present. This having been done, the vote was taken by yeas and nays on
the concurrent resolution submitted by Mr. Stevens. One hundred and
thirty-three voted in favor of the resolution, and thirty-six against
it, while thirteen were reported as "not voting." As this vote was on
an important measure, and is significant as marking with considerable
accuracy the political complexion of the House of Representatives, it
should be given in detail.
The following are the names of those who voted "Yea:"
Messrs. Alley, Allison, Ames, Anderson, Baker, Baldwin,
Banks, Barker, Baxter, Beaman, Benjamin, Bidwell, Bingham,
Blow, Boutwell, Brandegee, Bromwell, Broomall, Buckland,
Bundy, Reader W. Clark, Sidney Clark, Cobb, Conkling, Cook,
Cullom, Culver, Darling, Davis, Dawes, Defrees, Delano,
Deming, Dixon, Donnelly, Driggs, Dumont, Eckley, Eggleston,
Eliot, Farnsworth, Ferry, Garfield, Grinnell, Griswold,
Hale, Abner C. Harding, Hart, Hayes, Henderson, Higby, Hill,
Holmes, Hooper, Hotchkiss, Asahel W. Hubbard, John H.
Hubbard, Chester D. Hubbard, Demas Hubbard, James R.
Hubbell, Hulburd, James Humphrey, Ingersoll, Jenckes,
Julian, Kasson, Kelley, Kelso, Ketchum, Kuykendall, Laflin,
Latham, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Loan,
Longyear, Lynch, Marston, Marvin, McClurg, McIndoe, McKee,
McRuer, Mercur, Miller, Moorhead, Morrill, Morris, Moulton,
Myers, Newell, O'Neill, Orthe, Paine, Patterson, Perham,
Phelps, Pike, Pomeroy, Price, William H. Randall, Raymond,
Alexander H. Rice, John H. Rice, Rollins, Sawyer, Schenck,
Scofield, Shellabarger, Smith, Spaulding, Starr, Stevens,
Stilwell, Thayer, John L. Thomas, Trowbridge, Upson, Van
Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Robert Van Horn, Ward, Warner, Elihu
B. Washburne, Welker, Wentworth, Whaley, Williams, James F.
Wilson, Windom, and Woodbridge.
The following members voted "Nay:"
Messrs. Ancona, Bergen, Boyer, Brooks, Chanler, Dawson,
Denison, Eldridge, Finck, Glossbrenner, Goodyear, Grider,
Aaron Harding, Hogan, James M. Humphrey, Johnson, Kerr, Le
Blond, McCullough, Niblack, Nicholson, Noell, Radford,
Samuel J. Randall, Ritter, Rogers, Ross, Shanklin,
Sitgreaves, Strouse, Tabor, Taylor, Thornton, Trimble,
Winfield, and Wright.
The following are reported as "not voting:"
Messrs. Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Blaine, Farquhar,
Harris, Edwin N. Hubbell, Jones, Marshall, Plants, Rousseau,
Sloan, Francis Thomas, Voorhees, and William B. Washburn.
Thus the resolution passed the House. The immense size of this body
required that, by stringent rule, debate should have limitation, and
even sometimes be cut off altogether by the operation of previous
question. This arrangement enabled skillful and resolute leaders to
carry through this measure within an hour's time, whereas, in the
Senate, a body of less than one-third the size, it passed after a
delay of several days, and at the end of a discussion of considerable
length.
On the day following the passage of the resolution in the House of
Representatives, it was read in the Senate. Mr. Johnson, of Maryland,
objecting to its being considered on the day of its reception, under a
regulation of the Senate it was postponed.
After the lapse of a week, on Tuesday, December 12, the resolution was
taken up for consideration in the Senate. Mr. Anthony moved to amend
the enacting clause so as to change it from a joint resolution to a
concurrent resolution, since, under its original shape, it would
require the President's approval.
This amendment having been made, Mr. Anthony moved to further amend
the resolution by striking out all after the word "otherwise." The
following are the words proposed to be stricken out:
"And until such report shall have been made and finally
acted on by Congress, no member shall be received into
either house from any of the said so-called Confederate
States; and all papers relating to the representation of
said States shall be referred to the said committee without
debate."
Mr. Howard, of Michigan, preferred the resolution as it came from the
House of Representatives. "It contains within itself a pledge on the
part of the two houses, that until the report of this important
committee shall have been presented, we will not reädmit any of the
rebel States, either by the recognition of their Senators or their
Representatives. I think the country expects nothing less than this at
our hands. I think that portion of the loyal people of the United
States who have sacrificed so much of blood and treasure in the
prosecution of the war, and who secured to us the signal victory which
we have achieved over the rebellion, have a right to at least this
assurance at our hands, that neither house of Congress will recognize
as States any one of the rebel States until the event to which I have
alluded.
"Sir, what is the present position and _status_ of the rebel States?
In my judgment they are simply conquered communities, subjugated by
the arms of the United States; communities in which the right of
self-government does not now exist. Why? Because they have been for
the last four years hostile, to the most surprising unanimity hostile,
to the authority of the United States, and have, during that period,
been waging a bloody war against that authority. They are simply
conquered communities, and we hold them, as we know well, as the world
knows to-day, not by their own free will and consent as members of the
Union, but solely by virtue of our military power, which is executed
to that effect throughout the length and breadth of the rebel States.
There is in those States no rightful authority, according to my view,
at this time, but that of the United States; and every political act,
every governmental act exercised within their limits, must necessarily
be exercised and performed under the sanction and by the will of the
conqueror.
"In short, sir, they are not to-day loyal States; their population are
not willing to-day, if we are rightly informed, to perform peaceably,
quietly, and efficiently the duties which pertain to the population of
a State in the Union and of the Union; and for one I can not consent
to recognize them, even indirectly, as entitled to be represented in
either house of Congress at this time. The time has not yet come, in
my judgment, to do this. I think that, under present circumstances, it
is due to the country that we should give them the assurance that we
will not thus hastily reädmit to seats in the legislative bodies here
the representatives of constituencies who are still hostile to the
authority of the United States. I think that such constituencies are
not entitled to be represented here."
Mr. Anthony, of Rhode Island, said: "The amendment was proposed from
no opposition to what I understand to be the purpose of the words
stricken out. That purpose I understand to be that both houses shall
act in concert in any measures which they may take for the
reconstruction of the States lately in rebellion. I think that that
object is eminently desirable, and not only that the two houses shall
act in concert, but that Congress shall act in concert with the
Executive; that all branches of the Government shall approach this
great question in a spirit of comprehensive patriotism, with
confidence in each other, with a conciliatory temper toward each
other, and that each branch of the Government will be ready, if
necessary, to concede something of their own views in order to meet
the views of those who are equally charged with the responsibility of
public affairs.
"The words proposed to be stricken out refer to the joint committee of
the two houses of Congress matters which the Constitution confides to
each house separately. Each house is made, by the Constitution, the
judge of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its own
members.
"There is one other reason why I move this amendment, and that is,
that the resolution provides that papers shall be referred to this
committee without debate. This is contrary to the practice of the
Senate. The House of Representatives has found it necessary, for the
orderly transaction of its business, to put limitations upon debate,
hence the previous question and the hour rule; but the Senate has
always resisted every proposition of this kind, and submitted to any
inconvenience rather than check free discussion. Senators around me,
who were here in the minority, felt that the right of debate was a
very precious one to them at that time, and, as it was not taken from
them, they are not disposed to take it from the minority now.
"The purpose of all that is stricken out can be effected by the
separate action of the two houses, if they shall so elect. The House
of Representatives, having passed this resolution by a great vote,
will undoubtedly adopt, in a separate resolution, what is here
stricken out; and, except so far as relates to the restriction upon
debate, I shall, if this amendment be adopted and the resolution
passed, offer a resolution substantially declaring it to be the
opinion of the Senate that, until this committee reports--presuming
that it will report in a reasonable time--no action should be taken
upon the representation of the States lately in rebellion."
Mr. Doolittle, of Wisconsin, said: "All of these great questions,
concerning reconstruction, pacification, and restoration of civil
government in the Southern States, representation in this body, or any
thing which concerns of Federal relations with the several States,
ought to be referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. Such has been
the practice of this Government from the beginning. Great questions of
constitutional law, questions concerning the relations of the Union to
the States and the States to the Union, and above all, and without any
exception, all questions relating to representation in this body, to
its membership, have always been referred to the Judiciary Committee.
"There is nothing in the history of the Senate, there is nothing in
the constitution of this committee, which would send these great
constitutional questions for advisement and consideration to any other
committee than the Committee on the Judiciary. To place their
consideration in the hands of a committee which is beyond the control
of the Senate, is to distrust ourselves; and to vote to send their
consideration to any other committee, is equivalent to a vote of want
of confidence in the Judiciary Committee.
"I object to this resolution, because, upon these great questions
which are to go to the joint committee, the Senate does not stand upon
an equality with the House. This resolution provides that, of the
joint committee of fifteen, nine shall be appointed by the House of
Representatives, six only by the Senate, giving to the House portion
of the committee a majority of three. We all know that in joint
committees the members vote, not as the representatives of the two
houses, but _per capita_. The vote of a member of the committee from
the House weighs precisely the same as the vote of a member of the
committee from the Senate; so that, to all intents and purposes, if we
pass this concurrent resolution, which we can not repeal but by the
concurrence of the other house, we place the consideration of these
grave questions in the hands of a committee which we can not control,
and in which we have no equal voice.
"Under the Constitution, upon all subjects of legislation but one, the
two houses are equal and coördinate branches of Congress. That one
relates to their representation in the bodies, to their membership,
that which constitutes their existence, which is essential to their
life and their independence. That is confided to each house, and to
each house alone, to act for itself. It judges for itself upon the
elections, returns, and qualifications of its members. It judges, it
admits, it punishes, it expels. It can not share that responsibility
with any other department of the Government. It can no more share it
with the other house than it can share it with the Supreme Court or
with the President. It is a matter over which its jurisdiction is
exclusive of every other jurisdiction. It is a matter in which its
decisions, right or wrong, are absolute and without appeal. In my
opinion the Senate of the United States can not give to a committee
beyond its control this question of the representation in this body,
without a loss of its self-respect, its dignity, its independence;
without an abandonment of its constitutional duty and a surrender of
its constitutional powers.
"There is another provision in this resolution, as it stands, that we
shall refer every paper to the committee without debate. Yes, sir, the
Senate of the United States is to be led like a lamb to the slaughter,
bound hand and foot, shorn of its constitutional power, and gagged,
dumb; like the sheep brought to the block! Is this the condition to
which the Senator from Michigan proposes to reduce the Senate of the
United States by insisting upon such a provision as that contained in
the resolution as it comes from the House of Representatives?
"There is a still graver objection to this resolution as it stands.
The provision that 'until such report shall have been made and finally
acted on by Congress, no member shall be received into either house
from any of the so-called Confederate States,' is a provision which,
by law, excludes those eleven States from their representation in the
Union. Sir, pass that resolution as it stands, and let it receive the
signature of the President, and you have accomplished what the
rebellion could not accomplish, what the sacrifice of half a million
men could not accomplish in warring against this Government--you have
dissolved the Union by act of Congress. Sir, are we prepared to
sanction that? I trust never.
"The Senator from Michigan talks about the _status_ of these States.
He may very properly raise the question whether they have any
Legislatures that are capable of electing Senators to this body. That
is a question of fact to be considered; but as to whether they are
States, and States still within the Union, notwithstanding their civil
form of government has been overturned by the rebellion, and their
Legislatures have been disorganized, that they are still States in
this Union is the most sacred truth and the dearest truth to every
American heart, and it will be maintained by the American people
against all opposition, come from what quarter it may. Sir, the flag
that now floats on the top of this Capitol bears thirty-six stars.
Every star represents a State in this Union. I ask the Senator from
Michigan, does that flag, as it floats there, speak the nation's truth
to our people and to the world, or is it a hypocritical, flaunting
lie? That flag has been borne at the head of our conquering legions
through the whole South, planted at Vicksburg, planted at Columbia,
Savannah, Charleston, Sumter; the same old flag which came down before
the rebellion at Sumter was raised up again, and it still bore the
same glorious stars; 'not a star obscured,' not one.
"These people have been disorganized in their civil governments in
consequence of the war; the rebels overturned civil government in the
first place, and we entered with our armies and captured the
rebellion; but did that destroy the States? Not at all. We entered the
States to save them, not to destroy them. The guarantee of the
Constitution is a guarantee to the States, and to every one of the
States, and the obligation that rests upon us is to guarantee to South
Carolina a republican form of government as a State in this Union, and
not as a Territory. No State nor the people of any State had any power
to withdraw from the Union. They could not do it peacefully; they
undertook to do it by arms. We crushed the attempt; we trampled their
armies under our feet; we captured the rebellion; the States are ours;
and we entered them to save, and not to destroy.
"The Constitution of the United States requires the President, from
time to time, to give to Congress information of the state of the
Union. Who has any right to presume that the President will not
furnish the information which his constitutional duty requires? He has
at his control all the agencies which are necessary. There is the able
Cabinet who surround him, with all the officers appointed under them:
the post-masters under the Post-office Department, the treasury agents
under the Treasury Department, and almost two hundred thousand men
under the control of the War Department, in every part of this
'disaffected' region, who can bring to the President information from
every quarter of all the transactions that exist there. That the
President of the United States will be sustained, in the views which
he takes in his message, by the people of this country, is as certain
as the revolutions of the earth; and it is our duty to act
harmoniously with him, to sustain him, to hold up his hands, to
strengthen his heart, to speak to him words of faith, friendship, and
courage.
"I know that in all these Southern States there are a thousand things
to give us pain, sometimes alarm, but notwithstanding the bad
appearance which from time to time presents itself in the midst of
that boiling caldron of passion and excitement which the war has left
still raging there, the real progress which we have made has been most
wonderful. I am one of those who look forward with hope, for I believe
God reigns and rules in the affairs of mankind. I look beyond the
excitement of the hour and all the outbreaking passion which sometimes
shows itself in the South, which leads them to make enactments in
their Legislatures which are disgraceful to themselves, and can never
be sanctioned by the people of this country, and also in spite of all
the excitement of the North, I behold the future full of confidence
and hope. We have only to come up like men, and stand as the real
friends of the country and the Administration, and give to the policy
of the President a fair and substantial trial, and all will be well."
Mr. Fessenden, of Maine, then remarked: "When this resolution was
first promulgated in the newspapers as having been agreed upon, I
approved it because I sympathized with its object and purpose. I did
not examine it particularly; but, looking simply at what it was
designed for, it met my approbation simply for this reason: that this
question of the reädmission of these Confederate States, so called,
and all the questions connected with that subject, I conceived to be
of infinite importance, requiring calm and serious consideration, and
I believe that the appointment of a committee, carefully selected by
the two houses, to take that subject into consideration, was not only
wise in itself, but an imperative duty resting upon the
representatives of the people in the two branches of Congress. For
myself, I was not prepared to act upon that question at once. I am not
one of those who pin their faith upon any body, however eminent in
position, or conceive themselves obliged, on a question of great
national importance, to follow out any body's opinions simply because
he is in a position to make those opinions, perhaps, somewhat more
imperative than any other citizen of the republic. Talk about the
Administration! Sir, we are a part of the Administration, and a very
important part of it. I have no idea of abandoning the prerogatives,
the rights, and the duties of my position in favor of any body,
however that person or any number of persons may desire it. In saying
this, I am not about to express an opinion upon the subject any
further than I have expressed it, and that is, that in questions of
such infinite importance as this, involving the integrity and welfare
of the republic in all future time, we are solemnly bound, and our
constituents will demand of us that we examine them with care and
fidelity, and act on our own convictions and not upon the convictions
of others.
"I do not agree with the honorable Senator from Wisconsin, that by
passing a simple resolution raising a committee of our own body, and
referring to it certain papers, if we conclude to do so, we are
infringing upon the rights of any body or making an intimation with
regard to any policy that the President may have seen fit to adopt and
recommend to the country. Sir, I trust there are no such things as
exclusive friends of the President among us, or gentlemen who desire
to be so considered. I have as much respect for the President of the
United States probably as any man. I acted with him long, and I might
express the favorable opinions which I entertain of him here, if they
would not be out of place and in bad taste in this body. That I am
disposed and ready to support him to the best of my ability, as every
gentleman around me is, in good faith and with kind feeling in all
that he may desire that is consistent with my views of duty to the
country, giving him credit for intentions as good as mine, and with
ability far greater, I am ready to asseverate.
"But, sir, I do not agree with the doctrine, and I desire to enter my
dissent to it now and here, that, because a certain line of policy has
been adopted by one branch of the Government, or certain views are
entertained by one branch of the Government, therefore, for that
reason alone and none other, that is to be tried, even if it is
against my judgment; and I do not say that it is or is not. That is a
question to be considered. I have a great respect, not for myself,
perhaps, but for the position which I hold as a Senator of the United
States; and no measure of Government, no policy of the President, or
of the head of a department, shall pass me while I am a Senator, if I
know it, until I have examined it and given my assent to it; not on
account of the source from which it emanates, but on account of its
own intrinsic merits, and because I believe it will result in the good
of my country. That is my duty as a Senator, and I fear no
misconstruction at home on this subject or any other.
"Now, therefore, sir, I hope that, laying aside all these matters,
which are entirely foreign, we shall act upon this resolution simply
as a matter of business. No one has a right to complain of it that we
raise a committee for certain purposes of our own when we judge it to
be necessary. It is an imputation upon nobody; it is an insult to
nobody; it is not any thing which any sensible man could ever find
fault with, or be disposed to do so. It is our judgment, our
deliberate judgment, our friendly judgment--a course of action adopted
from regard to the good of the community, and that good of the
community comprehends the good of every individual in it."
Mr. Saulsbury, of Delaware, said: "This resolution is very
objectionable to my mind. It is for the appointment of a committee of
the two houses to determine and to report upon what? The right of
representation of eleven States in this body. What determines the
rights of those States to representation here? Is it the views of the
members of the House of Representatives? Do we stand in need of any
light, however bright it may be, that may come from that distinguished
quarter? Are we going to ask them to illuminate us by wisdom, and
report the fact to us whether those States are entitled to
representation on this floor?
"Mr. President, on the first day of your assemblage after the battle
of Manassas, you and they declared, by joint resolution, that the
object for which the war was waged was for no purpose of conquest or
subjugation, but it was to preserve the union of the States, and to
maintain the rights, dignity, and equality of the several States
unimpaired. While that war was being waged there was no action, either
of this house or of the House of Representatives, declaring that, when
it was over, the existence of those States should be ignored, or their
right to representation in Congress denied. Throughout the whole
contest the battle-cry was 'the preservation of the Union' and 'the
Union of the States.' If there was a voice then raised that those
States had ceased to have an existence in this body, it was so feeble
as to be passed by and totally disregarded.
"Sir, suppose this committee should report that those States are not
entitled to representation in this body, are you bound by their
action? Is there not a higher law, the supreme law of the land, which
says if they be States that they shall each be entitled to two
Senators on this floor? And shall a report of a joint committee of the
two houses override and overrule the fundamental law of the land? Sir,
it is dangerous as a precedent, and I protest against it as an humble
member of this body. If they be not States, then the object avowed for
which the war was waged was false."
Mr. Hendricks, of Indiana, said: "I shall vote against this resolution
because it refers to a joint committee a subject which, according to
my judgment, belongs exclusively to the Senate. I know that the
resolution no longer provides in express terms that the Senate,
pending the continuance of the investigation of this committee, will
not consider the question of credentials from these States, but in
effect it amounts to that. The question is to be referred to the
committee, and according to usage, and it would seem to be the very
purpose of reference that the body shall not consider the subject
while the question is before them. I could not vote for a resolution
that refers to a joint committee a subject that this body alone can
decide. If there are credentials presented here, this body must decide
the question whether the person presenting the credentials is entitled
to a seat; and how can this body be influenced by any committee other
than a committee that it shall raise itself?"
Mr. Trumbull, of Illinois, then followed: "If I understood the
resolution as the Senator from Indiana does, I should certainly vote
with him; but I do not so understand it. It is simply a resolution
that a joint committee be raised to inquire into the condition of the
States which formed the so-called Confederate States of America, and
to report whether they or any of them are entitled to be represented
in either House of Congress, with leave to report at any time by bill
or otherwise. It is true, as the Senator says, that after having
raised this committee, the Senate will not be likely to take action in
regard to the admission of the Senators from any of these States until
the committee shall have had a reasonable time at least to act and
report; but it is very desirable that we should have joint action upon
this subject. It would produce a very awkward and undesirable state of
things if the House of Representatives were to admit members from one
of the lately rebellious States, and the Senate were to refuse to
receive Senators from the same State.
"We all know that the State organizations in certain States of the
Union have been usurped and overthrown. This is a fact of which we
must officially take notice. There was a time when the Senator from
Indiana, as well as myself, would not have thought of receiving a
Senator from the Legislature, or what purported to be the Legislature,
of South Carolina. When the people of that State, by their
Representatives, undertook to withdraw from the Union and set up an
independent government in that State, in hostility to the Union, when
the body acting as a Legislature there was avowedly acting against
this Government, neither he nor I would have received Representatives
from it. That was a usurpation which, by force of arms, we have put
down. Now the question arises, Has a State government since been
inaugurated there entitled to representation? Is not that a fair
subject of inquiry? Ought we not to be satisfied upon that point? We
do not make such an inquiry in reference to members that come from
States which have never undertaken to deny their allegiance to the
Government of the United States. Having once been admitted as States,
they continue so until by some positive act they throw off their
allegiance, and assume an attitude of hostility to the Government, and
make war upon it; and while in that condition, I know we should all
object that they, of course, could not be represented in the Congress
of the United States. Now, is it not a proper subject for inquiry to
ascertain whether they have assumed a position in harmony with the
Government? and is it not proper that that inquiry should be made the
subject of joint action?"
Mr. Guthrie, of Kentucky, wished to ask the friends of this resolution
if it was contemplated that this committee should take evidence, and
report that evidence to the two houses. "If," said he, "they are only
to take what is open to every member of the Senate, the fact that the
rebellion has been suppressed; the fact that the President of the
United States has appointed officers to collect the taxes, and, in
some instances, judges and other officers; that he has sent the
post-office into all the States; that there have been found enough
individuals loyal to the country to accept the offices; the fact that
the President has issued his proclamation to all these States,
appointing Provisional Governors; that they have all elected
conventions; that the conventions have rescinded the ordinances of
secession; that most of them have amended their constitutions and
abolished slavery, and the Legislatures of some of them have passed
the amendment to the Constitution on the subject of slavery--if they
are only to take these facts, which are open and clear to us all, I
can see no necessity for such a committee. My principal objection to
the resolution is, that this committee can give us no information
which we do not now possess, coupled with the fact that the loyal
conservative men of the United States, North, South, East, and West,
do most earnestly desire that we shall so act that there shall be no
longer a doubt that we are the United States of America, in full
accord and harmony with each other.
"I know it has been said that the President had no authority to do
these things. I read the Constitution and the laws of this country
differently. He is to 'take care that the laws be faithfully
executed;' he is to suppress insurrection and rebellion. The power is
put in his hands, and I do not see why, when he marches into a rebel
State, he has not authority to put down a rebel government and put up
a government that is friendly to the United States, and in accordance
with it. I do not see why he can not do that while the war goes on,
and I do not see why he may not do it after the war is over. The
people in those States lie at the mercy of the nation. I see no
usurpation in what he has done, and if the work is well done, I, for
one, am ready to accept it. Are we to send out a commission to see
what the men whom he has appointed have done? It is said that they are
not to be relied on; that they have been guilty of treason, and we
will not trust them. I hope that no such ideas will prevail here. I
think this will be a cold shock to the warm feelings of the nation for
restoration, for equal privileges and equal rights. They were in
insurrection. We have suppressed that insurrection. They are now
States of the Union; and if they come here according to the laws of
the States, they are entitled, in my judgment, to representation, and
we have no right to refuse it. They are in a minority, and they would
be in a minority even if they meant now what they felt when they
raised their arms against the Government; but they do not, and of
those whom they will send here to represent them, nineteen out of
twenty will be just as loyal as any of us--even some of those who took
up arms against us.
"I really hope to see some one move a modification of the test oath,
so that those who have repented of their disloyalty may not be
excluded, for I really believe that a great many of those who took up
arms honestly and wished to carry out the doctrines of secession, and
who have succumbed under the force of our arms and the great force of
public opinion, can be trusted a great deal more than those who did
not fight at all.
"To conclude, gentlemen, I see no great harm in this resolution except
the procrastination that will result from it, and that will give us
nothing but what we have before us."
The question being taken, the resolution, as amended, passed the
Senate, thirty-three voting in the affirmative and eleven in the
negative. The following are the names of those who voted for the
resolution:
Messrs. Anthony, Brown, Chandler, Clark, Conness, Creswell,
Fessenden, Foot, Foster, Grimes, Harris, Howard, Howe, Lane
of Indiana, Lane of Kansas, Morgan, Morrill, Norton, Nye,
Poland, Pomeroy, Ramsey, Sherman, Sprague, Stewart, Sumner,
Trumbull, Van Winkle, Wade, Willey, Williams, Wilson, and
Yates.
The following Senators voted against the resolution:
Messrs. Buckalew, Cowan, Dixon, Doolittle, Guthrie,
Hendricks, Johnson, Riddle, Saulsbury, Stockton, and Wright.
Five Senators were absent: Messrs. Cragin, Davis, Henderson,
McDougall, and Nesmith.
On the day succeeding the adoption of the concurrent resolution by the
Senate, the amendments of that body came before the House of
Representatives. Mr. Thaddeus Stevens moved that the House concur in
the amendments of the Senate. He said: "The Senate took what to them
appeared to be the proper view of their prerogatives, and, though they
did not seem to differ with us as to the main object, the mode of
getting at it with them was essential, and they very properly put the
resolution in the shape they considered right. They have changed the
form of the resolution so as not to require the assent of the
President; and they have also considered that each house should
determine for itself as to the reference of papers, by its own action
at the time. To this I see no objection, and, while moving to concur,
I will say now, that when it is in order I shall move, or some other
gentleman will move when his State is called, a resolution precisely
similar, or very nearly similar, to the provision which the Senate has
stricken out, only applicable to the House alone."
The House then concurred in the amendments of the Senate, so the
resolution passed in the following form:
"_Resolved_, by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That a joint committee of fifteen members shall
be appointed, nine of whom shall be members of the House,
and six members of the Senate, who shall inquire into the
condition of the States which formed the so-called
Confederate States of America, and report whether they, or
any of them, are entitled to be represented in either house
of Congress, with leave to report at any time, by bill or
otherwise."
A resolution subsequently passed the House, "That all papers offered
relative to the representation of the late so-called Confederate
States of America, shall be referred to the joint committee of fifteen
without debate, and no members shall be admitted from either of said
so-called States until Congress shall declare such States entitled to
representation."
On the fourteenth of December the Speaker announced the names of the
committee on the part of the House. They were: Thaddeus Stevens, Elihu
B. Washburn, Justin S. Morrill, Henry Grider, John A. Bingham, Roscoe
Conkling, George S. Boutwell, Henry T. Blow, and Andrew J. Rogers.
On the twenty-first of December the following gentlemen were announced
as members of the committee on the part of the Senate: William Pitt
Fessenden, James W. Grimes, Ira Harris, Jacob M. Howard, Reverdy
Johnson, and George H. Williams.
Thus, before the adjournment of Congress for the holidays, the Joint
Committee of Fifteen on Reconstruction had been appointed and
empowered to proceed with investigations of the utmost importance to
the country. Hated by the late insurgents of the South, who expected
little leniency at its hands; opposed by politicians at the North, who
viewed it as an obstacle in the way of their designs, and even
misrepresented by the President himself, who stigmatized it as a
"Central Directory," this committee went forward in the discharge of
its important duties, without fear or favor, having a marked influence
upon the doings of Congress and the destinies of the country.
Meanwhile other important measures were enlisting the attention of
Congress, and were proceeding, by the slow but steady steps of
parliamentary progress, to their final consummation.