THE CONGRESSIONAL THEORY FULLY DEVELOPED.
1. The second session of the 39th Congress opened with its members in a
far different frame of mind from that in which they had assembled in 1865.
Then they had approached their work with hesitation; their plans were not
formulated; they could not know how far the country would sustain them in
their opposition to the President. Now, in the flush of victory, their
policy sustained, the President discredited, with their two-thirds
majority in both houses unbroken, they were prepared to proceed to enact
legislation which not only should secure that which had been accomplished
already, but also should settle finally the problem of reconstruction, and
place the President in a position where he could do no harm.[151]
Much curiosity had been felt as to the attitude which Johnson would take
in his annual message. He believed thoroughly in the righteousness of his
cause, and had such implicit confidence in the unerring judgment of the
people that he had deemed it impossible that his policy would be
repudiated. The results of the election were a great disappointment to
him, and some had believed that he would introduce into the message the
abuse which he had so unsparingly inflicted upon Congress during the
campaign. The message, however, contained nothing approaching virulence,
but on the contrary was a document eminently creditable to the
President.[152] It restated in a powerful way the constitutional position
of the administration, and defended its actions in a dignified yet
spirited manner. The fearlessness of his attitude was characteristic; the
argumentative brilliancy of its presentation was unsurpassed. Unmindful of
the fact that Congress had assembled to complete the overthrow of his
policy of reconstruction, he reminded Congress that "the Constitution of
the United States makes it the duty of the President to recommend to the
consideration of Congress" such measures as he shall judge necessary or
expedient. "* * * I know," he said, "of no measure more imperatively
demanded by every consideration of national interest, sound policy, and
equal justice, than the admission of loyal members from the now
unrepresented States. * * * The interests of the nation are best to be
promoted by the revival of fraternal relations, the complete obliteration
of our past differences, and the re-inauguration of all pursuits of
peace."[153] The message closed with the request: "Let us endeavor to
preserve harmony between the co-ordinate departments of the Government,
that each in its proper sphere may cordially co-operate with the other in
securing the maintenance of the Constitution, the preservation of the
Union, and the perpetuity of our free institutions."
Unfortunately for the country, there could be no harmony "between the
co-ordinate departments of the Government," where there was such
fundamental disagreement. Neither side proposed to retreat an inch from
the stand taken, and the message served no other purpose than to leave a
very excellent state paper as a memento of the session.
The Joint Committee on Reconstruction[154] was immediately re-appointed by
a concurrent resolution. Only one change was necessary--Mr. Grider, of
Kentucky, one of the minority members, had died during the recess of
Congress, and in his place Mr. Hise, of the same State, was appointed. The
committee immediately resumed its labors, and proceeded to frame a bill
"for the more efficient government of the rebel States." The developments
of the last three months had created a sentiment favorable to more
stringent conditions of re-admission, and the action of the various
Southern legislatures, who were rejecting the 14th amendment during this
period, served as a further stimulus to vigorous action.
2. Several weeks elapsed before the committee was willing to adopt any
definite plan. Finally, on February 4, 1867, Mr. Williams reported from
the committee, a bill to the Senate;[155] it was referred back to the
committee, and was formally reported to the House by Mr. Stevens on the
6th.[156]
The preamble to the bill declared that in the absence of legal State
governments there was no adequate protection for person and property, and
that therefore it was necessary to enforce peace and good order until
loyal State governments could be established. To this end "the so-called
States shall be divided into military districts," five in number, Virginia
to constitute the first, North Carolina and South Carolina the second,
Georgia, Alabama, and Florida the third, Mississippi and Arkansas the
fourth, and Louisiana and Texas the fifth. The General of the Army was "to
assign to the command of each of said districts an officer of the regular
army not below the rank of brigadier-general, and to detail a sufficient
force to enable such officer to enforce his authority." The officer in
command of a district was to have complete authority to protect the civil
rights of all, suppress insurrection and preserve order. To assist him he
could employ civil or military tribunals at his discretion, but no capital
punishment, imposed by a military tribunal, should be executed without the
approval of the officer in charge of the district. Writs of _habeas
corpus_ should not be issued by federal courts or judicial officers except
on endorsement of some commissioned officer in the district.
The discussion of the bill began on the day following its introduction.
Mr. Stevens, with his usual impetuosity, wished for an immediate vote. The
bill seemed more moderate to him than the South deserved, and with the
large Republican majority intent upon some such legislation, he could see
no reason for delay. The bill was clearly worded and all could understand
it perfectly. But there was an influential element that preferred to make
haste slowly, and many hours were given up to debate before the final
passage of the bill by the House, on February 20.
The measure certainly was exceedingly radical as it was reported from the
committee. As Mr. Le Blond, of Ohio, said: "It strikes at the civil
governments in those States. It ignores State lines. It destroys their
civil governments. It breaks down the judicial system in those
States."[157] The distrust of the President was evidenced by empowering
General Grant to appoint the commanders of the military districts,
ignoring the President as commander-in-chief of the army. Most important
of all, the bill as it stood was the action of a conquering power over
conquered territory. It provided for an indefinite military control over
the territory, and specified no mode in which a State might free herself
from the onerous conditions. It was not a measure of reconstruction; it
was a measure of subjugation.
Of course none of its supporters had the slightest idea of its being more
than a temporary measure, but even temporary measures must be considered
in all their aspects. Their idea was that expressed by Mr. Brandegee of
Connecticut when he said: "It holds those revolted communities in the
grasp of war until the rebellion shall have laid down its spirit, as two
years ago it formally laid down its arms."[158]
Mr. Bingham took an active part in the opposition to the adoption of the
bill as it stood. Representing the more conservative branch of the
anti-administration party, he suggested on the opening day of the
discussion amendments which would make the bill more desirable. On
February 12 he submitted an amendment, the essential features of which
were finally adopted, but which encountered the fiercest opposition and
was only carried when compromise between the House and the Senate was
found to be impossible. His amendment provided as conditions for
re-admitting a State to representation in Congress: Ratification of the
14th amendment; such modification of State constitution and laws as would
make them conform to that amendment; a constitutional provision for negro
suffrage; and the approval of the constitution by Congress as republican
in form and consistent with the Constitution and laws of the United
States.
Mr. Blaine proposed an amendment similar in its aim to that of Mr.
Bingham, who accepted it as a substitute. But the House was opposed to
providing any loop-holes by which the States could escape the provisions
of the act. The feeling that the South had been weighed in the balance and
found wanting, that its whole attitude was that of defiance, and that it
would endeavor to undo all that had been done as soon as it could obtain
an opportunity, was sufficiently strong to defeat an attempt to refer the
bill to the Judiciary Committee with instructions to incorporate the
amendment. Instead, a substitute measure, introduced by Mr. Stevens, which
differed but little from the original bill, passed the House on February
13.[159]
The great struggle now began in the Senate, where the Blaine amendment was
moved by Mr. Johnson of Maryland, on February 15. There was an influential
element which feared that its adoption would utterly nullify the object of
the bill--to govern the States until they could be re-admitted with
safety. Their objections were based on the same principles that had proved
fatal to the amendment in the House. "I see," said Senator Howard, "in
this amendment a fatal snare by which we shall be deceived in the end, by
which we are to be deluded into a premature re-admission of the rebel
States in such a manner as to make us ultimately repent of our folly and
rashness. * * * It is a snare by which increased representation from the
rebel States may come into Congress, * * while we have no security at all
that the extended elective franchise will be continued in the rebel States
to the black population. They can disfranchise them whenever they see fit
after having secured increased representation."[160]
The Senate, more conservative than the House, could not muster such a
strong opposition to the amendment. It was rejected, but rejected in order
to open the way for another amendment in the form of a substitute bill,
which was moved by Senator Sherman.[161] The substitute had been agreed
upon in a Republican caucus, and was accordingly carried. Its first four
sections contained nearly all the features of the original bill; it
substituted "President" for "General," in the second section, and, in
place of the provision against writs of _habeas corpus_, the fourth
section simply enacted that "all persons put under military arrest by
virtue of this act shall be tried without unnecessary delay, and no cruel
or unusual punishment shall be inflicted." The fifth section contained the
features proposed in the Bingham and Blaine amendments, amplified in a
manner satisfactory to the majority of the Senatorial caucus. The
conditions of readmission were as follows: The adoption of a constitution
in conformity with the Constitution of the United States, and the
ratification of the 14th amendment. The constitution, which must be
examined and approved by Congress, must be framed by a convention of
delegates chosen by "the male citizens of said State twenty-one years of
age and upwards, of whatever race, color, or previous condition, who have
been resident in the State for one year previous to the day of such
election, except such as may be disfranchised for participation in the
rebellion, or for felony at common law;" must give the elective franchise
to all qualified as electors for the delegates; and must be ratified by a
majority of the persons voting on ratification, and qualified as such
electors. To this the proviso was added that no person disqualified by the
14th amendment from holding office should be chosen as a delegate to the
convention or vote for members of it. One more amendment to the bill was
made on motion of Senator Doolittle. This added as a proviso to the fourth
section: "That no sentence of death under the provisions of this act shall
be carried into effect without the approval of the President."
The bill was returned to the House in this form, the Senate having passed
it at six o'clock Sunday morning, February 17. The margin of time that
could be used without permitting the bill to be killed by a "pocket veto"
was now very limited, but the House refused to concur in the amendment
and called for a committee of conference, February 19. The Senate insisted
on its amendment and the bill was again returned to the House, which on
the following day concurred in the Senate amendment, but added an
amendment of its own proposed by Mr. Wilson, of Iowa, and amended on
motion of Mr. Shellabarger.[162] This amendment, constituting the sixth
section of the bill, was speedily concurred in by the Senate, and on
February 20, 1867, the bill was finally passed and ready for the
President's veto.
The sixth section, so hurriedly tacked on to the bill, was of no slight
importance, as it declared in legal form the _status_ of the Southern
governments, and clinched the qualifications for the elective franchise.
It provided that "until the people of said rebel States shall be by law
admitted to representation in the Congress of the United States, any civil
governments which may exist therein shall be deemed provisional only, and
in all respects subject to the paramount authority of the United States at
any time to abolish, modify, control, or supersede the same; and in all
elections to any office under such provisional governments all persons
shall be entitled to vote, and none others, who are entitled to vote under
the provisions of the fifth section of this act; and no person shall be
eligible to any office under any such provisional governments who would be
disqualified from holding office under the provisions of the third article
of said constitutional amendment."[163]
As had been expected, Johnson withheld his veto as long as it was possible
for him to do so without permitting the bill to become a law, not
returning the bill until March 2.[164] This was done in the hope that the
minority, by dilatory proceedings, might prevent action on the veto
before the adjournment, on March 4, and so prevent the bill from becoming
a law. But the plan failed, and the bill was immediately passed, "the
objections of the President to the contrary notwithstanding."
The veto message embodied an exhaustive review of the bill, a criticism of
its "cruelty," and an attack upon its constitutionality. It denied the
statement in the preamble that "no legal State governments or adequate
protection for life or property," existed in these ten States, and
declared that "the establishment of peace and good order is not its real
object. * * * The military rule which it establishes is plainly to be
used, not for any purpose of order or for the prevention of crime, but
solely as a means of coercing the people into the adoption of principles
and measures to which it is known that they are opposed, and upon which
they have an undeniable right to exercise their own judgment." The
despotic authority given to the commander of a district was vigorously
denounced, and all the humane provisions of the bill were declared to
depend upon the will of the commander, who could nullify them and oppress
the people without limitations of any kind. "It reduces the whole
population of the ten States--all persons, of every color, sex and
condition, and every stranger within their limits--to the most abject and
degrading slavery."
But aside from its injustice, Johnson went on to argue, the measure was
unconstitutional and could not legally be carried into execution. In a
time of peace martial law could not be established, in proof of which
statement he quoted from the decision of the Supreme Court, in _Ex parte_
Milligan, defining military jurisdiction. The denial of the right of trial
by jury and of the privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_ was not
counterbalanced by the poor privilege of trial "without unnecessary
delay." In defiance of the constitutional prohibition of bills of
attainder, "here is a bill of attainder against nine millions of people at
once"--a legislative enactment "based upon an accusation so vague as to be
scarcely intelligible, and found to be true upon no credible evidence."
The primary purpose of the bill, to compel these States "by force to the
adoption of organic laws and regulations which they are unwilling to
accept if left to themselves," was in itself unconstitutional. "The
Federal Government has no jurisdiction, authority, or power to regulate
such subjects for any State."
Respecting the legality of the state governments, the important point was
made that if they were illegal, their ratification of the 13th amendment
could not have been legal. The message closed with an appeal for
restoration "by simple compliance with the plain requirements of the
Constitution."
Taken as a whole, the message unquestionably contained many strong
arguments against the bill, and was virtually a summary of the arguments
advanced by the minority in Congress. But the struggle had passed beyond
the province of unbiased debate, and each side was equally determined not
to yield any point. A measure open to the most serious suspicions
regarding its constitutionality, was passed by an inflexible majority,
settled in the belief that the condition of the South required the
measure, and that the Constitution must accordingly be stretched to cover
the case.
Those supporters of the bill who were recognized as the most careful in
their judgments confidently asserted that that portion of it establishing
the military districts contained nothing that could not have been carried
out legally by the government as a military measure, without the formality
of enacting the bill. The insurrectionary States would legally remain in a
condition of insurrection until Congress should formally declare the
insurrection to be at end. Consequently martial law could
constitutionally prevail, trial by jury and the writ of _habeas corpus_ be
suspended, and civil government utilized as an aid to military rule, to
any extent that might seem advisable to the general in charge. The claim
that the measure amounted to an enormous bill of attainder was immediately
dismissed as absurd, as no corruption of blood or forfeiture of estates
was involved, and the whole measure was avowedly temporary, to cease as
soon as the State should comply with the conditions of reconstruction.
Congress felt justified in passing the bill over the veto, and accordingly
the general process of reconstruction was established with conditions far
more onerous than had been intended in the first session of the 39th
Congress. The provisions of the act immediately went into force, and the
commanders of the districts were appointed on March eleventh.
3. The bill was conceded by all its supporters to be incomplete. It
provided for the establishment of districts and the governing of these
districts by military law, and it was hoped that the immediate crying need
of a strong government to enforce order and prevent the continuance of the
oppression of the freedmen was satisfied. This done, they could proceed
more deliberately to the enactment of measures which would provide the
mechanism for carrying out the provisions of the fifth section. The
adjournment of the 39th Congress at noon of March 4 prevented any action
until the next Congress; but preparation had been made for such an
emergency by an act which provided that in future each Congress should
convene upon the adjournment of its predecessor.[165]
The 40th Congress at once settled down to work upon the problem. Chief
Justice Chase prepared a bill which was used as a basis for the
discussion. Senator Wilson and others modified the bill to some extent,
and introduced it in the Senate on March 7.[166] The same bill, slightly
modified, was introduced in the House.[167] Considerable trouble was
experienced in agreeing upon the details of the bill, but on March 19 both
houses finally adopted a compromise proposed by a committee of conference.
The veto message of the President was received four days later; the bill
was immediately passed over the veto and became a law.[168]
As finally passed, the bill was entitled: "An Act supplementary to an Act
entitled, 'An Act to provide for the more efficient government of the
rebel States,' passed March second, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and
to facilitate restoration." It enacted that the commanding general in each
district should cause a registration to be made before September 1, 1867,
of those entitled to vote under the original act, and should require all
registering to take the following oath: "I, ---- do solemnly swear (or
affirm) in the presence of Almighty God, that I am a citizen of the State
of ----; that I have resided in said State for ---- months next preceding
this day, and now reside in the county of ----, or the parish of ----, in
said State (as the case may be); that I am twenty-one years old; that I
have not been disfranchised for participation in any rebellion or civil
war against the United States, nor for felony committed against the laws
of any State or of the United States; that I have never been a member of
any State legislature, nor held any executive or judicial office in any
State and afterwards engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the
United States, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof; that I
have never taken an oath as a member of Congress of the United States, or
as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State
legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to
support the Constitution of the United States, and afterwards engaged in
insurrection or rebellion against the United States or given aid or
comfort to the enemies thereof; that I will faithfully support the
Constitution and obey the laws of the United States, and will, to the best
of my ability, encourage others so to do, so help me God."[169] After the
completion of the registration in any State, it was provided that there
should be held, after at least thirty days' public notice by the
commanding general, an election of delegates "to a convention for the
purpose of establishing a constitution and civil government for such State
loyal to the Union." This convention was to consist of the same number of
members as the most numerous branch of the State legislature in 1860.[170]
Those voting at the election of delegates were also to vote for or against
the holding of the convention, and it was not to be held if a majority of
the ballots was cast against it, or if a majority of the registered voters
failed to vote on the question. Boards were to be appointed by the
commanding general to superintend the registration and election, and make
returns to him of the results of the election. The convention was required
to assemble at a place and time appointed by the commanding general, by a
notice to be given by him within sixty days from the date of election; and
to frame a constitution according to the provisions of the original and
the present act. The constitution so framed was then to be submitted to
the registered voters at an election conducted by officials who were to
be appointed by the commanding general, and who were to make returns to
him. In case the constitution was ratified "by a majority of the votes of
the registered electors qualified as herein specified, cast at said
election (at least one-half of all the registered voters voting upon the
question of such ratification)," it was provided that the president of the
convention should "transmit a copy of the same, duly certified, to the
President of the United States, who shall forthwith transmit the same to
Congress," and that, if Congress should be satisfied that all the
provisions of the acts were carried out, and that no force or fraud was
used, and should approve the constitution, the State should "be declared
entitled to representation, and senators and representatives shall be
admitted therefrom as therein provided." It was further provided that all
elections in the States mentioned in the original act should, during the
operation of that act, be by ballot; that the officials in charge of the
registration and elections must take the "iron-clad" oath of July 2,
1862[171] that the expenses incurred by the commanding generals in
carrying out the act should be paid out of the treasury, but that the
state conventions should provide for the levying of taxes to pay other
expenses.[172]
The veto message on this bill was much shorter than that on the original
reconstruction measure. The President said: "No consideration could induce
me to give my approval to such an election law for any purpose, and
especially for the great purpose of framing the constitution of a State.
If ever the American citizen should be left to the free exercise of his
own judgment, it is when he is engaged in the work of forming the
fundamental law under which he is to live." He animadverted upon the
extreme looseness of the provisions in regard to the registration boards,
and upon the great powers vested in them. The main objections to the bill
were of course those which he had stated in the veto of March 2.
The passage of the supplementary reconstruction act, and of a joint
resolution providing for the expenses involved in carrying out the
provisions of the act, completed the work of this session of the 40th
Congress. It was hoped that no further congressional action would be
needed until the constitutions of the States should be submitted for
examination and approval, preparatory to granting representation. But the
importance of the measures and the avowed hostility of the President
caused hesitation on the part of Congress as to adjourning till the
regular December session. It was realized that if any loop-hole could be
found by which the intention of the act could be evaded, Johnson would
have no hesitation in taking advantage of it. To provide for such a
contingency Congress passed a concurrent resolution which provided for a
recess until July 3, and authorized the President of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House to adjourn Congress until the first Monday in
December if a quorum did not appear on July 3. In case everything
appeared to be progressing with little friction, the members would not
assemble; but if there should be any unfavorable developments, Congress
could assemble independently of the President and enact legislation to
remedy the difficulty.
4. July 3 found a quorum in both houses. The Attorney-General had rendered
an opinion upon the act of March 2 which greatly hampered the work of the
commanders of the districts. He advised the President that the act should
be construed strictly, that the commanders should be allowed no powers
beyond those specifically bestowed upon them. This prevented them from
removing state officers, from making new laws for the government of the
people, or from suspending the action of the state courts; and with state
officers hostile to the federal authorities, and using every means to
impede their work, the commanders found it impossible properly to
discharge the duties assigned to them by the act.[173] The intent of the
reconstruction acts obviously was to make the commanders of the districts
commanders _de facto_ as well as _de jure_. Consequently remedial
legislation was deemed necessary, and Congress convened for the purpose of
framing additional acts defining more precisely the intention of the
preceding acts and the powers of the commanders.
A few days' debate sufficed to bring Congress to an agreement as to the
form of a second supplementary act. The bill passed both Houses on July
13, was vetoed on the 19th, and was immediately passed over the veto.[174]
It declared[175] the true intent and meaning of the previous
reconstruction acts to be that the governments then existing in the ten
States specified in the acts were illegal, and that such governments, "if
continued, were to be continued subject in all respects to the military
commanders of the respective districts, and to the paramount authority of
Congress." It therefore provided that the district commanders should have
the power to suspend or remove all incumbents of offices of "any so-called
State or the government thereof," and to fill all vacancies in such
offices, however caused. The same powers were granted to the General of
the Army, who was also empowered to disapprove the appointments or
removals made by the district commanders. The previous appointments by the
district commanders were confirmed and made subject to the provisions of
the act, and it was declared to be the duty of these commanders to remove
from office all who were disloyal to the United States, or who opposed in
any way the administration of the reconstruction acts. The registration
boards were empowered and required "before allowing the registration of
any person to ascertain, upon such facts or information as they can
obtain, whether such person is entitled to be registered."[176] No person
was to be disqualified as a member of any board of registration by reason
of race or color. The true intent and meaning of the oath prescribed in
the supplementary act was fully explained, the most important portion of
the explanation being that the words "executive or judicial office in any
State" should be construed to "include all civil offices created by law
for the administration of any general law of a State, or for the
administration of justice." The time of registration under the
supplementary act was extended to October 1, 1867, in the discretion of
the commander and it was provided that "the boards of registration shall
have power, and it shall be their duty, commencing fourteen days prior to
any election under said act, and upon reasonable notice of the time and
place thereof, to revise, for a period of five days, the registration
lists," by striking out the names of those found to be disqualified, and
adding the names of those qualified for registration. Executive pardon or
amnesty should not qualify any one for registration who without it would
be disqualified. District commanders were empowered "to remove any member
of a board of registration, and to appoint another in his stead, and to
fill any vacancy in such board." The iron-clad oath was to be required of
all registration boards, and of all persons elected or appointed to office
in the military districts. Further possibility of unfavorable construction
by the Attorney-General was prevented by the provision that "no district
commander or member of the board of registration, or any of the officers
or appointees acting under them, shall be bound in his action by any
opinion of any civil officer of the United States." The closing section,
taken in connection with this, was fully as significant: "All the
provisions of this act and of the acts to which this is supplementary
shall be construed liberally, to the end that all the intents thereof may
be fully and perfectly carried out."
5. Reconstruction under the provisions of these three acts was rapidly
accomplished in most of the States.[177] In some of the districts the
commanders probably were too severe upon the whites, but in the main the
intent of the acts was carried out with as little harshness as could well
be expected. Those qualified were registered, conventions were held, and
constitutions were framed and submitted to the people for their
ratification according to the provisions of the acts. Alabama was the
first State to vote upon a new constitution, and the Democrats, or
Conservatives, as they styled themselves, took advantage of the fifth
section of the act of March 23, which required at least one-half of the
registered voters to vote on the question of ratification, as a condition
of the validity of the election. Non-action seemed to be the easiest
method of defeating the constitution, and they accordingly absented
themselves from the polls, only 70,812, out of 165,812 registered voters,
casting their ballots.[178]
6. There had been a strong minority in Congress opposed to the insertion
of this section, who had foreseen this very outcome; and the action of
Alabama converted the minority into a majority. A third supplementary bill
was accordingly passed. Johnson neither signed nor vetoed it; and it
became a law without his signature on March 11, 1868. It provided that in
future all elections authorized by the act of March 23, 1867, "should be
decided by a majority of the votes actually cast," thus preventing any
repetition of the Alabama experiment.[179]
7. The constitution submitted in Mississippi was rejected. Constitutions
were not submitted in Texas and Virginia until a later date. The other
States ratified their constitutions by large majorities, and on June 22
the act "to admit the State of Arkansas to representation in Congress"
became a law.
8. Three days later the act admitting North Carolina, South Carolina,
Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama and Florida to representation, became a law.
Both bills were passed over the President's vetoes, Johnson to the last
refusing to recognize even in the most indirect way the constitutionality
of the congressional plan.
Eight of the eleven States were now nominally reconstructed, but in fact
they were only entering upon that most trying period of their history, the
era of "carpet-bag government." The whole period of reconstruction is
marked by blindness and prejudice on both sides. The spirit of compromise
could find no place in either's plans. "What might have been" is always a
fruitless subject of discussion; but any student of the three tumultuous
years following the war cannot but see that the attitude of both the North
and the South prevented the adoption of the plan of reconstruction which
would with the least trouble and delay, have remoulded the unwieldy mass
of liberated blacks into an orderly, progressive class of citizens. At the
same time he can see that the divergence of views was inevitable and that
it is impossible to say to one side "You were right," and to the other
"You were wrong."