WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 24, 1866_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
The following "Joint resolution, restoring Tennessee to her relations in
the Union," was last evening presented for my approval:
Whereas in the year 1861 the government of the State of Tennessee was
seized upon and taken possession of by persons in hostility to the
United States, and the inhabitants of said State, in pursuance of an act
of Congress, were declared to be in a state of insurrection against the
United States; and
Whereas said State government can only be restored to its former
political relations in the Union by the consent of the lawmaking power
of the United States; and
Whereas the people of said State did, on the 22d day of February, 1865,
by a large popular vote, adopt and ratify a constitution of government
whereby slavery was abolished and all ordinances and laws of secession
and debts contracted under the same were declared void; and
Whereas a State government has been organized under said constitution
which has ratified the amendment to the Constitution of the United
States abolishing slavery, also the amendment proposed by the
Thirty-ninth Congress, and has done other acts proclaiming and denoting
loyalty: Therefore,
_Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States in Congress assembled_, That the State of Tennessee is hereby
restored to her former proper practical relations to the Union, and is
again entitled to be represented by Senators and Representatives in
Congress.
The preamble simply consists of statements, some of which are assumed,
while the resolution is merely a declaration of opinion. It comprises no
legislation, nor does it confer any power which is binding upon the
respective Houses, the Executive, or the States. It does not admit to
their seats in Congress the Senators and Representatives from the State
of Tennessee, for, notwithstanding the passage of the resolution, each
House, in the exercise of the constitutional right to judge for itself
of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its members, may, at
its discretion, admit them or continue to exclude them. If a joint
resolution of this kind were necessary and binding as a condition
precedent to the admission of members of Congress, it would happen, in
the event of a veto by the Executive, that Senators and Representatives
could only be admitted to the halls of legislation by a two-thirds vote
of each of the Houses.
Among other reasons recited in the preamble for the declaration
contained in the resolution is the ratification by the State government
of Tennessee of "the amendment to the Constitution of the United States
abolishing slavery, also the amendment proposed by the Thirty-ninth
Congress." If, as is also declared in the preamble, "said State
government can only be restored to its former political relations in the
Union by the consent of the lawmaking power of the United States," it
would really seem to follow that the joint resolution which at this late
day has received the sanction of Congress should have been passed,
approved, and placed on the statute books before any amendment to the
Constitution was submitted to the legislature of Tennessee for
ratification. Otherwise the inference is plainly deducible that while,
in the opinion of Congress, the people of a State may be too strongly
disloyal to be entitled to representation, they may nevertheless, during
the suspension of their "former proper practical relations to the
Union," have an equally potent voice with other and loyal States in
propositions to amend the Constitution, upon which so essentially depend
the stability, prosperity, and very existence of the nation.
A brief reference to my annual message of the 4th of December last will
show the steps taken by the Executive for the restoration to their
constitutional relations to the Union of the States that had been
affected by the rebellion. Upon the cessation of active hostilities
provisional governors were appointed, conventions called, governors
elected by the people, legislatures assembled, and Senators and
Representatives chosen to the Congress of the United States. At the same
time the courts of the United States were reopened, the blockade
removed, the custom-houses reestablished, and postal operations resumed.
The amendment to the Constitution abolishing slavery forever within the
limits of the country was also submitted to the States, and they were
thus invited to and did participate in its ratification, thus exercising
the highest functions pertaining to a State. In addition nearly all of
these States, through their conventions and legislatures, had adopted
and ratified constitutions "of government whereby slavery was abolished
and all ordinances and laws of secession and debts contracted under the
same were declared void." So far, then, the political existence of the
States and their relations to the Federal Government had been fully and
completely recognized and acknowledged by the executive department of
the Government; and the completion of the work of restoration, which had
progressed so favorably, was submitted to Congress, upon which devolved
all questions pertaining to the admission to their seats of the Senators
and Representatives chosen from the States whose people had engaged in
the rebellion.
All these steps had been taken when, on the 4th day of December, 1865,
the Thirty-ninth Congress assembled. Nearly eight months have elapsed
since that time; and no other plan of restoration having been proposed
by Congress for the measures instituted by the Executive, it is now
declared, in the joint resolution submitted for my approval, "that the
State of Tennessee is hereby restored to her former proper practical
relations to the Union, and is again entitled to be represented by
Senators and Representatives in Congress." Thus, after the lapse of
nearly eight months, Congress proposes to pave the way to the admission
to representation of one of the eleven States whose people arrayed
themselves in rebellion against the constitutional authority of the
Federal Government.
Earnestly desiring to remove every cause of further delay, whether real
or imaginary, on the part of Congress to the admission to seats of loyal
Senators and Representatives from the State of Tennessee, I have,
notwithstanding the anomalous character of this proceeding, affixed
my signature to the resolution. My approval, however, is not to be
construed as an acknowledgment of the right of Congress to pass laws
preliminary to the admission of duly qualified Representatives from any
of the States. Neither is it to be considered as committing me to all
the statements made in the preamble, some of which are, in my opinion,
without foundation in fact, especially the assertion that the State of
Tennessee has ratified the amendment to the Constitution of the United
States proposed by the Thirty-ninth Congress. No official notice of such
ratification has been received by the Executive or filed in the
Department of State; on the contrary, unofficial information from the
most reliable sources induces the belief that the amendment has not yet
been constitutionally sanctioned by the legislature of Tennessee. The
right of each House under the Constitution to judge of the elections,
returns, and qualifications of its own members is undoubted, and my
approval or disapproval of the resolution could not in the slightest
degree increase or diminish the authority in this respect conferred
upon the two branches of Congress.
In conclusion I can not too earnestly repeat my recommendation for the
admission of Tennessee, and all other States, to a fair and equal
participation in national legislation when they present themselves in
the persons of loyal Senators and Representatives who can comply with
all the requirements of the Constitution and the laws. By this means
harmony and reconciliation will be effected, the practical relations of
all the States to the Federal Government reestablished, and the work of
restoration, inaugurated upon the termination of the war, successfully
completed.