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 I 
 
 HOF. WILLIAM M. STEWART, 
 
 OF NEVADA, 
 
 INDORSING THE PRESIDENT'S POLICY ON RESTORATION: 
 
 DELIVERED 
 
 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, DECEMBER 21, 1865. 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 
 PRINTED AT THE CONGRESSIONAL GLOBE OFFICE. 
 1865. 
 

SPEECH. 
 
 The Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, re- 
 'umed the consideration of the bill (S. No. 9) to main- 
 tiiin the freedom of the inhabitants of the States 
 declared in insurrection and rebellion by the procla- 
 mation of the President of the 1st of July, 1862, the 
 question pending being on Mr. Cowan's motion to 
 refer the bill to the Committee on the Judiciary. 
 
 Mr. STEWART said: 
 
 Mr. President: Sentiments having been 
 announced on the motion to refer this bill 
 which I cannot indorse, I am compelled ]fy 
 a sense of duty to make a few observations. 
 I ask tlie indulgence of the Senate in digress- 
 ing from the real question at issue for the pup- 
 ])Ose of entering my protest against the attack 
 made by the honorable Senator from Massa- 
 chusetts [Mr. SuMNEu] upon the message of 
 the President and the report of the Lieu- 
 tenant General, and to condemn the kind of 
 testimony used in support of that attack. But 
 before I enter into a discussion of this evi- 
 dence, I desii'e to make a few remarks upon 
 llie great questions which have become in- 
 volved in this debate. Sir, if the Senator from 
 Massachusetts is right, and the evidence ad- 
 iluced by him establishes that the great mass 
 • fthc people.of the South are capable of the 
 atrocities imputed to them by the anonymous 
 witnesses paraded before this Senate, then a 
 miion of these States is impossible, then hun- 
 dreds of thousands of the bravest and best of 
 niir )and have fallen to no purpose, then every 
 house from the Gulf to the lakes is draped in 
 niinirning without an object, then three thou- 
 sand millions of indebtedness hangs like a pall 
 upon the pride and prosperity of the people 
 
 only to admonish us that the war was wicked, 
 useless, and cruel. But we are told that al- 
 though we cannot have union, although we can- 
 not extend the blessings of the Constitution to 
 seven millions of our fellow-citizens who reside 
 in the late rebel States, yet we have conquest 
 and territorial dominion which we should per- 
 petuate regardless of ourselves and our poster- 
 ity. Senators complain of the growing power 
 of the Executive, and at the same time seek 
 through him to govern near half the territory of 
 the United States by the military, which all 
 must see will make it the overshadowing power 
 in the land. 
 
 Mr. President, have conquest and dominion 
 been the mottoes under which millions of tho 
 loyal men of the United States have rallied 
 round the flag of their country? On the con- 
 trary, have not union, freedom, and equality 
 before the law been the words of inspiration to 
 the soldier, who poured out his blood as water, 
 and to the nation, which expended its treasure 
 as dross? Now that these sacrifices have been 
 made and the victory won, are we not bound 
 by every obligation which reverence for the 
 dead, regard for the living, and fear of God can 
 inspire, to preserve, not destroy, the Constitu- 
 tion and Union of these States ? Thus far there 
 are two plans presented to the country for the 
 reorganization of the South. The one which 
 finds favor in Congress — if we were to judge » 
 of the sentiment of that body from those who 
 talk most — is to govern eleven States as con- 
 quered provinces by an exercise of power un- 
 warranted by the Constitution, v/hich raustinev- 
 
itably derange, if not destroy, that charter of 
 our liberties. This plan trusts all to force, noth- 
 ing to conciliation ; all to revenge, nothing to 
 charity. It treats with equal contempt the good 
 opinion or hati-ed of seven millions of American 
 citizens. It disregards the example of Ireland, 
 where the oppression of Great Britain has pro- 
 duced millions of enemies, breathing vengeance 
 from every part of the civilized world, before 
 whom crowned heads now tremble. The vast 
 armies which devour the substance of Europe 
 and oppressandburdenthe downtrodden masses 
 with ruinous taxation to hold subjugated prov- 
 inces subser\nent to despotic will, have no warn- 
 ing for the advocates of this scheme. But what is 
 the evidence used to induce the Senate to believe 
 that the exercise of this despotic^ power is ne- 
 cessary ? In judging of testimony upon ordinary 
 'subjects we take into consideration not only the 
 facts stated, but the character and standing of 
 the witness, his means of information, and last, 
 but not least, his appearance ujion the stand. 
 
 In this great cause the Senate projierly called 
 upon the chief Executive of the nation for in- 
 formation. Was he a witness whose character 
 and standing before the country would entitle 
 his testimony to consideration? Let the voice 
 of a great people who have indorsed his patriot- 
 ism and his administration answer. Were his 
 means of information such as to entitle him to 
 speak advisedly upon this subject? Let the ma- 
 chinery of Government, that collects facts from 
 every dejiartment, civil and military, upon the 
 table of the Executive, answer. Was not his 
 appearance before the public in communicating 
 this testimony to the Senate and the country 
 such as to remove all grounds of suspicion? 
 Let the exalted tone, bold and fearless state- 
 ment, pure and patriotic spirit of both his mes- 
 sages be his best vindication. In the first he 
 says: 
 
 "I found the States suffering from the effects of a 
 civil war. Resistance to the General Government 
 appeared to have exhausted itself. The United States 
 had recovered possession of their forts .and arsenals; 
 and their armies were in the occupation of every 
 State which had attempted to secede. Whetlier the 
 territory within the limits of those States .should bo 
 held as conquered territory, under military authority, 
 emanating from the President as the head of the 
 Army, was the first question that presented itself for 
 decision. 
 
 "Now, military governments, established for an 
 indefinite period, would have offered no security for 
 the early suppression of discontent; would have di- 
 vided the people into the vanquishers and the van- 
 quished; and would have envenomed hatred rather 
 
 than have restored affection. Once established, no 
 precise limit to their continuance was conceivable. 
 They would have occasioned an incalculable and 
 exhausting expense. Peaceful emigration toandfrom 
 that portion of the country is one of the best means 
 that can be thought of for the restoration of har- 
 mony; and that emigration would have been pre- 
 vented ; for what emigrant from abroad, wliat indus- 
 trious citizen at home, would place himself willingly 
 under military rule? The chief persons who would 
 have followed in the train of the Army would have 
 been dependents on the General Government, or men 
 who expected profit from the miseries of their erring 
 fellow-citizens. The powers of patronage and rule 
 which would have been exercised, under the Presi- 
 dent, over a vast and populous and naturally wealthy 
 region, are greater than, unless under extreme neces- 
 sity, I should be willing to intrust to any one man ; 
 they are such as, for myself, 1 could never, unless on 
 occasions of great emergency, consent to exercise. 
 The willful use of such powers, if continued through 
 a period of years, would have endangered the purity 
 of the general administration and the liberties of the 
 States which remained loyal." 
 
 How plainly he here states the dangers of the 
 plans proposed by those who would reduce the 
 South to conquered provinces, and hold them 
 under military rule, subjugated and degraded 
 Territories, denied all the rights and privileges 
 of the Constitution and the Union. How mod- 
 estly and patriotically he declines to assume 
 such enormous responsibilities. Does not the 
 passage just read place him before the world a 
 disinterested and competent witness upon these 
 great questions? 
 
 He continues : 
 
 " Besides, the policy of military rule over a con- 
 quered territory would have implied that the States 
 whose inhabitants may have taken part in the rebel- 
 lion had, by the act of those inhabitants, ceased to 
 exist. But the true theory is, that all pretended acts 
 of secession were, from the beginning, null and void. 
 The States canijot commit treason, nor screen the in- 
 dividual citizens who may have committed treason, 
 any more than they can make valid treaties or en- 
 gage in lawful commerce with any foreign Power. 
 The States attempting to secede placed themselves in 
 a condition where their vitality was impaired, butnot 
 extinguished; their functions suspended, but not de- 
 stroyed. 
 
 " But if any State neglects or refuses to perform its 
 ofiices there is the more need that the General Gov- 
 ernment should maintain all its authority, and as soon 
 as practicable resume the exercise of all its functions. 
 On this principle I have acted, and have gradually 
 and quietly, and by almost imperceptible steps, sought 
 to restore tiie rightful energy of the General Govern- 
 ment and of the States. To that end, provisional 
 governors have been appointed for the States, con- 
 ventions called, Governors elected. Legislatures as- 
 sembled, and Senators and Representatives chosen to 
 the Congress of the United States. At the same time 
 the courts of the United States, as far as could be done, 
 have been reopened, so that the laws of the United 
 States may be enforced through their agency. The 
 blockade has been removed, and the custom-houses 
 reestablished in ports of entry, so that the revenue of 
 the United States may be collected. The Post Office 
 Department renews its ceaseless activity, and the Gen- 
 eral Government is thereby enabled to communicate 
 promptly with its oificers and agents. The courtsbring 
 security to persons and property; the opening of the 
 ports in vites the restoration of industry and commerce ; 
 the post office renews the facilities of social intercourse 
 and of business. And is it not happy for us all, that 
 the restoration of each one of these functions of the 
 
General Government brings with it a blessing to the 
 States dvcr which they oxtendeil? Is it not a sure 
 promise of harmony and renewed attachment to the 
 Union that, alter all that has happened, the return of 
 the General Government is known only as a benefi- 
 cence?" 
 
 There again he maintains a perfect consist- 
 ency with the theory of this war, that it was 
 prosecuted for the preservation of the Un!on, 
 not for its destruction, or the annihilation of 
 its component parts. But he frankly admits 
 the difficulties which all have felt and which all 
 still feel. He says : 
 
 " I know very well that this policy is attended with 
 some risk; that for its success it requires at least the 
 acquiescence of the States which it concerns; that it 
 implies an invitation to those States, by renewing 
 their allegiance to the United States, to resume their 
 functions a? States of the Union. But it is a risk that 
 must be taken; in the choice of difficulties, it is the 
 smallest risk; and to diminish, and, if possible, to re- 
 move all danger, I have felt it incumbent on me to 
 assert one other power of the General Government — 
 the power of pardon. As no State can throw a de- 
 fense over the crime of treason, the power of pardon 
 is exclusively vested in the executive government of 
 the United States. In exercising that power, I have 
 taken every precaution to connect it with the clear- 
 est recognition of the binding force of the laws of the 
 United States, and an unqualified acknowledgment 
 of the great social change of condition in regard to 
 slavery which has grown out of the war." 
 
 Upon the subject of the amendment of the 
 Constitution abolishing slavery, the President 
 uses the following language : 
 
 "The next step which I have taken to restore the 
 constitutional relations of the States has been an in- 
 vitation to them to participate in the high office of 
 amemling the Constitution. Every patriot must wish 
 for a general amnesty at the earliest epoch consistent 
 with the public safety. For this great end there is 
 need of a concurrence of all opinions, and the sisirit 
 of mutual conciliation. All ptlrties in the late terri- 
 ble eontiiot must work together in harmony. It is not 
 too much to ask, in the name of the whole people, 
 that, on the one side, the plan of restoration shall 
 proceed in conformity with a willingness to cast the 
 disonlers of the past into oblivion ; and that, on the 
 other, the evidence of sincerity in the future mainte- 
 nance of the Union shall be put beyond any doubt by 
 the ratilieation of the proposed amendment to the 
 Constitution, whfch provides for the abolition of sla- 
 ^rery forever within the limits of ouj- country. So long 
 as the adoption of this amendment is delayed, so long 
 will doubt and jealousy and uncertainty prevail. 
 This is the measure which will cfi'aco the sad mem- 
 ory of the past; this is the measure which will most 
 certainly call population and capital and security to 
 those parts of the Union that need them most. In- 
 deed, it is not too much to ask of the States which are 
 now resuming their places in the family of the Union 
 to give this pledge of perpetual loyalty and peace. 
 Until it is done, the past, however much we may 
 desire it, will not be forgotten. The adoption of the 
 amendment reunites us beyond all power of disrup- 
 tion. It heals the wound thatisstillimperfectly closed; 
 it removes slavery, the element which has so long per- 
 plexed and divided the country; it makes of us once 
 more a united people, renewed and strengthened, 
 bound more than ever to mutual afl'ection and sup- 
 port. 
 
 "The amendment to the Constitution being adopt- 
 ed, it would remain for the States, whoso powers hayc 
 been so long in abeyance, to resume their places in 
 the two branches of the national Legislature, and 
 thereby complete the work of restoration. Here it 
 is for you, fellow-citizens of the Senate, and jor you, 
 
 fellow-citizens of the House of Representatives, to 
 judge, each of you for yourselves, of the elections, 
 returns, and qualifications of your own members." 
 
 This amendment the Secretary of State, as 
 provided by law, has proclaimed to the world 
 is now a part of the Constitution, and that, too, 
 by the concurrence of several of the lately re- 
 bellious States, eight of those States being re- 
 quired to constitute the requisite niajc^rity. By 
 this proclamation the honorable Secretary, 
 whose age, learning, and eminent public ser- 
 vices command respect both at home and abroad, 
 has unmistakably pronounced his solemn opin- 
 ion that North and South Carolina, Georgia, 
 Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, and 
 Virginia are States in the Union. But suppose 
 he is wrong, and they are not States in the 
 Union, no one doubts the power of Congress 
 to make them such by recognizing them as 
 States ; and in either event we have this con- 
 stitutional amendment the supreme law of the 
 land. By it four million slaves are set' free, 
 and slavery forever made impossible within the 
 limits of the United States. But what makes this 
 constitutional amendment a practical, living 
 thing, is the power given to Congress to enforce 
 it by appropriate legislation. It is to be hoped 
 the exercise of this power will be rendered un- 
 necessary by the conduct of the States con- 
 cerned. 
 
 The simple fact that we possess the power 
 must have a salutary effect in constraining the 
 local authorities to accord the freedman his 
 natural rights. For the purpose of asserting this 
 power a bill is already before the Judiciary 
 Committee authorizing the President to con- 
 tinue the Freedmen's Bureau in an effective 
 form so long as abuses may exist in any of the 
 States, and to withdraw the same whenever 
 the good order of society and the safety of 
 the freedmen no longer require its protection, 
 and again to reinstate it whenever new abuses 
 shall arise requiring the exercise of its power. 
 Through this constitutional agency the General 
 Government may redeem its solemn pledge of 
 emancipation, so far as to confer upon all men, 
 without regard to color, perfect equality before 
 the law. May not the freedmen be as well pro- 
 tected, if this view of the constitutional amend- 
 meiit be correct, by the strong arm' of the Gov- 
 ernment while we recognize no State as having 
 been cmt of the Unioft, as by that other theory 
 
6 
 
 of State destruction and territorial subjec- 
 tion ? 
 
 In the one case military power may or may 
 not be used, depending upon the good faith 
 and fair dealing of the States themselves, which 
 every principle of interest and humanity must 
 induce them to exercise toward their emanci- 
 j)ated slaves. But in the other case, military 
 power is the only remedy proposed ; no oppor- 
 tunity to do voluntary justice is offered, but 
 a conclusive presumption of guilt is indulged 
 upon evidence of unknown letter- writers. What 
 more do gentlemen want than a submission to 
 the laws and a , willingness to return to the 
 Union ? 
 
 Gentlemen say they wish security for the 
 future. What security can we have that they 
 will obey the laws more than the assurance of 
 the chief Executive and the Lieutenant Gen- 
 eral that order and civil authority are being 
 rapidly restored? What stronger proof can we 
 have of their repudiation of secession than the 
 fact that their Senators and Representatives 
 are now knocking for admission into the Halls 
 of Congress? What stronger guarantee of the 
 effectual abolition of slavery and the restora- 
 tion to civil rights of the freedmen can be given 
 than the pledge recorded in the supreme law of 
 the land proclaiming their liberty, and author- 
 izing Congress to provide for its maintenance? 
 For, whatever course may be pursued, it must 
 for years be the effective power of Congress, 
 cooperating with the Executive, that will pro- 
 tect the freedmen from oppression ; and while 
 Congress retains this power no necessity exists 
 for treating the late rebel States as conquered 
 provinces. But it maj be, and from the extraor- 
 dinary course of this debate it would seem, 
 that something more is contemplated than the 
 restoration of the Union, the punishment of 
 treason, the abolition of slavery, and the pro- 
 tection of the freedmen. If this were all, it 
 could be accomplished during the present ses- 
 sion of Congress by a cordial cooperation of 
 the various departments of Government. I for 
 one am content with this. I am anxious at 
 once to secure the benefits of our glorious vic- 
 tory. I am anxious to restore the Union and 
 the Constitution, and to repudiate slavery and 
 secession. These are greater reforms than any 
 other age has produced^ this is more progress 
 
 than has been achieved since the formation of 
 our Government. I am anxious to secure this 
 before we attempt more. 
 
 But another step is proposed, an advanced 
 position is assumed before those already taken 
 are secured, and that is a proposition for uni- 
 versal suffrage without regard to color, to be 
 enforced by the central Government without 
 regard to law. Whether this be a white man's 
 Government or not is not the real question be- 
 fore the country ; but the true question is, shall 
 the General Government interfere with the righ- 
 of suffrage in the States ? When this is attempted 
 we are not only met by the prejudices, whether 
 just or unjust, of a large majority of the white 
 inhabitants of the United States, but by the con- 
 scientious opinions of the chief Executive of 
 the nation, sustained by many of the wisest and 
 best statesmen and jurists of the country, that 
 the Constitution has placed the question of suf- 
 frage exclusively within State jurisdiction. I 
 do not propose to argue at length either the pre- 
 judices of the former or the constitutional ob- 
 jections of the latter." But^we must remember 
 that prejudice is often morB powerful than rea- 
 son, and that it often happens that prejudice 
 itself is founded in reason. If this is not a 
 white man's Government, one thing is certaii', 
 that neither the black man or the red man has 
 ever reared such a Government. It must also be 
 remembered that this Government is still re- 
 garded by other nations as an experiment, and 
 its failure is confidently predicted for the reason 
 that history furnishes no adequate proof of the 
 capacity of man for self-government. They are 
 not so much mistaken in their general reading 
 as in the facts which lie at the foundation of our 
 institutions. They forget that we are a race de- 
 scended from the original Anglo-Saxon stock, 
 and that our ancestors learned the lessons of 
 libei'ty through generations of martyrdom, and 
 have practiced those lessons for three hundred 
 years in this distant land comparatively free from 
 the degrading influences of arbitrary power: 
 that superior natural endowments, universal 
 education, and a vast and 2:>roductive countiy 
 have enabled us, alone, among all the nations 
 of the earth, to sustain free government. 
 
 It may not be unjust for a people, whose lib- 
 erties can only be sustained by intelligence and 
 virtue, to pause and hesitate before they in- 
 
/trust those liberties in the hands of four mil- 
 lions of unfortunate persons just emerged from 
 the .most degrading slavery before they shall 
 have had an opportunity to learn the principles 
 of that Government whose functions they are 
 Called upon to administer. 
 
 This prejudice is not necessarily selfish or 
 cruel, but it may arise from an honest desire 
 for the preservation- of our own liberties and 
 the liberties of the race which the war has made 
 free. However this may be, the fact still ex- 
 ists, that few States in the North have yet 
 granted the right of suffrage in any form to the 
 colored men within their borders, although 
 those colored men are often educated, fre- 
 quently more enlightened than some white men 
 among whom they reside. And while the States 
 we represent deem it inexpedient to confer the 
 right of suffrage upon the colored men within 
 their borders, are we justified as their repi'e- 
 sentatives in compelling the late rebellious 
 States to confer that right upon the mass of un- 
 fortunate blacks who have yet to learn the first 
 principles of their duties and responsibilities as 
 citizens? But this is not all. If we are dis- 
 posed to disregard the sentiments of our con- 
 stituents and the action of our State govern- 
 ments, shall we trample upon the constitu- 
 tional right of the States to regulate the question 
 of suffrage, without first amending the Consti- 
 * tution as provided in that instrument ? This is 
 dangerous ground and a fearful resjaonsibility. 
 There is no question of necessity to justify it. 
 The Union can be restored without it. The 
 freedmen can be protected without it. The 
 honor of the nation can be vindicated without 
 it. But in attempting it, all hiay be lost, and 
 we may have despotism and anarchy, or rather 
 anarchy and then despotism, in the place of 
 our once glorious and prosperous Union. But 
 before I conclude, let me once again refer to 
 the testimony of the President and the Lieu- 
 tenant General to the bright prospect that is 
 before us. The former says : 
 
 i '"From all the information in my possession, and 
 from that whichlhaverecentlyderivellfromthemost 
 reliable authority, I am induced to cherish the belief 
 that sectional animosity is surely and rapidly merg- 
 ing itself into a spirit of nationality, and that repre- 
 sentation, '.onnectedwith a properly-fidjusted system 
 of taxation, will result in a harmonious restoration 
 of the relation of the States to the national Union." 
 
 General Grant, whose means of information 
 are second to none, except perhaps the Presi- 
 dent, being in immediate communication with 
 the military authorities throughout the South, 
 says: 
 
 "My observations lead me to the conclusion that 
 
 the citizens of the southern States are anxious to re- 
 turn to self-government within the Union as soon as 
 possible; that while reconstructing, they want and 
 require protection from the Government; that they 
 are in earnest in wishing to do what they think is 
 required by the (Jovernment— no t humiliating to them 
 as citizens— and thatif such acourse was pointed out, 
 they would pursue it in good faith. It is to be regret- 
 ted that there cannot be a greater commingling at 
 this time between the citizens of the two sections, and 
 particularly of tliose intrusted with the law-making 
 power." 
 
 Against this we have statements, extracted 
 from letters written by persons unknown to the 
 country or to the Senate. We have no means of 
 judging of their character for truth and veracity, 
 or what information they really possess, and 
 above all of what motives induced them to 
 write. 
 
 We are not surprised at these stories, whether 
 true or false. Wq expected, in the present 
 disorganized condition of society, that crimes 
 would be committed in the South. We know 
 that crimes are tommitted, and men talk non- 
 sense and folly in all countries. Even in the 
 great Commonwealth of MassacTiusetts, with all 
 her public virtues — and they are many — there 
 are records of crime and misery. And it would 
 have been strange if in the, South, with all the 
 mad passions of the people excited by this ter- 
 rible civil war, no scenes of horror should have 
 been witnessed since the fall of the rebellion. 
 But it is said in some of the letter extracts read 
 to the Senate that men in the South threaten 
 to fight us through the ballot-box. Do we object 
 to that? Are we not willing to submit allques- 
 ■tions to the voice of the people? Are we not 
 willing to be governed by the majority? Did 
 we not fight them with the sword jjecause they 
 repudiated the decision of a constitutional 
 majority? Are we willing to prolong the res- 
 toration of the Union and risk the experiment 
 of taxation without representation fox fear that 
 the application of the rule, that the voice of the 
 majority is law, shall drive us from power? 
 Shall we not rather Seek the perpetuation of 
 the Union party by the accomplishment of the 
 objects for which it was organized? Nothing 
 but our own folly can deprive us of the rewards 
 due to the services which that organization has 
 rendered to the country and to the cause of lib- 
 erty and humanity. The preservation of the 
 Union, the repudiation of secession, and the 
 abolition of slavery, the parent of seces- 
 sion, are great deeds ; and the party that has 
 achieved them, so long as it adheres to the 
 princiisles it has vindicated, will be remem- 
 bered and sustained by a generous and patri- 
 otic people. 
 
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