power of the nation, never before asserted openly, had made a place for itself; and yet the continuing power of the States saved the national power from a development into centralized tyranny. And the new power of the nation, guaranteeing the restriction of government to a single nation in central North America, gave security against any introduction of international relations, international armament, international wars, and continual war taxation into the territory occupied by the United States. An approach for four years to the international policy of Europe had given security against its future necessity. Finally, democracy in America had certainly shown its ability to maintain the unity of its empire.
XI. THE RECONSTRUCTED NATION: 1865-87.
The 13th amendment.305. The Federal Government had begun the war with an honest expression of its determination not to interfere with slavery; the progress of the war had forced it into passing the 13th amendment in 1865, abolishing slavery in the United States for ever. In much the same way circumstances were driving it into interference with what had always been regarded as the rights of the States. In the latter case the process was certain to find an obstacle in President Johnson and the Republican party. Lincoln's successor, Johnson. He had been elected, like Tyler, to the comparatively unimportant office of vice-president in order to gain the votes of War Democrats; and now the dominant party found itself with a president opposed to its fundamental views of the powers of the Federal Government. The case was worse for Johnson, since the war had built up a new party. Until 1861 the Republican party had been a mixture of a strong Whig element and a weak Democratic element; now it was a real party, and demanded complete loyalty from its leaders, not skilful compromises between its two elements. Just as in the cases of Seward, Sumner, Trumbull, and very many of its original leaders, the party was now ready to repudiate its leaders if they did not come up to its ideas.
Presidential reconstruction.306. The universal idea in 1861 had been that the States were to be forced to return with all their rights unimpaired. This original notion was seriously limited by the Emancipation Proclamation of 1862-63; as soon as the president opened a door, by demanding a recognition of the abolition of slavery as a condition precedent to the return of a State, the way was just as open for the imposition of whatever conditions Congress as well should think essential to an abiding peace. But Congress was not called on to face the difficulty for some time. President Lincoln went on to reorganize civil government in Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Louisiana, by giving amnesty to such voters as would swear to support the Government of the United States and the abolition of slavery, and recognizing the State officers elected by such voters. When Johnson succeeded to the presidency in April 1865 he had a clear field before him, for Congress was not to meet until December. Before that time he had reorganized the governments of the seceding States; they had passed the 13th amendment (§ 125); and they were ready to apply for readmission to Congress. Tennessee was readmitted in 1866 by Congress; but the other seceding States were refused recognition for a time.
307. It was not possible that slave-owners should pass at one step from the position of absolute masters to that of political equality with their late slaves. Their State legislation assumed at once a very paternal character. Every means was taken, in the passage of contract and vagrant laws, and enactments of that nature, to force the freedmen to work; and the legislation seemed to the Northern people a re-establishment of slavery under a new name. Johnson had a very unhappy disposition for such a state of affairs; he had strong convictions, great Quarrel between Congress and the president. stubbornness, and a hasty, almost reckless, habit of speech. As soon as it became clear that Congress did not intend to readmit the Southern States at once he began (February 1866) to denounce Congress in public speeches as “no Congress” so long as it consisted of representatives from but part of the States. The quarrel grew rapidly more bitter; the Congressional elections of 1866 made it certain that the Republicans would have a two-thirds majority in both houses through the rest of Johnson's term of office; and the majority passed over the veto (§ 113) every bill which Johnson vetoed. Thus were passed the Freedmen's Bureau Bill (1866) for the protection of the emancipated Admission of Nebraska. negroes, the Act for the admission of Nebraska, with equal suffrage for blacks and whites (1867), the Tenure of Office Bill, making the assent of the senate necessary to removals, which had always been regarded as within the absolute power of the president (1867), and the Reconstruction Acts (1867). The increasing bitterness of the quarrel between Impeachment of the president. the president and the majority in Congress led to the impeachment of the president in 1868 for removing Stanton, the secretary of war, without the assent of the senate; but on trial by the senate a two-thirds majority for conviction could not be obtained, and Johnson served out his term.
308. The Reconstruction Acts divided the seceding States into military districts, each under command of a general officer, who was to leave to the State Governments then in existence such powers as he should not consider to be used to deprive the negroes of their rights. The State Governments of the seceding States were to be considered provisional only, until conventions, elected without the exclusion of the negroes, but with the exclusion of the leading Confederates, should form new or “reconstructed” State Governments, on a basis of manhood suffrage, and The 14th amendment. their legislatures should ratify the 14th amendment to the constitution (§ 125). This amendment, passed by Congress in 1866, was in five sections, but had three main divisions. (1) All persons born or naturalized in the United States were declared citizens of the United States and of their States, and the States were forbidden to abridge the “privileges or immunities” of such citizens. This was to override the Dred Scott decision (§ 249). (2) The representation of the States in Congress was to be reduced in proportion to the number of persons whom they should exclude from the elective franchise. This was to induce the States to adopt negro suffrage. On the other hand, specified classes of Confederate officeholders were excluded from office until Congress should remove their disabilities. (3) The war debts of the Confederacy and the seceding States were declared void for ever, and the war debt of the United States was guaranteed. Congress was given power to enforce all these provisions by “appropriate legislation.”
Election of 1868.309. The presidential election of 1868 sealed the process of reconstruction. The Democrats opposed it, and nominated Seymour (p. 790) and Blair; the Republicans endorsed it, and nominated Grant (p. 788) and Colfax (p. 788). Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas were the only States of the late Confederacy which were excluded from this election; all the rest had been reconstructed, and readmitted by Congress in June 1868; and the Republican candidates carried twenty-six of the thirty-four voting States, and were elected. The legislatures of the reconstructed States, representing mainly the negroes freed by the war, were devoted supporters of the new order of things; and their ratifications secured the necessary three-fourths of the States to make the 14th amendment a part of the The 15th amendment. constitution (1868). Congress went on to propose a 15th amendment, forbidding the United States, or any State, to limit or take away the right of suffrage by reason of race, colour, or previous condition of servitude. This was
