American Eloquence, Volume 4: Studies In American Political History (1897)
History
American Eloquence, Volume 4: Studies In American Political History (1897)
Speeches, addresses, etc., American; United States -- History; United States -- Politics and government
Though the President is commander-in-chief, Congress is his commander;
and, God willing, he shall obey. He and his minions shall learn that
this is not a government of kings and satraps, but a government of
the people, and that Congress is the people. * * * To reconstruct the
nation, to admit new States, to guarantee republican governments to
old States, are all legislative acts. The President claims the right to
exercise them. Congress denies it, and asserts the right to belong to
the legislative branch. They have determined to defend these rights
against all usurpers. They have determined that, while in their keeping,
the Constitution shall not be violated with impunity. This I take to
be the great question between the President and Congress. He claims the
right to reconstruct by his own power. Congress denies him all power in
the matter except that of advice, and has determined to maintain such
denial. "My policy" asserts full power in the Executive. The policy of
Congress forbids him to exercise any power therein.
Beyond this I do not agree that the "policy" of the parties is defined.
To be sure, many subordinate items of the policy of each may be easily
sketched. The President * * * desires that the traitors (having sternly
executed that most important leader Rickety Wirz, as a high example)
should be exempt from further fine, imprisonment, forfeiture, exile, or
capital punishment, and be declared entitled to all the rights of
loyal citizens. He desires that the States created by him shall be
acknowledged as valid States, while at the same time he inconsistently
declares that the old rebel States are in full existence, and always
have been, and have equal rights with the loyal States. He opposes the
amendment to the Constitution which changes the basis of representation,
and desires the old slave States to have the benefit of their increase
of freemen without increasing the number of votes; in short, he desires
to make the vote of one rebel in South Carolina equal to the votes of
three freemen in Pennsylvania or New York. He is determined to force
a solid rebel delegation into Congress from the South, which, together
with Northern Copperheads, could at once control Congress and elect all
future Presidents.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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