The Great Conspiracy, Volume 7Logan, John Alexander
History
The Great Conspiracy, Volume 7
Logan, John Alexander
Slavery -- United States; United States -- Politics and government -- 1861-1865
So, when Ganson of New York, and other Democrats, voted "aye," the
applause was renewed again and again, and still louder again, when, with
smiling face--which corroborated the thrilling, fast-spreading, whisper,
that "the Amendment is safe!"--Speaker Colfax directed the Clerk to call
his name, as a member of the House, and, in response to that call, voted
"aye!"
Then came dead silence, as the Clerk passed the result to the Speaker
--during which a pin might have been heard to drop,--broken at last by the
Speaker's ringing voice: "The Constitutional majority of two-thirds
having voted in the affirmative, the Joint Resolution is passed."
[The enrolled Resolution received the approval and signature of the
President, Feb. 1, 1865,]
The words had scarcely left the Speaker's lips, when House and galleries
sprang to their feet, clapping their hands, stamping their feet, waving
hats and handkerchiefs, and cheering so loudly and so long that it
seemed as if this great outburst of enthusiasm--indulged in, in defiance
of all parliamentary rules--would never cease!
In his efforts to control it, Speaker Colfax hammered the desk until he
nearly broke his mallet. Finally, by 4 o'clock, P.M., after several
minutes of useless effort--during which the pounding of the mallet was
utterly lost in the noisy enthusiasm and excitement, in which both the
Freedom-loving men and women of the Land, there present, participated
--the Speaker at last succeeded in securing a lull.
Advantage was instantly taken of it, by the successor of the dead Owen
Lovejoy, Mr. Ingersoll of Illinois, his young face flushing with the
glow of patriotism, as he cried: "Mr. Speaker! In honor of this
Immortal and Sublime Event I move that the House do now adjourn." The
Speaker declared the motion carried, amid renewed demonstrations of
enthusiasm.
During all these uncontrollable ebullitions of popular feeling in behalf
of personal Liberty and National Freedom and strength, the Democratic
members of the House had sat, many of them moving uneasily in their
seats, with chagrin painted in deep lines upon their faces, while others
were bolt upright, as if riveted to their chairs, looking straight
before them at the Speaker, in a vain attempt, belied by the pallid
anger of their set countenances, to appear unconscious of the storm of
popular feeling breaking around them, which they now doggedly perceived
might be but a forecast of the joyful enthusiasm which on that day, and
on the morrow, would spread from one end of the Land to the other.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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