June 20, 1867 WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE Whereas several commanders of military districts created by the acts of Congress known as the reconstruction acts have expressed doubts as to the proper construction thereof and in respect to some of their powers and duties under said acts, and have applied to the Executive for information in relation thereto; and Whereas the said acts of Congress have been referred to the Attorney-General for his opinion thereon, and the said acts and the opinion of the Attorney-General have been fully and carefully considered by the President in conference with the heads of the respective Departments: The President accepts the following as a practical interpretation of the aforesaid acts of Congress on the points therein presented, and directs the same to be transmitted to the respective military commanders for their information, in order that there may be uniformity in the execution of said acts: 1. The oath prescribed in the supplemental act defines all the qualifications required, and every person who can take that oath is entitled to have his name entered upon the list of voters. 2. The board of registration have no authority to administer any other oath to the person applying for registration than this prescribed oath, nor to administer an oath to any other person touching the qualifications of the applicant or the falsity of the oath so taken by him. The act, to guard against falsity in the oath, provides that if false the person taking it shall be tried and punished for perjury. No provision is made for challenging the qualifications of the applicant or entering upon any trial or investigation of his qualifications, either by witnesses or any other form of proof. 3. As to citizenship and residence: The applicant for registration must be a citizen of the State and of the United States, and must be a resident of a county or parish included in the election district. He may be registered if he has been such citizen for a period less than twelve months at the time he applies for registration, but he can not vote at any election unless his citizenship has then extended to the full term of one year. As to such a person, the exact length of his citizenship should be noted opposite his name on the list, so that it may appear on the day of election, upon reference to the list, whether the full term has then been accomplished. 4. An unnaturalized person can not take this oath, but an alien who has been naturalized can take it, and no other proof of naturalization can be required from him. 5. No one who is not 21 years of age at the time of registration can take the oath, for he must swear that he has then attained that age. 6. No one who has been disfranchised for participation in any rebellion against the United States or for felony committed against the laws of any State or of the United States can take this oath. The actual participation in a rebellion or the actual commission of a felony does not amount to disfranchisement. The sort of disfranchisement here meant is that which is declared by law passed by competent authority, or which has been fixed upon the criminal by the sentence of the court which tried him for the crime. No law of the United States has declared the penalty of disfranchisement for participation in rebellion alone; nor is it known that any such law exists in either of these ten States, except, perhaps, Virginia, as to which State special instructions will be given. 7. As to disfranchisement arising from having held office followed by participation in rebellion: This is the most important part of the oath, and requires strict attention to arrive at its meaning. The applicant must swear or affirm as follows: That I have never been a member of any State legislature, nor held any executive or judicial office in any State, and afterwards engaged in an insurrection or rebellion against the United States or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof; that I have never taken an oath as a member of Congress of the United States, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or Judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, and afterwards engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. Two elements must concur in order to disqualify a person under these clauses: First, the office and official oath to support the Constitution of the United States; second, engaging afterwards in rebellion. Both must exist to work disqualification, and must happen in the order of time mentioned. A person who has held an office and taken the oath to support the Federal Constitution and has not afterwards engaged in rebellion is not disqualified. So, too, a person who has engaged in rebellion, but has not theretofore held an office and taken that oath, is not disqualified. 8. Officers of the United States: As to these the language is without limitation. The person who has at any time prior to the rebellion held an office, civil or military, under the United States, and has taken an official oath to support the Constitution of the United States, is subject to disqualification. 9. Militia officers of any State prior to the rebellion are not subject to disqualification. 10. Municipal officers --that is to say, officers of incorporated cities, towns, and villages, such as mayors, aldermen, town council, police, and other city or town officers--are not subject to disqualification. 11. Persons who have prior to the rebellion been members of the Congress of the United States or members of a State legislature are subject to disqualification, but those who have been members of conventions framing or amending the Constitution of a State prior to the rebellion are not subject to disqualification. 12. All the executive or judicial officers of any State who took an oath to support the Constitution of the United States are subject to disqualification, including county officers. They are subject to disqualification if they were required to take as a part of their official oath the oath to support the Constitution of the United States. 13. Persons who exercised mere employment under State authority are not disqualified; such as commissioners to lay out roads, commissioners of public works, visitors of State institutions, directors of State institutions, examiners of banks, notaries public, and commissioners to take acknowledgments of deeds. ENGAGING IN REBELLION. Having specified what offices held by anyone prior to the rebellion come within the meaning of the law, it is necessary next to set forth what subsequent conduct fixes upon such person the offense of engaging in rebellion. Two things must exist as to any person to disqualify him from voting: First, the office held prior to the rebellion, and, afterwards, participation in the rebellion. 14. An act to fix upon a person the offense of engaging in the rebellion under this law must be an overt and voluntary act, done with the intent of aiding or furthering the common unlawful purpose. A person forced into the rebel service by conscription or under a paramount authority which he could not safely disobey, and who would not have entered such service if left to the free exercise of his own will, can not be held to be disqualified from voting. 15. Mere acts of charity, where the intent is to relieve the wants of the object of such charity, and not done in aid of the cause in which he may have been engaged, do not disqualify; but organized contributions of food and clothing for the general relief of persons engaged in the rebellion, and not of a merely sanitary character, but contributed to enable them to perform their unlawful object, may be classed with acts which do disqualify. Forced contributions to the rebel cause in the form of taxes or military assessments, which a person was compelled to pay or contribute, do not disqualify; but voluntary contributions to the rebel cause. even such indirect contributions as arise from the voluntary loan of money to rebel authorities or purchase of bonds or securities created to afford the means of carrying on the rebellion, will work disqualification. 16. All those who in legislative or other official capacity were engaged in the furtherance of the common unlawful purpose, where the duties of the office necessarily had relation to the support of the rebellion, such as members of the rebel conventions, congresses, and legislatures, diplomatic agents of the rebel Confederacy, and other officials whose offices were created for the purpose of more effectually carrying on hostilities or whose duties appertained to the support of the rebel cause, must be held to be disqualified. But officers who during the rebellion discharged official duties not incident to war, but only such duties as belong even to a state of peace and were necessary to the preservation of order and the administration of law, are not to be considered as thereby engaging in rebellion or as disqualified. Disloyal sentiments, opinions, or sympathies would not disqualify, but where a person has by speech or by writing incited others to engage in rebellion he must come under the disqualification. 17. The duties of the board appointed to superintend the elections: This board, having the custody of the list of registered voters in the district for which it is constituted, must see that the name of the person offering to vote is found upon the registration list, and if such proves to be the fact it is the duty of the board to receive his vote if then qualified by residence. They can not receive the vote of any person whose name is not upon the list, though he may be ready to take the registration oath, and although he may satisfy them that he was unable to have his name registered at the proper time, in consequence of absence, sickness, or other cause. The board can not enter into any inquiry as to the qualifications of any person whose name is not on the registration list, or as to the qualifications of any person whose name is on the list. 18. The mode of voting is provided in the act to be by ballot. The board will keep a record and poll book of the election, showing the votes, list of voters, and the persons elected by a plurality of the votes cast at the election, and make returns of these to the commanding general of the district. 19. The board appointed for registration and for superintending the elections must take the oath prescribed by the act of Congress approved July 2, 1862, entitled "An act to prescribe an oath of office." By order of the President: E.D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant-General. Source: https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/june-20-1867-message-clarifying-reconstruction-acts

March 01, 1867 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Whereas the Congress of the United States did by an act approved on the 19th day of April, 1864, authorize the people of the Territory of Nebraska to form a constitution and State government and for the admission of such State into the Union on an equal footing with the original States upon certain conditions in said act specified; and Whereas said people did adopt a constitution conforming to the provisions and conditions of said act and ask admission into the Union; and Whereas the Congress of the United States did on the 8th and 9th days of February, 1867, in mode prescribed by the Constitution, pass a further act for the admission of the State of Nebraska into the Union, in which last-named act it was provided that it should not take effect except upon the fundamental condition that within the State of Nebraska there should be no denial of the elective franchise or of any other right to any person by reason of race or color, excepting Indians not taxed, and upon the further fundamental condition that the legislature of said State, by a solemn public act, should declare the assent of said State to the said fundamental condition and should transmit to the President of the United States an authenticated copy of said act of the legislature of said State, upon receipt whereof the President, by proclamation, should forthwith announce the fact, whereupon said fundamental condition should be held as a part of the organic law of the State, and thereupon, and without any further proceeding on the part of Congress, the admission of said State into the Union should be considered as complete; and Whereas within the time prescribed by said act of Congress of the 8th and 9th of February, 1867, the legislature of the State of Nebraska did pass an act ratifying the said act of Congress of the 8th and 9th of February, 1867, and declaring that the aforenamed provisions of the third section of said last-named act of Congress should be a part of the organic law of the State of Nebraska; and Whereas a duly authenticated copy of said act of the legislature of the State of Nebraska has been received by me: Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States of America, do, in accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress last herein named, declare and proclaim the fact that the fundamental conditions imposed by Congress on the State of Nebraska to entitle that State to admission to the Union have been ratified and accepted and that the admission of the said State into the Union is now complete. In testimony whereof I have hereto set my hand and have caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington, this 1st day of March, A.D. 1867, and of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-first. ANDREW JOHNSON. By the President: WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State. Source: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/proclamation-164-admission-nebraska-into-the-union

Given on January 3rd, 1867 Mr. Speaker, I am very anxious that this bill should be proceeded with until finally acted upon.  I desire that as early as possible, without curtailing debate, this House shall come to some conclusion as to what shall be done with the rebel States.  This becomes more and more necessary every day; and the late decision of the Supreme Court of the United States has rendered immediate action by Congress upon the question of the establishment of governments in the rebel States absolutely indispensable. That decision, although in terms perhaps not as infamous as the Dred Scott decision, is yet far more dangerous in its operation upon the lives and liberties of the loyal men of this country. That decision has taken away every protection in everyone of these rebel States from every loyal man, black or white, who resides there. That decision has unsheathed the dagger of the assassin and places the knife of the rebel at the throat of every man who dares proclaim himself to be now, or to have been heretofore, a loyal Union man. If the doctrine enunciated in that decision be true, never were the people of any country anywhere, or at any time, in such terrible peril as are our loyal brethren at the South, whether they be black or white, whether they go there from the North or are natives of the rebel States. Now, Mr. Speaker, unless Congress proceeds at once to do something to protect these people from the barbarians who are now daily murdering them; who are murdering the loyal whites daily and daily putting into secret graves not only hundreds but thousands of the colored people of that country; unless Congress proceeds at once to adopt some means for their protection, I ask you and every man who loves liberty whether we will not be liable to the just censure of the world for our negligence or our cowardice or our want of ability to do so? Now, sir, it is for these reasons that I insist on the passage of some such measure as this. This is a bill designed to enable loyal men, so far as I could discriminate them in these States, to form governments which shall be in loyal hands, that they may protect themselves from such outrages as I have mentioned. In States that have never been restored since the rebellion from a state of conquest, and which are this day held in captivity under the laws of war, the military authorities, under this decision and its extension into disloyal States, dare not order the commanders of departments to enforce the laws of the country. One of the most atrocious murderers that has ever been let loose upon any community has lately been liberated under this very decision, because the Government extended it, perhaps according to the proper construction, to the conquered States as well as to the loyal States. A gentleman from Richmond, who had personal knowledge of the facts, told me the circumstances of the murder. A colored man, driving the family of his employer, drove his wagon against a wagon containing Watson and his family. The wagon of Watson was broken. The next day Watson went to the employer of the colored man and complained. The employer offered to pay Watson every dollar that he might assess for the damage that had been done. “No” said he , “I claim the right to chastise the scoundrel.” He followed the colored man, took out his revolver, and deliberately shot him dead in the presence of that community. No civil authority would prosecute him; and, when taken into custody by the military authority, he is discharged by order of the President under this most injurious and iniquitous decision. Now, sir, if that decision be the law, then it becomes the more necessary that we should proceed to take care that such a construction as that shall not open the door to greater injuries than have already been sustained. Thus much I have said at the outset of my remarks, which shall not be very long. The people have once more nobly done their duty. May I ask, without offense, will Congress have the courage to do its duty? Or will it be deterred by the clamor of ignorance, bigotry, and despotism from perfecting a revolution begun without their consent, but which ought not to be ended without their full participation and concurrence? Possibly the people would not have inaugurated this revolution to correct the palpable incongruities and despotic provisions of the Constitution; but having it forced upon them, will they be so unwise as to suffer it to subside without erecting this nation into a perfect Republic? Since the surrender of the armies of the confederate States of America a little has been done toward establishing this Government upon the true principles of liberty and justice; and but a little if we stop here. We have broken the material shackles of four million slaves. We have unchained them from the stake so as to allow them locomotion, provided they do not walk in paths which are trod by white men. We have allowed them the unwonted privilege of attending church, if they can do so without offending the sight of their former masters. We have even given them that highest and most agreeable evidence of liberty as defined by the “great plebeian” the “right to work.” But in what have we enlarged their liberty of thought? In what have we taught them the science and granted them the privilege of self-government? We have imposed upon them the privilege of fighting our battles, of dying in defense of freedom, and of bearing their equal portion of taxes; but where have we given them the privilege of ever participating in the formation of the laws for the government of their native land? By what civil weapon have we enabled them to defend themselves against oppression and injustice? Call you this liberty? Call you this a free Republic where four millions are subjects but not citizens? Then Persia, with her kings and satraps, was free; then Turkey is free! Their subjects had liberty of motion and of labor, but the laws were made without and against their will; but I must declare that, in my judgment, they were as really free governments as ours is to-day. I know they had fewer rulers and more subjects, but those rulers were no more despotic than ours, and their subjects had just as large privileges in governing the country as ours have. Think not I would slander my native land; I would reform it. Twenty years ago I denounced it as a despotism. Then, twenty million white men enchained four million black men. I pronounce it no nearer to a true Republic now when twenty-five million of a privileged class exclude five million from all participation in the rights of government. The freedom of a Government does not depend upon the quality of its laws, but upon the power that has the right to enact them. During the dictatorship of Pericles his laws were just, but Greece was not free. During the last century Russia has been blessed with most remarkable emperors, who have generally decreed wise and just laws, but Russia is not free. No Government can be free that does not allow all its citizens to participate in the formation and execution of her laws. There are degrees of tyranny. But every other government is a despotism. It has always been observed that the larger the number of the rulers the more cruel the treatment of the subject races. It were better for the black man if he were governed by one king than by twenty million. What are the great questions which now divide the nation? In the midst of the political Babel which has been produced by the intermingling of secessionists, rebels, pardoned traitors, hissing Copperheads, and apostate Republicans, such a confusion of tongues is heard that it is difficult to understand either the questions that are asked or the answers that are given. Ask, what is the “President’s policy?” and it is difficult to define it. Ask, what is the “policy of Congress?” and the answer is not always at hand. A few moments may be profitably spent in seeking the meaning of each of these terms. Nearly six years ago a bloody war arose between different sections of the United States. Eleven States, possessing a very large extent of territory, and ten or twelve million people, aimed to sever their connection with the Union, and to form an independent empire, founded on the avowed principle of human slavery and excluding every free State from this confederacy. They did not claim to raise an insurrection to reform the Government of the country -a rebellion against the laws-but they asserted their entire independence of that Government and of all obligations to its laws. They were satisfied that the United States should maintain its old Constitution and laws. They formed an entirely new constitution; a new and distinct government, called the “confederate States of America.” They passed their own laws, without regard to any former national connection. Their government became perfectly organized, both in its civil and military departments. Within the broad limits of those eleven States the “confederate States” had as perfect and absolute control as the United States had over the other twenty-five. The” confederate States” refused to negotiate with the United States, except upon the basis of independence of perfect national equality. The two powers mutually prepared to settle the question by arms. They each raised more than half a million armed men. The war was acknowledged by other nations as a public war between independent belligerents. The parties acknowledged each other as such, and claimed to be governed by the law of nations and the laws of war in their treatment of each other. On the result of the war depended the fate and ulterior condition of the contending parties. No one then pretended that the eleven States had any rights under the Constitution of the United States, or any right to interfere in the legislation of the country. Whether they should ever have all men of both sections, without exception, agreed would depend on the will of Congress, if the United States were victorious. The confederate States claimed no rights unless they could conquer them by the contest of arms. President Lincoln, Vice President Johnson, and both branches of Congress repeatedly declared that the belligerent States could never again intermeddle with the affairs of the Union, or claim any right as members of the United States Government until the legislative power of the Government should declare them entitled thereto. Of course the rebels claimed no such rights; for whether their States were out of the Union as they declared, or were disorganized and “out of their proper relations” to the Government, as some subtle metaphysicians contend, their rights under the Constitution had all been renounced and abjured under oath, and could not be resumed on their own mere motion. How far their liabilities remained there was more difference of opinion. The Federal arms triumphed. The confederate armies and government surrendered unconditionally. The law of nations then fixed their condition. They were subject to the controlling power of the conquerors. No former laws, no former compacts or treaties existed to bind the belligerents. They had all been melted and consumed in the fierce fires of the terrible war. The United States, according to the usage of nations, appointed military provisional governors to regulate their municipal institutions until the law-making power of the conqueror should fix their condition and the law by which they should be permanently governed. True, some of those governors were illegally appointed, being civilians. No one then supposed that those States had any governments, except such as they had formed under their rebel organization. No sane man believed that they had any organic or municipal laws which the United States were bound to respect. Whoever had then asserted that those States had remained unfractured, and entitled to all the rights and privileges which they enjoyed before the rebellion, and were on a level with their loyal conquerors, would have been deemed a fool, and would have been found insane by any inquisition “de lunatico inquirendo.” In monarchical Governments, where the sovereign power rests in the Crown, the king would have fixed the condition of the conquered provinces. He might have extended the laws of his empire over them, allowed them to retain portions of their old institutions, or, by conditions of peace, have fixed upon them new and exceptional laws. In this country the whole sovereignty rests with the people, and is exercised through their Representatives in Congress assembled. The legislative power is the sole guardian of that sovereignty. No other branch of the Government, no other Department, no other officer of the Government, possesses one single particle of the sovereignty of the nation. No Government official, from the President and Chief Justice down, can do anyone act which is not prescribed and directed by the legislative power. Suppose the Government were now to be organized for the first time under the Constitution, and the President had been elected and the judiciary appointed: what could either do until Congress passed laws to regulate their proceedings? What power would the President have over anyone subject of government until Congress had legislated on that subject? No State could order the election of members until Congress had ordered a census and made an apportionment. Any exception to this rule has been a work of grace in Congress by passing healing acts. The President could not even create bureaus or Departments to facilitate his executive operations. He must ask leave of Congress. Since, then, the President cannot enact, alter, or modify a single law; cannot even create a petty office within his own sphere of duties; if, in short, he is the mere servant of the people, who issue their commands to him through Congress, whence does he derive the constitutional power to create new States; to remodel old ones; to dictate organic laws; to fix the qualification of voters; to declare that States are republican and entitled to command Congress to admit their Representatives? To my mind it is either the most ignorant and shallow mistake of his duties, or the most brazen and impudent usurpation of power. It is claimed for him by some as the Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy. How absurd that a mere executive officer should claim creative powers! Though Commander- in-Chief by the Constitution, he would have nothing to command, either by land or water, until Congress raised both Army and Navy. Congress also prescribes the rules and regulations to govern the Army. Even that is not left to the Commander-in-Chief. 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. There is not one word in the Constitution that gives one particle of anything but judicial and executive power to any other department of Government but Congress. The veto power is no exception; it is merely a power to compel a reconsideration. What can be plainer? “All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States. Such shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.”Constitution United States, art.I, sec. I. To reconstruct the nation, to admit new States, to guaranty 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 those 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 are defined. To be sure many subordinate items of the policy of each may be easily sketched. The President is for exonerating the conquered rebels from all the expense and damages of the war, and for compelling the loyal citizens to pay the whole debt caused by the rebellion. He insists that those of our people who were plundered and their property burned or destroyed by rebel raiders shall not be indemnified, but shall bear their own loss, while the rebels shall retain their own property, most of which was declared forfeited by the Congress of the United States. He desires that the traitors (having sternly executed that most important leader, Rickety Weirze,7 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 base 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 vote of three freemen in Pennsylvania or New York. He is determined to force a solid rebel delegation into Congress from the South, and, together with Northern Copperheads, could at once control Congress and elect all future Presidents. In opposition to these things, a portion of Congress seems to desire that the conquered belligerent shall, according to the law of nations, pay at least a part of the expenses and damages of the war; and that especially the loyal people who were plundered and impoverished by rebel raiders shall be fully indemnified. A majority of Congress desires that treason shall be made odious, not by bloody executions, but by other adequate punishments. Congress refuses to treat the States created by him as of any validity, and denies that the old rebel States have any existence which gives them any rights under the Constitution. Congress insists on changing the basis of representation so as to put white voters on an equality in both sections, and that such change shall precede the admission of any State. I deny that there is any understanding, expressed or implied, that upon the adoption of the amendment by any State, that such State may be admitted, (before the amendment becomes part of the Constitution.? Such a course would soon surrender the Government into the hands of rebels. Such a course would be senseless, inconsistent, and illogical. Congress denies that any State lately in rebellion has any government or constitution known to the Constitution of the United States , or which can be recognized as part of the Union. How, then, can such a State adopt the amendment? To allow it would be yielding the whole question and admitting the unimpaired rights of the seceded States. I know of no Republican who does not ridicule what Mr. Seward thought a cunning movement, in counting Virginia and other outlawed States among those which had adopted the constitutional amendment abolishing slavery. It is to be regretted that inconsiderate and incautious Republicans should ever have supposed that the slight amendments already proposed to the Constitution, even when incorporated into that instrument, would satisfy the reforms necessary for the security of the Government. Unless the rebel States, before admission, should be made republican in spirit, and placed under the guardianship of loyal men, all. our blood and treasure will have been spent in vain. I waive now the question of punishment which, if we are wise, will still be inflicted by moderate confiscations, both as a reproof and example. Having these States, as we all agree, entirely within the power of Congress, it is our duty to take care that no injustice shall remain in their organic laws. Holding them “like clay in the hands of the potter,” we must see that no vessel is made for destruction. Having now no governments, they must have enabling acts. The law of last session with regard to Territories settled the principles of such acts. Impartial suffrage, both in electing the delegates and ratifying their proceedings, is now the fixed rule. There is more reason why colored voters should be admitted in the rebel States than in the Territories. In the States they form the great mass of the loyal men. Possibly with their aid loyal governments may be established in most of those States. Without it all are sure to be ruled by traitors; and loyal men, black and white, will be oppressed, exiled, or murdered. There are several good reasons for the passage of this bill. In the first place, it is just. I am now confining my arguments to negro suffrage in the rebel States. Have not loyal blacks quite as good a right to choose rulers and make laws as rebel whites? In the second place, it is a necessity in order to protect the loyal white men in the seceded States. The white Union men are in a great minority in each of those States. With them the blacks would act in a body; and it is believed that in each of said States, except one, the two united would form a majority, control the States, and protect themselves. Now they are the victims of daily murder. They must suffer constant persecution or be exiled. The convention of southern loyalists, lately held in  Philadelphia, almost unanimously agreed to such a bill as an absolute necessity. Another good reason is, it would insure the ascendancy of the Union party. Do you avow the party purpose? exclaims some horror-stricken demagogue. I do. For I believe, on my conscience, that on the continued ascendancy of that party depends the safety of this great nation. If impartial suffrage is excluded in the rebel States then everyone of them is sure to send a solid rebel representative delegation to Congress, and cast a solid rebel electoral vote. They, with their kindred Copperheads of the North, would always elect the President and control Congress. While slavery sat upon her defiant throne, and insulted and intimidated the trembling North, the South frequently divided on questions of policy between Whigs and Democrats, and gave victory alternately to the sections. Now, you must divide them between loyalists, without regard to color, and disloyalists, or you will be the perpetual vassals of the free trade, irritated, revengeful South. For these, among other reasons, I am for negro suffrage in every rebel State. If it be just, it should not be denied; if it be necessary, it should be adopted; if it be a punishment to traitors, they deserve it. But it will be said, as it has been said, “This is negro equality!” What is negro equality, about which so much is said by knaves, and some of which is believed by men who are not fools? It means, as understood by honest Republicans, just this much, and no more: every man, no matter what his race or color; every earthly being who has an immortal soul, has an equal right to justice, honesty, and fair play with every other man; and the law should secure him these rights. The same law which condemns or acquits an African should condemn or acquit a white man. The same law which gives a verdict in a White man’s favor should give a verdict in a black man’s favor on the same state of facts. Such is the law of God and such ought to be the law of man. This doctrine does not mean that a negro shall sit on the same seat or eat at the same table with a white man. That is a matter of taste which every man must decide for himself. The law has nothing to do with it. If there be any who are afraid of the rivalry of the black man in office or in business, I have only to advise them to try and beat their competitor in knowledge and business capacity, and there is no danger that his white neighbors will prefer his African rival to himself. I know there is between those who are influenced by this cry of “negro equality” and the opinion that there is still danger that the negro will be the smartest, for I never saw even a contraband slave that had not more sense than such men. There are those who admit the justice and ultimate utility of granting impartial suffrage to all men, but they think it is impolitic. An ancient philosopher, whose antagonist admitted that what he required was just but deemed it impolitic, asked him: “Do you believe in Hades?” I would say to those above referred to, who admit the justice of human equality before the law but doubt its policy: “Do you believe in heIl?” How do you answer the principle inscribed in Our political scripture, “That to secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed?” Without such consent government is a tyranny, and you exercising it are tyrants. Of course, this does not admit malefactors to power, or there would soon be no penal laws and society would become an anarchy. But this step forward is an assault upon ignorance and prejudice, and timid men shrink from it. Are such men fit to sit in the places of statesmen? There are periods in the history of nations when statesmen can make themselves names for posterity; but such occasions are never improved by cowards. In the acquisition of true fame courage is just as necessary in the civilian as in the military hero. In the Reformation there were men engaged as able and perhaps more learned than Martin Luther. Melancthon and others were ripe scholars and sincere reformers, but none of them had his courage. He alone was willing to go where duty called though” devils were as thick as the tiles on the houses.” And Luther is the great luminary of the Reformation, around whom the others revolve as satellites and shine by his light. We may not aspire to fame. But great events fix the eye of history on small objects and magnify their meanness. Let us at least escape that condition. Source: https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/1867-thaddeus-stevens-reconstruction/

Johnson’s Second Annual Message December 03, 1866 Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives: After a brief interval the Congress of the United States resumes its annual legislative labors. An all-wise and merciful Providence has abated the pestilence which visited our shores, leaving its calamitous traces upon some portions of our country. Peace, order, tranquillity, and civil authority have been formally declared to exist throughout the whole of the United States. In all of the States civil authority has superseded the coercion of arms, and the people, by their voluntary action, are maintaining their governments in full activity and complete operation. The enforcement of the laws is no longer "obstructed in any State by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings," and the animosities engendered by the war are rapidly yielding to the beneficent influences of our free institutions and to the kindly effects of unrestricted social and commercial intercourse. An entire restoration of fraternal feeling must be the earnest wish of every patriotic heart; and we will have accomplished our grandest national achievement when, forgetting the sad events of the past and remembering only their instructive lessons, we resume our onward career as a free, prosperous, and united people. In my message of the 4th of December, 1865, Congress was informed of the measures which had been instituted by the Executive with a view to the gradual restoration of the States in which the insurrection occurred to their relations with the General Government. Provisional governors had been appointed, conventions called, governors elected, legislatures assembled, and Senators and Representatives chosen to the Congress of the United States. Courts had been opened for the enforcement of laws long in abeyance. The blockade had been removed, custom-houses reestablished, and the internal-revenue laws put in force, in order that the people might contribute to the national income. Postal operations had been renewed, and efforts were being made to restore them to their former condition of efficiency. The States themselves had been asked to take Dart in the high function of amending the Constitution, and of thus sanctioning the extinction of African slavery as one of the legitimate results of our internecine struggle. Having progressed thus far, the executive department found that it had accomplished nearly all that was within the scope of its constitutional authority. One thing, however, yet remained to be done before the work of restoration could be completed, and that was the admission to Congress of loyal Senators and Representatives from the States whose people had rebelled against the lawful authority of the General Government. This question devolved upon the respective Houses, which by the Constitution are made the judges of the elections, returns, and qualifications of their own members, and its consideration at once engaged the attention of Congress. In the meantime the executive department--no other plan having been proposed by Congress--continued its efforts to perfect, as far as was practicable, the restoration of the proper relations between the citizens of the respective States, the States, and the Federal Government, extending from time to time, as the public interests seemed to require, the judicial, revenue, and postal systems of the country. With the advice and consent of the Senate, the necessary officers were appointed and appropriations made by Congress for the payment of their salaries. The proposition to amend the Federal Constitution, so as to prevent the existence of slavery within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction, was ratified by the requisite number of States, and on the 18th day of December, 1865, it was officially declared to have become valid as a part of the Constitution of the United States. All of the States in which the insurrection had existed promptly amended their constitutions so as to make them conform to the great change thus effected in the organic law of the land; declared null and void all ordinances and laws of secession; repudiated all pretended debts and obligations created for the revolutionary purposes of the insurrection, and proceeded in good faith to the enactment of measures for the protection and amelioration of the condition of the colored race. Congress, however, yet hesitated to admit any of these States to representation, and it was not until toward the close of the eighth month of the session that an exception was made in favor of Tennessee by the admission of her Senators and Representatives. I deem it a subject of profound regret that Congress has thus far failed to admit to seats loyal Senators and Representatives from the other States whose inhabitants, with those of Tennessee, had engaged in the rebellion. Ten States--more than one-fourth of the whole number--remain without representation; the seats of fifty members in the House of Representatives and of twenty members in the Senate are yet vacant, not by their own consent, not by a failure of election, but by the refusal of Congress to accept their credentials. Their admission, it is believed, would have accomplished much toward the renewal and strengthening of our relations as one people and removed serious cause for discontent on the part of the inhabitants of those States. It would have accorded with the great principle enunciated in the Declaration of American Independence that no people ought to bear the burden of taxation and yet be denied the right of representation. It would have been in consonance with the express provisions of the Constitution that "each State shall have at least one Representative" and "that no State, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate." These provisions were intended to secure to every State and to the people of every State the right of representation in each House of Congress; and so important was it deemed by the framers of the Constitution that the equality of the States in the Senate should be preserved that not even by an amendment of the Constitution can any State, without its consent, be denied a voice in that branch of the National Legislature. It is true it has been assumed that the existence of the States was terminated by the rebellious acts of their inhabitants, and that, the insurrection having been suppressed, they were thenceforward to be considered merely as conquered territories. The legislative, executive, and judicial departments of the Government have, however, with Heat distinctness and uniform consistency, refused to sanction an assumption so incompatible with the nature of our republican system and with the professed objects of the war. Throughout the recent legislation of Congress the undeniable fact makes itself apparent that these ten political communities are nothing less than States of this Union. At the very commencement of the rebellion each House declared, with a unanimity as remarkable as it was significant, that the war was not "waged upon our part in any spirit of oppression, nor for any purpose of conquest or subjugation, nor purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established institutions of those States, but to defend and maintain the supremacy of the Constitution and all laws made in pursuance thereof, and to preserve the Union, with all the dignity, equality, and rights of the several States unimpaired; and that as soon as these objects" were "accomplished the war ought to cease." In some instances Senators were permitted to continue their legislative functions, while in other instances Representatives were elected and admitted to seats after their States had formally declared their right to withdraw from the Union and were endeavoring to maintain that right by force of arms. All of the States whose people were in insurrection, as States, were included in the apportionment of the direct tax of $20,000,000 annually laid upon the United States by the act approved 5th August, 1861. Congress, by the act of March 4, 1862, and by the apportionment of representation thereunder also recognized their presence as States in the Union; and they have, for judicial purposes, been divided into districts, as States alone can be divided. The same recognition appears in the recent legislation in reference to Tennessee, which evidently rests upon the fact that the functions of the State were not destroyed by the rebellion, but merely suspended; and that principle is of course applicable to those States which, like Tennessee, attempted to renounce their places in the Union. The action of the executive department of the Government upon this subject has been equally definite and uniform, and the purpose of the war was specifically stated in the proclamation issued by my predecessor on the 22d day of September, 1862. It was then solemnly proclaimed and declared "that hereafter, as heretofore, the war will be prosecuted for the object of practically restoring the constitutional relation between the United States and each of the States and the people thereof in which States that relation is or may be suspended or disturbed." The recognition of the States by the judicial department of the Government has also been dear and conclusive in all proceedings affecting them as States had in the Supreme, circuit, and district courts. In the admission of Senators and Representatives from any and all of the States there can be no just ground of apprehension that persons who are disloyal will be clothed with the powers of legislation, for this could not happen when the Constitution and the laws are enforced by a vigilant and faithful Congress. Each House is made the "judge of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its own members," and may, "with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member." When a Senator or Representative presents his certificate of election, he may at once be admitted or rejected; or, should there be any question as to his eligibility, his credentials may be referred for investigation to the appropriate committee. If admitted to a seat, it must be upon evidence satisfactory to the House of which he thus becomes a member that he possesses the requisite constitutional and legal qualifications. If refused admission as a member for want of due allegiance to the Government and returned to his constituents, they are admonished that none but persons loyal to the United States will be allowed a voice in the legislative councils of the nation, and the political power and moral influence of Congress are thus effectively exerted in the interests of loyalty to the Government and fidelity to the Union. Upon this question, so vitally affecting the restoration of the Union and the permanency of our present form of government, my convictions, heretofore expressed, have undergone no change, but, on the contrary, their correctness has been confirmed by reflection and time. If the admission of loyal members to seats in the respective Houses of Congress was wise and expedient a year ago, it is no less wise and expedient now. If this anomalous condition is right now--if in the exact condition of these States at the present time it is lawful to exclude them from representation--I do not see that the question will be changed by the efflux of time. Ten years hence. if these States remain as they are, the right of representation will be no stronger, the right of exclusion will be no weaker. The Constitution of the United States makes it the duty of the President to recommend to the consideration of Congress "such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." I know of no measure more imperatively demanded by every consideration of national interest, sound policy, and equal justice than the admission of loyal members from the now unrepresented States. This would consummate the work of restoration and exert a most salutary influence in the reestablishment of peace, harmony, and fraternal feeling. It would tend greatly to renew the confidence of the American people in the vigor and stability of their institutions. It would bind us more closely together as a nation and enable us to show to the world the inherent and recuperative power of a government founded upon the will of the people and established upon the principles of liberty, justice, and intelligence. Our increased strength and enhanced prosperity would irrefragably demonstrate the fallacy of the arguments against free institutions drawn from our recent national disorders by the enemies of republican government. The admission of loyal members from the States now excluded from Congress, by allaying doubt and apprehension, would turn capital now awaiting an opportunity for investment into the channels of trade and industry. It would alleviate the present troubled condition of those States, and by inducing emigration aid in the settlement of fertile regions now uncultivated and lead to an increased production of those staples which have added so greatly to the wealth of the nation and commerce of the world. New fields of enterprise would be opened to our progressive people and soon the devastations of war would be repaired and all traces of our domestic differences effaced from the minds of our countrymen. In our efforts to preserve "the unity of government which constitutes as one people" by restoring the States to the condition which they held prior to the rebellion, we should be cautious, lest, having rescued our nation from perils of threatened disintegration, we resort to consolidation, and in the end absolute despotism, as a remedy for the recurrence of similar troubles. The war having terminated, and with it all occasion for the exercise of powers of doubtful constitutionality, we should hasten to bring legislation within the boundaries prescribed by the Constitution and to return to the ancient landmarks established by our fathers for the guidance of succeeding generations. The constitution which at any time exists till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people is sacredly obligatory upon all. If in the opinion of the people the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates; but let there be no change by usurpation, for it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed. Washington spoke these words to his countrymen when, followed by their love and gratitude, he voluntarily retired from the cares of public life. "To keep in all things within the pale of our constitutional powers and cherish the Federal Union as the only rock of safety" were prescribed by Jefferson as rules of action to endear to his "countrymen the true principles of their Constitution and promote a union of sentiment and action, equally auspicious to their happiness and safety." Jackson held that the action of the General Government should always be strictly confined to the sphere of its appropriate duties, and justly and forcibly urged that our Government is not to be maintained nor our Union preserved "by invasions of the rights and powers of the several States. In thus attempting to make our General Government strong we make it weak. Its true strength consists in leaving individuals and States as much as possible to themselves; in making itself felt, not in its power, but in its beneficence; not in its control, but in its protection; not in binding the States more closely to the center, but leaving each to move unobstructed in its proper constitutional orbit." These are the teachings of men whose deeds and services have made them illustrious, and who, long since withdrawn from the scenes of life, have left to their country the rich legacy of their example, their wisdom, and their patriotism. Drawing fresh inspiration from their lessons, let us emulate them in love of country and respect for the Constitution and the laws. The report of the Secretary of the Treasury affords much information respecting the revenue and commerce of the country. His views upon the currency and with reference to a proper adjustment of our revenue system, internal as well as impost, are commended to the careful consideration of Congress. In my last annual message I expressed my general views upon these subjects. I need now only call attention to the necessity of carrying into every department of the Government a system of rigid accountability, thorough retrenchment, and wise economy. With no exceptional nor unusual expenditures, the oppressive burdens of taxation can be lessened by such a modification of our revenue laws as will be consistent with the public faith and the legitimate and necessary wants of the Government. The report presents a much more satisfactory condition of our finances than one year ago the most sanguine could have anticipated. During the fiscal year ending the 30th June, 1865 (the last year of the war), the public debt was increased $941,902,537, and on the 31st of October, 1865, it amounted to $2,740,854,750. On the 31st day of October, 1866, it had been reduced to $2,552,310,006, the diminution during a period of fourteen months, commencing September 1, 1865, and ending October 31, 1866, having been $206,379,565. In the last annual report on the state of the finances it was estimated that during the three quarters of the fiscal year ending the 30th of June last the debt would be increased $112,194,947. During that period, however, it was reduced $31,196,387, the receipts of the year having been $89,905,905 more and the expenditures $200,529,235 less than the estimates. Nothing could more clearly indicate than these statements the extent and availability of the national resources and the rapidity and safety with which under our form of government, great military and naval establishments can be disbanded and expenses reduced from a war to a peace footing. During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1866, the receipts were $558,032,620 and the expenditures $520,750,940, leaving an available surplus of $37,281,680. It is estimated that the receipts for the fiscal year ending the 30th June, 1867, will be $475,061.386, and that the expenditures will reach the sum of $316,428,078, leaving in the Treasury a surplus of $158,633,308. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1886, it is estimated that the receipts will amount to $436,000,000 and that the expenditures will be $350,247,641, showing an excess of $85,752,359 in favor of the Government. These estimated receipts may be diminished by a reduction of excise and import duties, but after all necessary reductions shall have been made the revenue of the present and of following years will doubtless be sufficient to cover all legitimate charges upon the Treasury and leave a large annual surplus to be applied to the payment of the principal of the debt. There seems now to be no good reason why taxes may not be reduced as the country advances in population and wealth, and yet the debt be extinguished within the next quarter of a century. The report of the Secretary of War furnishes valuable and important information in reference to the operations of his Department during the past year. Few volunteers now remain in the service, and they are being discharged as rapidly as they can be replaced by regular troops. The Army has been promptly paid, carefully provided with medical treatment, well sheltered and subsisted, and is to be furnished with breech-loading small arms. The military strength of the nation has been unimpaired by the discharge of volunteers, the disposition of unserviceable or perishable stores, and the retrenchment of expenditure. Sufficient war material to meet any emergency has been retained, and from the disbanded volunteers standing ready to respond to the national call large armies can be rapidly organized, equipped, and concentrated. Fortifications on the coast and frontier have received or are being prepared for more powerful armaments; lake surveys and harbor and river improvements are in course of energetic prosecution. Preparations have been made for the payment of the additional bounties authorized during the recent session of Congress, under such regulations as will protect the Government from fraud and secure to the honorably discharged soldier the well-earned reward of his faithfulness and gallantry. More than 6,000 maimed soldiers have received artificial limbs or other surgical apparatus. and 41 national cemeteries, containing the remains of 104,526 Union soldiers, have already been established. The total estimate of military appropriations is $25,205,669. It is stated in the report of the Secretary of the Navy that the naval force at this time consists of 278 vessels, armed with 2,351 guns. Of these, 115 vessels, carrying 1,029 guns, are in commission, distributed chiefly among seven squadrons. The number of men in the service is 13,600. Great activity and vigilance have been displayed by all the squadrons, and their movements have been judiciously and efficiently arranged in such manner as would best promote American commerce and protect the rights and interests of our countrymen abroad. The vessels unemployed are undergoing repairs or are laid up until their services may be required. Most of the ironclad fleet is at League Island, in the vicinity of Philadelphia, a place which, until decisive action should be taken by Congress, was selected by the Secretary of the Navy as the most eligible location for that class of vessels. It is important that a suitable public station should be provided for the ironclad fleet. It is intended that these vessels shall be in proper condition for any emergency, and it is desirable that the bill accepting League Island for naval purposes, which passed the House of Representatives at its last session, should receive final action at an early period, in order that there may be a suitable public station for this class of vessels, as well as a navy-yard of area sufficient for the wants of the service on the Delaware River. The naval pension fund amounts to $11,750,000, having been increased $2,750,000 during the year. The expenditures of the Department for the fiscal year ending 30th June last were $43,324,526, and the estimates for the coming year amount to $23,568,436. Attention is invited to the condition of our seamen and the importance of legislative measures for their relief and improvement. The suggestions in behalf of this deserving class of our fellow-citizens are earnestly recommended to the favorable attention of Congress. The report of the Postmaster-General presents a most satisfactory condition of the postal service and submits recommendations which deserve the consideration of Congress. The revenues of the Department for the year ending June 30, 1866, were $14,386,986 and the expenditures $15,352,079, showing an excess of the latter of $965,093. In anticipation of this deficiency, however, a special appropriation was made by Congress in the act approved July 28, 1866. Including the standing appropriation of $700,000 for free mail matter as a legitimate portion of the revenues, yet remaining unexpended, the actual deficiency for the past year is only $265,093--a sum within $51,141 of the amount estimated in the annual report of 1864. The decrease of revenue compared with the previous year was 1 1/5 per cent, and the increase of expenditures, owing principally to the enlargement of the mail service in the South, was 12 per cent. On the 30th of June last there were in operation 6,930 mail routes, with an aggregate length of 180,921 miles, an aggregate annual transportation of 71,837,914 miles, and an aggregate annual cost, including all expenditures, of $8,410,184. The length of railroad routes is 32,092 miles and the annual transportation 30,609,467 miles. The length of steamboat routes is 14,346 miles and the annual transportation 3,411,962 miles. The mail servce is rapidly increasing throughout the whole country, and its steady extension in the Southern States indicates their constantly improving condition. The growing importance of the foreign service also merits attention. The post-office department of Great Britain and our own have agreed upon a preliminary basis for a new postal convention, which it is believed will prove eminently beneficial to the commercial interests of the United States, inasmuch as it contemplates a reduction of the international letter postage to one-half the existing rates: a reduction of postage with all other countries to and from which correspondence is transmitted in the British mail, or in closed mails through the United Kingdom; the establishment of uniform and reasonable charges for the sea and territorial transit of correspondence in closed mails; and an allowance to each post-office department of the right to use all mail communications established under the authority of the other for the dispatch of correspondence, either in open or closed mails, on the same terms as those applicable to the inhabitants of the country providing the means of transmission. The report of the Secretary of the Interior exhibits the condition of those branches of the public service which are committed to his supervision. During the last fiscal year 4,629,312 acres of public land were disposed of, 1,892,516 acres of which were entered under the homestead act. The policy originally adopted relative to the public lands has undergone essential modifications. Immediate revenue, and not their rapid settlement, was the cardinal feature of our land system. Long experience and earnest discussion have resulted in the conviction that the early development of our agricultural resources and the diffusion of an energetic population over our vast territory are objects of far greater importance to the national growth and prosperity than the proceeds of the sale of the land to the highest bidder in open market. The preemption laws confer upon the pioneer who complies with the terms they impose the privilege of purchasing a limited portion of "unoffered lands" at the minimum price. The homestead enactments relieve the settler from the payment of purchase money, and secure him a permanent home upon the condition of residence for a term of years. This liberal policy invites emigration from the Old and from the more crowded portions of the New World. Its propitious results are undoubted, and will be more signally manifested when time shall have given to it a wider development. Congress has made liberal grants of public land to corporations in aid of the construction of railroads and other internal improvements. Should this policy hereafter prevail, more stringent provisions will be required to secure a faithful application of the fund. The title to the lands should not pass, by patent or otherwise, but remain in the Government and subject to its control until some portion of the road has been actually built. Portions of them might then from time to time be conveyed to the corporation, but never in a greater ratio to the whole quantity embraced by the grant than the completed parts bear to the entire length of the projected improvement. This restriction would not operate to the prejudice of any undertaking conceived in good faith and executed with reasonable energy, as it is the settled practice to withdraw from market the lands falling within the operation of such grants, and thus to exclude the inception of a subsequent adverse right. A breach of the conditions which Congress may deem proper to impose should work a forfeiture of claim to the lands so withdrawn but unconveyed, and of title to the lands conveyed which remain unsold. Operations on the several lines of the Pacific Railroad have been prosecuted with unexampled vigor and success. Should no unforeseen causes of delay occur, it is confidently anticipated that this great thoroughfare will be completed before the expiration of the period designated by Congress. During the last fiscal year the amount paid to pensioners, including the expenses of disbursement, was $13,459,996, and 50,177 names were added to the pension rolls. The entire number of pensioners June 30, 1866, was 126,722. This fact furnishes melancholy and striking proof of the sacrifices made to vindicate the constitutional authority of the Federal Government and to maintain inviolate the integrity of the Union They impose upon us corresponding obligations. It is estimated that $33,000,000 will be required to meet the exigencies of this branch of the service during the next fiscal year. Treaties have been concluded with the Indians, who, enticed into armed opposition to our Government at the outbreak of the rebellion, have unconditionally submitted to our authority and manifested an earnest desire for a renewal of friendly relations. During the year ending September 30, 1866, 8,716 patents for useful inventions and designs were issued, and at that date the balance in the Treasury to the credit of the patent fund was $228,297. As a subject upon which depends an immense amount of the production and commerce of the country, I recommend to Congress such legislation as may be necessary for the preservation of the levees of the Mississippi River. It is a matter of national importance that early steps should be taken, not only to add to the efficiency of these barriers against destructive inundations, but for the removal of all obstructions to the free and safe navigation of that great channel of trade and commerce. The District of Columbia under existing laws is not entitled to that representation in the national councils which from our earliest history has been uniformly accorded to each Territory established from time to time within our limits. It maintains peculiar relations to Congress, to whom the Constitution has granted the power of exercising exclusive legislation over the seat of Government. Our fellow-citizens residing in the District, whose interests are thus confided to the special guardianship of Congress, exceed in number the population of several of our Territories, and no just reason is perceived why a Delegate of their choice should not be admitted to a seat in the House of Representatives. No mode seems so appropriate and effectual of enabling them to make known their peculiar condition and wants and of securing the local legislation adapted to them. I therefore recommend the passage of a law authorizing the electors of the District of Columbia to choose a Delegate, to be allowed the same rights and privileges as a Delegate representing a Territory. The increasing enterprise and rapid progress of improvement in the District are highly gratifying, and I trust that the efforts of the municipal authorities to promote the prosperity of the national metropolis will receive the efficient and generous cooperation of Congress. The report of the Commissioner of Agriculture reviews the operations of his Department during the past year, and asks the aid of Congress in its efforts to encourage those States which, scourged by war, are now earnestly engaged in the reorganization of domestic industry. It is a subject of congratulation that no foreign combinations against our domestic peace and safety or our legitimate influence among the nations have been formed or attempted. While sentiments of reconciliation, loyalty, and patriotism have increased at home, a more just consideration of our national character and rights has been manifested by foreign nations. The entire success of the Atlantic telegraph between the coast of Ireland and the Province of Newfoundland is an achievement which has been justly celebrated in both hemispheres as the opening of an era in the progress of civilization. There is reason to expect that equal success will attend and even greater results follow the enterprise for connecting the two continents through the Pacific Ocean by the projected line of telegraph between Kamchatka and the Russian possessions in America. The resolution of Congress protesting against pardons by foreign governments of persons convicted of infamous offenses on condition of emigration to our country has been communicated to the states with which we maintain intercourse, and the practice, so justly the subject of complaint on our part, has not been renewed. The congratulations of Congress to the Emperor of Russia upon his escape from attempted assassination have been presented to that humane and enlightened ruler and received by him with expressions of grateful appreciation. The Executive, warned of an attempt by Spanish American adventurers to induce the emigration of freedmen of the United States to a foreign country, protested against the project as one which, if consummated, would reduce them to a bondage even more oppressive than that from which they have just been relieved. Assurance has been received from the Government of the State in which the plan was matured that the proceeding will meet neither its encouragement nor approval. It is a question worthy of your consideration whether our laws upon this subject are adequate to the prevention or punishment of the crime thus meditated. In the month of April last, as Congress is aware, a friendly arrangement was made between the Emperor of France and the President of the United States for the withdrawal from Mexico of the French expeditionary military forces. This withdrawal was to be effected in three detachments, the first of which, it was understood, would leave Mexico in November, now past, the second in March next, and the third and last in November, 1867. Immediately upon the completion of the evacuation the French Government was to assume the same attitude of nonintervention in regard to Mexico as is held by the Government of the United States. Repeated assurances have been given by the Emperor since that agreement that he would complete the promised evacuation within the period mentioned, or sooner. It was reasonably expected that the proceedings thus contemplated would produce a crisis of great political interest in the Republic of Mexico. The newly appointed minister of the United States, Mr. Campbell, was therefore sent forward on the 9th day of November last to assume his proper functions as minister plenipotentiary of the United States to that Republic. It was also thought expedient that he should be attended in the vicinity of Mexico by the Lieutenant-General of the Army of the United States, with the view of obtaining such information as might be important to determine the course to be pursued by the United States in reestablishing and maintaining necessary and proper intercourse with the Republic of Mexico. Deeply interested in the cause of liberty and humanity, it seemed an obvious duty on our part to exercise whatever influence we possessed for the restoration and permanent establishment in that country of a domestic and republican form of government. Such was the condition of our affairs in regard to Mexico when, on the 22d of November last, official information was received from Paris that the Emperor of France had some time before decided not to withdraw a detachment of his forces in the month of November past, according to engagement, but that this decision was made with the purpose of withdrawing the whole of those forces in the ensuing spring. Of this determination, however, the United States had not received any notice or intimation, and so soon as the information was received by the Government care was taken to make known its dissent to the Emperor of France. I can not forego the hope that France will reconsider the subject and adopt some resolution in regard to the evacuation of Mexico which will conform as nearly as practicable with the existing engagement, and thus meet the just expectations of the United States. The papers relating to the subject will be laid before you. It is believed that with the evacuation of Mexico by the expeditionary forces no subject for serious differences between France and the United States would remain. The expressions of the Emperor and people of France warrant a hope that the traditionary friendship between the two countries might in that case be renewed and permanently restored. A claim of a citizen of the United States for indemnity for spoliations committed on the high seas by the French authorities in the exercise of a belligerent power against Mexico has been met by the Government of France with a proposition to defer settlement until a mutual convention for the adjustment of all claims of citizens and subjects of both countries arising out of the recent wars on this continent shall be agreed upon by the two countries. The suggestion is not deemed unreasonable. but it belongs to Congress to direct the manner in which claims for indemnity by foreigners as well as by citizens of the United States arising out of the late civil war shall be adjudicated and determined. I have no doubt that the subject of all such claims will engage your attention at a convenient and proper time. It is a matter of regret that no considerable advance has been made toward an adjustment of the differences between the United States and Great Britain arising out of the depredations upon our national commerce and other trespasses committed during our civil war by British subjects, in violation of international law and treaty obligations. The delay, however, may be believed to have resulted in no small degree from the domestic situation of Great Britain. An entire change of ministry occurred in that country during the last session of Parliament. The attention of the new ministry was called to the subject at an early day, and there is some reason to expect that it will now be considered in a becoming and friendly spirit. The importance of an early disposition of the question can not be exaggerated. Whatever might be the wishes of the two Governments, it is manifest that good will and friendship between the two countries can not be established until a reciprocity in the practice of good faith and neutrality shall be restored between the respective nations. On the 6th of June last, in violation of our neutrality laws, a military expedition and enterprise against the British North American colonies was projected and attempted to be carried on within the territory and jurisdiction of the United States. In obedience to the obligation imposed upon the Executive by the Constitution to see that the laws are faithfully executed, all citizens were warned by proclamation against taking part in or aiding such unlawful proceedings, and the proper civil, military, and naval officers were directed to take all necessary measures for the enforcement of the laws. The expedition failed, but it has not been without its painful consequences. Some of our citizens who, it was alleged, were engaged in the expedition were captured, and have been brought to trial as for a capital offense in the Province of Canada. Judgment and sentence of death have been pronounced against some, while others have been acquitted. Fully believing in the maxim of government that severity of civil punishment for misguided persons who have engaged in revolutionary attempts which have disastrously failed is unsound and unwise, such representations have been made to the British Government in behalf of the convicted persons as, being sustained by an enlightened and humane judgment, will, it is hoped, induce in their cases an exercise of clemency and a judicious amnesty to all who were engaged in the movement. Counsel has been employed by the Government to defend citizens of the United States on trial for capital offenses in Canada, and a discontinuance of the prosecutions which were instituted in the courts of the United States against those who took part in the expedition has been directed. I have regarded the expedition as not only political in its nature, but as also in a great measure foreign from the United States in its causes, character, and objects. The attempt was understood to be made in sympathy with an insurgent party in Ireland, and by striking at a British Province on this continent was designed to aid in obtaining redress for political grievances which, it was assumed, the people of Ireland had suffered at the hands of the British Government during a period of several centuries. The persons engaged in it were chiefly natives of that country, some of whom had, while others had not, become citizens of the United States under our general laws of naturalization. Complaints of misgovernment in Ireland continually engage the attention of the British nation, and so great an agitation is now prevailing in Ireland that the British Government have deemed it necessary to suspend the writ of habeas corpus in that country. These circumstances must necessarily modify the opinion which we might otherwise have entertained in regard to an expedition expressly prohibited by our neutrality laws. So long as those laws remain upon our statute books they should be faithfully executed, and if they operate harshly, unjustly, or oppressively Congress alone can apply the remedy by their modification or repeal. Political and commercial interests of the United States are not unlikely to be affected in some degree by events which are transpiring in the eastern regions of Europe, and the time seems to have come when our Government ought to have a proper diplomatic representation in Greece. This Government has claimed for all persons not convicted or accused or suspected of crime an absolute political right of self-expatriation and a choice of new national allegiance. Most of the European States have dissented from this principle, and have claimed a right to hold such of their subjects as have emigrated to and been naturalized in the United States and afterwards returned on transient visits to their native countries to the performance of military service in like manner as resident subjects. Complaints arising from the claim in this respect made by foreign states have heretofore been matters of controversy between the United States and some of the European powers, and the irritation consequent upon the failure to settle this question increased during the war in which Prussia, Italy, and Austria were recently engaged. While Great Britain has never acknowledged the right of expatriation, she has not for some years past practically insisted upon the opposite doctrine. France has been equally forbearing, and Prussia has proposed a compromise, which, although evincing increased liberality, has not been accepted by the United States. Peace is now prevailing everywhere in Europe, and the present seems to be a favorable time for an assertion by Congress of the principle so long maintained by the executive department that naturalization by one state fully exempts the native-born subject of any other state from the performance of military service under any foreign government, so long as he does not voluntarily renounce its rights and benefits. In the performance of a duty imposed upon me by the Constitution I have thus submitted to the representatives of the States and of the people such information of our domestic and foreign affairs as the public interests seem to require. Our Government is now undergoing its most trying ordeal, and my earnest prayer is that the peril may be successfully and finally passed without impairing its original strength and symmetry. The interests of the nation are best to be promoted by the revival of fraternal relations, the complete obliteration of our past differences, and the reinauguration of all the pursuits of peace. Directing our efforts to the early accomplishment of these great ends, let us endeavor to preserve harmony between the coordinate departments of the Government, that each in its proper sphere may cordially cooperate with the other in securing the maintenance of the Constitution, the preservation of the Union, and the perpetuity of our free institutions. ANDREW JOHNSON Source: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/second-annual-message-10

April 9, 1866 An Act To protect all Persons in the United States in their Civil Rights, and furnish the Means of their Vindication Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all persons born in the United States and not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, are hereby declared to be citizens of the United States; and such citizens, of every race and color, without regard to any previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall have the same right, in every State and Territory in the United States, to make and enforce contracts, to sue, be parties, and give evidence, inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property, and to full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and property, as is enjoyed by white citizens, and shall be subject to like punishment, pains, and penalties, and to none other, any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, to the contrary notwithstanding. Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That any person who, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, shall subject, or cause to be subjected, any inhabitant of any State or Territory to the deprivation of any right secured or protected by this act, or to different punishment, pains, or penalties on account of such person having at any time been held in a condition of slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, or by reason of his color or race, than is prescribed for the punishment of white persons, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction, shall be punished by fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both, in the discretion of the court. Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the district courts of the United States, within their respective districts, shall have, exclusively of the courts of the several States, cognizance of all crimes and offences committed against the provisions of this act, and also, concurrently with the circuit courts of the United States, of all causes, civil and criminal, affecting persons who are denied or cannot enforce in the courts or judicial tribunals of the State or locality where they may be any of the rights secured to them by the first section of this act; and if any suit or prosecution, civil or criminal, has been or shall be commenced in any State court, against any such person, for any cause whatsoever, or against any officer, civil or military, or other person, for any arrest or imprisonment, trespasses, or wrongs done or committed by virtue or under color of authority derived from this act or the act establishing a Bureau for the relief of Freedmen and Refugees, and all acts amendatory thereof, or for refusing to do any act upon the ground that it would be inconsistent with this act, such defendant shall have the right to remove such cause for trial to the proper district or circuit court in the manner prescribed by the "Act relating to habeas corpus and regulation judicial proceedings in certain cases," approved March three, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, and all acts amendatory thereof. The jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters hereby conferred on the district and circuit courts of the United States shall be exercised and enforced in conformity with the laws of the United States, so far as such laws are suitable to carry the same into effect; but in all cases where such laws are not adapted to the object, or are deficient in the provisions necessary to furnish suitable remedies and punish offences against law, the common law, as modified and changed by the constitution and statutes of the State wherein the court having jurisdiction of the cause, civil or criminal, is held, so far as the same is not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States, shall be extended to and govern said courts in the trial and disposition of such cause, and, if of a criminal nature, in the infliction of punishment on the party found guilty. Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the district attorneys, marshals, and deputy marshals of the United States, the commissioners appointed by the circuit and territorial courts of the United States, with powers of arresting, imprisoning, or bailing offenders against the laws of the United States, the officers and agents of the Freedmen's Bureau, and every other officer who may be specially empowered by the President of the United States, shall be, and they are hereby, specially authorized and required, at the expense of the United States, to institute proceedings against all and every person who shall violate the provisions of this act, and cause him or them to be arrested and imprisoned, or bailed, as the case may be, for trial before such court of the United States or territorial court as by this act has cognizance of the offence. And with a view to affording reasonable protection to all persons in their constitutional rights of equality before the law, without distinction of race or color, or previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, and to the prompt discharge of the duties of this act, it shall be the duty of the circuit courts of the United States and the superior courts of the Territories of the United States, from time to time, to increase the number of commissioners, so as to afford a speedy and convenient means for the arrest and examination of persons charged with a violation of this act; and such commissioners are hereby authorized and required to exercise and discharge all the powers and duties conferred on them by this act, and the same duties with regard to offences created by this act, as they are authorized by law to exercise with regard to other offences against the laws of the United States. Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of all marshals and deputy marshals to obey and execute all warrants and precepts issued under the provisions of this act, when to them directed; and should any marshal or deputy marshal refuse to receive such warrant or other process when tendered, or to use all proper means diligently to execute the same, he shall, on conviction thereof, be fined in the sum of one thousand dollars, to the use of the person upon whom the accused is alleged to have committed the offence. And the better to enable the said commissioners to execute their duties faithfully and efficiently, in conformity with the Constitution of the United States and the requirements of this act, they are hereby authorized and empowered, within their counties respectively, to appoint, in writing, under their hands, any one or more suitable persons, from time to time, to execute all such warrants and other process as may be issued by them in the lawful performance of their respective duties; and the persons so appointed to execute any warrant or process as aforesaid shall have authority to summon and call to their aid the bystanders or posse comitatus of the proper county, or such portion of the land or naval forces of the United States, or of the militia, as may be necessary to the performance of the duty with which they are charged, and to insure a faithful observance of the clause of the Constitution which prohibits slavery, in conformity with the provisions of this act; and said warrants shall run and be executed by said officers anywhere in the State or Territory within which they are issued. Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That any person who shall knowingly and wilfully obstruct, hinder, or prevent any officer, or other person charged with the execution of any warrant or process issued under the provisions of this act, or any person or persons lawfully assisting him or them, from arresting any person for whose apprehension such warrant or process may have been issued, or shall rescue or attempt to rescue such person from the custody of the officer, other person or persons, or those lawfully assisting as aforesaid, when so arrested pursuant to the authority herein given and declared, or shall aid, abet, or assist any person so arrested as aforesaid, directly or indirectly, to escape from the custody of the officer or other person legally authorized as aforesaid, or shall harbor or conceal any person for whose arrest a warrant or process shall have been issued as aforesaid, so as to prevent his discovery and arrest after notice or knowledge of the fact that a warrant has been issued for the apprehension of such person, shall, for either of said offences, be subject to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, and imprisonment not exceeding six months, by indictment and conviction before the district court of the United States for the district in which said offence may have been committed, or before the proper court of criminal jurisdiction, if committed within any one of the organized Territories of the United States. Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That the district attorneys, the marshals, their deputies, and the clerks of the said district and territorial courts shall be paid for their services the like fees as may be allowed to them for similar services in other cases; and in all cases where the proceedings are before a commissioner, he shall be entitled to a fee of ten dollars in full for his services in each case, inclusive of all services incident to such arrest and examination. The person or persons authorized to execute the process to be issued by such commissioners for the arrest of offenders against the provisions of this act shall be entitled to a fee of five dollars for each person he or they may arrest and take before any such commissioner as aforesaid, with such other fees as may be deemed reasonable by such commissioner for such other additional services as may be necessarily performed by him or them, such as attending at the examination, keeping the prisoner in custody, and providing him with food and lodging during his detention, and until the final determination of such commissioner, and in general for performing such other duties as may be required in the premises; such fees to be made up in conformity with the fees usually charged by the officers of the courts of justice within the proper district or county, as near as may be practicable, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States on the certificate of the judge of the district within which the arrest is made, and to be recoverable from the defendant as part of the judgment in case of conviction. Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That whenever the President of the United States shall have reason to believe that offences have been or are likely to be committed against the provisions of this act within any judicial district, it shall be lawful for him, in his discretion, to direct the judge, marshal, and district attorney of such district to attend at such place within the district, and for such time as he may designate, for the purpose of the more speedy arrest and trial of persons charged with a violation of this act; and it shall be the duty of every judge or other officer, when any such requisition shall be received by him, to attend at the place and for the time therein designated. Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the President of the United States, or such person as he may empower for that purpose, to employ such part of the land or naval forces of the United States, or of the militia, as shall be necessary to prevent the violation and enforce the due execution of this act. Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That upon all questions of law arising in any cause under the provisions of this act a final appeal may be taken to the Supreme Court of the United States. Source: https://www.owleyes.org/text/civil-rights-act-of-1866/read/text-of-the-act#root-34

December 04, 1865 Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives: To express gratitude to God in the name of the people for the preservation of the United States is my first duty in addressing you. Our thoughts next revert to the death of the late President by an act of parricidal treason. The grief of the nation is still fresh. It finds some solace in the consideration that he lived to enjoy the highest proof of its confidence by entering on the renewed term of the Chief Magistracy to which he had been elected; that he brought the civil war substantially to a close; that his loss was deplored in all parts of the Union, and that foreign nations have rendered justice to his memory. His removal cast upon me a heavier weight of cares than ever devolved upon any one of his predecessors. To fulfill my trust I need the support and confidence of all who are associated with me in the various departments of Government and the support and confidence of the people. There is but one way in which I can hope to gain their necessary aid. It is to state with frankness the principles which guide my conduct, and their application to the present state of affairs, well aware that the efficiency of my labors will in a great measure depend on your and their undivided approbation. The Union of the United States of America was intended by its authors to last as long as the States themselves shall last. "The Union shall be perpetual" are the words of the Confederation. "To form a more perfect Union," by an ordinance of the people of the United States, is the declared purpose of the Constitution. The hand of Divine Providence was never more plainly visible in the affairs of men than in the framing and the adopting of that instrument. It is beyond comparison the greatest event in American history, and, indeed, is it not of all events in modern times the most pregnant with consequences for every people of the earth? The members of the Convention which prepared it brought to their work the experience of the Confederation, of their several States, and of other republican governments, old and new; but they needed and they obtained a wisdom superior to experience. And when for its validity it required the approval of a people that occupied a large part of a continent and acted separately in many distinct conventions, what is more wonderful than that, after earnest contention and long discussion, all feelings and all opinions were ultimately drawn in one way to its support? The Constitution to which life was thus imparted contains within itself ample resources for its own preservation. It has power to enforce the laws, punish treason, and insure domestic tranquillity. In case of the usurpation of the government of a State by one man or an oligarchy, it becomes a duty of the United States to make good the guaranty to that State of a republican form of government, and so to maintain the homogeneousness of all. Does the lapse of time reveal defects? A simple mode of amendment is provided in the Constitution itself, so that its conditions can always be made to conform to the requirements of advancing civilization. No room is allowed even for the thought of a possibility of its coming to an end. And these powers of self-preservation have always been asserted in their complete integrity by every patriotic Chief Magistrate by Jefferson and Jackson not less than by Washington and Madison. The parting advice of the Father of his Country, while yet President, to the people of the United States was that the free Constitution, which was the work of their hands, might be sacredly maintained; and the inaugural words of President Jefferson held up "the preservation of the General Government in its whole constitutional vigor as the sheet anchor of our peace at home and safety abroad." The Constitution is the work of "the people of the United States," and it should be as indestructible as the people. It is not strange that the framers of the Constitution, which had no model in the past, should not have fully comprehended the excellence of their own work. Fresh from a struggle against arbitrary power, many patriots suffered from harassing fears of an absorption of the State governments by the General Government, and many from a dread that the States would break away from their orbits. But the very greatness of our country should allay the apprehension of encroachments by the General Government. The subjects that come unquestionably within its jurisdiction are so numerous that it must ever naturally refuse to be embarrassed by questions that lie beyond it. Were it otherwise the Executive would sink beneath the burden, the channels of justice would be choked, legislation would be obstructed by excess, so that there is a greater temptation to exercise some of the functions of the General Government through the States than to trespass on their rightful sphere. The "absolute acquiescence in the decisions of the majority" was at the beginning of the century enforced by Jefferson as "the vital principle of republics;" and the events of the last four years have established, we will hope forever, that there lies no appeal to force. The maintenance of the Union brings with it "the support of the State governments in all their rights," but it is not one of the rights of any State government to renounce its own place in the Union or to nullify the laws of the Union. The largest liberty is to be maintained in the discussion of the acts of the Federal Government, but there is no appeal from its laws except to the various branches of that Government itself, or to the people, who grant to the members of the legislative and of the executive departments no tenure but a limited one, and in that manner always retain the powers of redress. "The sovereignty of the States" is the language of the Confederacy, and not the language of the Constitution. The latter contains the emphatic words-- This Constitution and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made or which shall be made under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land, and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. Certainly the Government of the United States is a limited government, and so is every State government a limited government. With us this idea of limitation spreads through every form of administration--general, State, and municipal--and rests on the great distinguishing principle of the recognition of the rights of man. The ancient republics absorbed the individual in the state--prescribed his religion and controlled his activity. The American system rests on the assertion of the equal right of every man to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, to freedom of conscience, to the culture and exercise of all his faculties. As a consequence the State government is limited--as to the General Government in the interest of union, as to the individual citizen in the interest of freedom. States, with proper limitations of power, are essential to the existence of the Constitution of the United States. At the very commencement, when we assumed a place among the powers of the earth, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by States; so also were the Articles of Confederation: and when "the people of the United States" ordained and established the Constitution it was the assent of the States, one by one, which gave it vitality. In the event, too, of any amendment to the Constitution, the proposition of Congress needs the confirmation of States. Without States one great branch of the legislative government would be wanting. And if we look beyond the letter of the Constitution to the character of our country, its capacity for comprehending within its jurisdiction a vast continental empire is due to the system of States. The best security for the perpetual existence of the States is the "supreme authority" of the Constitution of the United States. The perpetuity of the Constitution brings with it the perpetuity of the States; their mutual relation makes us what we are, and in our political system their connection is indissoluble. The whole can not exist without the parts, nor the parts without the whole. So long as the Constitution of the United States endures, the States will endure. The destruction of the one is the destruction of the other; the preservation of the one is the preservation of the other. I have thus explained my views of the mutual relations of the Constitution and the States, because they unfold the principles on which I have sought to solve the momentous questions and overcome the appalling difficulties that met me at the very commencement of my Administration. It has been my steadfast object to escape from the sway of momentary passions and to derive a healing policy from the fundamental and unchanging principles of the Constitution. 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. Whether the territory within the limits of those States should be 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 divided the people into the vanquishers and the vanquished, 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 to and from that portion of the country is one of the best means that can be thought of for the restoration of harmony, and that emigration would have been prevented; for what emigrant from abroad, what industrious 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 President, over a vast and populous and naturally wealthy region are greater than, unless under extreme necessity, I should be willing to intrust to any one man. They are such as, for myself, I 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. Besides, the policy of military rule over a conquered territory would have implied that the States whose inhabitants may have taken part in the rebellion 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 can not commit treason nor screen the individual citizens who may have committed treason any more than they can make valid treaties or engage in lawful commerce with any foreign power. The States attempting to secede placed themselves in a condition where their vitality was impaired, but not extinguished; their functions suspended, but not destroyed. But if any State neglects or refuses to perform its offices there is the more need that the General Government 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 the rightful energy of the General Government and of the States. To that end provisional governors have been appointed for the States, conventions called, governors elected, legislatures assembled, 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 General Government is thereby enabled to communicate promptly with its officers and agents. The courts bring security to persons and property; the opening of the ports invites 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 over which they are extended? Is it not a sure promise of harmony and renewed attachment to the Union that after all that has happened the return of the General Government is known only as a beneficence? 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 as 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 remove 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 defense 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 clearest 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. The next step which I have taken to restore the constitutional relations of the States has been an invitation to them to participate in the high office of amending the Constitution. Every patriot must wish for a general amnesty at the earliest epoch consistent with public safety. For this great end there is need of a concurrence of all opinions and the spirit of mutual conciliation. All parties in the late terrible conflict 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 disorders of the past into oblivion, and that on the other the evidence of sincerity in the future maintenance of the Union shall be put beyond any doubt by the ratification of the proposed amendment to the Constitution, which provides for the abolition of slavery forever within the limits of our 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 efface the sad memory 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. Indeed, 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 disruption; it heals the wound that is still imperfectly closed: it removes slavery, the element which has so long perplexed and divided the country; it makes of us once more a united people, renewed and strengthened, bound more than ever to mutual affection and support. The amendment to the Constitution being adopted, it would remain for the States whose powers have 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 for 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. The full assertion of the powers of the General Government requires the holding of circuit courts of the United States within the districts where their authority has been interrupted. In the present posture of our public affairs strong objections have been urged to holding those courts in any of the States where the rebellion has existed; and it was ascertained by inquiry, that the circuit court of the United States would not be held within the district of Virginia during the autumn or early winter, nor until Congress should have "an opportunity to consider and act on the whole subject." To your deliberations the restoration of this branch of the civil authority of the United States is therefore necessarily referred, with the hope that early provision will be made for the resumption of all its functions. It is manifest that treason, most flagrant in character, has been committed. Persons who are charged with its commission should have fair and impartial trials in the highest civil tribunals of the country, in order that the Constitution and the laws may be fully vindicated, the truth dearly established and affirmed that treason is a crime, that traitors should be punished and the offense made infamous, and, at the same time, that the question may be judicially settled, finally and forever, that no State of its own will has the right to renounce its place in the Union. The relations of the General Government toward the 4,000,000 inhabitants whom the war has called into freedom have engaged my most serious consideration. On the propriety of attempting to make the freedmen electors by the proclamation of the Executive I took for my counsel the Constitution itself, the interpretations of that instrument by its authors and their contemporaries, and recent legislation by Congress. When, at the first movement toward independence, the Congress of the United States instructed the several States to institute governments of their own, they left each State to decide for itself the conditions for the enjoyment of the elective franchise. During the period of the Confederacy there continued to exist a very great diversity in the qualifications of electors in the several States, and even within a State a distinction of qualifications prevailed with regard to the officers who were to be chosen. The Constitution of the United States recognizes these diversities when it enjoins that in the choice of members of the House of Representatives of the United States "the electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislature." After the formation of the Constitution it remained, as before, the uniform usage for each State to enlarge the body of its electors according to its own judgment, and under this system one State after another has proceeded to increase the number of its electors, until now universal suffrage, or something very near it, is the general rule. So fixed was this reservation of power in the habits of the people and so unquestioned has been the interpretation of the Constitution that during the civil war the late President never harbored the purpose--certainly never evowed the purpose--of disregarding it; and in the acts of Congress during that period nothing can be found which, during the continuance of hostilities much less after their close, would have sanctioned any departure by the Executive from a policy which has so uniformly obtained. Moreover, a concession of the elective franchise to the freedmen by act of the President of the United States must have been extended to all colored men, wherever found, and so must have established a change of suffrage in the Northern, Middle, and Western States, not less than in the Southern and Southwestern. Such an act would have created a new class of voters, and would have been an assumption of power by the President which nothing in the Constitution or laws of the United States would have warranted. On the other hand, every danger of conflict is avoided when the settlement of the question is referred to the several States. They can, each for itself, decide on the measure, and whether it is to be adopted at once and absolutely or introduced gradually and with conditions. In my judgment the freedmen, if they show patience and manly virtues, will sooner obtain a participation in the elective franchise through the States than through the General Government, even if it had power to intervene. When the tumult of emotions that have been raised by the suddenness of the social change shall have subsided, it may prove that they will receive the kindest usage from some of those on whom they have heretofore most closely depended. But while I have no doubt that now, after the close of the war, it is not competent for the General Government to extend the elective franchise in the several States, it is equally clear that good faith requires the security of the freedmen in their liberty and their property, their right to labor, and their right to claim the just return of their labor. I can not too strongly urge a dispassionate treatment of this subject, which should be carefully kept aloof from all party strife. We must equally avoid hasty assumptions of any natural impossibility for the two races to live side by side in a state of mutual benefit and good will. The experiment involves us in no inconsistency; let us, then, go on and make that experiment in good faith, and not be too easily disheartened. The country is in need of labor, and the freedmen are in need of employment, culture, and protection. While their right of voluntary migration and expatriation is not to be questioned, I would not advise their forced removal and colonization. Let us rather encourage them to honorable and useful industry, where it may be beneficial to themselves and to the country; and, instead of hasty anticipations of the certainty of failure, let there be nothing wanting to the fair trial of the experiment. The change in their condition is the substitution of labor by contract for the status of slavery. The freedman can not fairly be accused of unwillingness to work so long as a doubt remains about his freedom of choice in his pursuits and the certainty of his recovering his stipulated wages. In this the interests of the employer and the employed coincide. The employer desires in his workmen spirit and alacrity, and these can be permanently secured in no other way. And if the one ought to be able to enforce the contract, so ought the other. The public interest will be best promoted if the several States will provide adequate protection and remedies for the freedmen. Until this is in some way accomplished there is no chance for the advantageous use of their labor, and the blame of ill success will not rest on them. I know that sincere philanthropy is earnest for the immediate realization of its remotest aims; but time is always an element in reform. It is one of the greatest acts on record to have brought 4,000,000 people into freedom. The career of free industry must be fairly opened to them, and then their future prosperity and condition must, after all, rest mainly on themselves. If they fail, and so perish away, let us be careful that the failure shall not be attributable to any denial of justice. In all that relates to the destiny of the freedmen we need not be too anxious to read the future; many incidents which, from a speculative point of view, might raise alarm will quietly settle themselves. Now that slavery is at an end, or near its end, the greatness of its evil in the point of view of public economy becomes more and more apparent. Slavery was essentially a monopoly of labor, and as such locked the States where it prevailed against the incoming of free industry. Where labor was the property of the capitalist, the white man was excluded from employment, or had but the second best chance of finding it; and the foreign emigrant turned away from the region where his condition would be so precarious. With the destruction of the monopoly free labor will hasten from all pans of the civilized world to assist in developing various and immeasurable resources which have hitherto lain dormant. The eight or nine States nearest the Gulf of Mexico have a soil of exuberant fertility, a climate friendly to long life, and can sustain a denser population than is found as yet in any part of our country. And the future influx of population to them will be mainly from the North or from the most cultivated nations in Europe. From the sufferings that have attended them during our late struggle let us look away to the future, which is sure to be laden for them with greater prosperity than has ever before been known. The removal of the monopoly of slave labor is a pledge that those regions will be peopled by a numerous and enterprising population, which will vie with any in the Union in compactness, inventive genius, wealth, and industry. Our Government springs from and was made for the people--not the people for the Government. To them it owes allegiance; from them it must derive its courage, strength, and wisdom. But while the Government is thus bound to defer to the people, from whom it derives its existence, it should, from the very consideration of its origin, be strong in its power of resistance to the establishment of inequalities. Monopolies, perpetuities, and class legislation are contrary to the genius of free government, and ought not to be allowed. Here there is no room for favored classes or monopolies; the principle of our Government is that of equal laws and freedom of industry. Wherever monopoly attains a foothold, it is sure to be a source of danger, discord, and trouble. We shall but fulfill our duties as legislators by according "equal and exact justice to all men," special privileges to none. The Government is subordinate to the people; but, as the agent and representative of the people, it must be held superior to monopolies, which in themselves ought never to be granted, and which, where they exist, must be subordinate and yield to the Government. The Constitution confers on Congress the right to regulate commerce among the several States. It is of the first necessity, for the maintenance of the Union, that that commerce should be free and unobstructed. No State can be justified in any device to tax the transit of travel and commerce between States. The position of many States is such that if they were allowed to take advantage of it for purposes of local revenue the commerce between States might be injuriously burdened, or even virtually prohibited. It is best, while the country is still young and while the tendency to dangerous monopolies of this kind is still feeble, to use the power of Congress so as to prevent any selfish impediment to the free circulation of men and merchandise. A tax on travel and merchandise in their transit constitutes one of the worst forms of monopoly, and the evil is increased if coupled with a denial of the choice of route. When the vast extent of our country is considered, it is plain that every obstacle to the free circulation of commerce between the States ought to be sternly guarded against by appropriate legislation within the limits of the Constitution. The report of the Secretary of the Interior explains the condition of the public lands, the transactions of the Patent Office and the Pension Bureau, the management of our Indian affairs, the progress made in the construction of the Pacific Railroad, and furnishes information in reference to matters of local interest in the District of Columbia. It also presents evidence of the successful operation of the homestead act, under the provisions of which 1,160,533 acres of the public lands were entered during the last fiscal year--more than one-fourth of the whole number of acres sold or otherwise disposed of during that period. It is estimated that the receipts derived from this source are sufficient to cover the expenses incident to the survey and disposal of the lands entered under this act, and that payments in cash to the extent of from 40 to 50 per cent will be made by settlers who may thus at any time acquire title before the expiration of the period at which it would otherwise vest. The homestead policy was established only after long and earnest resistance; experience proves its wisdom. The lands in the hands of industrious settlers, whose labor creates wealth and contributes to the public resources, are worth more to the United States than if they had been reserved as a solitude for future purchasers. The lamentable events of the last four years and the sacrifices made by the gallant men of our Army and Navy have swelled the records of the Pension Bureau to an unprecedented extent. On the 30th day of June last the total number of pensioners was 85,986, requiring for their annual pay, exclusive of expenses, the sum of $8,023,445. The number of applications that have been allowed since that date will require a large increase of this amount for the next fiscal year. The means for the payment of the stipends due under existing laws to our disabled soldiers and sailors and to the families of such as have perished in the service of the country will no doubt be cheerfully and promptly granted. A grateful people will not hesitate to sanction any measures having for their object the relief of soldiers mutilated and families made fatherless in the efforts to preserve our national existence. The report of the Postmaster-General presents an encouraging exhibit of the operations of the Post-Office Department during the year. The revenues of the past year, from the loyal States alone, exceeded the maximum annual receipts from all the States previous to the rebellion in the sum of $6,038,091; and the annual average increase of revenue during the last four years, compared with the revenues of the four years immediately preceding the rebellion, was $3,533,845. The revenues of the last fiscal year amounted to $14,556,158 and the expenditures to $13,694,728, leaving a surplus of receipts over expenditures of $861,430. Progress has been made in restoring the postal service in the Southern States. The views presented by the Postmaster-General against the policy of granting subsidies to the ocean mail steamship lines upon established routes and in favor of continuing the present system, which limits the compensation for ocean service to the postage earnings, are recommended to the careful consideration of Congress. It appears from the report of the Secretary of the Navy that while at the commencement of the present year there were in commission 530 vessels of all classes and descriptions, armed with 3,000 guns and manned by 51,000 men, the number of vessels at present in commission is 117, with 830 guns and 12,128 men. By this prompt reduction of the naval forces the expenses of the Government have been largely diminished, and a number of vessels purchased for naval purposes from the merchant marine have been returned to the peaceful pursuits of commerce. Since the suppression of active hostilities our foreign squadrons have been reestablished, and consist of vessels much more efficient than those employed on similar service previous to the rebellion. The suggestion for the enlargement of the navy-yards, and especially for the establishment of one in fresh water for ironclad vessels, is deserving of consideration, as is also the recommendation for a different location and more ample grounds for the Naval Academy. In the report of the Secretary of War a general summary is given of the military campaigns of 1864 and 1865, ending in the suppression of armed resistance to the national authority in the insurgent States. The operations of the general administrative bureaus of the War Department during the past year are detailed and an estimate made of the appropriations that will be required for military purposes in the fiscal year commencing the 1st day of July, 1866. The national military force on the 1st of May, 1865, numbered 1,000,516 men. It is proposed to reduce the military establishment to a peace footing, comprehending 50,000 troops of all arms, organized so as to admit of an enlargement by filling up the ranks to 82,600 if the circumstances of the country should require an augmentation of the Army. The volunteer force has already been reduced by the discharge from service of over 800,000 troops, and the Department is proceeding rapidly in the work of further reduction. The war estimates are reduced from $516,240,131 to $33,814,461, which amount, in the opinion of the Department, is adequate for a peace establishment. The measures of retrenchment in each bureau and branch of the service exhibit a diligent economy worthy of commendation. Reference is also made in the report to the necessity of providing for a uniform militia system and to the propriety of making suitable provision for wounded and disabled officers and soldiers. The revenue system of the country is a subject of vital interest to its honor and prosperity, and should command the earnest consideration of Congress. The Secretary of the Treasury will lay before you a full and detailed report of the receipts and disbursements of the last fiscal year, of the first quarter of the present fiscal year, of the probable receipts and expenditures for the other three quarters, and the estimates for the year following the 30th of June, 1866. I might content myself with a reference to that report, in which you will find all the information required for your deliberations and decision, but the paramount importance of the subject so presses itself on my own mind that I can not but lay before you my views of the measures which are required for the good character, and I might almost say for the existence, of this people. The life of a republic lies certainly in the energy, virtue, and intelligence of its citizens; but it is equally true that a good revenue system is the life of an organized government. I meet you at a time when the nation has voluntarily burdened itself with a debt unprecedented in our annals. Vast as is its amount, it fades away into nothing when compared with the countless blessings that will be conferred upon our country and upon man by the preservation of the nation's life. Now, on the first occasion of the meeting of Congress since the return of peace, it is of the utmost importance to inaugurate a just policy, which shall at once be put in motion, and which shall commend itself to those who come after us for its continuance. We must aim at nothing less than the complete effacement of the financial evils that necessarily followed a state of civil war. We must endeavor to apply the earliest remedy to the deranged state of the currency, and not shrink from devising a policy which, with-out being oppressive to the people, shall immediately begin to effect a reduction of the debt, and, if persisted in, discharge it fully within a definitely fixed number of years. It is our first duty to prepare in earnest for our recovery from the ever-increasing evils of an irredeemable currency without a sudden revulsion, and yet without untimely procrastination. For that end we must each, in our respective positions, prepare the way. I hold it the duty of the Executive to insist upon frugality in the expenditures, and a sparing economy is itself a great national resource. Of the banks to which authority has been given to issue notes secured by bonds of the United States we may require the greatest moderation and prudence, and the law must be rigidly enforced when its limits are exceeded. We may each one of us counsel our active and enterprising countrymen to be constantly on their guard, to liquidate debts contracted in a paper currency, and by conducting business as nearly as possible on a system of cash payments or short credits to hold themselves prepared to return to the standard of gold and silver. To aid our fellow-citizens in the prudent management of their monetary affairs, the duty devolves on us to diminish by law the amount of paper money now in circulation. Five years ago the bank-note circulation of the country amounted to not much more than two hundred millions; now the circulation, bank and national, exceeds seven hundred millions. The simple statement of the fact recommends more strongly than any words of mine could do the necessity of our restraining this expansion. The gradual reduction of the currency is the only measure that can save the business of the country from disastrous calamities, and this can be almost imperceptibly accomplished by gradually funding the national circulation in securities that may be made redeemable at the pleasure of the Government. Our debt is doubly secure--first in the actual wealth and still greater undeveloped resources of the country, and next in the character of our institutions. The most intelligent observers among political economists have not failed to remark that the public debt of a country is safe in proportion as its people are free; that the debt of a republic is the safest of all. Our history confirms and establishes the theory, and is, I firmly believe, destined to give it a still more signal illustration. The secret of this superiority springs not merely from the fact that in a republic the national obligations are distributed more widely through countless numbers in all classes of society; it has its root in the character of our laws. Here all men contribute to the public welfare and bear their fair share of the public burdens. During the war, under the impulses of patriotism, the men of the great body of the people, without regard to their own comparative want of wealth, thronged to our armies and filled our fleets of war, and held themselves ready to offer their lives for the public good. Now, in their turn, the property and income of the country should bear their just proportion of the burden of taxation, while in our impost system, through means of which increased vitality is incidentally imparted to all the industrial interests of the nation, the duties should be so adjusted as to fall most heavily on articles of luxury leaving the necessaries of life as free from taxation as the absolute wants of the Government economically administered will justify. No favored class should demand freedom from assessment, and the taxes should be so distributed as not to fall unduly on the poor, but rather on the accumulated wealth of the country. We should look at the national debt just as it is--not as a national blessing, but as a heavy burden on the industry of the country, to be discharged without unnecessary delay. It is estimated by the Secretary of the Treasury that the expenditures for the fiscal year ending the 30th of June, 1866, will exceed the receipts $112,194,947. It is gratifying, however, to state that it is also estimated that the revenue for the year ending the 30th of June, 1867, will exceed the expenditures in the sum of $111,682,818. This amount, or so much as may be deemed sufficient for the purpose, may be applied to the reduction of the public debt, which on the 31st day of October, 1865, was $2,740,854,750. Every reduction will diminish the total amount of interest to be paid, and so enlarge the means of still further reductions, until the whole shall be liquidated; and this, as will be seen from the estimates of the Secretary of the Treasury, may be accomplished by annual payments even within a period not exceeding thirty years. I have faith that we shall do all this within a reasonable time; that as we have amazed the world by the suppression of a civil war which was thought to be beyond the control of any government, so we shall equally show the superiority of our institutions by the prompt and faithful discharge of our national obligations. The Department of Agriculture under its present direction is accomplishing much in developing and utilizing the vast agricultural capabilities of the country, and for information respecting the details of its management reference is made to the annual report of the Commissioner. I have dwelt thus fully on our domestic affairs because of their transcendent importance. Under any circumstances our great extent of territory and variety of climate, producing almost everything that is necessary for the wants and even the comforts of man, make us singularly independent of the varying policy of foreign powers and protect us against every temptation to "entangling alliances," while at the present moment the reestablishment of harmony and the strength that comes from harmony will be our best security against "nations who feel power and forget right." For myself, it has been and it will be my constant aim to promote peace and amity with all foreign nations and powers, and I have every reason to believe that they all, without exception, are animated by the same disposition. Our relations with the Emperor of China, so recent in their origin, are most friendly. Our commerce with his dominions is receiving new developments, and it is very pleasing to find that the Government of that great Empire manifests satisfaction with our policy and reposes just confidence in the fairness which marks our intercourse. The unbroken harmony between the United States and the Emperor of Russia is receiving a new support from an enterprise designed to carry telegraphic lines across the continent of Asia, through his dominions, and so to connect us with all Europe by a new channel of intercourse. Our commerce with South America is about to receive encouragement by a direct line of mail steamships to the rising Empire of Brazil. The distinguished party of men of science who have recently left our country to make a scientific exploration of the natural history and rivers and mountain ranges of that region have received from the Emperor that generous welcome which was to have been expected from his constant friendship for the United States and his well-known zeal in promoting the advancement of knowledge. A hope is entertained that our commerce with the rich and populous countries that border the Mediterranean Sea may be largely increased. Nothing will be wanting on the part of this Government to extend the protection of our flag over the enterprise of our fellow-citizens. We receive from the powers in that region assurances of good will; and it is worthy of note that a special envoy has brought us messages of condolence on the death of our late Chief Magistrate from the Bey of Tunis, whose rule includes the old dominions of Carthage, on the African coast. Our domestic contest, now happily ended, has left some traces in our relations with one at least of the great maritime powers. The formal accordance of belligerent rights to the insurgent States was unprecedented, and has not been justified by the issue. But in the systems of neutrality pursued by the powers which made that concession there was a marked difference. The materials of war for the insurgent States were furnished, in a great measure, from the workshops of Great Britain, and British ships, manned by British subjects and prepared for receiving British armaments, sallied from the ports of Great Britain to make war on American commerce under the shelter of a commission from the insurgent States. These ships, having once escaped from British ports, ever afterwards entered them in every part of the world to refit, and so to renew their depredations. The consequences of this conduct were most disastrous to the States then in rebellion, increasing their desolation and misery by the prolongation of our civil contest. It had, moreover, the effect, to a great extent, to drive the American flag from the sea, and to transfer much of our shipping and our commerce to the very power whose subjects had created the necessity for such a change. These events took place before I was called to the administration of the Government. The sincere desire for peace by which I am animated led me to approve the proposal, already made, to submit the question which had thus arisen between the countries to arbitration. These questions are of such moment that they must have commanded the attention of the great powers, and are so interwoven with the peace and interests of every one of them as to have insured an impartial decision. I regret to inform you that Great Britain declined the arbitrament, but, on the other hand, invited us to the formation of a joint commission to settle mutual claims between the two countries, from which those for the depredations before mentioned should be excluded. The proposition, in that very unsatisfactory form, has been declined. The United States did not present the subject as an impeachment of the good faith of a power which was professing the most friendly dispositions, but as involving questions of public law of which the settlement is essential to the peace of nations; and though pecuniary reparation to their injured citizens would have followed incidentally on a decision against Great Britain, such compensation was not their primary object. They had a higher motive, and it was in the interests of peace and justice to establish important principles of international law. The correspondence will be placed before you. The ground on which the British minister rests his justification is, substantially, that the municipal law of a nation and the domestic interpretations of that law are the measure of its duty as a neutral, and I feel bound to declare my opinion before you and before the world that that justification can not be sustained before the tribunal of nations. At the same time; I do not advise to any present attempt at redress by acts of legislation. For the future, friendship between the two countries must rest on the basis of mutual justice. From the moment of the establishment of our free Constitution the civilized world has been convulsed by revolutions in the interests of democracy or of monarchy, but through all those revolutions the United States have wisely and firmly refused to become propagandists of republicanism. It is the only government suited to our condition; but we have never sought to impose it on others, and we have consistently followed the advice of Washington to recommend it only by the careful preservation and prudent use of the blessing. During all the intervening period the policy of European powers and of the United States has, on the whole, been harmonious. Twice, indeed, rumors of the invasion of some parts of America in the interest of monarchy have prevailed; twice my predecessors have had occasion to announce the views of this nation in respect to such interference. On both occasions the remonstrance of the United States was respected from a deep conviction on the part of European Governments that the system of noninterference and mutual abstinence from propagandism was the true rule for the two hemispheres. Since those times we have advanced in wealth and power, but we retain the same purpose to leave the nations of Europe to choose their own dynasties and form their own systems of government. This consistent moderation may justly demand a corresponding moderation. We should regard it as a great calamity to ourselves, to the cause of good government, and to the peace of the world should any European power challenge the American people, as it were, to the defense of republicanism against foreign interference. We can not foresee and are unwilling to consider what opportunities might present themselves, what combinations might offer to protect ourselves against designs inimical to our form of government. The United States desire to act in the future as they have ever acted heretofore; they never will be driven from that course but by the aggression of European powers, and we rely on the wisdom and justice of those powers to respect the system of noninterference which has so long been sanctioned by time, and which by its good results has approved itself to both continents. The correspondence between the United States and France in reference to questions which have become subjects of discussion between the two Governments will at a proper time be laid before Congress. When, on the organization of our Government under the Constitution, the President of the United States delivered his inaugural address to the two Houses of Congress, he said to them, and through them to the country and to mankind, that-- The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered, perhaps, as deeply, as finally, staked on the experiment intrusted to the hands of the American people. And the House of Representatives answered Washington by the voice of Madison: We adore the Invisible Hand which has led the American people, through so many difficulties, to cherish a conscious responsibility for the destiny of republican liberty. More than seventy-six years have glided away since these words were spoken; the United States have passed through severer trials than were foreseen; and now, at this new epoch in our existence as one nation, with our Union purified by sorrows and strengthened by conflict and established by the virtue of the people, the greatness of the occasion invites us once more to repeat with solemnity the pledges of our fathers to hold ourselves answerable before our fellow-men for the success of the republican form of government. Experience has proved its sufficiency in peace and in war; it has vindicated its authority through dangers and afflictions, and sudden and terrible emergencies, which would have crushed any system that had been less firmly fixed in the hearts of the people. At the inauguration of Washington the foreign relations of the country were few and its trade was repressed by hostile regulations; now all the civilized nations of the globe welcome our commerce, and their governments profess toward us amity. Then our country felt its way hesitatingly along an untried path, with States so little bound together by rapid means of communication as to be hardly known to one another, and with historic traditions extending over very few years; now intercourse between the States is swift and intimate; the experience of centuries has been crowded into a few generations, and has created an intense, indestructible nationality. Then our jurisdiction did not reach beyond the inconvenient boundaries of the territory which had achieved independence; now, through cessions of lands, first colonized by Spain and France, the country has acquired a more complex character, and has for its natural limits the chain of lakes, the Gulf of Mexico, and on the east and the west the two great oceans. Other nations were wasted by civil wars for ages before they could establish for themselves the necessary degree of unity; the latent conviction that our form of government is the best ever known to the world has enabled us to emerge from civil war within four years with a complete vindication of the constitutional authority of the General Government and with our local liberties and State institutions unimpaired. The throngs of emigrants that crowd to our shores are witnesses of the confidence of all peoples in our permanence. Here is the great land of free labor, where industry is blessed with unexampled rewards and the bread of the workingman is sweetened by the consciousness that the cause of the country "is his own cause, his own safety, his own dignity." Here everyone enjoys the free use of his faculties and the choice of activity as a natural right. Here, under the combined influence of a fruitful soil, genial climes, and happy institutions, population has increased fifteen-fold within a century. Here, through the easy development of boundless resources, wealth has increased with twofold greater rapidity than numbers, so that we have become secure against the financial vicissitudes of other countries and, alike in business and in opinion, are self-centered and truly independent. Here more and more care is given to provide education for everyone born on our soil. Here religion, released from political connection with the civil government, refuses to subserve the craft of statesmen, and becomes in its independence the spiritual life of the people. Here toleration is extended to every opinion, in the quiet certainty that truth needs only a fair field to secure the victory. Here the human mind goes forth unshackled in the pursuit of science, to collect stores of knowledge and acquire an ever-increasing mastery over the forces of nature. Here the national domain is offered and held in millions of separate freeholds, so that our fellow-citizens, beyond the occupants of any other part of the earth, constitute in reality a people. Here exists the democratic form of government; and that form of government, by the confession of European statesmen," gives a power of which no other form is capable, because it incorporates every man with the state and arouses everything that belongs to the soul." Where in past history. does a parallel exist to the public happiness which is within the reach of the people of the United States? Where in any part of the globe can institutions be found so suited to their habits or so entitled to their love as their own free Constitution? Every one of them, then, in whatever part of the land he has his home, must wish its perpetuity. Who of them will not now acknowledge, in the words of Washington, that "every step by which the people of the United States have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency"? Who will not join with me in the prayer that the Invisible Hand which has led us through the clouds that gloomed around our path will so guide us onward to a perfect restoration of fraternal affection that we of this day may be able to transmit our great inheritance of State governments in all their rights, of the General Government in its whole constitutional vigor, to our posterity, and they to theirs through countless generations? ANDREW JOHNSON Source: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/first-annual-message-10

An Act to regulate the relation of master and apprentice, as relates to freedmen, free negroes, and mulattoes. November 22, 1865 Section 1. Be it enacted by the legislature of the state of Mississippi, that it shall be the duty of all sheriffs, justices of the peace, and other civil officers of the several counties in this state to report to the Probate courts of their respective counties semiannually, at the January and July terms of said courts, all freedmen, free Negroes, and mulattoes under the age of eighteen within their respective counties, beats, or districts who are orphans, or whose parent or parents have not the means, or who refuse to provide for and support said minors; and thereupon it shall be the duty of said Probate Court to order the clerk of said court to apprentice said minors to some competent and suitable person, on such terms as the court may direct, having a particular care to the interest of said minors: Provided, that the former owner of said minors shall have the preference when, in the opinion of the court, he or she shall be a Suitable person for that purpose. Section 2. Be it further enacted, that the said court shall be fully satisfied that the person or persons to whom said minor shall be apprenticed shall be a suitable person to have the charge and care of said minor and fully to protect the interest of said minor. The said court shall require the said master or mistress to execute bond and security, payable to the state of Mississippi, conditioned that he or she shall furnish said minor with sufficient food and clothing; to treat said minor humanely; furnish medical attention in case of sickness; teach or cause to be taught him or her to read and write, if under fifteen years old; and will conform to any law that may be hereafter passed for the regulation of the duties and relation of master and apprentice: Provided, that said apprentice shall be bound by indenture, in case of males until they are twenty-one years old, and in case of females until they are eighteen years old. Section 3. Be it further enacted, that in the management and control of said apprentices, said master or mistress shall have power to inflict such moderate corporeal chastisement as a father or guardian is allowed to inflict on his or her child or ward at common law: Provided, that in no case shall cruel or inhuman punishment be inflicted. Section 4. Be it further enacted, that if any apprentice shall leave the employment of his or her master or mistress without his or her consent, said master or mistress may pursue and recapture said apprentice and bring him or her before any justice of the peace of the county, whose duty it shall be to remand said apprentice to the service of his or her master or mistress; and in the event of a refusal on the part of said apprentice so to return, then said justice shall commit said apprentice to the jail of said county, on failure to give bond, until the next term of the county court; and it shall be the duty of said court, at the first term thereafter, to investigate said case; and if the court shall be of opinion that said apprentice left the employment of his or her master or mistress without good cause, to order him or her to be punished, as provided for the punishment of hired freedmen, as may be from time to time provided for by law, for desertion, until he or she shall agree to return to his or her master or mistress: Provided, that the court may grant continuances, as in other cases; and provided, further, that if the court shall believe that said apprentice had good cause to quit his said master or mistress, the court shall discharge said apprentice from said indenture and also enter a judgment against the master or mistress for not more than $100, for the use and benefit of said apprentice, to be collected on execution, as in other cases. Section 5. Be it further enacted, that if any person entice away any apprentice from his or her master or mistress, or shall knowingly employ an apprentice, or furnish him or her food or clothing, without the written consent of his or her master or mistress, of shall sell or give said apprentice ardent spirits, without such consent, said person so offending shall be deemed guilty of a high misdemeanor, and shall, on conviction thereof before the county court, be punished as provided for the punishment of persons enticing from their employer hired freedmen, free Negroes, or mulattoes. Section 6. Be it further enacted, that it shall be the duty of all civil officers of their respective counties to report any minors within their respective counties to said Probate Court who are subject to be apprenticed under the provisions of this act, from time to time, as the facts may come to their knowledge; and it shall be the duty of said court, from time to time, as said minors shall be reported to them or otherwise come to their knowledge, to apprentice said minors as hereinbefore provided. Section 7. Be it further enacted, that in case the master or mistress of any apprentice shall desire, he or she shall have the privilege to summon his or her said apprentice to the Probate Court, and thereupon, with the approval of the court, he or she shall be released from all liability as master of said apprentice, and his said bond shall be canceled, and it shall be the duty of the court forthwith to reapprentice said minor; and in the event any master of in apprentice shall die before the close of the term of service of said apprentice, it shall be the duty of the court to give the preference in reapprenticing said minor to the widow, or other member of said master's family: Provided, that said widow or other member of said family shall be a suitable person for that purpose. Section 8. Be it further enacted, that in case any master or mistress of any apprentice, bound to him or her under this act shall be about to remove or shall have removed to any other state of the United States by the laws of which such apprentice may be an inhabitant thereof, the Probate Court of the proper county may authorize the removal of such apprentice to such state, upon the said master or mistress entering into bond, with security, in a penalty to be fixed by the judge, conditioned that said master or mistress will, upon such removal, comply with the laws of such state in such cases: Provided, that said master shall be cited to attend the court at which such order is proposed to be made and shall have a right to resist the same by next friend, or otherwise. Section 9. Be it further enacted, that it shall be lawful for any freedman, free Negro, or Mulatto having a minor child or children to apprentice the said minor child or children as provided for by this act. Section 10. Be it further enacted, that in all cases where the age of the freedman, free Negro, or mulatto cannot be ascertained by record testimony, the judge of the county court shall fix the age. Source: http://americainclass.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Reading-1-Black-Codes.pdf

An Act to Amend the Vagrant Laws of the State November 24, 1865 Section 1. Be it enacted by the legislature of the state of Mississippi, that all rogues and vagabonds, idle and dissipated persons, beggars, jugglers, or persons practising unlawful games or plays, runaways, common drunkards, common nightwalkers, pilferers, lewd, wanton, or lascivious persons, in speech or behavior, common railers and brawlers, persons who neglect their calling or employment, misspend what they earn, or do not provide for the support of themselves or their families or dependents, and all other idle and disorderly persons, including all who neglect all lawful business, or habitually misspend their time by frequenting houses of illfame, gaming houses, or tippling shops, shall be deemed and considered vagrants under the provisions of this act; and, on conviction thereof shall be fined not exceeding $100, with all accruing costs, and be imprisoned at the discretion of the court not exceeding ten days. Section 2. Be it further enacted, that all freedmen, free Negroes, and mulattoes in this state over the age of eighteen years found on the second Monday in January 1866, or thereafter, with no lawful employment or business, or found unlawfully assembling themselves together either in the day or nighttime, and all white persons so assembling with freedmen, free Negroes, or mulattoes, or usually associating with freedmen, free Negroes, or mulattoes on terms of equality, or living in adultery or fornication with a freedwoman, free Negro, or mulatto, shall be deemed vagrants; and, on conviction thereof, shall be fined in the sum of not exceeding, in the case of a freedman, free Negro, or mulatto, 150, and a white man, $200, and imprisoned at the discretion of the court, the free Negro not exceeding ten days, and the white man not exceeding six months. Section 3. Be it further enacted, that all justices of the peace, mayors, and aldermen of incorporated towns and cities of the several counties in this state shall have jurisdiction to try all questions of vagrancy in their respective towns, counties, and cities; and it is hereby made their duty, whenever they shall ascertain that any person or persons in their respective towns, counties, and cities are violating any of the provisions of this act, to have said party or parties arrested and brought before them and immediately investigate said charge; and, on conviction, punish said party or parties as provided for herein. And it is hereby made the duty of all sheriffs, constables, town constables, city marshals, and all like officers to report to some officer having jurisdiction all violations of any of the provisions of this act; and it shall be the duty of the county courts to inquire if any officers have neglected any of the duties required by this act; and in case any officer shall fail or neglect any duty herein, it shall be the duty of the county court to fine said officer, upon conviction, not exceeding $100, to be paid into the county treasury for county purposes. Section 4. Be it further enacted, that keepers of gaming houses, houses of prostitution, all prostitutes, public or private, and all persons who derive their chief support in employments that militate against good morals or against laws shall be deemed and held to be vagrants. Section 5. Be it further enacted, that all fines and forfeitures collected under the provisions of this act shall be paid into the county treasury for general county purposes; and in case any freedman, free Negro, or mulatto shall fail for five days after the imposition of any fine or forfeiture upon him or her for violation of any of the provisions of this act to pay the same, that it shall be, and is hereby made, the duty of the sheriff of the proper county to hire out said freedman, free Negro, or mulatto to any person who will, for the shortest period of service, pay said fine or forfeiture and all costs: Provided, a preference shall be given to the employer, if there be one, in which case the employer shall be entitled to deduct and retain the amount so paid from the wages of such freedman, free Negro, or mulatto then due or to become due; and in case such freedman, free Negro, or mulatto cannot be hired out he or she may be dealt with as a pauper. Section 6. Be it further enacted, that the same duties and liabilities existing among white persons of this state shall attach to freedmen, free Negroes, and mulattoes to support their indigent families and all colored paupers; and that, in order to secure a support for such indigent freedmen, free Negroes, and mulattoes, it shall be lawful, and it is hereby made the duty of the boards of county police of each county in this state, to levy a poll or capitation tax on each and every freedman, free Negro, or mulatto, between the ages of eighteen and sixty years, not to exceed the sum of s I annually, to each person so taxed, which tax, when collected, shall be paid into the county treasurer's hands and constitute a fund to be called the Freedman's Pauper Fund, which shall be applied by the commissioners of the poor for the maintenance of the poor of the freedmen, free Negroes. and mulattoes of this state, under such regulations as may be established by the boards of county police, in the respective counties of this state. Section 7. Be it further enacted, that if any freedman, free Negro, or mulatto shall fail or refuse to pay any tax levied according to the provisions of the 6th Section of this act, it shall be prima facie evidence of vagrancy, and it shall be the duty of the sheriff to arrest such freedman, free Negro, or mulatto, or such person refusing or neglecting to pay such tax, and proceed at once to hire, for the shortest time, such delinquent taxpayer to anyone who will pay the said tax, with accruing costs, giving preference to the employer, if there be one. Section 8. Be it further enacted, that any person feeling himself or herself aggrieved by the judgment of any justice of the peace, mayor, or alderman in cases arising under this act may, within five days, appeal to the next term of the county court of the proper county, upon giving bond and security in a sum not less than $25 nor more than $150, conditioned to appear and prosecute said appeal, and abide by the judgment of the county court, and said appeal shall be tried de novo in the county court, and the decision of said court shall be final. Source: http://americainclass.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Reading-1-Black-Codes.pdf

November 7, 1865 We, the people of the State of Florida, by our delegates in convention assembled, in the city of Tallahassee, on the 25th day of October, in the year of our Lord 1865, and of the Independence of the United States the ninetieth year, in order to secure to ourselves and our posterity the enjoyment of all the rights of life, liberty, and property, and the pursuit of happiness, do mutually agree, each with the other, to form the following constitution and form of government in and for the said State: Article I: DECLARATION OF RIGHTS That the great and essential principles of liberty and free government may be recognized and established, we declare: Section. 1. That all freemen, when they form a government, have certain inherent and indefeasible rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty; of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property and reputation, and of pursuing their own happiness. Sec. 2. That all political power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and established for their benefit; and therefore they have at all times an inalienable and indefeasible right to alter or abolish their form of government in such manner as they may deem expedient. Sec. 3. That all men have a natural and inalienable right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own conscience, and that no preference shall ever be given by law to any religious establishment or mode of worship in this State. Sec. 4. That no property qualification for eligibility to office, or for the right of suffrage, shall ever be required in this State. Sec. 5. That every citizen may freely speak, write, and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty; and no law shall be passed to curtail, abridge, or restrain the liberty of speech or of the press. Sec. 6. That the right of trial by jury shall forever remain inviolate. Sec. 7. That the people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and possessions, from unreasonable seizures and searches; and that no warrant to search any place, or to seize any person or thing, shall issue without describing the place to be searched, and the person or thing to be seized, as nearly as may be, nor without probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation. Sec. 8. That no freeman shall be taken, imprisoned, or disseized of his freehold, liberties, or privileges, or outlawed or exiled, or in any manner destroyed or deprived of his life, liberty, or property, but by the law of the land. Sec. 9. That courts shall be open, and every person, for an injury done him in his lands, goods, person, or reputation, shall have remedy by due course of law; and right and justice administered without sale, denial, or delay. Sec. 10. That in all criminal prosecutions, the accused hath a right to be heard by himself or counsel, or both; to demand the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; and in all prosecutions by indictment or presentment, a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the county or district where the offence was committed; and shall not be compelled to give evidence against himself. Sec. 11. That all persons shall be bailable by sufficient securities, unless in capital offences, where the proof is evident, or the presumption is strong; and the habeas-corpus act shall not be suspended unless when, in case of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it. Sec. 12. That excessive bail shall in no case be required; nor shall excessive fines be imposed; nor shall cruel or unusual punishments be inflicted. Sec. 13. That no person shall, for the same offence, be twice put in jeopardy of life and limb. Sec. 14. That private property shall not be taken or applied to public use, unless just compensation be first made therefor. Sec. 15. That in all prosecutions and indictments for libel, the truth may be given in evidence; and if it shall appear to the jury that the libel is true, and published with good motives, and for justifiable ends, the truth shall be a justification; and the jury shall be the judges of the law and facts. Sec. 16. That no person shall be put to answer any criminal charge, but by presentment, indictment, or impeachment, except in such cases as the legislature shall otherwise provide; but the legislature shall pass no law whereby any person shall be required to answer any criminal charge involving the life of the accused, except upon indictment or presentment by a grand jury. Sec. 17. That no conviction shall work corruption of blood or forfeiture of estate. Sec. 18. That retrospective laws punishing acts committed before the existence of such laws, and by them only declared penal or criminal, are oppressive, unjust, and incompatible with liberty; wherefore no ex post facto law shall ever be made. Sec. 19. That no law impairing the obligation of contracts shall be passed. Sec. 20. That the people shall have a right, in a peaceable manner, to assemble together to consult for the common good, and to apply to those invested with the powers of government for redress of grievances, or other proper purposes, by petition, address, or remonstrance. Sec. 21. That no soldier, in time of peace, shall be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war but in a manner prescribed by law. Sec. 22. That no standing army shall be kept up without the consent of the legislature; and the military shall be in strict subordination to the civil power. Sec. 23. That perpetuities and monopolies are contrary to the genius of a free people, and ought not to be allowed. Sec. 24. That no hereditary emoluments, privileges, or honors shall be granted or conferred in this State. Sec. 25. That a frequent recurrence to fundamental principles is absolutely necessary to preserve the blessings of liberty. Sec. 26. That, to guard against transgressions upon the rights of the people, we declare that everything in this article is excepted out of the general powers of government, and shall forever remain inviolate; and all laws contrary thereto, or to the following provisions, shall be void. Article II: DISTRIBUTION OF THE POWERS OF GOVERNMENT Section 1. The powers of the government of the State of Florida shall be divided into three distinct departments, and each of them confided to a separate body of magistracy, to wit, those which are legislative to one, those which are executive to another, and those which are judicial to another. Sec. 2. No person, or collection of persons, being one of these departments, shall exercise any power properly belonging to either of the others, except in the instance expressly provided in this constitution. Article III: EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT Section 1. The supreme executive power shall be vested in a chief magistrate, who shall be styled the governor of the State of Florida. Sec. 2. The governor shall be elected for four years, by the qualified electors, at the time and place they shall vote for representatives, and shall remain in office until a successor shall be chosen and qualified. Sec. 3. No person shall be eligible to the office of governor unless he shall have attained the age of thirty years, shall have been a citizen of the United States ten years, and shall have been a resident of Florida at least five years next preceding his election. Sec. 4. There shall be elected at the same time, for the same term, and with like qualifications as the governor, a lieutenant-governor, who shall be ex-officio president of the senate, but shall have no vote except in cases of a tie, and during the session of the general assembly he shall receive such compensation as shall be allowed to a senator. Sec. 5. The returns of every election for governor or lieutenant-governor shall be sealed up and transmitted to the seat of government, directed to the speaker of the house of representatives, who shall, during the first week of the session next after their election, open and publish them in the presence of both houses of the general assembly; and the persons having the highest number of votes for the respective offices shall be governor and lieutenant-governor; but if two or more shall be equal and highest in votes for the office of governor, one of them shall be chosen governor by the joint vote of the two houses; and, in like manner, if two or more shall be equal and highest in votes for the office of lieutenant-governor, one of them shall be chosen lieutenant-governor, by the joint vote of the two houses. And contested elections for governor and lieutenant-governor shall be determined by both houses of the general assembly, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. Sec. 6. The governor shall, at stated times, receive a compensation for his services, which shall not be increased or diminished during the term for which he shall have been elected; but such compensation shall never be less than three thousand dollars per annum. Sec. 7. He shall be the commander-in-chief of the army and navy of this State, and of the militia thereof. Sec. 8. He may require information in writing from the officers of the executive department on any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices. Sec. 9. He may by proclamation, on extraordinary occasions, convene the general assembly at the seat of government, or at a different place, if that shall have become dangerous from an enemy or from disease; and in case of disagreement between the two houses with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he may think proper, not beyond the day of the next meeting designated by the constitution. Sec. 10. He shall, from time to time, give to the general assembly information of the state of the government, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he may deem expedient. Sec. 11. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. Sec. 12. In all criminal and penal cases, (except of impeachment,) after conviction, he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons, and remit fines and forfeitures, under such rules and regulations as shall be prescribed by law. Sec. 13. The State seal last heretofore used (until altered by the general assembly) shall continue to be the great seal of the State, and shall be kept by the governor for the time being, and used by him officially. Sec. 14. All commissions shall be in the name and by the authority of the State of Florida, be sealed with the State seal, and signed by the governor and attested by the secretary of state. Sec. 15. There shall be a secretary of state elected by the qualified electors of the State at the same time, and who shall continue in office for the same term of years as the governor of the State; and he shall keep a fair register of the official acts and proceedings of the governor, and shall, when required, lay the same, and all papers, minutes, and vouchers relative thereto, before the general assembly, and shall perform such other duties as may be required of him by law. Sec. 16. Vacancies that happen in offices, the appointment to which is vested in the general assembly, or given to the governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, shall be filled by the governor during the recess of the general assembly, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of the next session. Sec. 17. Every bill which shall have passed both houses of the general assembly shall be presented to the governor; if he approve, he shall sign it; but if not, he shall return it with his objections to the house in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large upon the journals, and proceed to reconsider it; and if, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of the whole number voting shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent with the objections to the other house, by which it shall be reconsidered; and if approved by two-thirds of the whole number voting, it shall become a law; but in such cases the votes of both houses shall be by yeas and nays, and the names of the members voting for or against the bill shall be entered on the journals of each house respectively; and if any bill shall not be returned by the governor within five days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law in like manner as if he had signed, unless the general assembly by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be law. Sec. 18. Every order, resolution, or vote, to which the concurrence of both houses may be necessary (except on questions of adjournment) shall be presented to the governor, and before it shall take effect, be approved by him, or being disapproved, be repassed by both houses, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in case of a bill. Sec. 19. In case of the impeachment of the governor, his removal from office, death, refusal to qualify, resignation, or absence from the State, the lieutenant-governor shall exercise all the power and authority appertaining to the office of governor, until the governor, absent or impeached, shall return, or be acquitted, or until the governor next regularly elected shall be duly qualified, as the case may be; and for the time the lieutenant-governor shall occupy the office of governor he shall receive the same compensation as shall be allowed by law to the regularly-elected governor. Sec. 20. In case of the impeachment of both the governor and the lieutenant-governor, their removal from office, death, refusal to qualify, resignation, or absence from the State, the speaker of the house of representatives shall in like manner administer the government, unless the general assembly shall otherwise provide; and for the time he shall occupy the office of governor, he shall receive the same compensation as shall be allowed by law to the governor. Sec. 21. It shall be the duty of the general assembly to provide for the purchase or erection of a suitable building for the residence of the governor, and the governor shall reside at the seat of government; but whenever, by reason of danger from an enemy, or from disease, the governor may deem the capital unsafe, he may, by proclamation, fix the seat of government at some secure place within the State, until such danger shall cease. Sec. 22. No person shall hold the office of governor and any other office or commission, civil or military, either in this State or under any State, or the United States, or any other power, at one and the same time, except the lieutenant-governor or the speaker of the house of representatives, when he shall hold the office as aforesaid. Sec. 23. A State treasurer and comptroller of public accounts shall be elected by the qualified electors of the State at the same time, and who shall continue in office for the same term of years as the governor of the State, and until their successors shall have been duly commissioned and qualified. Article IV: LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT Section 1. The legislative power of this State shall be vested in two distinct branches, the one to be styled the senate, the other the house of representatives, and both together “the general assembly of the State of Florida;” and the style of the laws shall be, “Be it enacted by the senate and house of representatives of the State of Florida in general assembly convened.” Sec. 2. The members of the house of representatives shall be chosen by the qualified voters, and shall serve for the term of two years from the day of the general election, and no longer; and the sessions of the general assembly shall be annual, and commence on the second Wednesday in November in each year. Sec. 3. The representatives shall be chosen every two years on the first Monday in the month of October, until otherwise directed by law. Sec. 4. No person shall be a representative unless he be a white man, a citizen of the United States, and shall have been an inhabitant of the State two years next preceding his election, and the last year thereof a resident of the county for which he shall be chosen, and shall have attained the age of twenty-one years. Sec. 5. The senators shall be chosen by the qualified electors for the term of two years, at the same time, in the same manner, and in the same places where they vote for members of the house of representatives, and no man shall be a senator unless he be a white man, a citizen of the United States, and shall have been an inhabitant of this State two years next preceding his election, and the last year thereof a resident of the district or county for which he shall be chosen, and shall have attained the age of twenty-five years. Sec. 6. The house of representatives, when assembled, shall choose a speaker and its other officers, and the senate, its other officers, and in the absence of the lieutenant-governor, a president pro tempore, and each house shall be judge of the qualifications, elections, and returns of its members; but a contested election shall be determined in such manner as shall be directed by law. Sec. 7. A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do business, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner and under such penalties as each house may prescribe. Sec. 8. Each house may determine the rules of its own proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and with the consent of two-thirds expel a member, but not a second time for the same cause. Sec. 9. Each house, during the session, may punish, by imprisonment, any person not a member, for disrespectful or disorderly behavior in its presence, or for obstructing any of its proceedings, provided such imprisonment shall not extend beyond the end of the session. Sec. 10. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and cause the same to be published immediately after its adjournment; and the yeas and nays of the members of each house shall be taken and entered upon the journals upon the final passage of every bill, and may, by any two members, be required upon any other question; and any member of either house shall have liberty to dissent from, or protest against, any act or resolution which he may think injurious to the public, or an individual, and have the reasons of his dissent entered on the journal. Sec. 11. Senators and representatives shall in all cases, except treason, felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during the session of the general assembly, and in going to or returning from the same, allowing one day for every twenty miles such member may reside from the place at which the general assembly is convened, and for any speech or debate in either house they shall not be questioned in any other place. Sec. 12. The general assembly shall make provision by law for filling vacancies that may occur in either house by the death, resignation, or otherwise of any of its members. Sec. 13. The doors of each house shall be open when in legislative session, except on such occasions as, in the opinion of the house, the public safety may imperiously require secrecy. Sec. 14. Neither house shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which they may be sitting. Sec. 15. Bills may originate in either house of the general assembly; and all bills passed by one house may be discussed, amended, or rejected by the other; but no bill shall have the force of law until on three several days it be read in each house and free discussion be allowed thereon, unless, in cases of urgency, four-fifths of the house in which the same shall be pending may deem it expedient to dispense with the rule; and every bill having passed both houses shall be signed by the speaker and president of their respective houses. Sec. 16. Each member of the general assembly shall receive from the public treasury such compensation for his services as may be fixed by law; but no increase of compensation shall take effect during the term for which the representatives were elected when such law passed. Sec. 17. The sessions of the general assembly shall not extend in duration over thirty days, unless it be deemed expedient by a concurrent majority of two-thirds of the members of each house; and no member shall receive pay from the State for his services after the expiration of sixty days continuously from the commencement of the session. Sec. 18. The general assembly shall by law authorize the circuit court to grant licenses for building toll-bridges, and to establish ferries, and to regulate the tolls of both; to construct dams across streams not navigable; to ascertain and declare what streams are navigable; but no special law for such purpose shall be made. Sec. 19. The general assembly shall pass a general law prescribing the manner in which names of persons may be changed, but no special law for such purpose shall be passed; and no law shall be made allowing minors to contract, or manage their estates. Sec. 20. The general assembly shall pass a general law for the incorporation of towns, religious, library, scientific, benevolent, military, and other associations, not commercial, industrial, or financial; but no special act incorporating any such association shall be passed. Sec. 21. No act incorporating any railroad, banking, insurance, commercial, or financial corporation shall be introduced into the general assembly, unless the person or persons applying for such corporation shall have deposited with the treasurer the sum of one hundred dollars as a bonus to the State. Sec. 22. Officers shall be removed from office for incapacity, misconduct, or neglect of duty, in such manner as may be provided by law, when no mode of trial or removal is provided in this constitution. Article V: JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT Section 1. The judicial power of this State, both as to matters of law and equity, shall be vested in a supreme court, courts of chancery, circuit courts, and justices of the peace, provided the general assembly may also vest such civil or criminal jurisdiction as may be necessary in corporation courts, and such other courts as the general assembly may establish; but such jurisdiction shall not extend to capital cases. Sec. 2. The supreme court, except in cases otherwise directed in this constitution, shall have appellate jurisdiction only, which shall be coextensive with the State, under such restrictions and regulations, not repugnant to this constitution, as may, from time to time, be prescribed by law: Provided, That the said court shall always have power to issue writs of injunction, mandamus, quo warranto, habeas corpus, and such other original and remedial writs as may be necessary to give it a general superintendence and control of all other courts. Sec. 3. The supreme court shall be holden at such times and places as may be prescribed by law; and two judges of the circuit court may be added to the supreme court, when in session, at the discretion of the legislature; and the court so composed shall constitute the supreme court of the State, when the legislature shall so direct. Sec. 4. The State shall be divided into convenient circuits; and for each circuit there shall be a judge, who shall, after his election or appointment, reside in the circuit for which he has been elected or appointed; and shall, as well as justices of the supreme court, receive for his services a salary of not less than twenty-five hundred dollars per annum, which shall not be diminished during his continuance in office; but the judges shall receive no fees, perquisites of office, nor hold any other office of profit under the State, the United States, or any other power. Sec. 5. The circuit court shall have original jurisdiction in all matters, civil and criminal, not otherwise excepted in this constitution. Sec. 6. A circuit court shall be held in such counties, and at such times and places therein, as may be prescribed by law; and the judges of the several circuit courts may hold courts for each other, either for the entire circuit, or for a portion thereof, and they shall do so when required, by order of the governor or chief-justice of the supreme court; and they may exercise jurisdiction in cases of writs of habeas corpus in any judicial circuit in which the judge may happen to be at the time the case arises. Sec. 7. The general assembly shall have power to establish and organize a separate court or courts of original equity jurisdiction; but until such court or courts shall be established and organized, the circuit courts shall exercise such jurisdiction. Sec. 8. There shall be elected in each county of this State, by the qualified voters, an officer to be styled the judge of probate, to take probate of wills, to grant letters testamentary, of administration and guardianship, to attend to the settlement of the estates of decedents and minors, and to discharge the duties usually appertaining to courts of ordinary, and such other duties as may be required by law; subject to the direction and supervision of the circuit courts, as may be provided by law. Sec. 9. A competent number of justices of the peace shall be from time to time elected in and for each county, in such mode, and for such term of office, as the general assembly may direct, and shall possess such jurisdiction as may be prescribed by law; and in cases tried before a justice of the jeace, the right of appeal shall be secured under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by law. Sec. 10. There shall be appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, a chief-justice and two associate justices of the supreme court of this State, who shall reside in this State, and hold their office for the term of six years from their appointment and confirmation, unless sooner removed under the provisions of this constitution, for the removal of judges by address or impeachment; and for wilful neglect of duty, or other reasonable cause, which shall not be sufficient ground for impeachment, the governor shall remove any of them on the address of two-thirds of the general assembly: Provided, however, That the cause or causes shall be notified to the judge so intended to be removed, and he shall be admitted to a hearing in his own defence, before any vote for such removal shall pass, and in such case the vote shall be taken by yeas and nays, and entered on the journal of each house respectively, and in case of the appointment to fill a vacancy in said offices, the person so appointed shall only hold office for the unexpired term of his preddecessor. Sec. 11. There shall be elected, at the time and places prescribed by law, by the qualified electors of each of the respective judicial circuits of this State, one judge of the circuit court, who shall reside in the circuit for which he may be elected, and the said circuit judges shall continue in office for the term of six years from the date of their respective elections, unless sooner removed, under the provisions in this constitution for the removal of judges by address or impeachment; and for wilful neglect of duty, or other reasonable cause, which shall not be sufficient for impeachment, the governor shall remove any of them, on the address of two-thirds of the general assembly: Provided, however, That the cause or causes shall be stated at length in such address, and entered on the journals of each house: And provided further, That the cause or causes shall be notified to such judge so intended to be removed, and he shall be admitted to a hearing in his own defence before any vote or votes for such removal shall pass; and in such cases the vote shall be taken by yeas and nays, and entered on the journals of each house respectively. Sec. 12. The appointment of chief-justice and associate justices of the supreme court shall be made every sixth year after their first appointment, and the election of judges of the circuit court, and judges or chancellors of the chancery court, when established, shall be held in every sixth year after their first elections, at the same time and places as the elections for members of the general assembly. Sec. 13. That whenever the general assembly shall create a chancery court, under the provisions of this constitution, the judges thereof shall be elected in the manner provided in the last two sections of this article, and shall hold their offices and be subject to all the provisions of said sections: Provided, however, That the said judges shall be elected by general ticket or by districts, as the general assembly may direct. Sec. 14. That should a vacancy occur either in the chancery or circuit courts, by death, removal, resignation, or otherwise, it shall be the duty of the governor to issue a writ of election to fill such vacancy, and he shall give at least sixty days’ notice thereof by proclamation; and the judge so elected to fill such vacancy shall continue in office from the time he qualifies under his commission until the expiration of the term of his predecessor: Provided, however, That should it become necessary to fill any such vacancy before an election can be held under the provisions of this constitution, the governor shall have power to fill such vacancy by appointment, and the person so appointed shall hold his office from the date of his commission until his successor shall be duly elected and qualified. Sec. 15. The clerks of the circuit courts of the several circuits of this State shall be elected by the qualified voters in their several counties at such times and places as are now or may be provided by law: Provided, however, That the chief-justice of the supreme court and the chancellors of the court of chancery, when such courts shall be established, shall have the power to appoint the clerks of their respective courts. Sec. 16. The justices of the supreme court, chancellors and judges of the circuit courts, shall, by virtue of their offices, be conservators of the peace throughout the State. Sec. 17. The style of all process shall be “The State of Florida;” and all criminal prosecutions shall be carried on in the name of the State, and all indictments shall conclude, “against the peace and dignity of the same.” Sec. 18. There shall be an attorney-general for the State, who shall reside at the seat of government, and he shall perform such duties as may be prescribed by law; he shall be elected by the qualified voters of the State, at the same time and in the same manner that the comptroller, secretary of state, and treasurer are elected, and his term of office shall be the same; but he may be removed by the governor, on the address of a majority of the two houses of the general assembly, and shall receive for his services a compensation to be fixed by law. Sec. 19. There shall be one solicitor for each circuit, who shall reside therein, to be elected by the qualified electors of the circuit, who shall hold his office for the term of four years, and shall receive for his services a compensation to be fixed by law. Sec. 20. No justice of the supreme court shall sit as a judge, or take part in the appellate court on the trial or hearing of any case which shall have been decided by him in the court below. Sec. 21. The general assembly shall have power to establish in each county a board of commissioners, for the regulation of the county business therein. Sec. 22. No duty not judicial shall be imposed by law upon the justices of the supreme court, chancellors, or the judges of the circuit courts of this State, except in cases otherwise provided for in this constitution. Article VI: THE RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE—CIVIL OFFICERS Section 1. Every free white male person of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, and who shall be, at the time of offering to vote, a citizen of the United States, and who shall have resided and had his habitation, domicile, home, and place of permanent abode in Florida, for one year next preceding the election at which he shall offer to vote, and who shall, at such time, and for six months immediately preceding said time, have had his habitation, domicile, and place of permanent abode in the county in which he may offer to vote, shall be deemed a qualified elector at all elections under the constitution, and none others; except in elections by general ticket in the State or district prescribed by law, in which cases the elector must have been a resident of the State one year next preceding the election, and six months within the elective district in which he offers to vote: Provided, That no officer, soldier, seaman, or marine in the Regular Army or Navy of the United States, or any other person in the employ or pay of the United States, unless he be a qualified elector of the State previous to his appointment or enlistment as such officer, soldier, seaman, or marine in the Regular Army or Navy of the United States, or of the revenue service, shall be considered a resident of the State in consequence of being stationed within the same. Sec. 2. The general assembly shall have power to exclude from every office of honor, trust, or profit within the State, and from the right of suffrage, all persons convicted of bribery, perjury, or other infamous crime. Sec. 3. No person shall be capable of holding or being elected to any post of honor, profit, trust, or emolument, civil or military, legislative, executive, or judicial, under the government of this State, who shall hereafter fight a duel, or send or accept a challenge to fight a duel, the probable issue of which may be the death of the challenger or challenged, or who shall be a second to either party, or who shall, in any manner, aid or assist in such duel, or shall be knowingly the bearer of such challenge or acceptance, whether the same occur or be committed in or out of the State; but the legal disability shall not accrue until after trial and conviction, according to due form of law. Sec. 4. No person who may hereafter be a collector or holder of public moneys shall have a seat in either house of the general assembly, or be eligible to any office of trust or profit under this State, until he shall have accounted for and paid into the treasury all sums for which he may be accountable. Sec. 5. No governor, member of Congress, or of the general assembly of this State, shall receive a fee, be engaged as counsel, agent, or attorney, in any civil case or claim against this State, or to which this State shall be a party, during the time he shall remain in office. Sec. 6. No senator or representative shall, during the term for which he shall have been elected, be appointed to any civil office of profit under this State, which shall have been created, or the emoluments of which shall have been increased, during such term, except such offices as may be filled by elections by the people. Sec. 7. Members of the general assembly, and all officers, civil or military, before they enter upon the execution of their respective offices, shall take the following oath or affirmation: “I do swear (or affirm) that I am duly qualified, according to the constitution of this State, to exercise the office to which I have been elected, (or appointed,) and will, to the best of my abilities, discharge the duties thereof, and preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of this State, and of the United States of America.” Sec. 8. Every person shall be disqualified from serving as governor, senator, representative, or from holding any other office of honor or profit in this State, for the term for which he shall have been elected, who shall have been convicted of having given or offered any bribe to procure his election. Sec. 9. Laws shall be made by the general assembly to exclude from office, and from suffrage, those who shall have been, or may hereafter be, convicted of bribery, perjury, forgery, or other high crime or misdemeanor; and the privilege of suffrage shall be supported by laws regulating elections, and prohibiting, under adequate penalties, all undue influence thereon from power, bribery, tumult, or other improper practices. Sec. 10. All civil officers of the State at large shall reside within the State, and all district or county officers within their respective districts or counties, and shall keep their respective offices at such places therein as may be required by law. Sec. 11. It shall be the duty of the general assembly to regulate by law in what cases and what deduction from the salaries of public officers shall be made for any neglect of duty in their official capacity. Sec. 12. Returns of elections for members of Congress and the general assembly shall be made to the secretary of state, in manner to be prescribed by law. Sec. 13. In all elections of the general assembly the vote shall be viva voce, and in all elections by the people the vote shall be by ballot. Sec. 14. No member of Congress or person holding or exercising any office of profit under the United States, or under any foreign power, shall be eligible as a member of the general assembly of this State, or hold or exercise any office of profit under the State; and no person in this State shall ever hold two offices of profit at the same time, except the office of justice of the peace, notary public, constable, and militia officers, except by special act of the legislature; but the legislature shall never unite in the same person two offices the duties of which are incompatible. Sec. 15. The general assembly shall, by law, provide for the appointment or election, and removal from office, of all officers, civil and military, in this State, not provided for in this constitution. Sec. 16. The power of impeachment shall be vested in the house of representatives. Sec. 17. All impeachments shall be tried by the senate; when sitting for that purpose the senators shall be upon oath or affirmation; and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present. Sec. 18. The governor and all civil officers shall be liable to impeachment for any misdemeanor in office, but judgment in such cases shall not extend further than to removal from office and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit under this State; but the parties nevertheless shall be liable to indictment, trial, and punishment according to law. Article VII: MILITIA Section 1. All militia officers shall be elected or appointed, under such rules and regulations as the general assembly may from time to time direct and establish. Sec. 2. All offences against the militia law shall be tried by court-martial, or before a court and jury, as the general assembly may direct. Sec. 3. No commission shall be vacated except by sentence of a court-martial. Article VIII: TAXATION AND REVENUE Section 1. The general assembly shall advise and adopt a system of revenue, having regard to an equal and uniform mode of taxation throughout the State. Sec. 2. No other or greater amount of tax or revenue shall at any time be levied that may be required for the necessary expenses of the government. Sec. 3. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence of an appropriation by law, and a regular statement of the receipts and expenditures of all public moneys shall be published and promulgated annually with the laws of the general assembly. Sec. 4. The general assembly shall have power to authorize the several counties and incorporated towns in this State to impose taxes for county and corporation purposes, respectively, and all property shall be taxed upon the principles established in regard to State taxation. Sec. 5. The general assembly shall have power to authorize the levying of a capitation tax. Article IX: CENSUS AND APPORTIONMENT OF REPRESENTATION Section 1. The general assembly shall, in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, and in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, and every tenth year thereafter, cause an enumeration to be made of all the inhabitants of the State; and to the whole number of white inhabitants shall be added three-fifths of the number of colored people; and they shall then proceed to apportion the representation equally among the different counties, according to such enumeration, giving, however, one representative to every county, and increasing the number of representatives on a uniform ratio of population, according to the foregoing basis, and which ratio shall not be changed until a new census shall have been taken. Sec. 2. The general assembly shall also, after every such enumeration, proceed to fix by law the number of senators which shall constitute the senate of the State of Florida, and which shall never be less than one-fourth nor more than one-half of the whole number of the house of representatives; and they shall lay off the State into the same number of senatorial districts, as nearly equal in the number of inhabitants as may be, according to the ratio of representation established in the preceding section, each of which districts shall be entitled to one senator. Sec. 3. When any senatorial district shall be composed of two or more counties, the counties of which such district consists shall not be entirely separated by any county belonging to another district, and no county shall be divided in forming a district. Sec. 4. No county now organized shall be divided into new counties, so as to reduce the inhabitants of either below the ratio of representation. Sec. 5. The several counties of this State shall be entitled to the following representatives, viz: Escambia three, Santa Rosa two, Walton two, Holmes one, Washington one, Calhoun one, Franklin one, Jackson four, Gadsden three, Leon four, Wakulla one, Liberty one, Jefferson three, Madison two, Hamilton two, La Fayette one. Taylor one, Suwannee one, Columbia two, Baker one, Bradford one, Alachua two, Nassau one, Duval two, Clay one, Saint John’s one, Putnam one, Marion two, Sumter one, Orange one, Volusia one, Brevard one, Levy one, Hernando one, Hillsborough one, Manatee one, Monroe one, Dade one, and Polk one. There shall be twenty-nine senatorial districts in this State, which shall be as follows: The county of Escambia shall compose the first district; the county of Santa Rosa shall compose the second district; the county of Walton shall compose the third district; the counties of Washington and Holmes shall compose the fourth district; the county of Franklin shall compose the fifth district; the county of Calhoun shall compose the sixth district; the county of Jackson shall compose the seventh district; the county of Gadsden shall compose the eighth district; the county of Liberty shall compose the ninth district; the county of Leon shall compose the tenth district; the county of Wakulla shall compose the eleventh district; the county of Jefferson shall compose the twelfth district; the county of Madison shall compose the thirteenth district; the county of Hamilton shall compose the fourteenth district; the counties of La Fayette and Taylor shall compose the fifteenth district; the county of Columbia shall compose the sixteenth district; the county of Suwannee shall compose the seventeenth district; the counties of Baker and Bradford shall compose the eighteenth district; the county of Alachua shall compose the nineteenth district; the county of Nassau shall compose the twentieth district; the counties of Duval and Clay shall compose the twenty-first district; the counties of Saint John’s and Putnam shall compose the twenty-second district; the county of Marion shall compose the twenty-third district; the county of Sumter shall compose the twenty-fourth district; the counties of Orange and Volusia shall compose the twenty-fifth district; the counties of Levy and Hernando shall compose the twenty-sixth district; the counties of Hillsborough and Manatee shall compose the twenty-seventh district; the counties of Polk and Brevard shall compose the twenty-eighth district; and the counties of Monroe and Dale shall compose the twenty-ninth district; and each senatorial district shall be entitled to one senator. Article X: EDUCATION Section 1. The proceeds of all lands for the use of schools and a seminary or seminaries of learning shall be and remain a perpetual fund, the interest of which, together with all moneys accrued from any other source, applicable to the same object, shall be inviolably appropriated to the use of schools and seminaries of learning respectively, and to no other purpose. Sec. 2. The general assembly shall take such measures as may be necessary to preserve from waste or damage all lands so granted and appropriated for the purpose of education. Article XI: PUBLIC DOMAIN AND INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT Section 1. It shall be the duty of the general assembly to provide for the prevention of waste and damage of the public lands, that may hereafter be ceded to the State of Florida, and it may pass laws for the sale of any part or portion thereof, and, in such cases, provide for the safety, security, and appropriation of the proceeds, but in no wise to affect the purposes for which said lands have heretofore been appropriated. Sec. 2. A liberal system of internal improvements, being essential to the development of the resources of the State, shall be encouraged by the government of this State; and it shall be the duty of the general assembly, as soon as practicable, to ascertain by law proper objects for the extension of internal improvements, in relation to roads, canals, and navigable streams, and to provide for a suitable application of such funds as may have been, or may hereafter be, appropriated by said general assembly for such improvements. Sec. 3. That the general assembly may at any time cede to the United States Government a sufficient parcel or fraction of land for the purpose of coast defence and other national purposes. Article XII: BOUNDARIES Section 1. The boundary of the State of Florida shall be as follows: Commencing at the mouth of the river Perdido, from thence up the middle of said river to where it intersects the southern boundary-line of the State of Alabama, on the thirty-first degree of north latitude; then due east to the Chattahoochee river; thence down the middle of said river to its confluence with the Flint River; from thence straight to the head of the Saint Mary’s River; thence down the middle of said river to the Atlantic Ocean; thence southwardly to the Gulf of Florida and Gulf of Mexico; thence northwardly and westwardly, including all islands within five leagues of the shore, to the beginning. Article XIII: BANKS AND OTHER CORPORATIONS Section 1. The general assembly shall pass no act of incorporation, nor make any alteration in one, unless with the assent of at least two-thirds of each house, and unless public notice in one or more newspapers in the State shall have been given for at least three months immediately preceding the session at which the same may be applied for. Sec. 2. No bank-charter, nor any act of incorporation granting exclusive privileges, shall be granted for a longer period than twenty years. Sec. 3. Banks chartered by the general assembly shall be restricted to the business of exchange, discount, and deposit, and they shall not deal in real estate, nor in merchandise or chattels, except as security for loans or discounts, or for debts due to such bank; nor shall they be concerned in insurance, manufacturing, exportation, or importation, except of bullion or specie; nor shall they own real estate or chattels, except such as shall be necessary for their actual use in the transaction of business, or which may be received in payment of previously-contracted debts, or purchased at legal sales to satisfy such debts, of which they shall be required to make sale within three years after the acquisition thereof. Sec. 4. The capital stock of any bank shall not be less than one hundred thousand dollars, to be paid in suitable instalments, and shall be created only by the payment of specie therein. Sec. 5. All liabilities of such banks shall be payable in specie, and the circulation of no bank shall exceed three dollars for one of capital actually paid in. Sec. 6. No dividends or profits exceeding ten per centum per annum on the capital stock paid in shall be made; but all profits over ten per centum per annum shall be set apart and retained as a safety fund. Sec. 7. Stockholders in a bank, when an act of forfeiture is committed, or when it is dissolved or has expired, shall be individually and severally liable for the redemption of the outstanding circulation, in proportion to the stock owned by each; and no transfer of stock shall exonerate such stockholders from this liability, unless such transfer was made at least two years previous to said forfeiture, dissolution, or expiration. Sec. 8. Banks shall be open to inspection, under such regulations as may be prescribed by law; and it shall be the duty of the governor to appoint a person or persons, not connected in any manner with any bank in the State, to examine at least once a year into their state and condition; and the officers of every bank shall make quarterly returns, under oath, to the governor of its state and condition, and the names of the stockholders, and shares held by each. Sec. 9. Non-user for the space of one year, or any act of a corporation, or those having the control or management thereof, or intrusted therewith, inconsistent with or in violation of the provisions of this constitution or of its charter, shall cause its forfeiture, and the general assembly shall by general law provide a summary process for the sequestration of its effects and assets, and the appointment of officers to settle its affairs; and no forfeited charter shall be restored. Sec. 10. The general assembly shall not pledge the faith and credit of the State to raise funds in the aid of any corporation whatever. Article XIV: AMENDMENTS AND REVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION Section 1. No part of this constitution shall be altered except by a convention duly elected. Sec. 2. No convention of the people shall be called unless by the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members of each house of the general assembly, made known by the passing of a bill, which shall be read three times on three several days in each house. Sec. 3. Whenever a convention shall be called, proclamation of an election for delegates shall be made by the governor at least thirty days before the day of election. Every county and senatorial district shall be entitled to as many delegates as it has representatives in the general assembly. The same qualifications shall be required in delegates and in electors that are required in members of the general assembly, and voters for the same respectively; and the elections for delegates to a convention, and the returns of such election, shall be held and made in the manner prescribed by law for regulating elections for members of the general assembly, but the convention shall judge of the qualifications of its members. Article XV: SEAT OF GOVERNMENT The seat of government shall be and remain permanent at the city of Tallahassee, until otherwise provided for by the action of a convention of the people of the State. Article XVI: GENERAL PROVISIONS Section 1. Whereas slavery has been destroyed in this State by the Government of the United States, therefore neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall in future exist in this State, except as a punishment for crimes whereof the party shall have been convicted by the courts of the State; and all the inhabitants of the State, without distinction of color, are free, and shall enjoy the rights of person and property, without distinction of color. Sec. 2. In all criminal proceedings founded upon injury to a colored person, and in all cases affecting the rights and remedies of colored persons, no person shall be incompetent to testify as a witness on account of color; in all other cases, the testimony of colored persons shall be excluded, unless made competent by future legislation. The jury shall judge of the credibility of the testimony. Sec. 3. The jurors of this State shall be white men, possessed of such qualifications as may be prescribed by law. Sec. 4. Treason against the State shall consist only in levying war against it, or in adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or his confession in open court. Sec. 5. Divorces from the bonds of matrimony shall not be allowed but by the judgment of a court, as shall be prescribed by law. Sec. 6. The general assembly shall declare by law what parts of the common law and what parts of the civil law, not inconsistent with this constitution, shall be in force in this State. Sec. 7. The oaths of officers directed to be taken under this constitution may be administered by any judge or justice of the peace in the State of Florida until otherwise provided by law. Article XVII: SCHEDULE AND ORDINANCE. Section 1. All laws of the State passed during and since the tenth session of the legislature thereof, in 1860, not repugnant to the constitution of this State or of the United States, shall be valid; all writs, actions, prosecutions, judgments, and decrees of the courts of the State, all executions and sales made thereunder, and all acts, orders, and proceedings of the judges of probate, and of executors, administrators, guardians, and trustees, provided they were in conformity to the laws then in force, and not fraudulent, shall be as valid as if made under the usual and ordinary legislation of the country, provided that the same be not repugnant to the constitution of the State and of the United States. Sec. 2. All fines, penalties, forfeitures, obligations, and escheats heretofore accruing to the State of Florida, and not made unlawful by the constitution or laws of the United States, shall continue to accrue to the use of the State. Sec. 3. All recognizances heretofore taken shall remain valid, and all bonds executed to the governor of the State of Florida, either before or since the 1st day of January, 1861, or to any other officer of the State in his official capacity, shall be of full force and virtue for the uses therein respectively expressed, and may be sued for and recovered accordingly; and all criminal prosecutions and penal actions which have arisen may be prosecuted to judgment and execution in the name of the State. Sec. 4. The provisional governor of this State is hereby requested to authorize the civil officers of this State who were discharging the duties of their offices prior to or during the month of May, ad 1865, to resume the exercise of the functions of their respective offices, and to make such other appointments to office as may be necessary or proper to reorganize or reëstablish the civil government of this State; and all actions at law or suits in chancery, or any proceeding pending in any of the courts in this State prior to or during the said month of May, ad 1865, and either before or subsequent to the 10th day of January, ad 1861, shall continue in all respects valid, and may be prosecuted to judgment and decree; and all judgments and decrees rendered in civil causes in any of the courts in this State during the period of time last above specified, and not repugnant to the Constitution of the United States, are hereby declared of full force, validity, and effect. Sec. 5. The provisional governor of the State is hereby requested and authorized, at as early a day as practicable, to issue writs of election to the proper officers in the different counties in this State, and make proclamation for an election for governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, treasurer, comptroller of public accounts, attorney-general, circuit judges, judge of probate, sheriffs, clerks of circuit courts, solicitors, Representative in Congress, senators and representatives of the general assembly, county commissioners, coroners, justices of the peace, county surveyors, and all other officers provided for by this constitution. The said election shall be held on the 29th day of November, ad 1865. The said election shall be conducted according to the existing laws of the State of Florida, and shall take place on the same day throughout the State, the returns to be made according to law. The members of the general assembly, so elected, shall assemble on the 3d Monday in December, ad 1865. The governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, treasurer, comptroller of public accounts, attorney-general, circuit judges, judges of probate, sheriffs, clerks of circuit courts, solicitors, Representative in Congress, senators and representatives of the general assembly, county commissioners, coroners, justices of the peace, county surveyors, and all other officers provided for by this constitution, shall enter upon the duties of their respective offices immediately after their election, and shall continue in office in the same manner and during the same period they would have done had they been elected on the first Monday in October, ad 1865. The Representative in Congress shall continue in office in the same manner and during the same period he would have done had he been elected on the first Monday in October, ad 1865. Sec. 6. The statutes of limitations shall not be pleaded upon any claim in the hands of any person whomsoever, not sued upon when such claim was not barred by the statutes of limitation on the 10th day of January, 1861. Sec. 7. No law of this State providing that claims or demands against the estates of decedents shall be barred if not presented within two years, shall be considered as being in force within this State between the 10th day of January, 1861, and the 25th day of October, 1865. Done in open convention. In witness whereof the undersigned, the president of said convention, and delegates present, representing the people of Florida, do hereby sign our names this the seventh day of November, anno Domini eighteen hundred and sixty-five, and of the Independence of the United States the ninetieth year, and the secretary of said convention doth countersign the same. E. D. Tracy, President. Thomas Baltzell, James T. Magbee, A. H. Bush, G. Troup Maxwell, F. B. Callaway, Asa May, W. B. Cooper, John McLellan, W. R. Coulter, James A. Mickler, Jr. R. H. M. Davidson, S. L. Niblack, Arthur J. Forman Silas T. Overstreet, Alexander Bell James G. Owens, James Gettis John C. Richard, W. J. J. Duncan, Jackson N. Richards, Jas. D. Green, A. Richardson, Francis A. Hendry, W. Wash. Scott, W. Jas. Hines, Moses Simmons, D. P. Hogue, S. Spencer, J. W. H. Holden, J. L. Taylor, Jas. F. P. Johnston, G. K. Walker, Wm. W. J. Kelly, D. W. Whitehurst, J. M. Landrum, James A. Wiggins, Jesse B. Lassiter, B. D. Wright, Felix Leslie, Wm. Wilson, Dan'l. G. Livingston, Wm. Capers Bird, Thos. T. Long, Wiley W. Whidden, James Love, S. N. Williams, A. J. Peeler, Secretary.

November 7, 1865 PREAMBLE We, the people of the State of Georgia, in order to form a permanent government, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, and secure the blessing of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, acknowledging and invoking the guidance of Almighty God, the author of all good government, do ordain and establish this constitution for the State of Georgia: Article I: DECLARATION OF RIGHTS One. Protection to person and property is the duty of government. Two. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, except by due process of law. Three. The writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended unless, in case of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it. Four. A well-regulated militia, beig necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Five. Perfect freedom of religious sentiment be, and the same is hereby, secured, and no inhabitant of this State shall ever be molested in person or property, nor prohibited from holding any public office or trust, on account of his religious opinions. Six. Freedom of speech, and freedom of the press, are inherent elements of political liberty. But while every citizen may freely speak or write or print on any subject, he shall be responsible for the abuse of the liberty. Seven. The right of the people to appeal to the courts, to petition government on all matters of legitimate cognizance, and peaceably to assemble for the consideration of any matter of public concern, shall never be impaired. Eight. Every person charged with an offence against the laws of the State shall have the privilege and benefit of counsel, shall be furnished on demand with a copy of the accusation, and list of the witnesses on whose testimony the charge against him is founded; shall have compulsory process to obtain the attendance of his own witnesses; shall be confronted with the witnesses testifying against him, and shall have a public and speedy trial by an impartial jury, as heretofore practised in Georgia. Nine. No person shall be put in jeopardy of life or liberty more than once for the same offence, save on his or her own motion for a new trial after conviction, or in case of mistrial. Ten. No conviction shall work corruption of blood or general forfeiture of estate. Eleven. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. Twelve. The powers of the courts to punish for contempt shall be limited by legislative acts. Thirteen. Legislative acts in violation of the constitution are void, and the judiciary shall so declare them. Fourteen. Ex post facto laws, laws impairing the obligation of contracts, and retroactive laws injuriously affecting any right of the citizen, are prohibited. Fifteen. Laws should have a general operation, and no general law affecting private rights shall be varied in any particular case by special legislation, except with the free consent, in writing, of all persons to be affected thereby; and no person being under a legal disability to contract is capable of such free consent. Sixteen. The power of taxation over the whole State shall be exercised by the general assembly only to raise revenue for the support of government, to pay the public debt, to provide for the common defence, and for such other purposes as the general assembly may be specially required or empowered to accomplish by this constitution. But the general assembly may, by statute, grant the power of taxation for designated purposes, with such limitations as they may deem expedient, to county authorities and municipal corporations, to be exercised within their several territorial limits. Seventeen. In cases of necessity, private ways may be granted upon just compensation being first paid; and with this exception private property shall not be taken, save for public use, and then only on just compensation, to be first provided and paid, unless there be a pressing, unforeseen necessity; in which event the general assembly shall make early provision for such compensation. Eighteen. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated; and no warrant shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place or places to be searched, and the persons and things to be seized. Nineteen. The person of a debtor shall not be detained in prison, after delivery, for the benefit of his creditors, of all his estate not expressly exempted by law from levy and sale. Twenty. The Government of the United States having, as a war-measure, proclaimed all slaves held or owned in this State emancipated from slavery, and having carried that proclamation into full practical effect, there shall henceforth be, within the State of Georgia, neither slavery or involuntary servitude, save as a punishment for crime, after legal conviction thereof: Provided, This acquiescence in the action of the Government of the United States is not intended to operate as a relinquishment, waiver, or estoppel of such claim for compensation of loss sustained by reason of the emancipation of his slaves as any citizen of Georgia may hereafter make upon the justice and magnanimity of that Government. Twenty-one. The enumeration of rights herein contained is a part of this constitution, but shall not be construed to deny to the people any inherent rights which they have hitherto enjoyed. Article II Section 1. One. The legislative, executive, and judicial departments shall be distinct; and each department shall be confided to a separate body of magistracy. No person, or collection of persons, being of one department, shall exercise any power properly attached to either of the others, except in cases herein expressly provided. Two. The legislative power shall be vested in a general assembly, which shall consist of a senate and house of representatives, the members whereof shall be elected and returns of the elections made in the manner now prescribed by law (until changed by the general assembly) on the 15th day of November, in the present year, and biennially thereafter, on the first Wednesday of October, to serve until their successors shall be elected; but the general assembly may, by law, change the day of election. Three. The first meeting of the general assembly, under this constitution, shall be on the first Monday in December next, after which it shall meet annually on the first Thursday in November, or on such other day as the general assembly may prescribe. A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to transact business, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day and compel the attendance of its absent members, as each house may provide. No session of the general assembly, after the first above mentioned, shall continue longer than forty days, unless prolonged by a vote of two-thirds of each branch thereof. Four. No person holding any military commission, or other appointment, having any emolument or compensation annexed thereto, under this State or the United States, or either of them, (except justices of the inferior court, justices of the peace, and officers of the militia,) nor any defaulter for public money, or for any legal taxes required of him, shall have a seat in either branch of the general assembly; nor shall any senator or representative, after his qualification as such, be elected by the general assembly, or appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of two-thirds of the senate, to any office or appointment having any emolument or compensation annexed thereto, during the time for which he shall have been elected. Five. No person convicted of any felony before any court of this State, or of the United States, shall be eligible to any office or appointment of honor, profit, or trust, within this State, until he shall have been pardoned. Six. No person who is collector or holder of public money shall be eligible to any office in this State until the same is accounted for and paid into the treasury. Sec. 2. There shall be forty-four senatorial districts in the State of Georgia, each composed of three contiguous counties, from each of which districts one senator shall be chosen, until otherwise arranged, as hereinafter provided. The said districts shall be constituted of counties as follows: The first district, of Chatham, Bryan, and Effingham. The second, of Liberty, Tattnall, and MacIntosh. The third, of Wayne, Pierce, and Appling. The fourth, of Glynn, Camden, and Charlton. The fifth, of Coffee, Ware, and Clinch. The sixth, of Echols, Lowndes, and Berrien. The seventh, of Brooks, Thomas, and Colquitt. The eighth, of Decatur, Mitchell, and Miller. The ninth, of Early, Calhoun, and Baker. The tenth, of Dougherty, Lee, and Worth. The eleventh, of Clay, Randolph, and Terrell. The twelfth, of Stewart, Webster, and Quitman. The thirteenth, of Sumter, Schley, and Macon. The fourteenth, of Dooly, Wilcox, and Pulaski. The fifteenth, of Montgomery, Telfair, and Irwin. The sixteenth, of Laurens, Johnson, and Emanuel. The seventeenth, of Bullock, Scriven, and Burke. The eighteenth, of Richmond, Glascock, and Jefferson. The nineteenth, of Taliaferro, Warren, and Greene. The twentieth, of Baldwin, Hancock, and Washington. The twenty-first, of Twiggs, Wilkinson, and Jones. The twenty-second, of Bibb, Monroe, and Pike. The twenty-third, of Houston, Crawford, and Taylor. The twenty-fourth, of Marion, Chattahoochee, and Muscogee. The twenty-fifth, of Harris, Upson, and Talbot. The twenty-sixth, of Spalding, Butts, and Fayette. The twenty-seventh, of Newton, Walton, and Clarke. The twenty-eighth, of Jasper, Putnam, and Morgan. The twenty-ninth, of Wilkes, Lincoln, and Columbia. The thirtieth, of Oglethorpe, Madison, and Elbert. The thirty-first, of Hart, Franklin, and Habersham. The thirty-second, of White, Lumpkin, and Dawson. The thirty-third, of Hall, Banks, and Jackson. The thirty-fourth, of Gwinnett, DeKalb, and Henry. The thirty-fifth, of Clayton, Fulton, and Cobb. The thirty-sixth, of Meriwether, Cowetta, and Campbell. The thirty-seventh, of Troup, Heard, and Carroll. The thirty-eighth, of Haralson, Polk, and Paulding. The thirty-ninth, of Cherokee, Milton, and Forsyth. The fortieth, of Union, Towns, and Rabun. The forty-first, of Fannin, Gilmer, and Pickens. The forty-second, of Bartow, Floyd, and Chattooga. The forty-third, of Murray, Whitfield, and Gordon. The forty-fourth, of Walker, Dade, and Catoosa. If a new county be established, it shall be added to a district which it adjoins. The senatorial districts may be changed by the general assembly, but only at the first session after the taking of each new census by the United States Government, and their number shall never be increased. Two. No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age of twenty-five years and be a citizen of the United States, and have been for three years an inhabitant of this State, and for one year a resident of the district from which he is chosen. Three. The presiding officer shall be styled the president of the senate, and shall be elected viva voce from their own body. Four. The senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation, and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present. Judgment, in cases of impeachment, shall not extend further than removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, profit, or trust within this State; but the party convicted shall, nevertheless, be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment according to law. Sec. 3. One. The house of representatives shall be composed as follows: The thirty-seven counties having the largest representative population shall have two representatives each. Every other county shall have one representative. The designation of the counties having two representatives shall be made by the general assembly immediately after the taking of each census. Two. No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained to the age of twenty-one years, and be a citizen of the United States, and have been for three years an inhabitant of the State, and for one year a resident of the county which he represents. Three. The presiding officer of the house of representatives shall be styled the speaker, and shall be elected viva voce from their own body. Four. They shall have the sole power to impeach all persons who have been or may be in office. Five. All bills for raising revenue or appropriating money shall originate in the house of representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur in amendments, as in other bills. Sec. 4. One. Each house shall be the judge of the election returns and qualifications of its own members; and shall have power to punish them for disorderly behavior or misconduct, by censure, fine, imprisonment, or expulsion; but no member shall be expelled except by a vote of two-thirds of the house from which he is expelled. Two. Each house may punish, by imprisonment, not extending beyond the session, any person not a member, who shall be guilty of a contempt by any disorderly behavior in its presence; or who, during the session, shall threaten injury to the person or estate of any member, for anything said or done in either house; or who shall assault any member therefor or who shall assault or arrest any witness going to or returning therefrom; or who shall rescue, or attempt to rescue, any person arrested by order of either house. Third. The members of both houses shall be free from arrest during their attendance on the general assembly, and in going to and returning therefrom; except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace. And no member shall be liable to answer in any other place for anything spoken in debate in either house. Four. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and publish them immediately after its adjournment. The yeas and nays of the members on any question shall, at the desire of one-fifth of the members present, be entered on the journals. The original journals shall be preserved (after publication) in the office of the secretary of state; but there shall be no other record thereof. Five. Every bill, before it shall pass, shall be read three times, and on three separate and distinct days, in each house, unless in case of actual invasion or insurrection. Nor shall any law or ordinance pass which refers to more than one subject-matter, or contains matter different from what is expressed in the title thereof. Six. All acts shall be signed by the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives; and no bill, ordinance, or resolution, intended to have the effect of law, which shall have been rejected by either house, shall be again proposed under the same or any other title without the consent of two-thirds of the house, by which the same was rejected. Seven. Neither house shall adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place, without the consent of the other; and in case of disagreement between the two houses on a question of adjournment, the governor may adjourn them. Eight. Every senator and representative, before taking his seat, shall take an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution of the United States and of this State; and also, that he hath not practised any unlawful means, either directly or indirectly, to procure his election. And every person convicted of having given or offered a bribe shall be disqualified from serving as a member of either house for the term for which he was elected. Nine. Whenever this constitution requires an act to be passed by two-thirds of both houses, the yeas and nays on the passage thereof shall be entered on the journals of each. Sec. 5. One. The general assembly shall have power to make all laws and ordinances consistent with this constitution, and not repugnant to the Constitution of the United States, which they shall deem necessary and proper for the welfare of the State. Two. They may alter the boundaries of counties, and lay off and establish new counties; but every bill to establish a new county shall be passed by at least two-thirds of the members present in each branch of the general assembly. Three. The general assembly shall have power to appropriate money for the promotion of learning and science, and to provide for the education of the people; and shall provide for the early resumption of the regular exercises of the University of Georgia, by the adequate endowment of the same. Four. The general assembly shall have power, by a vote of two-thirds of each branch, to grant pardons in cases of final conviction for treason, and to pardon or commute after final conviction in capital cases. Five. It shall be the duty of the general assembly, at its next session, and thereafter as the public welfare may require, to provide by law for the government of free persons of color; for the protection and security of their persons and property, guarding them and the State against any evil that may arise from their sudden emancipation, and prescribing in what cases their testimony shall be admitted in the courts; for the regulation of their transactions with citizens; for the legalizing of their existing and the contracting and solemnization of their future marital relations, and connected therewith their rights of inheritance and testamentary capacity; and for the regulation or prohibition of their immigration into this State from other States of the Union, or elsewhere. And further, it shall be the duty of the general assembly to confer jurisdiction upon courts now existing, or to create county courts with jurisdiction in criminal cases excepted from the exclusive jurisdiction of the superior court, and in civil cases whereto free persons of color may be parties. Sec. 6. One. The general assembly shall have no power to grant corporate powers and privileges to private companies, except to banking, insurance, railroad, canal, plank-road, navigation, mining, express, lumber, manufacturing, and telegraph companies; nor to make or change election precincts; nor to establish bridges and ferries; nor to change names, or legitimate children; but shall by law prescribe the manner in which such power shall be exercised by the courts. But no bank-charter shall be granted or extended, and no act passed authorizing the suspension of specie payment by any chartered bank, except by a vote of two-thirds of each branch of the general assembly. Two. No money shall be drawn from the treasury of this State, except by appropriation made by law; and a regular statement and account of the receipt and expenditure of all public money shall be published from time to time. Three. No vote, resolution, law, or order shall pass, granting a donation or gratuity in favor of any person, except by the concurrence of two-thirds of the general assembly. Four. No law shall be passed by which a citizen shall be compelled, directly or indirectly, to become a stockholder in or contribute to a railroad, or other work of internal improvement, without his consent, except the inhabitants of a corporate town or city. This provision shall not be construed to deny the power of taxation for the purpose of making levees or dams to prevent the overflow of rivers. Article III Section 1. One. The executive power shall be vested in a governor, the first of whom under this constitution shall hold the office from the time of his inauguration, as by law provided, until the election and qualification of his successor. Each governor subsequently elected shall hold the office for two years and until his successor shall be elected and qualified, and shall not be eligible to re-election after the expiration of a second term for the period of four years. He shall have a competent salary, which shall not be increased nor diminished during the time for which he shall have been elected; neither shall he receive within that time any other emolument from the United States, or either of them, nor from any foreign power. Two. The governor shall be elected by the persons qualified to vote for members of the general assembly, on the fifteenth day of November, in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five, and biennially thereafter, on the first Wednesday of October, until such time be altered by law, which election shall be held at the places of holding general elections in the several counties of this State, in the manner prescribed for the election of members of the general assembly. The returns for every election of governor shall be sealed up by the managers, separately from other returns, and directed to the president of the senate and speaker of the house of representatives; and transmitted to the governor, or the person exercising the duties of governor for the time being; who shall, without opening the said returns, cause the same to be laid before the senate, on the day after the two houses shall have been organized; and they shall be transmitted by the senate to the house of representatives. The members of each branch of the general assembly shall convene in the representative chamber, and the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives shall open and publish the returns in presence of the general assembly; and the person having the majority of the whole number of votes given in shall be declared duly elected governor of this State; but if no person have such majority, then from the two persons having the highest number of votes, who shall be in life, and shall not decline an election at the time appointed for the legislature to elect, the general assembly shall immediately elect a governor viva voce; and in all cases of election of a governor by the general assembly, a majority of the votes of the members present shall be necessary for a choice. Contested elections shall be determined by both houses of the general assembly, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. Three. No person shall be eligible to the office of governor who shall not have been a citizen of the United States twelve years, and an inhabitant of this State six years, and who hath not attained the age of thirty years. Four. In case of the death, resignation, or disability of the governor, the president of the senate shall exercise the executive powers of the government until such disability be removed, or a successor is elected and qualified. And in case of the death, resignation, or disability of the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives shall exercise the executive power of the government until the removal of the disability or the election and qualification of a governor. Five. The governor shall, before he enters on the duties of his office, take the following oath or affirmation: “I do solemnly swear or affirm (as the case may be) that I will faithfully execute the office of governor of the State of Georgia; and will, to the best of my abilities, preserve, protect, and defend the constitution thereof, and the Constitution of the United States of America.” Sec. 2. One. The governor shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of this State, and of the militia thereof. Two. He shall have power to grant reprieves for offences against the State, except in cases of impeachment, and to grant pardons, or to remit any part of a sentence, in all cases after conviction, except for treason, murder, or other capital offences, in which cases he may respite the execution, and make report thereof to the next general assembly. Three. He shall issue writs of election to fill vacancies that happen in the senate or house of representatives, and shall have power to convene the general assembly on extraordinary occasions; and shall give them, from time to time, information of the state of the republic, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he may deem necessary and expedient. Four. When any office shall become vacant by death, resignation, or otherwise, the governor shall have power to fill such vacancy unless otherwise provided for by law; and persons so appointed shall continue in office until a successor is appointed, agreeably to the mode pointed out by this constitution, or by law in pursuance thereof. Five. A person once rejected by the senate shall not be reappointed by the governor to the same office during the same session or the recess thereafter. Six. The governor shall have the revision of all bills passed by both houses, before the same shall become laws, but two-thirds of each house may pass a law notwithstanding his dissent; and if any bill should not be returned by the governor within five days (Sundays excepted) after it has been presented to him, the same shall be law, unless the general assembly, by their adjournment, shall prevent its return. He may approve any appropriation and disapprove any other appropriation in the same bill, and the latter shall not be effectual unless passed by two-thirds of each house. Seven. Every vote, resolution, or order, to which the concurrence of both houses may be necessary, except on a question of election or adjournment, shall be presented to the governor; and before it shall take effect be approved by him, or, being disapproved, shall be repassed by two-thirds of each house, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill. Eight. There shall be a secretary of state, a comptroller-general, a treasurer, and surveyor-general, elected by the general assembly, and they shall hold their offices for the like period as the governor, and shall have a competent salary, which shall not be increased or diminished during the period for which they shall have been elected. The general assembly may at any time consolidate any two of these offices, and require all the duties to be discharged by one officer. Nine. The great seal of the State shall be deposited in the office of the secretary of state, and shall not be affixed to any instrument of writing but by order of the governor or general assembly; and that used previously to the year 1861 shall be the great seal of the State. Ten. The governor shall have power to appoint his own secretaries, not exceeding two in number. Article IV Section 1. One. The judicial powers of this State shall be vested in a supreme court for the correction of errors, a superior, inferior, ordinary, and justices’ courts, and in such other courts as have been, or may be, established by law. Two. The supreme court shall consist of three judges, who shall be elected by the general assembly, for such term of years, not less than six, as shall be prescribed by law, and shall continue in office until their successors shall be elected and qualified; removable by the governor on the address of two-thirds of each branch of the general assembly, or by impeachment and conviction thereon. Three. The said court shall have no original jurisdiction, but shall be a court alone for the trial and correction of errors in law and equity from the superior courts of the several circuits, and from the city courts of the cities of Savannah and Augusta, and such other like courts as may be hereafter established in other cities; and shall sit “at the seat of government” at such time or times in each year as the general assembly shall prescribe, for the trial and determination of writs of error from said courts. Four. The said court shall dispose of and finally determine every case on the docket of such court, at the first or second term after such writ of error brought; and in case the plaintiff in error shall not be prepared at the first term of such court, after error brought, to prosecute the case, unless precluded by some providential cause from such prosecution, it shall be stricken from the docket and the judgment below affirmed. And in any case that may occur, the court may, in its discretion, withhold its judgment until the term next after the argument thereon. Sec. 2. One. The judges of the superior courts shall be elected on the first Wednesday in January, until the legislature shall otherwise direct, immediately before the expiration of the term for which they or either of them may have been appointed or elected, from the circuits in which they are to serve, by a majority vote of the people of the circuit qualified to vote for members of the general assembly, for the term of four years, vacancies to be filled as is provided by the laws of force prior to January 1, 1861, and shall continue in office until their successors shall be elected and qualified; removable by the governor on the address of two-thirds of each branch of the general assembly, or by impeachment and conviction thereon. Two. The superior court shall have exclusive jurisdiction in all cases of divorce, both total and partial; but no total divorce shall be granted except on the concurrent verdicts of two special juries. In each divorce case, the court shall regulate the rights and disabilities of the parties. Three. The superior courts shall also have exclusive jurisdiction in all criminal cases, except as relates to fines for neglect of duty, contempts of court, violation of road-laws, obstructions of watercourses, and in all other minor offences which do not subject the offender or offenders to loss of life, limb, or member, or to confinement in the penitentiary; jurisdiction of all such cases shall be vested in such county or corporation courts, or such other courts, judicatures, or tribunals as now exist, or may hereafter be constituted, under such rules and regulations as the legislature may have directed, or may hereafter by law direct. Four. All criminal cases shall be tried in the county where the crime was committed, except in cases where a jury cannot be obtained. Five. The superior court shall have exclusive jurisdiction in all cases respecting titles to land, which shall be tried in the county where the land lies; and also in all equity causes which shall be tried in the county where one or more of the defendants reside, against whom substantial relief is prayed. Six. It shall have appellate jurisdiction in all such cases as may be provided by law. Seven. It shall have power to correct errors in inferior judicatories by writ of certiorari, and to grant new trials in the superior court on proper and legal grounds. Eight. It shall have power to issue writs of mandamus, prohibition, scire facias, and all other writs which may be necessary for carrying its powers fully into effect. Nine. The superior court shall have jurisdiction in all other civil cases, and in them the general assembly may give concurrent jurisdiction to the inferior court, or such other county court as they may hereafter create, which cases shall be tried in the county where the defendant resides. Ten. In case of joint obligors, or joint promisors or copartners, or joint trespassers residing in different counties, the suit may be brought in either county. Eleven. In case of a maker and indorser or indorsers of promissory notes residing in different counties in this State, the same may be sued in the county where the maker resides. Twelve. The superior court shall sit in each county not less than twice in every year, at such stated times as have been or may be appointed by the general assembly, and the inferior and county courts at such times as the general assembly may direct. Sec. 3. One. The judges shall have salaries adequate to their services fixed by law, which shall not be diminished nor increased during their continuance in office; but shall not receive any other perquisites or emoluments whatever, from parties or others, on account of any duty required of them. Two. There shall be a State’s attorney and solicitors elected in the same manner as the judges of the superior court, and commissioned by the governor, who shall hold their offices for the term of four years, or until their successors shall be appointed and qualified, unless removed by sentence on impeachment, or by the governor on the address of two-thirds of each branch of the general assembly. They shall have salaries adequate to their services fixed by law, which shall not be increased or diminished during their continuance in office. Three. The justice or justices of the inferior court, and the judges of such other county court as may by law be created, shall be elected in each county by the persons entitled to vote for members of the general assembly. Four. The justice of the peace shall be elected in each district by the persons entitled to vote for members of the general assembly. Five. The powers of a court of ordinary and of probate shall be vested in an ordinary for each county, from whose decision there may be an appeal to the superior court, under regulations prescribed by law. The ordinary shall be ex-officio clerk of said court, and may appoint a deputy clerk. The ordinary, as clerk, or his deputy, may issue citations, and grant temporary letters of administration, to hold until permanent letters are granted; and said ordinary, as clerk, or his deputy, may grant marriage-licenses. The ordinaries in and for the respective counties shall be elected, as other county officers are, on the first Wednesday in January, 1868, and every fourth year thereafter, and shall be commissioned by the governor for the term of four years. In case of any vacancy of said office of ordinary, from any cause, the same shall be filled by election, as is provided in relation to other county officers, and until the same is filled, the clerk of the superior court for the time being shall act as clerk of said court of ordinary. Article V Section 1. One. The electors or members of the general assembly shall be free white male citizens of this State, and shall have attained the age of twenty-one years, and have paid all taxes which may have been required of them, and which they have had an opportunity of paying, agreeable to law, for the year preceding the election; shall be citizens of the United States, and shall have resided six months either in the district or county, and two years within this State, and no person not qualified to vote for members of the general assembly shall hold any office in this State. Two. All elections by the general assembly shall be viva voce, and the vote shall always appear on the journal of the house of representatives, and where the Senate and house of representatives unite for the purpose of electing, they shall meet in the representative chamber, and the president of the senate shall in such cases preside and declare the person or persons elected. Three. In all elections by the people the electors shall vote by ballot until the general assembly shall otherwise direct. Four. All civil officers heretofore commissioned by the governor, or who have been duly appointed, or elected, since the first day of January last, but who have not received their commissions, and who have not resigned, nor been removed from office, and whose terms of office shall not have expired, shall continue in the exercise of the duties of their respective offices during the periods for which they were duly appointed or duly elected as aforesaid, and commissioned, and until their successors shall be appointed under the provisions of this constitution, unless removed from office as herein provided. Five. Laws of general operation now of force in this State are, 1st, as the supreme law, the Constitution of the United States; the laws of the United States in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made under the authority of the United States; 2d, as next in authority thereto, this constitution; 3d, in subordination to the aforegoing, all laws declared of force by an act of the general assembly of this State, assented to December the 19th, ad 1860, entitled “An act to approve, adopt, and make of force, in the State of Georgia, a revised code of laws, prepared under the direction and by authority of the general assembly thereof, and for other purposes therewith connected,” an act of the general assembly aforesaid, assented to December 16, ad 1861, amendatory of the aforegoing, and an act of the general assembly aforesaid, assented to December 13, ad 1862, entitled “An act to settle the conflicts between the code and the legislation of this general assembly;” also, all acts of the general assembly aforesaid, passed since the date last written, altering, amending, repealing, or adding to any portion of law hereinbefore mentioned, (the latter enactments having preference in case of conflict,) and also so much of the common and statute law of England, and of the statute laws of this State of force in Georgia in the year eighteen hundred and sixty, as is not expressly superseded by nor inconsistent with said codes, though not embodied therein; except so much of the law aforesaid as may violate the supreme law herein recognized, or may conflict with this constitution, and except so much thereof as refers to persons held in slavery, which excepted laws shall henceforth be inoperative and void, and any future general assembly of this State shall be competent to alter, amend, or repeal any portion of the law declared to be of force in this third specification of the fifth clause of this fifth article. If in any statute law herein declared of force the word “Confederate” occurs before the word States, such law is hereby amended by substituting the word “United” for the word “Confederate.” Six. Local and private statutes heretofore passed, intended for the benefit of counties, cities, towns, corporations, and private persons, not inconsistent with the supreme law, nor with this constitution, and which have neither expired by their own limitations nor have been repealed, shall have the force of statute law, subject to judicial decision as to their validity when enacted, and to any limitations imposed by their own terms. Seven. All judgments, decrees, orders, and other proceedings of the several courts of this State, heretofore made within the limits of their several jurisdictions, are hereby ratified and affirmed, subject only to past and future reversal, by motion for new trial, appeal, bill of review, or other proceedings, in conformity with the law of force when they were made. Eight. All rights, privileges, and immunities which may have vested in or accrued to any person or persons, in his, her, or their own right, or in any fiduciary capacity, under and in virtue of any act of the general assembly, or of any judgment, decree, or order, or other proceeding of any court of competent jurisdiction in this State, since the first day of January, ad eighteen hundred and sixty-one, shall be held inviolate by all courts before which they may be brought in question, unless attacked for fraud. Nine. The marriage relation between white persons and persons of African descent is forever prohibited, and such marriage shall be null and void; and it shall be the duty of the general assembly to enact laws for the punishment of any officer who shall knowingly issue a license for the celebration of such marriage, or any officer or minister of the gospel who shall marry such persons together. Ten. All militia and county officers shall be elected by the people, under such regulations as have been or may be prescribed by law. Eleven. This constitution shall be altered or amended only by a convention of the people, called for that purpose by act of the general assembly. Signed November 7, 1865. Herschel V. Johnson, President. Attest: J. D. Waddell, Secretary. Source: The Federal and State Constitutions, Colonial Charters, and other Organic Laws of the States and Territories now or heretofore forming the United States of America, compiled and edited by Francis Newton Thorpe (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1909). Vol. II Florida-Kansas. https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/thorpe-the-federal-and-state-constitutions-vol-ii-florida-kansas#lf1514-02_head_131

PREAMBLE We, the people of the State of Alabama, by our representatives in convention assembled; in order to establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure to ourselves and to our posterity the rights of life, liberty, and property; invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish the following constitution and form of government for the State of Alabama—that is to say: Article I: DECLARATION OF RIGHTS That the general, great, and essential principles of liberty and free government may be recognized and established, we declare— Section 1. That no man, and no set of men, are entitled to exclusive separate public emoluments or privileges, but in consideration of public services. Sec. 2. That all political power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their benefit; and that, therefore, they have at all times an inalienable and indefeasible right to alter, reform, or abolish their form of government, in such manner as they may deen expedient. Sec. 3. That no person within this State shall, upon any pretence whatever, be deprived of the inestimable privilege of worshipping God in the manner most agreeable to his own conscience; nor be hurt, molested, or restrained in his religious profession, sentiments, or persuasions, provided he does not disturb others in their religious worship. Sec. 4. That no religion shall be established by law; that no preference shall be given by law to any religious sect, society, denomination, or mode of worship; that no one shall be compelled by law to attend any place of worship, nor to pay any tithes, taxes, or other rate, for building or repairing any place of worship, or for maintaining any minister or ministry; that no religious test shall be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under this State; and that the civil rights, privileges, and capacities of any citizen shall not be in any manner affected by his religious principles. Sec. 5. That every citizen may freely speak, write, and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty. Sec. 6. That the people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and possessions, from unreasonable seizures or searches; and that no warrant shall issue to search any place, or to seize any person or thing, without describing them as nearly as may be, nor without probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation. Sec. 7. That in all criminal prosecutions, the accused has a right to be heard by himself and counsel, to demand the nature and cause of the accusation, to have a copy thereof, to be confronted by the witnesses against him, to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and, in all prosecutions by indictment or information, a speedy public trial by an impartial jury of the county or district in which the offence was committed; and that he shall not be compelled to give evidence against himself, nor be deprived of his life, liberty, or property, but by due course of law. Sec. 8. That no person shall be accused, arrested, or detained, except in cases ascertained by law, and according to the forms which the same has prescribed; and that no person shall be punished, but by virtue of a law established and promulgated prior to the offence, and legally applied. Sec. 9. That no person shall, for any indictable offence, be proceeded against criminally by information; except in cases arising in the land and naval forces, or in the militia when in actual service, or, by leave of the court, for oppression or misdemeanor in office: Provided, That in cases of petit larceny, assault, assault and battery, affray, unlawful assemblies, vagrancy, and other misdemeanors, the general assembly may by law dispense with a grand jury, and authorize such prosecutions before justices of the peace, or such other inferior courts as may be by law established; and the proceedings in such cases shall be regulated by law. Sec. 10. That no person shall, for the same offence, be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb. Sec. 11. That no person shall be debarred from prosecuting or defending, before any tribunal in this State, by himself or counsel, any civil cause to which he is a party. Sec. 12. That the right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate. Sec. 13. That in prosecutions for the publication of papers investigating the official conduct of officers or men in public capacity, or when the matter published is proper for public information, the truth thereof may be given in evidence; and that in all indictments for libels, the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the facts, under the direction of the court. Sec. 14. That all courts shall be open; and that every person, for any injury done him, in his lands, goods, person or reputation, shall have a remedy by due course of law, and right and justice administered, without sale, denial, or delay. Sec. 15. That suits may be brought against the State, in such manner, and in such courts, as may be by law provided. Sec. 16. That excessive fines shall not be imposed, nor cruel punishments be inflicted. Sec. 17. That all persons shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties, except for capital offences, when the proof is evident, or the presumption great; and that excessive bail shall not, in any case, be required. Sec. 18. That the privileges of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it. Sec. 19. That treason against the State shall consist only in levying war against it, or adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort; and that no person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or his own confession in open court. Sec. 20. That no person shall be attainted of treason by the General Assembly; and that no conviction shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture of estate. Sec. 21. That the estates of suicides shall descend, or vest, as in cases of natural death; and that, if any person shall be killed by casualty, there shall be no forfeiture by reason thereof. Sec. 22. That the person of a debtor, when there is not a strong presumption of fraud, shall not be detained in prison, after delivering up his estate, for the benefit of his creditors, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. Sec. 23. That no power of suspending laws shall be exercised, except by the General Assembly, or by its authority. Sec. 24. That no ex post facto law, nor any law impairing the obligation of contracts, shall be made. Sec. 25. That private property shall not be taken or applied for public use, unless just compensation be made therefor; nor shall private property be taken for private use, or for the use of corporations other than municipal, without the consent of the owner; Provided, however, That laws may be made securing to persons or corporations the right of way over the lands of other persons or corporations, and, for works of internal improvement, the right to establish depots, stations, and turn-outs; but just compensation shall, in such cases, be first made to the owner. Sec. 26. That the citizens have a right, in a peaceable manner, to assemble together for their common good, and to apply to those invested with the powers of government for redress of grievances, or other proper purposes, by petition, address, or remonstrance. Sec. 27. That every citizen has a right to bear arms in defence of himself and the State. Sec. 28. That no person, who conscientiously scruples to bear arms, shall be compelled to do so, but may pay an equivalent for personal service. Sec. 29. That no standing army shall be kept up, without the consent of the General Assembly; and in that case, no appropriation for its support shall be for a longer term than one year; and that the military shall, in all cases, and at all times, be in strict subordination to the civil power. Sec. 30. That no soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. Sec. 31. That no title of nobility, or hereditary distinction, privilege, honor, or emolument, shall ever be granted or conferred in this State; and that no office shall be created, the appointment of which shall be for a longer term than during good behavior. Sec. 32. That emigration from this State shall not be prohibited, and that no citizen shall be exiled. Sec. 33. That temporary absence from the State shall not cause a forfeiture of residence once obtained. Sec. 34. That hereafter there shall be in this State neither slavery, nor involuntary servitude, otherwise than for the punishment of crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted. Sec. 35. That the right of suffrage shall be protected by laws regulating elections, and prohibiting, under adequate penalties, all undue influence from power, bribery, tumult, or other improper conduct. Sec. 36. This enumeration of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people; and to guard against any encroachment on the rights hereby retained, or any transgression of any of the high powers by this constitution delegated, we declare, that everything in this article is excepted out of the general powers of government, and shall forever remain inviolate, and that all laws contrary thereto, or to the following provisions, shall be void. Article II: STATE BOUNDARIES AND COUNTIES Section 1. The boundaries of this State are established and declared to be as follows—that is to say: Beginning at the point where the thirty-first degree of north latitude crosses the Perdido River; thence east, to the western boundary-line of the State of Georgia; thence along said line, to the southern boundary-line of the State of Tennessee; thence west, along the southern boundary-line of the State of Tennessee, crossing the Tennessee River, and on to the second intersection of said river by said line; thence up said river to the mouth of Big Bear Creek; thence by a direct line to the northwest corner of Washington County in this State, as originally formed; thence southerly, along the line of the State of Mississippi, to the Gulf of Mexico; thence easterly, including all islands within six leagues of the shore, to the Perdido River; and thence up the said river, to the beginning. Sec. 2. The General Assembly may, by a vote of two-thirds of both branches thereof, arrange and designate boundaries for the several counties of this State, which boundaries shall not be altered except by a like vote; but no new county shall be hereafter formed of less extent than six hundred square miles, nor shall any existing county be reduced to a less extent than six hundred square miles; and no county shall be formed not containing a sufficient number of inhabitants to entitle it to one representative under the existing ratio of representation, nor unless the counties from which it is taken shall be left with the required number entitling them to separate representation. Article III: DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS OF GOVERNMENT Section 1. The powers of the government of the State of Alabama shall be divided into three distinct departments, each of which shall be confided to a separate body of magistracy—to wit: those which are legislative to one, those which are executive to another, and those which are judicial to another. Sec. 2. No person, or collection of persons, being of one of those departments, shall exercise any power properly belonging to either of the others, except in the instances hereinafter expressly directed or permitted. Article IV: LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT Section 1. The legislative power of this State shall be vested in two distinct branches, the one to be styled the “Senate,” and the other the “House of Representatives,” and both together the “General Assembly of the State of Alabama.” Sec. 2. All laws shall be passed by original bill; and their style shall be, “Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Alabama in General Assembly convened.” Each law shall embrace but one subject, which shall be described in the title; and no law, or any section of any law, shall be revised or amended by reference only to its title and number, but the law or section revised or amended shall itself be set forth at full length. Sec. 3. Members of both houses of the General Assembly shall be chosen by the qualified electors; and the regulations for holding such elections shall, as to time, place, and manner, be the same for each house, and shall be prescribed by law. After the special election to be held on the first Monday in November, 1865, such elections shall, until otherwise directed by law, take place on the first Monday in August. Sec. 4. No person who holds any lucrative office under the United States, or under this State, or under any other State or government (except postmasters, officers in the militia, to whose office no annual salary is attached, justices of the peace, members of the court of county commissioners, notaries public, and commissioners of deeds, excepted;) no person who has been convicted of having given or offered any bribe to procure his election; no person who has been convicted of bribery, forgery, perjury, or other high crime or misdemeanor which may be by law declared to disqualify him; and no person who has been a collector or holder of public moneys, and has failed to account for and pay over into the treasury all sums for which he may be by law accountable, shall be eligible to the General Assembly. Sec. 5. Representatives shall be chosen for the term of two years; and no person shall be a representative who is not a white man, twenty-one years of age, a citizen of the United States, and who has not been an inhabitant of this State for the two years next preceding the election, and for the last year thereof a resident of the county for which he is chosen. Sec. 6. The house of representatives shall consist of not more than one hundred members, who shall be apportioned by the General Assembly among the several counties of the State according to the number of white inhabitants in them respectively; and, to this end, the general assembly shall cause an enumeration of all the inhabitants of the State to be made in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, and again in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, and every ten years thereafter, and shall make an apportionment of the representatives among the several counties at the first regular session after each enumeration; which apportionment, when made, shall not be subject to alteration, until after the next census shall have been taken; Provided, That each county shall be entitled to at least one representative; Provided further, That where two or more adjoining counties shall each have a residuum or fraction over and above the ratio then fixed by law, which fractions, when added together, equal or exceed that ratio, in that case, the county having the largest fraction shall be entitled to one additional representative. Sec. 7. The whole number of senators shall be not less than one-fourth, nor more than one-third of the whole number of representatives; and it shall be the duty of the General Assembly, at its first session after the making of each enumeration, as provided by the last preceding section, to fix by law the number of senators, and to divide the State into as many senatorial districts as there are senators; which districts shall be as nearly equal to each other as may be in the number of white inhabitants, and each shall be entitled to one senator, and no more. Provided, That, in the formation of said districts, no county shall be divided, and no two or more counties, which are separated entirely by a county belonging to another district, shall be joined into one district; And provided further, That the senatorial districts, when formed, shall not be changed until after the next census shall have been taken. Sec. 8. No person shall be a senator, who is not a white man, at least twenty-seven years of age, a citizen of the United States, and who has not been an inhabitant of this State for two years next preceding the election, and for the last year thereof a resident in the district for which he is chosen. Sec. 9. Senators shall be chosen for the term of four years; yet, at the first general election after each new apportionment, elections shall be held anew in all the senatorial districts; and the senators elected, when convened at the next ensuing session of the General Assembly, shall be divided by lot into two classes, as nearly equal to each other as may be; the seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of two years, and those of the second class at the expiration of four years from the day of election, so that (except as above provided) one-half of the senators may be chosen biennially. Sec. 10. The General Assembly shall meet annually, on such day as may be by law prescribed; and shall not remain in session longer than thirty days, unless by a vote of two-thirds of each house. Sec. 11. At the first regular or called session after each general election for representatives, the senate shall choose a president and its other officers, and the house of representatives shall choose a speaker and its other officers; and the officers so chosen shall be entitled to hold their respective offices until the next general election for representatives. Each house shall judge of the qualifications, elections and returns of its own members; but a contested election shall be determined in such manner as may be by law provided. Sec. 12. A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties, as each house may provide. Sec. 13. Each house may determine the rules of its own proceedings, punish members for disorderly behavior, and, with the consent of two-thirds, expel a member, but not a second time for the same offense; and shall have all other powers necessary for a branch of the legislature of a free and independent State. Sec. 14. Each house may, during the session, punish by imprisonment any person, not a member, for disrespectful or disorderly behavior in its presence, or for obstructing any of its proceedings; Provided, That such imprisonment shall not, at any one time, exceed forty-eight hours. Sec. 15. Each house shall keep a journal of its own proceedings, and cause the same to be published immediately after its adjournment, excepting such parts as in its judgment, may require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members of either house, on any question, shall, at the desire of any two members present, be entered on the journals. Any member of either house shall have leave to dissent from, and protest against, any act or resolution which he may think injurious to the public or to an individual, and have the reasons of his dissent entered on the journals. Sec. 16. The doors of each house shall be open, except on such occasions as, in the opinion of the house, may require secrecy. Sec. 17. Neither house shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which they may be sitting. Sec. 18. Bills may originate in either house, and be amended, altered, or rejected by the other; but no bill shall have the force of a law, until it be read in each house on three several days, and free discussion thereon be allowed; unless, in case of urgency, four-fifths of the house in which the bill may be depending shall deem it expedient to dispense with this rule; and every bill, having passed both houses, shall be signed by the speaker and president of the respective houses; Provided, That all bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives, but may be amended or rejected by the senate as other bills. Sec. 19. In all elections by the General Assembly, the members shall vote viva voce, and the votes shall be entered on the journals. Sec. 20. No senator or representative shall, during the term for which he was elected, be elected or appointed to any civil office of profit under this State, except such offices as may be filled by elections by the people. Sec. 21. Senators and representatives shall, in all cases except treason, felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest, during the session of the General Assembly, and in going to and returning from the same, allowing one day for every twenty miles such member may reside from the place at which the General Assembly is convened; nor shall any member be liable to answer for anything spoken in debate in either house, in any court or place elsewhere. Sec. 22. Each member of the General Assembly shall receive from the public treasury such compensation for his services as may be fixed by law; but no increase of compensation shall take effect during the session at which such increase shall have been made. Sec. 23. When vacancies happen in either house, the governor, or the person exercising the power of governor for the time being, shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies. Sec. 24. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power of preferring impeachments; all impeachments shall be tried by the senate; the senators, when sitting for that purpose, shall be on oath or affirmation; and no person shall be convicted under an impeachment, without the concurrence of two-thirds of the senators present. Sec. 25. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly to pass such laws as may be necessary and proper to decide differences by arbitrators, to be appointed by the parties, who may choose that summary mode of adjustment. Sec. 26. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly, from time to time, as circumstances may require, to frame and adopt a penal code, founded on principles of reformation. Sec. 27. It shall also be the duty of the General Assembly, within five years after the adoption of this constitution, and within every subsequent period of ten years, to make provision by law for the revision, digesting, and promulgation of all the public statutes of this State, both civil and criminal. Sec. 28. The General Assembly shall have power to pass such penal laws as they may deem expedient to suppress the evil practice of duelling, extending to disqualification to hold office. Sec. 29. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly to regulate by law the cases in which deductions shall be made from the salaries of public officers, for neglect of duty in their official capacities, and the amount of such deductions. Sec. 30. Divorces from the bonds of matrimony shall not be granted, but in the cases by law provided for, and by suit in chancery; but decrees in chancery for divorce shall be final, unless appealed from, in the manner prescribed by law, within three months from the date of the enrolment thereof. Sec. 31. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly, at its next session, and from time to time thereafter as it may deem proper, to enact laws prohibiting the intermarriage of white persons with negroes, or with persons of mixed blood, declaring such marriages null and void ab initio, and making the parties to any such marriage subject to criminal prosecutions, with such penalties as may be by law prescribed. Sec. 32. The General Assembly shall make provision by law for obtaining correct knowledge of the several objects proper for improvement in relation to the roads and navigable waters in this State, and for making a systematic and economical application of the means appropriated to those objects. Sec. 33. The General Assembly shall, from time to time, enact necessary and proper laws for the encouragement of schools and the means of education; shall take proper measures to preserve from waste or damage such lands as have been or may be granted by the United States for the use of schools in each township in this State, and apply the funds which may be raised from such lands in strict conformity with the object of such grant; shall take like measures for the improvement of such lands as have been or may hereafter be granted by the United States to this State for the support of a seminary of learning; and the money which may be raised from such lands, by rent, lease, or sale, or from any other quarter, for the purpose aforesaid, shall be and forever remain a fund for the exclusive support of a State university for the promotion of the arts, literature, and the sciences; and it shall be the duty of the General Assembly to provide by law effectual means for the improvement and permanent security of the funds of such institution. Sec. 34. Not more than one bank shall be established, nor more than one bank charter be renewed, at any one session of the General Assembly; nor shall any bank be established, nor any bank charter be renewed, without the concurrence of two-thirds of each house of the General Assembly, and in conformity with the following rules—that is to say: Rule 1. The stockholders shall be respectively liable for the debts of the bank in proportion to the amount of their stock. Rule 2. The remedy for the collection of debts shall be reciprocal for and against the bank. Rule 3. No bank shall commence operations, until one-half of the capital stock subscribed for be actually paid in gold and silver; which amount shall, in no case, be less than one hundred thousand dollars. Rule 4. If any bank shall neglect or refuse to pay, on demand, any bill, note, or obligation issued by the corporation, according to the promise therein expressed, the holder of such bill, note, or obligation, shall be entitled to receive and recover interest thereon until paid, or until specie payments are resumed by the bank, at the rate of twelve per centum per annum from the date of such demand; unless the General Assembly shall, by a vote of two-thirds of each house thereof, sanction such suspension of specie payments. Rule 5. Whenever any bank suspends specie payments, its charter is thereby forfeited; unless such suspension shall be sanctioned and legalized, at the next session of the General Assembly, by a vote of two-thirds of each house thereof. Sec. 35. The General Assembly shall provide by law for organizing and disciplining the militia of this State, in such manner as they may deem expedient, not incompatible with the Constitution and laws of the United States; shall fix the rank of all staff officers, and prescribe the manner in which all officers shall be appointed or elected: Provided, That no other officers than adjutants-general and quarter-masters-general shall be appointed by the General Assembly: And provided further, That major-generals shall appoint their aides and all division and staff officers, brigadier-generals shall appoint their aides and all other brigade staff officers, and colonels shall appoint their regimental staff officers. Sec. 36. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly, at its next session, and from time to time thereafter, to enact such laws as will protect the freedmen of this State in the full enjoyment of all their rights of person and property, and guard them and the State against any evils that may arise from their sudden emancipation. Sec. 37. No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in pursuance of an appropriation made by law; and a regular statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public moneys shall be published annually, in such manner as may be by law directed. Sec. 38. No special law shall be enacted for the benefit of individuals or corporations, in cases which are provided for by a general law, or where the relief sought can be given by any court of this State. Sec. 39. All lands liable to taxation in this State, shall be taxed in proportion to their value. Sec. 40. No power to levy taxes shall be delegated to individuals or private corporations. Sec. 41. The general assembly shall not borrow or raise money on the credit of the State, (except for purposes of military defence against actual or threatened invasion, rebellion, or insurrection,) without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members of each house; nor shall the debts or liabilities of any corporation, person, or persons, or other State, be guaranteed, nor any money, credit, or other thing, be loaned or given away, except by a like concurrence of each house; and the votes shall in each case, be taken by yeas and nays, and be entered on the journals. Sec. 42. In the event of the annexation of any foreign territory to this State, the general assembly shall enact laws, extending to the inhabitants of the acquired territory all the rights and privileges which may be required by the terms of the acquisition; anything in this constitution to the contrary notwithstanding. Article V: EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT Section 1. The supreme executive power of this State shall be vested in a chief magistrate, who shall be styled the governor of the State of Alabama. Sec. 2. The governor shall be elected by the qualified electors, at the time and places at which they shall respectively vote for representatives. Sec. 3. The returns of every election for governor shall be sealed up, and transmitted to the seat of government, directed to the speaker of the house of representatives, who shall, during the first week of the session, open and publish them in the presence of both houses of the general assembly. The person having the highest number of votes shall be governor; but, if two or more shall be equal and highest in votes, one of them shall be chosen governor by the joint vote of both houses. Contested elections for governor shall be determined by both houses of the general assembly, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. Sec. 4. The governor shall hold his office for the term of two years from the time of his installation, and until his successor shall be qualified, but shall not be eligible for more than four years in any term of six years; he shall be at least thirty years of age, a native citizen of the United States, and shall have resided in this State at least four years next preceding the day of his election. Sec. 5. He shall, at stated times, receive a compensation for his services, which shall not be either increased or diminished during the term for which he shall have been elected. Sec. 6. He shall always reside, during the session of the General Assembly, at the place where their session may be held, and at other times wherever, in their opinion, the public good may require. Sec. 7. He shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of this State, and of the militia thereof, except when they shall be called into the service of the United States; and when acting in the service of the United States, the General Assembly shall fix his rank. Sec. 8. He shall have power to call forth the militia to execute the laws of the State, to suppress insurrections, and to repel invasions; and shall appoint his aides-de-camp. Sec. 9. He may require from the secretary of state, the comptroller of public accounts, and the state treasurer, information in writing on any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices. Sec. 10. He may, by proclamation, on extraordinary occasions, convene the general assembly at the seat of government, or at a different place, if, since their last adjournment, that shall have become dangerous, from an enemy, or from contagious disorders; and in case of disagreement between the two houses, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he may think proper, not beyond the day of the next annual meeting of the General Assembly. Sec. 11. He shall, from time to time, give to the General Assembly information of the state of the government, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he may deem expedient. Sec. 12. He shall take care that the laws are faithfully executed. Sec. 13. In all criminal and penal cases, except those of treason and impeachment, he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons, and to remit fines and forfeitures, under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by law; and in cases of treason, he shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, to grant reprieves and pardons, and, in the recess of the senate, he may respite the sentence until the end of the next session of the General Assembly. Sec. 14. There shall be a great seal of the State, which shall be kept and used by the governor officially; and the seal now in use shall continue to be the great seal of the State, until another shall have been adopted by the general assembly. Sec. 15. Vacancies that may happen in offices, the appointment of which is vested in the general assembly, shall, during the recess of the General Assembly, be filled by the governer, by granting commissions, which shall expire at the end of the next session. Sec. 16. Every bill which shall have passed both houses of the General Assembly, shall be presented to the governor: if he approve, he shall sign it, but if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to the house in which it originated, who shall enter the objections at large upon the journals, and proceed to reconsider it; if, after such reconsideration, a majority of the whole number elected to that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, with the objections, to the other house, by whom it shall likewise be reconsidered, and, if approved by a majority of the whole number elected to that house, it shall become a law; but, in such cases, the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the members voting for or against the bill shall be entered on the journals of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the governor within five days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it; unless the general assembly, by their adjournment, prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law. Sec. 17. Every order, resolution, or vote, to which the concurrence of both houses may be necessary, (except on questions of adjournment, and for bringing on elections by the two houses,) shall be presented to the governor, and, before it shall take effect, be approved by him, or, being disapproved, shall be repassed by both houses, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill. Sec. 18. No person shall, at one and the same time, hold the office of governor, and any other office or commission, civil or military, either under this State, the United States, or any other State or government. Sec. 19. In case of the impeachment of the governor, his removal from office, death, refusal to qualify, resignation, or absence from the State, the president of the senate shall exercise all the power and authority appertaining to the office of governor, until the time appointed by the constitution for the election of governor shall arrive (unless the General Assembly shall provide by law for the election of a governor to fill such vacancy,) or until the governor who is absent or impeached shall return or be acquitted; and if, during such vacancy in the office of governor, the president of the senate shall be impeached, removed from office, refuse to qualify, die, resign, or be absent from the State, the speaker of the house of representatives shall, in like manner, administer the government. Sec. 20. The president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives shall, during the time they respectively administer the government, receive the same compensation which the governor would have received if he had been employed in the duties of his office. Article VI: JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT Section 1. The judicial power of this State shall be vested in one supreme court, circuit courts to be held in each county of the State, and such inferior courts of law and equity, to consist of not more than five members, as the General Assembly may, from time to time, direct, ordain and establish. Sec. 2. Except in cases otherwise directed in this constitution, the supreme court shall have appellate jurisdiction only, which shall be co-extensive with the State, under such restrictions and regulations, not repugnant to this constitution, as may from time to time be prescribed by law; Provided, That said court shall have power to issue writs of injunction, mandamus, quo warranto, habeas corpus, and such other remedial and original writs as may be necessary to give it a general superintendence and control of inferior jurisdiction. Sec. 3. The supreme court shall be held at the seat of government; but if that shall have become dangerous, from an enemy or from disease, may adjourn to a different place. Sec. 4. The State shall be divided into convenient circuits, each of which shall contain not less than three, nor more than six counties; and for each circuit there shall be appointed a judge, who shall, after his appointment, reside in the circuit for which he may be appointed. Sec. 5. The circuit court shall have original jurisdiction in all matters, civil and criminal, within this State, not otherwise excepted in this constitution; but in civil cases only where the matter or sum in controversy exceeds fifty dollars. Sec. 6. A circuit court shall be held in each county in the State, at least twice in every year; and the judges of the several circuits may hold courts for each other when they deem it expedient, and shall do so when directed by law. Sec. 7. The General Assembly shall have power to establish a court or courts of chancery, with original and appellate equity jurisdiction; Provided, That the judges of the several circuit courts shall have power to issue writs of injunction, returnable into the courts of chancery. Sec. 8. The General Assembly shall have power to establish, in each county within this State, a court of probate, for the granting of letters testamentary, and of administration, and for orphans’ business. Sec. 9. A competent number of justices of the peace shall be appointed in and for each county, in such mode, and for such term of office as the general assembly may by law direct; whose jurisdiction, in civil cases, shall be limited to causes in which the amount in controversy shall not exceed one hundred dollars; and in all cases tried by a justice of the peace, the right of appeal shall be secured under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by law. Sec. 10. The judges of the supreme court, circuit courts, and courts of chancery, shall, at stated times, receive for their services a compensation, which shall be fixed by law, and which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office; but they shall receive no fees or perquisites of office, nor hold any office of profit or trust, under this State, the United States, or any other power. Sec. 11. Judges of the supreme court, and chancellors, shall be elected by a joint vote of both houses of the General Assembly; judges of the circuit and probate courts, and of such other inferior courts as may be by law established, shall be elected by the qualified electors of the respective counties, cities, or districts, for which such courts may be established. Elections of judges by the people shall be held on the first Monday in May, or such other day as may be by law prescribed, not within a less period than two months of the day fixed by law for the election of governor, members of the General Assembly, or members of Congress. Vacancies in the office of circuit judge, probate judge, or judge of any other inferior court established by law, shall be filled by the governor; and the person appointed by him shall hold office until the next election day by law appointed for the election of judges, and until his successor shall have been elected and qualified. Sec. 12. The judges of the several courts of this State shall hold their offices for the term of six years; and the right of any judge to hold his office for the full term hereby prescribed, shall not be affected by any change hereafter made by law in any circuit or district, or in the mode or time of election; but for any wilful neglect of duty, or any other reasonable cause, which shall not be a sufficient ground of impeachment, the governor shall remove any judge, on the address of two-thirds of each house of the general assembly; Provided, That the cause or causes, for which said removal may be required, shall be stated at length in such address, and entered on the journals of each house; And, provided further, That the judge intended to be removed shall be notified of such cause or causes, and shall be admitted to a hearing in his own defence, before any vote for such address; and in all such cases, the vote shall be taken by yeas and nays, and be entered on the journals of each house respectively. Sec. 13. No person who shall have arrived at the age of seventy years, shall be appointed or elected to, or shall continue in, the office of judge in this State. Sec. 14. The judges of the supreme court shall, by virtue of their offices, be conservators of the peace throughout the State; as also the judges of the circuit courts within their respective circuits, and the judges of the inferior courts within their respective counties. Sec. 15. Clerks of the circuit courts, and of such inferior courts as may be by law established, shall be elected by the qualified electors in each county, for the term of four years; and may be removed from office, for such causes, and in such manner, as may be by law prescribed. Vacancies in the office of clerk shall be filled by the judge of the court, and the person so appointed shall hold office until the next general election, and until his successor is elected and qualified; Provided, That the general assembly shall have power to annex the duties of clerk to the office of judge of any inferior court by law established. Sec. 16. The style of all process shall be, The State of Alabama; and all prosecutions shall be carried on in the name and by the authority of the State of Alabama, and shall conclude “against the peace and dignity of the same.” Article VII: STATE AND COUNTY OFFICERS Section 1. A secretary of state, a comptroller of public accounts, and a State treasurer, shall be elected by a joint vote of both houses of the general assembly, each of whom shall continue in office during the term of two years, shall perform all the duties that may be required of him by law, and receive such compensation as may be by law provided. Sec. 2. An attorney-general, and as many solicitors as there are judicial circuits in the State, shall be elected by a joint vote of both houses of the general assembly, each of whom shall hold his office for the term of four years, shall perform all the duties that may be required of him by law, and shall receive such compensation for his services as may be by law provided, which shall not be diminished during his continuance in office. Sec. 3. A sheriff shall be elected in each county, by the qualified electors thereof, who shall hold his office for the term of three years, unless sooner removed, and shall not be eligible to serve, either as principal or deputy, for any two successive terms. Vacancies in the office of sheriff shall be filled by the governor, as in other cases; and the person so appointed shall continue in office until the next general election in the county for sheriff as by law provided. Sec. 4. No member of Congress, nor any person who holds any office of profit or trust under the United States, (except postmasters,) or any other State or government; nor any person who shall have been convicted of having given or offered any bribe to procure his election or appointment; nor any person who shall have been convicted of bribery, forgery, perjury, or other high crime or misdemeanor which may be by law declared to disqualify him,—shall be eligible to any office of profit or trust under this State. Sec. 5. All commissions shall be in the name, and by the authority of the State of Alabama; shall be sealed with the great seal of the State, signed by the governor, and attested by the secretary of state. Sec. 6. All civil officers of this State, legislative, executive, and judicial, before they enter upon the execution of the duties of their respective offices, shall take the following oath: “I solemnly swear,” (or affirm, as the case may be,) “that I will support the Constitution of the United States, and the constitution of the State of Alabama, so long as I continue a citizen thereof; and that I will faithfully discharge, to the best of my abilities, the duties of the office of ———; So help me God.” Sec. 7. All civil officers of the State, whether elected by the people, or by the general assembly, or appointed by the governor, shall be liable to impeachment for any misdemeanor in office; but judgment in such cases shall not extend further than removal from office, and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit, under the State; but the party convicted shall, nevertheless, be liable and subject to indictment, trial, and punishment according to law. Article VIII: ELECTIONS BY THE PEOPLE Section 1. Every white male person, of the age of twenty-one years and upward, who shall be a citizen of the United States, and shall have resided in this State one year next preceding the election, and the last three months thereof in the county in which he offers to vote, shall be deemed a qualified elector; Provided, That no soldier, seaman, or marine, in the Regular Army or Navy of the United States, and no person who shall have been convicted of bribery, forgery, perjury, or other high crime or misdemeanor which may be by law declared to disqualify him, shall be entitled to vote at any election in this State. Sec. 2. In all elections by the people, the electors shall vote by ballot, until otherwise directed by law. Sec. 3. Except in cases of treason, felony, or breach of the peace, electors shall be privileged from arrest during their attendance at elections, and in going to and returning from the same. Sec. 4. Returns of elections for all civil officers elected by the people, who are to be commissioned by the governor, and also for members of the General Assembly, shall be made to the secretary of state. Article IX: AMENDMENT AND REVISION OF THE CONSTITUTION Section 1. The General Assembly may, whenever two-thirds of each house shall deem it necessary, propose amendments to this constitution; which proposed amendments shall be duly published in print, (in such manner as the General Assembly may direct,) at least three months before the next general election for representatives, for the consideration of the people; and it shall be the duty of the several returning officers, at the next ensuing general election for representatives, to open a poll for the vote of the qualified electors on the proposed amendments, and to make a return of said vote to the secretary of state; and if it shall thereupon appear that a majority of all qualified electors of the State, who voted for representatives, voted in favor of the proposed amendments, and two-thirds of each house of the next General Assembly, before another election, shall ratify said amendments, each house voting by yeas and nays, said amendments shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as parts of this constitution; Provided, That said proposed amendments shall, at each of said sessions of the General Assembly, have been read three times, on three several days, in each house. Sec. 2. After the expiration of twelve months from the adoption of this constitution, no convention shall be held, for the purpose of altering or amending the constitution of this State, unless the question of convention or no convention shall be first submitted to a vote of the qualified electors of the State, and approved by a majority of the electors voting at said election. Adopted by the convention, by the unanimous vote of all the delegates present, at the State capitol, in the city of Montgomery, on this, the thirtieth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, and of the Independence of the United States the ninetieth year. Benj. Fitzpatrick, President of Convention. Attest: Wm. H. Ogbourne, Sec’y of Convention. Source: The Federal and State Constitutions, Colonial Charters, and other Organic Laws of the States and Territories now or heretofore forming the United States of America, compiled and edited by Francis Newton Thorpe (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1909). Vol. I United States-Alabama-District of Columbia. https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/thorpe-the-federal-and-state-constitutions-vol-i-united-states-alabama-district-of-columbia#lf1514-01_head_228

(DAYTON, OHIO, AUGUST 7, 1865) To my old Master, Colonel P. H. Anderson, Big Spring, Tennessee. Sir: I got your letter, and was glad to find that you had not forgotten Jordon, and that you wanted me to come back and live with you again, promising to do better for me than anybody else can. I have often felt uneasy about you. I thought the Yankees would have hung you long before this, for harboring Rebs they found at your house. I suppose they never heard about your going to Colonel Martin's to kill the Union soldier that was left by his company in their stable. Although you shot at me twice before I left you, I did not want to hear of your being hurt, and am glad you are still living. It would do me good to go back to the dear old home again, and see Miss Mary and Miss Martha and Allen, Esther, Green, and Lee. Give my love to them all, and tell them I hope we will meet in the better world, if not in this. I would have gone back to see you all when I was working in the Nashville Hospital, but one of the neighbors told me that Henry intended to shoot me if he ever got a chance. I want to know particularly what the good chance is you propose to give me. I am doing tolerably well here. I get $25 a month, with victuals and clothing; have a comfortable home for Mandy (the folks call her Mrs. Anderson), and the children, Milly, Jane, and Grundy, go to school and are learning well. The teacher says Grundy has a head for a preacher. They go to Sunday school, and Mandy and me attend church regularly. We are kindly treated. Sometimes we overhear others saying, “Them colored people were slaves” down in Tennessee. The children feel hurt when they hear such remarks; but I tell them it was no disgrace in Tennessee to belong to Colonel Anderson. Many darkeys would have been proud, as I used to be, to call you master. Now if you will write and say what wages you will give me, I will be better able to decide whether it would be to my advantage to move back again. As to my freedom, which you say I can have, there is nothing to be gained on that score, as I got my free papers in 1864 from the Provost-Marshal-General of the Department of Nashville. Mandy says she would be afraid to go back without some proof that you were disposed to treat us justly and kindly; and we have concluded to test your sincerity by asking you to send us our wages for the time we served you. This will make us forget and forgive old scores, and rely on your justice and friendship in the future. I served you faithfully for thirty-two years, and Mandy twenty years. At $25 a month for me, and $2 a week for Mandy, our earnings would amount to $11,680. Add to this the interest for the time our wages have been kept back, and deduct what you paid for our clothing, and three doctor’s visits to me, and pulling a tooth for Mandy, and the balance will show what we are in justice entitled to. Please send the money by Adams Express, in care of V. Winters, Esq., Dayton, Ohio. If you fail to pay us for faithful labors in the past, we can have little faith in your promises in the future. We trust the good Maker has opened your eyes to the wrongs which you and your fathers have done to me and my fathers, in making us toil for you for generations without recompense. Here I draw my wages every Saturday night; but in Tennessee there was never any pay-day for the negroes any more than for the horses and cows. Surely there will be a day of reckoning for those who defraud the laborer of his hire. In answering this letter, please state if there would be any safety for my Milly and Jane, who are now grown up, and both good-looking girls. You know how it was with poor Matilda and Catherine. I would rather stay here and starve and die, if it come to that, than have my girls brought to shame by the violence and wickedness of their young masters. You will also please state if there has been any schools opened for the colored children in your neighborhood. The great desire of my life now is to give my children an education, and have them form virtuous habits. From your old servant, Jordon Anderson P.S.— Say howdy to George Carter, and thank him for taking the pistol from you when you were shooting at me. Source: https://www.facinghistory.org/reconstruction-era/letter-jourdon-anderson-freedman-writes-former-master