mainly instrumental in subduing, to the not less responsible
duties of enlarged statesmanship, in the restoration of the re-
volted States. The signs of a serious disagreement had al-
ready appeared among a class of politicians who repudiated
the idea of an unbroken Union in their purpose to ignore the
existence of the States in rebellion by reducing them at once,
in violation of the principle on which our government was
founded, to the condition of dependent territories, to be dealt
with as Congress in its wisdom might decree. But in de-
ploring the loss of one who recognized the true theory of this
government in the perpetuity of the States, as integrals of a
united system, which could only be dissolved by consent of
the people themselves, we had reason for congratulation that
his mantle had fallen upon another—not less the favorite and
representative of the masses—whose sound constitutional
principles led him to the adoption of the same well defined
and maturely considered line of policy.
The work of restoring the States to their former status, in
such a crisis, was one of the greatest delicacy and responsi-
bility. Five millions of our deluded brethren, many of whom
had been forced into hostility to the Union by crafty and de-
signing demagogues, accepting the stern arbitrament of the
sword, appealed for amnesty and pardon; and expressed their
readiness to renew their allegiance to the flag which they had
so wantonly assailed. There were also those, few in number
it may be, in every State, who had never changed the rela-
tion of loyalty in which they stood to the Goverilment, whose
claim to protection, under their respective State organizations,
was as perfect as that of any other section. President Lin-
coln leaned to the side of mercy and forgiveness, and announ-
ced his policy of reconstruction, at an early period, even be-
fore the war terminated. He accepted his obligation under
the Constitution, to bring the States, whose functions had
been suspended by the war, once more in harmony without
doing violence to existing guarantees, or the unity of the
Government. The war in which we had been engaged was
not a foreign war against a separate nationality, but a war to
put down insurrection among our own people. The power of
time Government to do this had been fully vindicated. To
argue the non-existence of States as the result of this effort
would be to admit the weakness of the Government to main-
tain its own integrity against internal strife and domestic in-
surrection.
President Johnson, following in the footsteps of his prede-
cessor, adopted the same plan of reconstruction. He threw
himself upon the loyal element of the rebellious States—upon
the white population, who alone possessed tIme right of suf-
frage under existing laws—extending amnesty in the begin-
ning to those only who had faltered in their loyalty, whose