(Introductory note: Much of the subject matter in this article covers the unfortunate topic of slavery. However, setting that deplorable issue aside, the remainder of the document contains some very good ideas in resolving our present day problems).
....The Speaker having proceeded, under the resolution of the House of yesterday, to call the States and Territories for bills and resolutions--
Resolutions were submitted and referred to the select committee "on so much of the President's message as relates to the present perilous condition of the country, as follows," viz:
By Mr. Thayer:
Resolved, That we, the representatives of the people of the United States, regard it as the duty of every patriot, in the present crisis, to forget parties and sections, and to devote himself honestly and earnestly to the cause of his country.
Resolved, That the same reasons which, in the beginning of our history as an independent nation, impelled these States to friendly and faithful co-operation for the common welfare are in full force now, and should stimulate every section to the fair and faithful discharge of the obligations to every other section, and to the whole Union, without evasion and without reservation.
Resolved, That if, while living under the shadows of monuments which we have erected to commemorate the heroic days of our fathers, we prove ourselves unable to transmit to our children the institutions created by the genius and patriotism of the founders of this republic, we shall deserve to be remembered and denounced as a nation of great monuments and little men.
Resolved, That any citizens of this republic who are willing to barter the public welfare for their own aggrandizement, and to secure a local popularity by exciting jealousy and animosity between the States of this Union, are wholly unworthy of the honor or the confidence of any portion of the American people.
Resolved, That as the present state of unfriendly feeling existing between the different sections of this confederacy has arisen from the government by Congress and the execution of our provincial dependencies, and from their usurpation on the rights of American citizens, we are opposed to the creation or the acquisition of any more such dependencies, as being adverse to the interests of a republican government, and destructive of the rights of our own citizens.
Resolved, That the rights of an American citizen are above the Congress and the President, and are not derived from either, and should be sacred everywhere on American soil; and that as all "governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed," territorial governments should not be compelled to "derive their just powers" from the consent of Congress or the will of the President.
Resolved, That the public lands outside of the State limits should be open to sale and settlement in districts suitable in size and form to make States; and that whenever any such district may contain a population equal to the ratio of representation, and shall have a constitution republican in form, it should be entitled to admission into the confederacy.
Resolved, As "taxation and representation are inseparable," that the taxes of the people in the land districts for the support of the general government should be remitted to them, and that they should support their own governments and defray all their expenses.
Resolved, That no more territory should ever be acquired to be owned by the United States or to be governed by Congress; and that the expansion of limits should be possible only by the annexation by treaty of sovereign States.
Resolved, That there should be no congressional legislation whatever upon the subject of slavery.
Resolved, That every congressional district in the States should also be an electoral district, and be entitled every four years to choose one presidential elector; and that each State should be entitled to choose two presidential electors on general ticket.
By Mr. John Cochrane:
Whereas a conflict of opinion dangerous to the peace and permanence of the Union has arisen concerning the true intent and meaning of the Constitution of the United States in relation to the subject of African slavery: Therefore--
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives, &c., (two-thirds of both houses concurring,) That the following articles be proposed as amendments to the Constitution of the United States; which, when ratified by conventions in three-fourths of the several States, shall be valid as parts of said Constitution, viz:
Art. --: In all territory of the United States lying north of 36° 30' north latitude, and not included within the limits of any of the existing States, slavery and involuntary servitude, except in punishment of crime, shall be, and is hereby, prohibited: Provided, That the said Territory, or any portion of the same, when admitted as a State, shall be received into the Union with or without slavery, as its constitution may prescribe at the time of its admission.
Art. --. In all territory of the United States lying south of 36° 30 north latitude, not included within the limits of any existing State, neither Congress nor any territorial, government shall pass any law prohibiting or impairing the establishment of slavery: Provided, always, That the said Territory, or any part of the same, when admitted as a State, shall be received into the Union with or without slavery, as its constitution may prescribe at the time of admission.
Art.--. Congress shall pass no law prohibiting or interferring with the trade in slaves between the several slaveholding States and Territories.
Art.--. The migration or importation of slaves into the United States or any of the Territories thereof, from any foreign country, is hereby prohibited.
Art.--. No person held to service or labor in any State or in any Territory of the United States, under the laws thereof, escaping into any other State or Territory of the United States, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due.
Art.--. The right of transit through and temporary sojourn in the several States and Territories of the United States is hereby guaranteed to all the citizens of the several States and Territories; and their right to the possession and control of their slaves during such transit and sojourn shall not be infringed.
Art.--. No law enacted by Congress for the rendition of fugitive slaves shall be in any degree impaired or infringed by anything contained in the laws or constitution of any State or Territory; but all such State and territorial laws, and all such provisions in any State or other constitution, shall be wholly null and void.
By Mr. Adrain:
Resolved, That the doctrine that Congress should intervene by law either to prohibit or protect the domestic institution of slavery in the Territories of this government should be abandoned by those political parties which hold it, and that the doctrine of non-intervention of Congress over that subject should be adopted as a basis of compromise between the north and the south, thereby leaving the whole question of slavery in the Territories to be determined by the people and laws of climate.
Resolved, That the people of any Territory, on applying for admission as a State into this Union, should be admitted with such a constitution as a majority of the people have adopted, provided it is republican in form, and without any regard to whether their constitution permits or prohibits the domestic institution of slavery.
Resolved, That all statutes enacted by any of the State legislatures conflicting with, or in violation of, the Constitution of the United States and the laws of Congress made in pursuance thereof, shall be repealed.
Resolved, That the fugitive slave law is constitutional and the law of the land, and as such should be respected and obeyed; and that no obstacles should be put in the way of its faithful execution by either State legislatures or the people.
Resolved, That a kind and fraternal spirit should be manifested by the people of one State toward those of another, and that the people of each State should be permitted to regulate their own internal affairs, without the interference and intermeddling of those of other States.
Resolved, That the Constitution of the United States was the result of a spirit of conciliation and compromise, and that the Union of these States can alone be preserved by the exercise of the same spirit which animated the breasts of those great patriots and statesmen who gave us that Constitution and hallowed Union.
By Mr. Edward Joy Morris:
Resolved, That the committee of thirty-three be instructed to review the personal liberty laws of the States, to ascertain which of them is in conflict with the Constitution of the United States, and to embody the result of such investigation in their report; and that said committee be further instructed to inquire if the fugitive slave law is not susceptible of amendment so as to effectually prevent kidnapping, and to render more certain the ascertainment of the actual condition of the fugitives.
By Mr. James A. Stewart:
Whereas the good people of the States of this federal Union, from the origin of their colonial existence, have been recognized as distinct and separate communities in their political actions and forms of government--and in their relations towards each other, as the exigency seemed to prompt, have employed various modes of association--by a continental congress, by articles of confederation, and last under the present Constitution--with a view of forming a more perfect Union, still cautiously providing a reservation of all rights not delegated, and retaining their respective forms of State government: and whereas, these various changes and modifications have always been effected peaceably and by voluntary consent and agreement: and wheras, in the present juncture of our affairs, it is the deliberate and settled opinion of many well-disposed citizens in all of the States that this last form of government, by the action of time and by the force of circumstances not foreseen by its illustrious framers, and beyond the control of human agency, has ceased to answer all the purposes of its creation and threatens to become destructive of some of the great objects it was intended to accomplish, either through irremediable perversions of its powers, or possibly through its legitimate action; and in order to check its revolutionary tendencies and provide, reasonable safeguards for the better security of the, just exercise of its proper functions, so as to perpetuate the high aims designed by its founders, and still continue its blessings of constitutional government to each and every State in its reserved and federal relations; and that to effectuate-this purpose amendments have become necessary, or, if this be rendered impossible by the antagonistic interests that have supervened, that then each State should be formally reinvested with all its powers as a distinct and independent nationality, and placed in a position, by common consent, to provide for its own security as fully as if no powers had ever been delegated: and whereas we fully recognize the great political truth that the sovereign people of each State are competent to manage their own affairs, to organize, reorganize, or change their form of government deliberately and without violence: and whereas a convention of all the States is among the modes prescribed by the Constitution, (and probably intended to provide-for cases where general revision had become necessary,) by which amendments may be made, if the present form of government is to be continued: and whereas much apprehension prevails among the good people of all the States that our whole system, State and federal, may prove a failure, and we think without just cause, and a very grave crisis has been reached in the progress of the republic, requiring the most calm, profound, and deliberate action on the part of all the State and federal authority, and especially of the representatives of the people in Congress assembled: and whereas we have good reason to believe that certain States of the Union are about to withdraw from its jurisdiction by all the authentic modes recognized as regular by State action, alleging for cause repeated and persistent violations of the compact of the Union by certain other States, and that they are hopeless of preserving the inalienable and reserved rights of their people, and maintaining good and orderly government within their limits under the existing system: and whereas it is the part of wisdom to ascertain, accurately, the cause of these troubles, and provide, if possible, an adequate remedy and secure a continuance of the blessings of constitutional liberty to ourselves and our posterity forever under the present form of government: and whereas serious doubts are entertained whether ample and competent provision can be made under the existing federation to insure to all the States and the people thereof the full measure of their inalienable and constitutional rights; and that the time has come when other plans must be devised to establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, and secure the blessings of liberty to the people of all the States: and whereas, if the latter opinion be really well founded, it is proper that an amicable settlement shall be made without unnecessary delay, and an equitable adjustment of all matters between the States separating from each other, so that each and every State and the people thereof may know their precise duties and obligations in that event, and no justifiable cause of disturbance may take place in the future, as far as human foresight can guard against it; and further to enable them, as they have lived so long together in the bonds of federal Union, to acquiesce peaceably in the necessity that compels them to separate; and further to provide, in case of disagreement in the future, some plan, if possible, by which the same may be speedily and fairly adjusted: Therefore--
Resolved, That the select committee appointed on the President's message inquire, among other things, if any measures can be adopted to preserve in their purity the constitutional rights of all the States within the Union; and if, in their judgment, this be impracticable. then further to inquire as to the most reasonable and just mode by which their rights may be secured in a state of separation, each sovereign State, in that event, being repossessed of its delegated authority to the federal Union, and adjusting the relative liabilities of each, with such other measures of fair settlement as may appear to them just; and recommend also some plan in that event, by which, in the future, if any disputes shall arise, they may be fairly and speedily settled.
By Mr. Leake:
Resolved, That the Constitution of the United States ought to be amended, so as to provide: 1. That Congress shall have no power or jurisdiction over the subject of domestic slavery, either in the States, the Territories of the United States, or the District of Columbia, or over the trade in slaves in or between them, except so far as hereinafter provided. 2. That where domestic slavery may exist in any Territory or district of the United States, it shall be the duty of Congress to protect it by adequate and efficient, legislation, 3. That no territorial legislature, or other territorial authority, shall have power or jurisdiction over such subject. 4. That the rights of masters or owners to their slaves while sojourning in, or in transitu through any State or Territory of the United States, shall be guaranteed and protected; and 5. That fugitive slaves shall be given up on demand of their owners or masters, and that all such fugitives as may be lost by reason of the legislation of any State, or the act of its constituted authorities, shall be paid for by such State.
By Mr. Jenkins:
Resolved, That the committee of one from each State, recently appointed by this House, be instructed to inquire into the expediency of so amending the fugitive slave law as best to promote the rendition of fugitives under the operation of the same, the more adequate punishment of its infraction, and the affording proper compensation to the owners of those who are not returned. Also, to inquire what further constitutional checks are demanded by a sense of self-preservation on the part of slaveholding States against the operation of the federal government, when about to be administered by those who have avowedly come into power on the ground of hostility to their interests, and to consider whether this fact does not of itself so violate and antagonize the slaveholding interest as to make it necessary to its own security that its concurrent voice, separately and distinctly given, should be required to sanction each and every operation of the federal government; and to consider whether a dual Executive, or the division of the Senate into two bodies, or the making a majority of senators from both the slaveholding and non-slaveholding States necessary to all action on the part of that body, or the creation of another advisory body or council, or what other amendments to the federal Constitution would best promote that result, and to report thereon.
By Mr. William Smith:
Resolved, That the committee of thirty-three take into consideration the policy of declaring out of the federal Union each member thereof which shall, by her legislation, aim to nullify an act of Congress.
By Mr. Cox:
Whereas one of the chief complaints on the part of the slaveholding States of this confederacy is the refusal, neglect, and failure of certain executives of northern States to deliver up fugitives from justice indicted for treason, murder, and slave stealing in said slave States: Therefore--
Resolved, That the committee of thirty-three, for the establishment of comity between the States, be required to consider what, if any, further legislation is necessary to carry out the second clause of the second section of article four of the Constitution of the United States, for the delivery of fugitives who shall flee from justice in one State and be found in another State, on demand of the executive authority of the State from which such fugitive shall have fled; and that such inquiry be made with special aim to punish all judges, attorneys general, executives, and other State officers, who shall obstruct the execution of such clause of the Constitution, either in respect to the delivery of felons who may be indicted for treason or murder, or attempted slave insurrections, or indicted for slave stealing.
By Mr. Hutchins:
Resolved, That the select committee of thirty-three, to whom is referred so much of the President's message as relates to the state of the Union and the slavery question, be requested to report, first, what legislation, if any, is necessary to give full effect to section two of article four of the Constitution of the United States, which provides that "the citizens of each State shall be entitled to all the privileges and immunities of the citizens in the several States;" and, second, what legislation, if any, is necessary to secure to all the people, whether residing or travelling in any of the States, the full benefits of article four of amendments to the Constitution of the United States, which reads as follows: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, house, 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 to be searched and the persons or things to be seized."
By Mr. Sherman:
Resolved, That the only true and effectual remedy for the dissensions that now exist between the several States and the people thereof is in the faithful observance, by the several States and the people thereof, of all the compromises of the Constitution and of the laws made in pursuance thereof.
Resolved, That the special committee of thirty-three be instructed to inquire whether any State, or the people thereof, have failed to obey and enforce the obligations imposed by the Constitution; and if so, the remedy thereof, and whether any further legislation is required to secure such enforcement.
Resolved, That to avoid all further controversies in regard to the several Territories of the United States, said committee divide said Territories into States of convenient size, with a view to their prompt admission into the Union on an equal footing with the other States.
By Mr. Bingham:
Resolved, That the special committee of thirty-three report to the House such additional legislation as they may deem necessary to suppress and put down armed rebellion against the laws and authority of the United States, to protect the property thereof against unlawful seizure, and the citizens thereof against, unlawful violence.
By Mr. Mallory:
Resolved, That the special committee of thirty-three be instructed to report amendments to the Constitution of the United States, so that in all the Territories of the United States, north of the line of 36° 30' north latitude, slavery or involuntary servitude, except for crime, be prohibited; that in all territory south of that line the institution of African slavery, as it exists at this time in the slave States of this Union, may exist, and shall be protected by the government of the United States. That when any Territory shall have attained a population sufficient to entitle it to at least one representative in Congress, and not until then, it shall be authorized to form a State government, and, provided its form of government be republican, be admitted into the Union on a perfect equality with the several States, with or without slavery, as its constitution may provide; that Congress shall be prohibited from abolishing or interfering with the inter State slave trade; from abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia, in the arsenals and dock-yards of the United States, and wherever it may have the power of exclusive legislation.
By Mr. Stevenson:
Resolved, That the committee of thirty-three be instructed to inquire into the expediency of amending the fugitive slave law by declaring it a felony to resist the officers of the United States in its execution, or in any attempt to rescue a fugitive who shall be in the custody of an officer of the United States, under the provisions of said act.
By Mr. English:
Resolved, That, for the purpose of doing justice, and securing peace and prosperity, the committee of thirty-three be instructed to inquire into the expediency of providing for the settlement of the present unfortunate and dangerous sectional controversy upon the following basis: 1. The Territories of the United States to be equitably divided between the slaveholding and non-slaveholding sections; slavery to be prohibited in that portion set apart for the non-slaveholding section, and to be recognized in that portion set apart to the slaveholding section: the status of each upon the subject of slavery-to remain unchanged during the territorial existence; but when the population in any portion of the territory set apart to either section shall equal or exceed the ratio required for a representative in Congress and the people shall have formed and ratified a constitution, and asked admission into the Union as a State, such State shall be admitted with or without slavery, as such constitution may prescribe. 2. The rights of property in slaves in the slaveholding States, and in the portion of the territories set apart to the slaveholding section, shall not be destroyed or impaired by legislation in Congress, in the Territories, or in the non-slaveholding States; and whenever a fugitive slave shall be rescued from his master, or from the proper United States officer, by reason of mob violence or State legislation, in conflict with with the Constitution or laws of the United States; or whenever a slave shall, in like manner, be rescued from his master while in transitu through any non-slaveholding State, the city, county, or township in which such rescue is made shall be liable to the master in double the value of the slave, recoverable in the United States courts.
By Mr. Kilgore:
Resolved, That the committee to whom was referred that part of the President's message which relates to the present distracted condition of the country be requested to inquire into the expediency of so amending the law upon the subject of fugitives from labor as to provide: 1. That the right of trial by jury shall be allowed in all cases where the alleged fugitive claims to be free, if demanded. 2. That an appeal or writ of error be allowed to either party upon just and reasonable terms. 3. That in all cases where the citizens of any free or non-slaveholding State shall aid or assist any fugitive in escaping, or where they shall forcibly prevent the claimant or any officer from arresting any fugitive, or shall forcibly rescue any fugitive from the custody of a claimant or any officer, either before or after trial, full payment shall be made by the United States to the person or persons to whom the fugitive owes service. 4. That any person or persons who shall forcibly hinder the arrest of any such fugitive, or shall forcibly rescue any such fugitive, shall be criminally prosecuted; and such other amendments made as may be thought necessary to give public satisfaction, without destroying the efficiency of such law, or in the least impairing the constitutional rights of any of our citizens or inhabitants of the United States.
By Mr. Holman:
1. Resolved, That the Constitution of the United States, by which the several States of the Union are organized into one government, is a compact founded upon good faith between the States, of mutual and permanent obligation; and the right of a State to secede from the compact, and to resume the powers surrendered in its adoption, is wholly unwarranted by the letter and spirit of its provisions.
2. Resolved, That the mutual and common interest of the several States, in the obligations of the Constitution, renders it the imperative duty of the federal government to enforce, in good faith and with temperate firmness, the laws enacted in pursuance of its authority in all cases where their infringement would impair the constitutional rights of any State, or the common and reciprocal rights of the several Statues.
3. Resolved, That the select committee of thirty-three on the state of the Union be instructed to inquire whether the acts of Congress now in force are sufficient, in view of the present condition of public affairs, to protect the rights of the several States against the attempts which have been made, and which may hereafter be made, by any State or States, to nullify the laws necessary to the existence of the confederacy, and to carry out the provisions of the Constitution; and if the laws now in force are insufficient, it shall be the duty of said committee to report the necessary bill or bills to provide for the emergency.
By Mr. Niblack:
Resolved, That the select committee to whom has been referred much of the President's message as relates to the perilous condition of the country be instructed to inquire whether it be competent for Congress to provide by law for the payment of the value of fugitive slaves rescued by force or violence by the counties, cities, or municipal districts in which such fugitive slaves should be so rescued; and if it be found that Congress possesses the power so to enact, then that said committee inquire into the expediency of thus providing by law, and report by bill or otherwise.
By Mr. McClernand:
Resolved, That the committee of thirty-three be instructed to inquire and report whether Congress has constitutional power to make the people of any particular State, or municipal corporation therein, liable to indemnify any owner of any slave escaping into such State, and who has been rescued from rightful custody by force or otherwise; and also whether it is expedient to establish a special federal police for the purpose of executing the laws of the United States, and promptly suppressing any unlawful resistance thereof; and also whether any further legislation is requisite to secure a prompt, certain, and full enforcement of the guarantees of the Constitution, or whether an amendment of the Constitution is necessary for that purpose.
By Mr. Noell:
Whereas there now exists, on the part of the people of the southern States of this Union, a well-founded apprehension that they no longer hold the power in the federal government necessary to secure their peace and the safety of their property against the aggressions of the federal government, should it become the will of the people of the northern States to assail them through the federal administration or by hostile legislation: and whereas security and peace, held by one section at the mere will of another, cannot be safely relied on: and whereas the great material interests of the country, in every section, are involved in the safety of the Union and the perpetuity of the Constitution on such terms as will give to every section the means of protection against the aggressions of other sections: Therefore--
Be it resolved. That the select committee of thirty-three be instructed to take into consideration the propriety and necessity of abolishing, by amendments to the Constitution, the office of President of the United States, and of establishing, in lieu thereof, an executive council, to consist of three members to be elected by districts composed of contiguous States as near as practicable; each member of said council to be armed with a veto power, such as is now vested in the President of the United States; and if such plan be deemed practicable by said committee, that they report to this House such details thereof as may be necessary to accommodate the same to the existing Constitution of the United States.
Be it further resolved, That said committee be also requested to take into consideration the means necessary (if any can be devised) to restore the equilibrium between the free and the slave States in the Senate of the United States; and particularly whether this end can be accomplished by a voluntary division on the part of some of the slave States into two or more States.
By Mr. Hindman:
Resolved, That amendments of the Constitution of the United States ought to be made as follows, to wit: 1. An express recognition of the right of property in slaves in the States where it now exists or may hereafter exist, and an express denial to the federal government of all right or power to prohibit or restrict the trade in slaves between the States. 2. An express requirement that the federal government shall protect the right of property in slaves in the District of Columbia, in all Territories of the United States while the territorial condition exists, and wherever else the federal jurisdiction extends. 3. A provision that every Territory authorized by act of Congress to hold a convention, and whose convention shall adopt a constitution republican in form, shall be admitted into the Union as a State with or without slavery, as its constitution may prescribe. 4. A provision that citizens of any State or Territory, who may be the owners of slaves, shall be permitted to hold their slave property while passing through or temporarily residing within the jurisdiction of States whose constitutions do not recognize the institution of slavery. 5. A provision that any State whose legislature has enacted, or may hereafter enact, laws defeating or impairing the right of the master to have his escaped slave delivered up to him, according to the provisions of the fugitive slave law of 1850, shall not be entitled to representation in either house of Congress until the repeal of such nullifying statutes. 6. Such further provisions as will secure to the slaveholding States, through their representation in Congress, an absolute negative upon all action of Congress relating to the subject of slavery. 7. A provision that all the above amendments, together with the existing provisions for slave representation upon the three-fifths basis, shall forever be irrepealable and unamendable. 8. A provision for the appointment, by State authority, of all federal officers exercising their functions within the limits of the States.
By Mr. Larrabee:
Whereas conflicting constructions of various clauses in the federal Constitution have from time to time prevailed, some of the States claiming and others denying certain powers of government to Congress: and whereas it is our duty, in times of grave civil disorder, to resort to the remedies provided within the Constitution: and whereas it is of the last importance that, in the event of a final disagreement between the several members of the confederacy, some amicable mode of determining their future relations: be ascertained: Therefore--
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress assembled, That, in pursuance of article five of the Constitution, it is recommended to the several States that they shall, through their respective legislatures, request Congress to call a convention of the States for proposing amendments to the Constitution, to the end that the people of the several States may thus be enabled to confer together in the manner provided in the establishment of the government, and adopt such measures as, in their wisdom, may be proper to promote the common welfare of the States.....
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