Of the foes without the Bureau, the bitterest were those
who attacked not so much its conduct or policy under the law
as the necessity for any such institution at all. Such attacks
came primarily from the Border States and the South; and
they were summed up by Senator Davis, of Kentucky, when
he moved to entitle the act of 1866 a bill "to promote strife
and conflict between the white and black races . . . by a grant
of unconstitutional power." The argument gathered tremen-
dous strength South and North; but its very strength was its
weakness. For, argued the plain common-sense of the nation,
if it is unconstitutional, unpractical, and futile for the nation
to stand guardian over its helpless wards, then there is left but
one alternative,--to make those wards their own guardians by
arming them with the ballot. Moreover, the path of the
practical politician pointed the same way; for, argued this
opportunist, if we cannot peacefully reconstruct the South
with white votes, we certainly can with black votes. So
justice and force joined hands.
The alternative thus offered the nation was not between full
and restricted Negro suffrage; else every sensible man, black
and white, would easily have chosen the latter.
Pages:
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68