History of the Antislavery Measures of the Thirty-seventh and Thirty-eighth United States Congresses, 1861-65, by Henry Wilson, 1865.

CHAPTER XXV.

TO MAKE FREE THE WIVE'S AND CHILDREN OF COLORED SOLDIERS. — FINAL ACTION.

MR. WILSON'S JOINT RESOLUTION TO MAKE THE WIVES AND CHILDREN FREE. — REPORTED BACK BY THE MILITARY COMMITTEE. — MOTION BY MR. DAVIS TO REFER IT TO JUDICIARY COMMITTEE. — REMARKS OF MR. WILKINSON. — MR. WILSON. — MR. HENDRICKS, — MR. POWELL. — MR. DAVIS, — MOTION TO REFER LOST, — REMARKS OF MR. DOOLITTLE. — MR. SAULSBURY. — MR. SUMNER. — MR. CLARK, — MR. POMEROY. — MR. WADE, — MR. JOHNSON, — MR. POWELL'S AMMENDMENT. — MR. DAVIS'S AMENDMENT REJECTED. — REMARKS BY MR. TRUMBULL. — PASSAGE OF THE JOINT RESOLUTION. — RESOLUTION REPORTED FROM THE HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE, — REMARKS OF MR. WILSON. — MR. HARRIS, — MR. MALLORY. — PASSAGE OF THE RESOLUTION. — APPROVAL BY THE PRESIDENT.

ON the 13th of December, 1864, Mr. Wilson (Rep.) of Massachusetts introduced a joint resolution to encourage enlistments, and promote the efficiency of the military and naval forces, by making free the wives and children of persona who had been in, or who might be mustered into, the service of the United States. The resolution was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs, and was, on the 14th, reported back to the Senate by Mr. Wilson without amendment. On the 19th, the Senate, on motion of Mr. Wilson, proceeded to the consideration of the resolution. Mr. Davis (Dem.) of Kentucky moved its reference to the Judiciary Committee. Mr. Wilkinson (Rep.) of Minnesota hoped it would not be referred, — " the resolution ought to be passed immediately." Mr. Wilson Page 396 hoped the resolution would not be referred to any committee. " The needs of the country," he said, " more than justice or humanity, have weaponed the hand of the slave. . . . Whenever the slave enlists, he is a free man for evermore ; and thousands of them have enlisted since we passed that beneficent act. ... It is estimated that from seventy-five to one hundred thousand wives and children of these soldiers are now held , in slavery. It is a burning shame to this country ; it is an indecency for the American people to hold in slavery the wives and the children of men who are perilling their Uvea before the rebel legions. . . . Wasting diseases, weary marches, and bloody battles, are decimating our armies. The country needs soldiers, — must have soldiers. Let the Senate, then, act now. Let us hasten the enactment of this beneficent measure, in spired by patriotism and hallowed by justice and humanity ; so that, ere merry Christmas shall come, the intelligence shall be flashed over the land, to cheer the hearts of the nation's defenders and arouse the man hood of the bondman, that, on the forehead of the soldier's wife and the soldier’s child no man can write 'slave.'" Mr. Hendricks (Dem.) of Indiana would have the resolution go to the Judiciary Committee. He was "not able to see how, under the Constitution of the United States, Congress can free the servant who is held to service by the laws of a State." Mr. Powell (Dem.) of Kentucky thought the resolution was " palpably unconstitutional." " Senators," he exclaimed, "if you pass this measure, you will have to do it by walking over the plain provisions of the Constitution of your country."

Page 397 On the 20th, the Senate resumed the consideration of the resolution. Mr. Davis (Dem.) of Kentucky declared, that " the great and principal effect of this resolution would be in Kentucky, and upon her people : I presume it is so intended. . . . The object is to deprive slave owners of their property ; it is still further to de moralize the institution ; it is to break it up, per fas aut nefas ; it la utterly to disregard the Constitution and the laws which secure, equally with every other, this description of property to their owners, and trample them under foot, lawlessly, unjustly, without answering any wise policy of the Government, and utterly to destroy slave property."

The Senate, on the 5th of January, 1865, resumed the consideration of the resolution. The pending question being the motion of Mr. Davis to refer it to the Judiciary Committee, Mr. Wilson demanded the yeas and nays ; and they were ordered. Mr. Doolittle (Rep.) of Wisconsin believed "the proposition to amend the Constitution would triumph in Congress and in three- fourths of the States ; and, when that is done, this great question, the cause of all our trouble, — the question which, like sin, has brought into this our paradise 'death and all our woe,' covering the land with blood and ashes, — will be finally settled, and settled for ever, by the supreme judgment of the American people. Doubting the constitutionality of the measure, he would vote to refer it to the Judiciary Committee." Mr. Saulsbury (Dem.) of Delaware would "maintain the doctrine, that not only have you not the power to decree the freedom of wives and children of negroes who volunteer in your army, if they are from States where slavery Page 398 is recognized ; but you cannot give permanent freedom to the negro volunteer himself, if he be a slave." — "All must confess," said Mr. Sumner (Rep.) of Massachusetts, " the humanity of the proposition to enfranchise the families of colored persona who have borne arma for their country. All must confess the hardship of continuing them in slavery. . . . But every argument, every consideration, which pleads for the enfranchisement of the slave, pleads also for the enfranchisement of the family. There is the same practical necessity for doing it, and the same unutterable shabbiness in not doing it, . . . There is a well-known French maxim, that ' it Is only the first step which coats,' — ce n'est que le premier pas qui coute; and on this occasion, permit me to say, it is only the first stage of the argument which merits attention. Concede that the soldier may be enfranchised, and it follows that by the same constitutional power his family may be admitted to an equal liberty. Any other conclusion would be as illogical as inhuman ; discreditable alike to the head and the heart. There is no argument, whether of reason or of humanity, for the enfranchisement of the soldier, which does not plead equally for that of his family. Nay, more : I know not how we can expect p, blessing on our arms, while we fall to perform this duty." Mr. Saulsbury deaired the postponement of the question until the next day. Mr. Wilson would consent to the postponement after the vote should be taken on the motion of Mr. Davis to refer to the Judiciary Committee. The question was then taken on the motion to refer ; and it was lost, — yeas 15, nays 19.

On the 9th, the Senate proceeded to the consideration Page 399 of the resolution, and Mr. Saulsbury made an elaborate speech against Its passage. Mr. Davis moved to amend the resolution so as to make Its operation prospective. He avowed his intention to vote against the measure, even if his amendment should be agreed to. Mr. Clark (Rep.) of New Hampshire hoped Mr. Davis’s amendment " would not be agreed to, and that we shall not only act free the wives and children of soldiers who may hereafter be enlisted, but the wives and children of those who have already gone into the service of the country." — " This is the first time," said Mr. Davis, " I have ever ventured to utter a voice in the name of humanity in the Senate ; but in the name of humanity, — humanity to a degraded and helpless race of beings who are unable to support themselves, — I protest that they shall not be deprived of the support which their masters and owners are bound by the laws to afford to them, and that they shall not be thrown helpless upon the world, without any means of supporting themselves." — "I have noticed," said Mr. Pomeroy (Rep.) of Kansas, " that men who are arguing in the interest of slavery always reject emancipation until the very last moment ; and then, when the moment comes, they say it would be a great relief to the owners of this property to get rid of it, that it cannot take care of itself, and humanity comes in and pleads that some appropriation may be made to support this class of individuals, who are so helpless and so inefficient and so worthless. . . . But I have seen the effect of abolishing slavery in this District, and on the borders of Missouri, where I live ; and I have not yet seen any necessity arising for any public appropriation to take Page 400 care of any paupers that were the result of emancipation. These people have a wonderful facility for taking care of themselves, and adapting themselves to any condition."

Mr. Hendricks (Dem.) of Indiana could find no authority in the Constitution to disturb the State laws that recognize the relation of master and servant. Mr. Wade (Rep.) of Ohio followed in an earnest and effective speech in favor of the immediate passage of the measure. He had been in Kentucky, and knew that " the great objection everywhere is, that the negro will not enlist unless you free his wife and children. . . . I will state, in connection with this subject, that I visited Camp Nelson last summer. General Burbridge was the commanding officer. I rode there with General Burbridge from Lexington, in order to see a review that was about to take place there ; and an eight greeted me such as I never beheld in the world, and hope I never shall again. As soon as I had arrived in the camp, we had scarcely alighted from the carriage, before a colored woman, whom I should suppose to be thirty years of age, appeared before us, all bruised to pieces. Her face was all whipped to a jelly. She had a child with her, which she said was twelve years old ; one of whose eyes had been gouged out, and the other attempted to be, as they stated, by their mistress, the father being in the army. Her head was all cut to pieces by what appeared to be a sharp instrument ; hev skull was laid bare almost, and her back perfectly mangled by the torture to which she had been subjected. All this was done, as we were informed, because her husband had enlisted in the army of the Page 401 United States ; and she and her child were compelled to flee to this camp the best way they could, in that condition. And yet gentlemen stand up here, and talk about constitutional law in exculpation of such infernal acts as these I Sir, I tell you that slavery is an organized rebel, and you can have no peace as long as that relation exists in the United States ; and, as God is my judge, I hope you will have no peace until you abolish it. I ask for no peace until slavery is extinct in these United States."

Mr. Johnson of Maryland could not vote for the resolution, because he was fully under the impression that Congress had no authority to pass It. Mr. Wilson said, that Mr. Davis, when he declares that we shall turn poor wives and children out on the world without support, " forgets that we pay the husband and father sixteen dollars a month to support his wife and his children. We clothe and feed the colored soldier, and we pay him sixteen dollars a month, and with that pay ho can support wife and children. Make them free, and not only will his wages go to their support, but the labor of their own hands will go to their support. Therefore, sir, the question of humanity raised by the senator from Kentucky disappears in view of the facts." The amendment moved by Mr. Davis was then rejected -without a count. Mr. Powell (Dem.) of Kentucky then moved, "That no slave shall be emancipated by virtue of this resolution, until the owner of the slave or slaves so emancipated shall be paid a just compensation." Mr. Powell then addressed the Senate in favor of this amendment, and in opposition to the passage of the resolution in any form. He declared that " those who Page 402 look upon African slavery as the cause of the war are greatly, sadly mistaken. That is but the distempered, fanatical idea of those who had ' negro on the brain ; ' who thought of nothing else; who spoke of nothing else ; who had up other political capital to build upon. They are the men who got up that twaddle ; men who were preeminent among the old maiden ladies who get up societies, and those white-cravatted creatures who go about, and, instead of preaching Christ crucified, preach Sambo in chains." He closed his speech by demanding the yeas and nays on his amendment, and they were ordered ; and, being taken, resulted, — yeas 7, nays 30.

Mr. Saulsbury then moved to amend the resolution by adding, that its provisions " shall not apply to or be operative in any State that has not assumed to secede from the Union;" but this amendment was rejected. The resolution was then reported to the Senate, and Mr. Davis renewed his amendment to make its operation prospective. Mr. Carlile (Dem.) of Virginia denied "all power to put a negro, the property of his master, into the service of the United States in any capacity, with the power to liberate him." The question was then taken by yeas and nays on Mr. Davis’s amendment, and it was rejected, — yeas 6, nays 32. Mr. Powell demanded the yeas and nays on the passage of the resolution, and they were ordered. "I can agree," said Mr. Trumbull (Rep.) of Illinois, "with all the appeals which may be made for humanity's sake in favor of this measure. Sir, if my vote and voice could do it, and I could utter the word or give the vote consistently with the oath which before Heaven I have taken, I would free, as I have said, every human being Page 403 upon God's earth. Believing, however, that we have not the power to pass such a law, with the greatest desire on my part to pass it If we had the power, holding myself bound by the Constitution which I have sworn to support, believing that there can be no genuine liberty except liberty regulated by law, believing that we can have no government worth preserving unless we stand by the Constitution as it is till we change it in a constitutional mode, I must vote against the passage of this joint resolution." The question on the passage of the resolution was then taken, — yeas 27, nays 10 ; so the joint resolution to make free the wives and children of colored soldiers received the sanction of the Senate of the United States.

In the House of Representatives, the resolution -was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. On the 22d of February, Mr. Wilson (Rep. ) of Iowa reported it without amendment. " Does the gentleman believe," inquired Mr. Mallory (Dem.) of Kentucky, "that Congress has the Constitutional power to pass such a law?" — "I have always believed," replied Mr. Wilson, " that the Congress of the United States, in time of war, when it was necessary to make our population most effective for the purposes of war, has the power ; and had the power to liberate slaves by congressional enactment." Mr. Harris (Dem.) of Maryland was. fully convinced that this measure was presented and pressed, not to get soldiers ; but " it is for the purpose, and that only, of interfering with and abolishing the institution called slavery." Mr. Wilson would tell the gentleman the purpose of this act. " To-day, in the forefront of your army, are thousands of colored men risking Page 404 every thing for the salvation of this Republic. Upon the fields once cursed by slavery, resounding with the clank of the slave's chains and the crack of the overseer’s whip, now tread the colored soldiers of the Republic, under the ensign of the nation, striking sturdy blows for freedom and free government. And, sir, this Republic cannot afford to disgrace itself in the eyes of the civilized world by sending these men out to fight its battles, and chaining at home their wives and children in that bondage which is worse than death. It would be a disgrace never to be wiped from the face of this nation, if we should permit this -wrong to continue." Mr. Mallory (Dem.) of Kentucky asked, why this measure in view of the passage of the Constitutional amendment should be pressed now ? Mr. Wilson replied, that the amendment might not be ratified by three-fourths of the States for two years to come, and he did net wish to have the bondage of these women and children resting upon him. Mr. Harris moved that the resolution be laid on the table, — yeas 66, nays 77. On motion of Mr. Miller, of Pennsylvania, the yeas and nays were ordered on the passage of the joint resolution. The question was taken, and it was decided in the affirmative, — yeas, 74, nays 63. So the joint resolution making free the wives and children of colored soldiers passed ; and received, on the 3d of March, the approval of the President.

Source: Wilson, Henry. History of the Antislavery Measures of the Thirty-Seventh and Thirty-Eighth United States Congresses, 1861-1865, Boston: Walker, Fuller, & Co., 1865.