John Bingham On Racial Equality

Let's focus for a 2nd on an actual hero of the Civil War era--John Bingham.  Here's what the drafter of Section One of the Fourteenth Amendment said at a crusade rally inward 1867:

“They undertake to alert you lot alongside the plea that nosotros are virtually to brand the ‘nigger,’ to role their nomenclature, equal to a white man. . . . ‘Niggers equal to white men,’ in addition to they current of air upward saying, ‘This is a white man’s Government.’ What blasphemy! . . . I idea that inward the midpoint of the nineteenth century it had come upward to move pretty good known that this footing of ours was non made for Caesar, but for man; that it belonged, at final alone to the mutual Father of us all, in addition to to all his creatures who worked good upon it. . . . 

It is a ‘white man’s government,’ is it? Why, the really outset blood shed for the assertion of your independence in addition to the institution of your nationality, upon the plain of Lexington, was the blood of a dark citizen of Massachusetts. And when they came to the work, later the victory had been achieved, in addition to the independence of the nation acknowledged, of organizing a constitutional authorities of the United States, inward a bulk of the States of the Union the dark men voted alongside white men, in addition to the human who denies it is exactly ignorant of the history of his ain country. . . . 

Your armies bore witness that 175,000 of the dark population, made gratis yesteryear the announcement of liberty, were inward the footing forces of the republic. When you lot take in that the bulk of the dark population were the slaves of rebels, in addition to inside their territory, unable to signify to the U.S. of America Government their unwillingness to serve it, the fact that equally large a population of the dark population equally of the gratis whites rushed to the defence forcefulness of your flag, speaks good for their patriotism. . . . 

But these Democrats are whining through the streets, ‘You advise to enfranchise the nigger, in addition to disenfranchise the white man.’ That is the indicate where the difficulty is.  I mean value the dark patriot is equally much entitled to vote equally Jeff Davis, who is waiting across the border, or whatever of his followers. The outcome is upon us. One tertiary of the whole population of the South are dark freemen. They are friends of the Union; in addition to if they are to move permitted to practice the rights of freemen. Those States must receive got a republican government, but how tin a State move republican inward its authorities where the minority dominion over the bulk of the natural born citizens of the State?  . . . In South-Carolina the dark population top inward position out the white population; in addition to what form of a republican authorities volition that be, if the white minority, who are traitors, should dominion over the majority, who are loyal men? . . . 

You receive got the power, because of your superior numbers, to disenfranchise 4 millions of natural born citizens of the Republic.  Suppose the province of things were reversed, in addition to the dark men had the power, would you lot receive got them bargain hence alongside you lot in addition to your children? If you lot would not, you lot should non bargain hence alongside them.”