Charles Sumner: his complete works, volume 13 (of 20)

Again, Sir, I would urge, that, at this moment, when the whole country is agitated by the great question, What shall be done for the protection of the colored race?--to what ext...

The Governor, in the same message, shows that these same colored men, while despoiled of the elective franchise, are nevertheless compelled by taxation to support the public sch...

I offer a petition of citizens of the District of Columbia, similar to petitions presented by me yesterday, calling upon Congress to provide irreversible guaranties in the work...

Something has been said of the form in which the proposition is presented. There is the bill of the Senator from Illinois [Mr. YATES], which he has maintained in a speech of sin...

These “Regulations” begin with a formal declaration, that the freedmen by the act of Emancipation “acquire the rights belonging to free farmers.” The language is general. It is...

Apply these words to the present case, and the conclusion is irresistible. Whatever legislation seems “appropriate” to “enforce” the abolition of Slavery, whatever means seem pr...

SEC. 12. _And be it further enacted_, That, until the recognition of a State government as aforesaid, the provisional governor shall, under such regulations as he may prescribe,...

Sir, the freedman must be protected, and not sacrificed. You can do it, but only in one way. Paper will not do it. Parchment will not do it. Compromise will not do it. Give him...

“The Government, in taking the responsibility of freeing this people, tacitly engaged to protect them in their freedom. The various departments of Government have solemnly decla...

To the application of this principle there have been two replies: first, that in its origin it was a claim of representation for communities only, and not for individuals; and,...

_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled_, That in the courts of the United States in any State, whereof,...

But, saving the Republic, we elevate it. Overthrowing an oppressive injustice, we give full scope to the principles of the National Government, and fulfil the “idea of a perfect...

Remember, O my friends, the laws, the rights, The generous plan of power delivered down From age to age by your renowned forefathers, So dearly bought, the price of so much bloo...

Say not that I err, because here at his funeral, seeking to do him honor, I exhibit him bravely standing front to front with executive power wielded by a President instigated by...

“The gentleman calls for three names. I am talking to my friends and fellow-citizens here. Suppose I should name to you those whom I look upon as being opposed to the fundamenta...

“And upon this act, sincerely believed to be _an act of justice warranted by the Constitution upon military necessity_, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind and the grac...

“_Resolved_, That we deem it fitting time to express our profound sense of the eminent loyalty, patriotism, and statesmanship of our distinguished Senator, Charles Sumner,--to a...

To this I might add indefinitely, exhibiting the bad temper and disloyal spirit which prevail throughout Virginia. Bayonets are no longer flashing there; bullets are no longer w...

John Adams, then a young man just admitted to the bar, was present at the scene, and he dwells on it often with sympathetic delight. There, in the Old Town-House of Boston, sat...

Looking at the States in their collective character, we find that at the adoption of the National Constitution they refused to recognize any exclusion from the elective franchis...

Admirable words!--in themselves a definition. And here, before closing this testimony, let me call attention to two authorities, contemporary with our fathers, which stand apart...

While the ancient nomenclature cannot be cited in determining the definition of a Republic, we may be encouraged by it in demanding that all government, whatever name it bears,...

“When I obtained Wilson’s bill, which prohibited the denial by the States of _civil_ rights to persons on account of color or race, I wrote him to inquire why he had not said al...

According to these definitions “qualification” means “fitness” or “accomplishment,” and according to examples from classical writers it means qualities like “piety” and “virtue,...

Foremost is the Equality of All Men. Of course, in a declaration of rights, no such supreme folly was intended as that all men are created equal in form or capacity, bodily or m...

“Charles Sumner’s argument for the Rights of Men ought to be printed by the hundred thousand, and scattered like seed-grain throughout the nation. It is a speech worth a lifetim...

“Pass that law at this session, and it becomes an issue in the next political campaign; and those who sustain it and pass it here will be committed to its support, and those who...

A REPUBLICAN FORM OF GOVERNMENT OUR FIRST DUTY AND THE ESSENTIAL CONDITION OF PEACE. Bills and Resolutions in the Senate, at the Opening of the Session of Congress, December 4,...

[74] Histoire de nostre Temps, de l’Estat de la Religion et _de la République de France_, soubz le Roy Henry second, François second et Charles neuviesme: Vies des Hommes Illust...