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Two of the
earliest efforts in Congress to enfranchise black men concerned
the federal territories and the District of Columbia. In March
1864, Republican Senator Morton Wilkinson of Minnesota
introduced an amendment to the House bill establishing the
Montana Territory that
deleted the word “white”
from the territory’s voting qualifications. The amendment and
the bill passed the Senate. Because no blacks lived in Montana,
the issue was a matter of principle, not practical application.
As the U.S. House was considering the measure, editor George
William Curtis
humorously related the floor debate
between Democrat George Pendleton of Ohio and Republican John
Broomall of Pennsylvania. The Harper’s Weekly editor
hoped that the House would vote in favor of the bill’s
incorporation of the Declaration of Independence’s precept that
all men are created equal. The House, however,
rejected the Senate version, and then a conference committee
reinserted the word “white” to disfranchise future
black voters in the Montana Territory. Congress enacted the
bill in that form.
On
December 4, 1865, Republican Senator Charles Sumner of
Massachusetts introduced several bills to advance civil rights
for black Americans, including one to
enfranchise
black men in Washington, D. C. A week later, Republican
Congressman James F. Wilson of Iowa, chairman of the House
Judiciary Committee,
introduced another bill to
grant suffrage to black men in the District of Columbia. To
discourage congressional action, suffrage opponents organized a
popular referendum among the district’s white voters in December
1865. Nearly 7,000 ballots were cast against black voting
rights, with only 35 in favor. On January 8, 1866, the Senate
received the official results of the referendum
from the mayor of Washington, D. C. A
cartoon in
the February 24, 1866 issue of Harper’s Weekly depicted
the racial prejudice behind the overwhelming negative vote. The
cartoonist compared a beautiful, refined black woman (right)
with a crude, stereotypical Irish-American woman (left). The
bracketed remark informed readers that the white woman
represented the type of disreputable person who opposed black
suffrage. Harper’s Weekly
reported the
debate of the District suffrage bill in the House, where it
passed on January 18, 1866. The bill died in the Senate,
though, despite the efforts of its sponsor, Republican Benjamin
Wade of Ohio. |
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Harper's Weekly
References |
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1)
April 16, 1864, p. 243, c. 2
“Domestic
Intelligence” column
2)
April 16, 1864, p. 242, c. 4–p. 243, c. 1
editorial, “Equality”
3)
April 30, 1864, p. 275, c. 2
“Domestic
Intelligence” column
4)
June 4, 1864, p. 355, c. 1-2
“Domestic
Intelligence” column
5)
December 16, 1865, p. 787, c. 3
“Domestic Intelligence” column
6)
December 23, 1865, p. 803, c. 4
“Domestic
Intelligence” column
7)
January 20, 1866, p. 35, c. 4
“Domestic
Intelligence” column
8)
February 24, 1866, p. 128
cartoon, “The Horror
of Mrs. McCaffraty”
9)
February 3, 1866, p. 67, c. 3-4
“Domestic
Intelligence” column |
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