Speech #470033435

I repeat what I stated yesterday. that so long as you are to a person may exercise the privilege of a voter the power to deny or have government at all. that government. like a family or a partner- to deny any particular race the right to vote altogether? ship. must be the judge for itself as to what persons it will take into The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are full of the body of the people. that at the last in our form of government implied affirmations of the truth of the doctrine upon which I stand. constitute the Government itself. It has always been so. it always Anmong the charges against the monarch of Great Britain whichjustiwill be so as long as governments last. You cannot have a govern- fled the separation was the fact that although our fathers recognized ment without it. you never have had one without it. his rightful share of legislative power over the colonies and never So then we stand. and these Chiunamen having a right to come here before denied it. they charged as one of the great abuses which j usunder the Burlingame treaty and it being thought. wisely or nn- tiled the separation thatwisely. with prejudice or without. that their comingin the uuibers He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States. ir that purpose and in the way and of the character that they did was injurious to olstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners. refusing to pass others to the interests of the United States. it was provided by another treaty encourage their migration hither. and raising the conditions of new appropriations that the old treaty should be abrogated and that the United States of lands. should be remitted to its original natural right as a government of The Constitution itself assumes that the naturalization of persins determining asto a certain part of these Chinese people. named. speci- of other communities will be unrestricted except within the reasonfled. and described. whether they should come or not within a rea- able limit which I have stated. and provides that Congress shall pass sonable period of time in o -der to test the question by the experiment laws for the naturalization of foreigners which shall be uniform. not as far as we had it afready. Where is the harm in that upon the which shall distinguish between races and between nationalities. Thu widest principles of fair play. upon the widest humanity. unless you fourteenth -amendment. in the adoption of which I suppose the henorable Senator from Vermont himself bore a conspicuous part.. as lie does in all legislation here. provides that every person bern in the United States becomes from that fact a citizen thereof. The children of any of the Chinese laborers now in California become citizens by the allirmance in the Constitution itself of the natural fitness of all men for republican life and their natural equality without regard to race. All persons born or naturalized in the United States. and si1hjeet to the jnris. diction thereof. are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. There is citizenship by birthright. without regard to race or color or nationality. Then the fifteenth amendment supplements it by the provision that this citizenship which is a birthright shall carry with it the right of citizens to vote. or that that right "1shall not be denied or abridged by the United States. or by any State. on account of race. color. or previous condition of servitude." So that this legislation is not only in violation of the treaty. not only in violation of the solemn affirmation of Congress that the right of expatriation carries with it the right of citizenship of the country where a man goes. but it is equally in violation of the Declaration of Independence and the spirit of the Constitution of the United States. Mr. President. it requires no deduction even from the statement of the honorable Senator from Vermont but only his application to see that His argument involves the right to exclude from this country all the naturalized citizens if Congress sees fit to exercise it. If you may shut the door. you may put outside the person who is here contrary to the interest of the people and without right. Willthe honorable Senator from Vermont affirm that if that reconsideration of the relation of the African race to citizenship.