The Reputation of Presidents Takes a Hit in Their Second Term

[David Lockmiller]

(08-25-2022 09:07 AM)David Lockmiller Wrote:  It was the first state charter to incorporate Lincoln's conciliatory approach and was the leading test case for postwar policy.

The [Louisiana state] constitution also enabled the legislature to establish a free public school system for all children aged six to eighteen, with no mention of race. Legislators elected under the Constitution of 1864 established schools for whites but not for blacks.

The persistent efforts of African Americans and their white allies in Louisiana forced the issue of voting rights for blacks into the national arena. In 1864 they sent a delegation to Washington to petition for enfranchisement. Louisiana blacks valued the right to vote above all other rights because they could not hope to protect their property or their lives without political power.

When a petition taken to President Lincoln resulted in no change in the situation, freeborn and newly freed blacks came together at the Convention of Colored Men in January 1865, calling for the organization and unity of all persons of African descent. The convention's 107 delegates voted to petition commanding military authorities to integrate streetcars and rejected the idea of extending voting rights to only a small group of black men.

The Louisiana Black Code did grant certain rights to freedpersons--to acquire and own property, marry, make contracts, and testify in court--but its primary purpose was to restore the plantation economy by using blacks as poorly paid laborers instead of outright slaves.

The severity of Louisiana's and other states' Black Codes convinced many northerners that only with more radical forms of Reconstruction would southern society change to accommodate ex-slaves as citizens and free workers. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which defined the rights that all citizens were to enjoy equally without regard to race: to protect person and property, make contracts, and bring lawsuits. This federal legislation prevailed over all state laws and revealed the Republican Party's acceptance of what it had once considered Radical policy.

I was trying to make the point that the Constitution controls the individuals in all three branches of government. Or, as Chief Justice phrased this concept: "[I]t is apparent, that the framers of the constitution contemplated that instrument, as a rule for the government of courts, as well as of the legislature." (Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137, 1 Cranch 137 (1803) at 179-180)

As stated at the beginning of this post, "[Louisiana] was the first state charter to incorporate Lincoln's conciliatory approach and was the leading test case for postwar policy.]

As President, Lincoln could only advocate to the Governor as he did for Louisiana's state constitution to include the elective franchise for at least some of its black citizens.

In the end, the members of Congress decided after Lincoln's death it must legislatively act.

Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which defined the rights that all citizens were to enjoy equally without regard to race: to protect person and property, make contracts, and bring lawsuits. This federal legislation prevailed over all state laws and revealed the Republican Party's acceptance of what it had once considered Radical policy.

For example, Louisiana Black Code did grant certain rights to freedpersons-- including only the right to testify in court. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 also permitted freedpersons to "bring lawsuits" as well.