the United States, "That court is composed of
civil officers of the United States, and we are not bound to conform our
action to any opinion of any such authority."

This bill and the acts to which it is supplementary are all founded upon
the assumption that these ten communities are not States and that their
existing governments are not legal. Throughout the legislation upon this
subject they are called "rebel States," and in this particular bill they
are denominated "so-called States," and the vice of illegality is
declared to pervade all of them. The obligations of consistency bind a
legislative body as well as the individuals who compose it. It is now
too late to say that these ten political communities are not States of
this Union. Declarations to the contrary made in these three acts are
contradicted again and again by repeated acts of legislation enacted by
Congress from the year 1861 to the year 1867.

During that period, while these States were in actual rebellion, and
after that rebellion was brought to a close, they have been again and
again recognized as States of the Union. Representation has been
apportioned to them as States. They have been divided into judicial
districts for the holding of district and circuit courts of the United
States, as States of the Union only can be districted. The last act on
this subject was passed July 23, 1866, by which every one of these ten
States was arranged into districts and circuits.

They have been called upon by Congress to act through their legislatures
upon at least two amendments to the Constitution of the United States.
As States they have ratified one amendment, which required the vote
of twenty-seven States of the thirty-six then composing the Union.
When the requisite twenty-seven votes were given in favor of that
amendment--seven of which votes were given by seven of these ten
States--it was proclaimed to be a part of the Constitution of the United
States, and slavery was declared no longer to exist within the United
States or any place subject to their jurisdiction. If these seven States
were not legal States of the Union, it follows as an inevitable
consequence that in some of the States slavery yet exists. It does not
exist in these seven States, for they have abolished it also in their
State constitutions; but Kentucky not having done so, it would still
remain in that State. But, in truth, if this assumption that these
States have no legal State governme