dment to the
Constitution, nor any part in its passage through the House other than
to give my vote in its favor. The Amendment resolution was passed by
the Thirty-eighth Congress at its last session and by the aid of
Democrats. The elections of 1864 had resulted in a two-thirds majority
and it was therefore certain that the resolution would be agreed to by
the next House. Hence there was less inducement for the Democrats to
resist its passage by the Thirty-eighth Congress. A small number of
Democrats favored the measure. English of Connecticut and Ganson of
New York were of the number. There were others also whose names I do
not recall. At the time of the contest a rumor was abroad that James
M. Ashley, of Ohio, was engaged in making arrangements with certain
Democrats to absent themselves from the House when the vote was taken.
Several were absent--some were reported in ill health. Mr. Ashley was
deeply interested in the passage of the resolution and it was believed
that he made pledges which no one but the President could keep. Such
was the exigency for the passage of the resolution that the means were
not subjected to any rigid rule of ethics.

The Fourteenth Amendment had its origin in a joint committee of fifteen
of which Mr. Fessenden of Maine was chairman. A record of its
proceedings was kept which was printed recently by order of the
Senate. From that report it appears that I proposed an amendment for
conferring the right to vote upon the freedmen of the State of
Tennessee. As far as I know that was the first time the proposition
was made in connection with the proceedings of Congress. The
committee did not concur in the proposition. Indeed the time had not
come for decisive action in that direction. The motion was made in
the committee the 19th day of February, 1866, when the admission of
the State of Tennessee into the Union was under consideration. The
motion was in these words: "Said State shall make no distinction in
the exercise of the elective franchise on account of race or color."
The motion was lost by the following vote:

Yeas: Howard, Stevens, Washburne, Morrill, Boutwell.
Nays: Harris, Williams, Grider, Bingham, Conkling, Rogers.
Absent: Fessenden, Grimes, Johnson, Blow.

The 16th day of April Senator Stewart, of Nevada, came before the
committee in support of a similar proposition that he had introduced
in the Senate April 7.

In January, 1866, a bill was under discussion