ground of its moral
rightfulness and not upon the ground of the power of the people to
amend their Constitution. An attempt was made to insert the word
"voluntarily" in the amendment, so that only those would be under
disabilities who had voluntarily taken part in the Rebellion; but this
received only ten votes. The Senate rejected it for the obvious reason
that it would open the entire amendment to evasion.

The amendment, as supported by Mr. Howard, was finally agreed to with
only ten votes in the negative. Mr. Hendricks, in lieu of the
amendment on the subject of representation, moved to add a clause
excluding two-fifths of "such persons as have been discharged from
involuntary servitude since the year 1861, and to whom the elective
franchise may be denied." He did this in order that representation
should be maintained on the same numerical basis that existed before
the war. The amendment was rejected without a division. Mr. Doolittle
offered an amendment on the subject of representation, embodying the
two propositions of making voters the basis of representation and
providing that "direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several
States according to the value of the real and personal taxable property
situated in each State, not belonging to the State or to the United
States;" but after elaborate debate it received only seven votes. On
motion of Mr. Williams of Oregon the amendment to section two was still
further amended by substituting the words "the right to vote" for
"elective franchise," as already agreed to. Mr. Clarke of New
Hampshire, who had shown throughout the discussion great aptness at
draughting Constitutional provisions in appropriate language, now
moved to substitute for section four, which had gone through various
mutations not necessary to recount here, the precise section as it now
stands in the Constitution.

In the course of the discussion Mr. Doolittle had moved that in
imposing political disabilities, those should be excepted "who have
duly received pardon and amnesty under the Constitution and laws."
He had just admitted the broadest possible power of a Constitutional
amendment duly adopted, and, recognizing that the amendment as it stood
would certainly include those who had received pardon from the
President, desired to avert that result. His amendment was very
briefly debated and on a call of the _ayes_ and _noes_ received only
ten votes. The effect of this vote unmistakably