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  1. Overview: United States Fifteenth Amendment
  2. Full Record: United States Fifteenth Amendment
  3. Committee:The Senate
  4. Session: 1867-07-03 12:00:00
  5. Event type: CREATE

United States Fifteenth Amendment

The Senate

The Senate of the Fortieth Session of Congress

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Document introduced in:

Session 6538: 1867-07-03 12:00:00

S. 123, S. 124, S. 125, S. 126, and S. 129 are proposed

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S. 126

There are 0 proposed amendments related to this document on which decisions have not been taken.

A Bill

Further to provide for the reconstruction of the rebel States.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That on the __ day of __ in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, the several provisional State governments then existing in the rebel States of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas shall be set aside, so far as the same shall then be administered by legislative, executive, judicial, or ministerial officers holding office under the authority of any of said States; and all such offices in any of the said States shall on that day become vacant; and no person shall then or thereafter perform any of the duties or exercise any of the powers of any such office, in virtue of the authority of any such State, conferred prior to that day: Provided, That this section shall not be construed to include officers of any municipal subdivision of any of said States, such as a county, district, parish, township, city, town, or village, or by whatever other name any such subdivision may be known; but all officers of this description in any of said States may, at any time after the passage of this act, be removed from office by the orders or authority of the military commander of the district, appointed under the act of March two, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, entitled “An act for the more efficient government of the rebel States.”

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That on the day aforesaid, or as soon thereafter as may be, the commanding general in each military district under the act aforesaid shall appoint a suitable person to fill each of the offices in any State in his district made vacant by this act, and he shall also fill any vacancies which may thereafter occur in any of said offices; and also any vacancies which may be created by this removal of any of the subordinate officers designated in the proviso to the next preceding section, or which may otherwise occur therein; but he may, as to said subordinate offices, authorize vacancies therein to be filled by the governor appointed by him, or by any existing local tribunal or authority acting with the assent of such commanding general.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That no person shall be appointed by, or with the authority of any such commanding general, to any office in any of the said States who shall have ever been engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or have given aid and comfort to the enemies thereof, or who cannot take the oath required by law to be taken by all officers of the United States.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That all officers appointed by, or under the authority of, any such commanding general shall perform the duties of their respective offices according to the existing laws of the State, city, or town, to which such offices belong, except in matters in regard to which such commanding general shall set aside, abrogate, or suspend any such law, or order the duties of such offices to be performed otherwise than as by such law directed; in regard to all of which matters all such officers shall be subject to the orders and control of such commanding general.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That when any such commanding general shall have heretofore removed any officer of any said rebel States, or set aside the laws thereof, every such act shall be considered to have been done by him with the authority of the United States; and no officer superior to him shall have power to revoke, annul, set aside, or suspend any such act heretofore done by him, or which he may hereafter do under the authority of this act.

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That no court of the United States shall have jurisdiction of any action or proceeding, civil or criminal, against any such command general, or any officer or person acting by his authority, for or on account of any act done by him in his official capacity under this act, or under the acts to which it is supplementary, to wit: the act named in the first section of this act and the act of March twenty-three, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, supplementary thereto.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That neither the Commander-in-Chief of the army, nor any officer subordinate to him and superior to the commanding generals aforesaid, shall have power to issue any orders or instructions to any such commanding general in regard to his performance of the duties imposed upon him by this act, or the acts aforesaid, to which it is supplementary.

SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That no commanding general shall be removed from the command assigned to him under the aforesaid act of March two, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, unless the Senate shall have first advised and consented to his removal.

SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the taking by any person in any of said rebel States of the oath prescribed in the aforesaid act of March twenty-three, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, shall not be regarded as conclusive evidence that such person is entitled to be registered as a qualified voter under the act; but in all cases which have heretofore arise, or may hereafter arise, the registering officers shall have power, and it shall be their duty, to investigate the right of every person to be so registered, and to decide upon the same. In order thereto such officers may interrogate the person claiming to be a qualified voter, under oath; and may swear and examine witnesses in relation to his qualifications; and if satisfied that the party took said oath falsely in any particular, he shall refuse to register him, or shall strike his name from the list of registered voters, if the same shall have been previously placed thereon.

SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That the registering officers in any of said rebel States shall receive no other evidence of the naturalization of persons of foreign birth but the official certificate of such naturalization issued to the party in pursuance of the laws of the United States; and where any such person has already been registered without having produced before such officers such a certificate, they shall notify him to produce it before them within a given time, and if he fail to do so his name shall be struck from the list of voters.

SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That the time for the completion of the registration in said rebel States may be extended by the commanding generals to any day prior to the first day of November, eight hundred and sixty-seven.

SEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That no constitution adopted by any of said rebel States shall entitle such State to representation in the Congress of the United States unless it provide that all elections by the people in such State shall forever be by ballot, and declare that such State shall ever remain a member of the American Union, that every citizen of such State owes paramount allegiance to the United States, and that no law or ordinance of such State in subversion or contravention of the authority of the United States can have any binding force.

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