" This condition is not mentioned
in the original enabling act; was not contemplated at the time of its
passage; was not sought by the people themselves; has not heretofore
been applied to the inhabitants of any State asking admission, and is in
direct conflict with the constitution adopted by the people and declared
in the preamble "to be republican in its form of government," for in
that instrument the exercise of the elective franchise and the right
to hold office are expressly limited to white citizens of the United
States. Congress thus undertakes to authorize and compel the legislature
to change a constitution which, it is declared in the preamble, has
received the sanction of the people, and which by this bill is
"accepted, ratified, and confirmed" by the Congress of the nation.
The first and third sections of the bill exhibit yet further
incongruity. By the one Nebraska is "admitted into the Union upon an
equal footing with the original States in all respects whatsoever,"
while by the other Congress demands as a condition precedent to her
admission requirements which in our history have never been asked of
any people when presenting a constitution and State government for the
acceptance of the lawmaking power.
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