INDIANA.-White male citizens of the United States; six months Indiana? residence; if of foreign birth, one year's residence in the United States and six months in this State; and shall have declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States, conformably to the laws on the subject of naturalization. No soldier, seaman, or marine of the United States, or of their allies, shall be deemed to have acquired a residence in the State in consequence of having been within the same; nor shall any such soldier, seaman, or marine have the right to vote. No negro or mulatto shall have the right to vote. Const. of 10th Feb., 1865. Id. 171. IOWA.-White male citizens of the United States; six months Iowa? residence in the State and sixty days in the county. Persons in the military, naval, or marine service of the United States; idiots, insane, or convicted of infamous crimes excluded. Const. of the 5th March, 1857. Id. 184. KANSAS.-Citizens of the United States; or persons of foreign Kansas? birth who shall have declared their intentions to become citizens, conformably to the laws of the United States on the subject of naturalization; six months residence in the State, and thirty days in the township. No person under guardianship, non compos mentis, or insane, or any person convicted of treason or felony, unless restored to civil rights, nor any soldier, seaman, or marine shall be allowed to vote. Const. of 29th July, 1859. Id. 202. KENTUCKY.-Free white male citizens; residence two years in Kentucky? the State, or one year in the county, town, or city in which he offers to vote, and sixty days in the precinct. Const. of 11th June, 1850. Id. 210. LOUISIANA.-White male citizens of the United States; residence Louisiana? in the State twelve months, and three months in the parish. Const. of Sept., 1854. Id. 227. MAINE.-Male citizens of the United States, excepting pau- Maine ? pers, persons under guardianship, and Indians not taxed; established residence three months. Persons in the military, naval, or marine service of the United States or this State, and students not deemed to have acquired residence. Const. of 29th Oct., 1819. Id. 240. MARYLAND.-White male citizens of the United States; resi- Maryland? dence one year in the State and six months in the county. Const. of 1867 (and so of 1864). Id. 250. MASSACHUSETTS.-Male citizens (excepting persons or paupers Massachu under guardianship); residence in the State one year; in the town setts ? or district six months; having paid all required taxes. Const. of 1780, as amended. Id. 294. Amendment, Art. XX. No person shall have the right to vote, or be eligible to office, under this Commonwealth, who shall not be able to read the Constitution in the English language and write his name; Provided, however, that the provisions of this amendment shall not apply to any person prevented by physical disability from complying with its requisi Michigan? Minnesota ? Mississippi? Missouri? 143. Nebraska? Novada? tions, nor to any person who now has the right to vote, nor to any person who shall be sixty years of age or upward at the time this amendment takes effect. Id. 298. By amendment XXVI., of 1850, persons of foreign birth not allowed to vote until two years after naturalization. Id. 300. MICHIGAN. Every white male citizen; every white male inhabitant residing in the State on the 24th day of June, 1835; every white male inhabitant on the first day of January, 1850, who has declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States, pursuant to the laws thereof, six months preceding an election, or who has resided in this State two years and six months, and declared his intention as aforesaid; and every civilized male inhabitant of Indian descent, a native of the United States and not a member of any Indian tribe, shall be an elector and entitled to vote. Residence three months in the State. Const. of 1850. Id. 307. Persons absent in the actual military service of the United States not disqualified. Presence in such service is not residence. Id. 308. MINNESOTA.-1. White citizens of the United States; 2. White persons of foreign birth who shall have declared their intention to become citizens; 3. Persons mixed with white and Indian blood, who have adopted the customs and habits of civilization; 4. Persons of Indian blood residing in this State who have adopted the language, customs, and habits of civilization, after an examination before any district court of the State, &c., and pronounced capable of citizenship; residence one year in the United States and four months in the State before the election. Const. of 1857-8. Id. 325. MISSISSIPPI.-Free white male citizens of the United States; one year's residence in the State, four months in the county or town. Const. 1832 as amended in 1865. Id. 336. MISSOURI.-White male citizens of the United States, and every white male person of foreign birth who may have declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States, according to law, not less than one year nor more than five years before he offers to vote; residence one year in the State and sixty days in the county, city, or town. The disqualification of all who participated in or sympathized with the rebellion is most searching and comprehensive. After 1876, new voters must be able to read and write or be disabled therefrom by physical disability. Const. of 1865. 348–351. NEBRASKA.-1. White male citizens of the United States; 2. White persons of foreign birth who shall have declared their intention to become citizens, conformably to the laws of the United States on the subject of naturalization. Const. of 1867. Id. 371. By the act of admission agreed to by the legislature, the right is not restricted to whites. This State was admitted March, 1867, as the 37th State. NEVADA.--Every white male citizen of the United States; residence six months in the State and thirty days in the county: persons convicted of treason or felony and not restored to civil rights, or who, after arriving at the age of eighteen years, shall have voluntarily borne arms against the United States, or held civil or military office under the so-called Confederate States, unless an amnesty be granted to such person by the Federal Government, excluded; also idiots and insane persons. Const. of 1864. Id. 380, 381. shire? NEW HAMPSHIRE.-Every male inhabitant of each town, and New Hamp parish with town privileges, and places unincorporated, excepting paupers, and persons excused from paying taxes at their own request. Const. of 1792. Id. 403. NEW JERSEY.-White male citizens of the United States; resi- New Jersey? dence one year in the State and five months in the county; officers, soldiers, and marines of the United States do not acquire residence; paupers, idiots, and insane persons and persons infamous excluded. Const. of 1844. Id. 413. NEW YORK.-Male citizens who shall have been such ten days; New York? residence in the State one year, and in the county four months. Men of color, unless citizens of this State for three years, and for one year seized of a freehold of the value of two hundred and fifty dollars, on which they shall have paid a tax, excluded. Absence in military service does not exclude. Const. of 1846, as amended in 1863. Id. 49, 50. NORTH CAROLINA.-Every free white man-being a native or North naturalized citizen of the United States, and who has been an in- Carolina ? habitant of this State for twelve months immediately preceding the day of election, and shall have paid all taxes. Amendment of 11th December, 1856, ratified 10th September, 1857. Id. 431. OHIO.-Free white male citizens of the United States; residence Ohio? one year in the State. Soldiers, marines, idiots, and insane persons excluded. Mulattoes in a certain degree are excluded. Const. of 1851. Id. 438. OREGON.-White male citizens of the United States, and white Oregon? males of foreign birth who shall have declared their intention; residence one year as to foreigners and six months as to citizens. Sailors, soldiers, idiots, insane, Chinamen, and negroes excluded. Const. of 1857. Id. 449. PENNSYLVANIA.-Freemen; residence one year; must have paid Pennsyl taxes within two years; white freemen, citizens of the United vania? States, between twenty-one and twenty-two years of age, not obliged to have paid taxes; if absent in the military service of the United States, electors not to lose the right to vote. Const. of 1838, as amended in 1857 and 1861. Id. 472. RHODE ISLAND.-Male citizens of the United States; residence Rhode one year; real estate in the State of the value of one hundred and Island ? thirty-four dollars, or which brings a clear rental of seven dollars per annum. Soldiers, marines, &c., do not thereby acquire a resi dence; paupers, lunatics, or persons non compos mentis, and Narraganset Indians, specially excluded. Const. of 1842. Id. 474, 475. Soldiers absent in actual military service allowed to vote. Id. 481. South Tennessee? Texas? Vermont ? Virginia? West SOUTH CAROLINA.-Free white men; residence two years in the State and six months in the district; immigrants from Europe with like residence who have declared their intention to be naturalized; paupers, soldiers, and marines specially excluded. Const. of 1865. ld. 486. TENNESSEE.-White men, citizens of the United States (certain blacks included under previous constitution); residence one year. Const. of 1839. Id. 495. By the amendment of 1866, § 9, the qualifications of voters and the limitation of the elective franchise may be determined by the General Assembly which shall first assemble under the amended constitution. Id. 504. The General Assembly extended the right of suffrage to the blacks, and excluded certain classes of those engaged in the rebellion. TEXAS.-Every free male person, who shall be a citizen of the United States (Indians not taxed, Africans, and descendants of Africans excepted); residence one year in the State and six months in the county. Const. of 1866. Id. 507. The words, "or who is, at the time of the adoption of the Constitution by the Congress of the United States, a citizen of Texas," were in the Constitution of 1845, but were omitted from the revision. Paschal's Annotated Digest, 51, 932. VERMONT.-Freemen of the State, who are natural born citizens of Vermont or some one of the United States, or naturalized. Const. of 1793 as amended. New York Convention Manual, by Hough, 523, 529. VIRGINIA.-White male citizens of the Commonwealth; residence one year in the State and six months in the county. Must have paid the previous year's assessment of taxes. Const. of 1864. Id. 533, 545. WEST VIRGINIA.-White male citizens of the State; residence Virginia? one year. Paupers, convicts of treason, felony, or bribery in election, persons who have given aid to the rebellion, unless he has volunteered into the military and naval service of the United States and been honorably discharged therefrom, excluded. Const. 1861-3, as amended 24th May, 1866. Id. 547, 548. Wisconsin? Is there any WISCONSIN.-1. Citizens of the United States. 2. Persons of foreign birth who shall have declared their intention to become citizens, conformably to the laws of the United States on the subject of naturalization. (The word "white" was stricken out by amendment.) 3. Persons of Indian blood who have once been declared by law of Congress to be citizens of the United States, any subsequent law of Congress to the contrary notwithstanding. 4. Civilized persons of Indian descent, not members of any tribe. Const. of 1818. Id. 561, 562. It will thus be seen that the only uniformity is, that electors in uniformity? all the States require the qualification of being males over twenty one years of age, and of residence longer or shorter. The general rule is, "white citizens of the United States;" but negroes or persons of African descent are electors in all New England except Connecticut; in Nebraska, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and by construction, perhaps, in other States; persons in the military and naval service are excluded in some States, and idiots, lunatics, and persons non compos mentis in others. In Oregon, Chinamen are excluded. In all the late fifteen slave States, except Tennessee, persons of African descent are excluded. In Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Oregon, and South Carolina, unnaturalized persons of longer or shorter residence who have declared their intention are voters; while in Massachusetts the naturalized are excluded until two years after naturalization. In a few of the northwestern States Indians are allowed to vote. The qualification of freeholder or tax-payer is required in a few States; and the benefit of clergy or the power to read and write is required in two States. Disqualification for infamous offenses exists in a few States. So that in fact there is no uniformity except as to sex What is the and age, and less than there was at the formation of the federal only uniConstitution. The qualifications in no two States were exactly alike. formity? Story's Const., § 637; The Federalist, No. 54. As to the free persons of African descent, while they were only half a million, the majority of whom resided in the slave States, "de minimis non Why the necurat lex," seems to have been the maxim. But now that they are cessity of a one-eighth of the whole population, and constitute a majority of rule?" "citizens of the United States" in several States, whatever may have been our habits of thought, the statesman and the philosopher 220. is obliged to face the question, and to consider the propriety of a uniform rule for electors. 24. uniform 18. But citizenship of the United States, or of a State, does not Is citizenof itself give the right to vote; nor, e converso, does the want of it ship prevent a State from conferring the right of suffrage. Scott v. Sandford, 19 How. 422. suffrage? The right of suffrage is the right to choose officers of the govern- What is the ment; and it does not carry along the right of citizenship. Bates right of on Citizenship, 4, 5. Our laws make no provision for the loss or 30. deprivation of citizenship. Id. suffrage? The word CITIZEN is not mentioned in this clause, and its idea Does this is excluded in the QUALIFICATIONS for suffrage in all the State section exconstitutions. Id. 5, 6. clude the idea of citiAmerican citizenship does not necessarily depend upon nor zen? coëxist with the legal capacity to hold office or the right of suffrage, Does citieither or both of them. zenship de suffrage? No person in the United States did ever exercise the right of pend upon suffrage in virtue of the naked, unassisted fact of citizenship. Id. 93. There is a distinction between political rights and political powers. What is the The former belong to all citizens alike, and cohere in the very distinction name and nature of citizenship. The latter (voting and holding between political office) does not belong to all citizens alike, nor to any citizen merely Pights and in virtue of citizenship. His power always depends upon extra- powers? neous facts and superadded qualifications; which facts and 19,35, 63,169, |