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These changes in representatives and senators created a supermajority of the Republican Party with republicans outnumbering democrats 3 to 1 (Southerners being primarily democrats and Northerner’s republicans).
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This majority lasted until the 47th Congress.
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During the 37th session, Congress passed;
- passed by, 107 to 16 votes in the House
- 33 to 7 votes in the Senate
- It was ratified three months after its proposal
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The Iron Clad Oath requirement,
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“an oath that attest not merely to present and intended future loyalty but also to past loyalty.”
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the Habeas Corpus Act of 1863,
- the first and second Emancipation Proclamation,
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the first and second Confiscation Act,
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The Pacific Railway Act of 1862
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Legal Tender Act
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Enrollment Act of 1863
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Morril tariff of 1861
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In the emergency session, 68 major public laws were passed, a new record.
Section C: Evaluation of Sources
One of the most relevant works to this investigation was Stephen Neff’s book Justice in Blue and Gray. Dr. Neff is a law professor at the University of Edinburg and the author of numerous books and publications, however this particular work is not only the most recent (2010) but is his most specialized to a time period and country as he normally deals with international issues. As stated in the foreword, Neff wrote the novel to provide a systematic overview of law and judicial practices during the civil war, in a manner that would be accessible to non-lawyers. In this regard it has value by fully describing law terms that some authors would assume were understood. However, this does have the effect of possibly over simplifying events. As a non-American citizen and having an international law background, the work is less susceptible to bias from being a partisan to the North over the South and could provide a more neutral lens than an author raised in the U.S. Limitations wise, as Confederate documents were largely destroyed, the study was restricted to analyzing solely legal situations on the Union side. Also, in regards to the purpose of the book, it sough to explore the reasoning and issues of the U.S. judicial system at the time, rather than that of Congress. Following form, bias was present if only in the diction where Neff would describe something as “melancholy” or “obsessi[ve].” Yet, it was lessened due to the fact that while sounding favorable to the South’s reasons for successions, he conceded that the compact theory is not a viable judicial stand point for the country.
Another reference source was the U.S. Senate’s Historical Minute Essays from 1851 to 1877. These succinct “essays” are a part of the Senate’s Art and History information section, complied by the said body for the purpose of “breathing life” into the history of the legislative branch and making accessible the breath of its history to the public lest it be forgotten. For this investigation I looked at the entries, A Dramatic Session, Ten Senators Expelled, and Senator Resigns to Protest Loyalty Oath. They had value by giving examples of senators’ actions during the time period rather than an overall synopsis of the proceedings, specified information hard to find elsewhere, and by painting a picture of the different dynamics among the Civil War Congresses. As to limitations, seeing as the objective was to make the stories interesting as well as informative, the events suffered dramatization (using phrases such as, “perhaps he [Hannibal] noticed the desk..,” and “the ominous mood…”). Something which would greatly skew the perspective of a reader if one was not familiar with other sources in order to distill valid information.
Section D: Analysis
When the Deep South, and latter Middle South, States seceded, they did so in order to protect their livelihood and rights they felt had been violated. Yet, while inciting a war, it essential was a victory for the Republican Party. From the 36th Congress to the 37th Congress the number of southern democrats decreased sharply and while the Union never officially dealt with their withdrawal in a manner that acknowledged the South’s departure, the Republican Party (the majority of the decreased legislature) was soon to capitalize on the lack of resistance and pass bills, long since on their on their objectives yet stymied by controversial issues like slavery. The Homestead Act in particular, a bill which had been brought up and subsequently defeated three times, was finally able to be passed and it did so by such a majority and short time period, that it clearly shows a united party and efficiency. The Pacific Railway Act had also been opposed by Democrats as they believed it was unconstitutional to use taxpayers’ dollars to fund such a private operation, yet in the two years following their departure, it also was passed. These cases were mirrored with the other legislature and in a very contrasting case, when the Morril tariff was passed in the Union the Confederacy’s Constitution created clauses prohibiting the protective tariffs it created and the actions inherent in the Railway Act. Thus showing that, while the Union (republican) Congress was able to pass their objectives with ease so was the Confederate (democratic) Congress.
Furtherly in the 37th Congress, the Republican Party was able to pass legislature which backed the actions of their Republican President (Lincoln). The Habeas Corpus Act passed by this body, specifically granted the right to suspend habeas corpus to the executive branch, something which had been ambiguous in the wording of the Constitution. Along with this Act, other of the legislative (Emancipation Proclamation, Confiscation Acts, and Iron Clad Oath) were of questionable constitutional legality when spearheaded by the President and subsequently protested by the judicial branch. Yet, when passed into law by Congress, this effectively subjugated the judicial branch to the executive. As if, the two branches where ganging up on the third.
It must be noted that while the South’s succession did eliminate one of the largest political obstacles in Congress, the drastic measures and expediency which took place was also surely a result of the war time emergencies. In peaceful times, it would be nonsensical for the legislative branch to weaken their powers on the behalf of the executive if it was not for the sake of holding the country together. The plethora of laws passed during the emergency session as well, would have been influenced by the danger posed by the army of Northern Virginia to D.C. itself and the recent loss of Bull’s Run.
Section E: Conclusion
In conclusion, the withdrawal of the South’s representatives, while not uniform, did create a one-party like legislative branch much in the same manner as with a dictatorship, leading to increased efficiency yet also increased infringement of Constitutional rights. Something which resulted from the disturbance of the balance of power supported by the 37th Congress.
However, it cannot be said that this was the only factor attributing to the quantity of laws drafted. The war time state expedited mainly those laws pertaining to the war, while the removal of the vast body of Democrats expedited those laws platformed by the remaining Congress. It was the combination of these factors that characterized the unusual efficiency and overall dynamic of this historic Congress.
Section F: Bibliography
Coffey, Walter. “Republican Congress in the Civil War: No Southern Opposition Leads to Republican Domination.” (suite101.com, 2010). <http://www.suit101.com/content/the_republican_congress_in_the_civil_war_a207230>
Potter, Lee Ann Potter and Wynell Schamel. “The Homestead Act of 2862.” Social Education October 1997; 359-364
Joint Committee on Printing ed., “The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress 1774-2005, The Continental Congress, September 5, 1774, to October 21, 1788, and the Congress of the United States, from the First through the One Hundred Eighth Congress, March 4, 1789, to January 3, 2005, inclusive.” 108th Cong. 2d sess., H. Doc. 108-222 (DC: US Government Printing Office, 2005). 162 – 165. pdf.
Senate Journal, 37th Cong., 1rst sess., March 13, 1861, 416.
Stephen C. Neff. “Justice in Blue and Grey.” (Harvard University Press)
U.S. Office of the Clerk. “House History: 36th Congress (1859 - 1861).” U.S. House of Representatives. <http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/house_history/index.html>
U.S. Office of the Clerk. “House History: 37th Congress (1861-1863).” U.S. House of Representatives. <http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/house_history/index.html>
U.S. Office of the Clerk. “House History: 47th Congress (1881-1883).” U.S. House of Representatives. <http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/house_history/index.html>
U.S. Senate. “A Dramatic Session.” Historical Minute Essays. <http://senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Dramatic_Session.htm>
U.S. Senate. “Senator Resigns to Protest Loyalty Oath.” Historical Minute Essays. http://senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Senator_Resigns_to_Protest_Loyalty_Oath.htm>
U.S. Senate. “Ten Senators Expelled.” Historical Minute Essays. http://senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Ten_Senators_Expelled.htm
1 Joint Committee on Printing ed., The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress 1774-2005, The Continental Congress, September 5, 1774, to October 21, 1788, and the Congress of the United States, from the First through the One Hundred Eighth Congress, March 4, 1789, to January 3, 2005, inclusive. 108th Cong. 2d sess., H. Doc. 108-222 (DC: US Government Printing Office, 2005). 162 – 165. pdf. [henceforth known as Biographical Directory]
2 U.S. Office of the Clerk. “House History: 36th Congress (1859 - 1861).” U.S. House of Representatives. Available from <http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/house_history/index.html>
U.S. Office of the Clerk. “House History: 37th Congress (1861-1863).” U.S. House of Representatives. Available from <http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/house_history/index.html> [henceforth called 37th Congress (1861-1863).]
U.S. Senate. “A Dramatic Session.” Historical Minute Essays. Available from <http://senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Dramatic_Session.htm> [henceforth known as Senate: A Dramatic Session]
37th Congress (1861-1863).
* The rest of the Representatives where either unionists, constitutional unionists, independent democrat, americans, or other small political party affiliates.
Senate Journal, 37th Cong., 1rst sess., March 13, 1861, 416.
Senate: A Dramatic Session
U.S. Office of the Clerk. “House History: 47th Congress (1881-1883).” U.S. House of Representatives. <http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/house_history/index.html>
Lee Ann Potter and Wynell Schamel. “The Homestead Act of 2862.” Social Education 61, 6 (October 1997); 359-364
U.S. Senate. “Senator Resigns to Protest Loyalty Oath.” Historical Minute Essays. http://senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Senator_Resigns_to_Protest_Loyalty_Oath.htm>
Stephen C. Neff. “Justice in Blue and Grey.” (Harvard University Press: 2010)
Walter Coffey. “Republican Congress in the Civil War: No Southern Opposition Leads to Republican Domination.” (suite101.com, 2010). <http://www.suit101.com/content/the_republican_congress_in_the_civil_war_a207230>
Senate: A Dramatic Session