Everything has a natural consequence, and the consequence of this condition of things is that necessity which I have announced. These States cannot subsist without legal governments in just correlation with the other States and with the Nation.
Necessity and duty commingle. If what is necessary is not always according to duty, surely duty is always a necessity. On the present occasion they unite in one voice for the Great Guaranty. It is at once necessity and duty. Glancing at the promises of the Fathers, I shall exhibit,--
_First_, the overruling necessity of the times;
And, _secondly_, the positive mandate of the Constitution, compelling us to guaranty “a republican form of government,” and thus to determine what is meant by this requirement; all of which has been fortified by continuing Rights of War, and by the Constitutional Amendment authorizing Congress to enforce the abolition of Slavery.
In the life of a nation, as in that of an individual, there are moments when outstanding promises must be performed under peril of ruin and dishonor. Such is the present moment in the life of the Republic. Sacred promises, beginning with our history, are yet unperformed, although the hour has sounded when continued failure on our part will open the door to a long train of woes. And there are yet other promises, recently made, for the national defence against a wicked rebellion, which, like those of earlier date, are also unperformed. But the latter are all included in the former; so that our whole present duty centres in the performance of sacred promises coëval with the national life.
Our fathers solemnly announced the Equal Rights of all men, and that government had no just foundation except in the consent of the governed; and to the support of the Declaration heralding these self-evident truths they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. Looking at this Declaration now, it is chiefly memorable for the promises it made. Mighty words! Fit utterance for the infant giant then born! Fit device for the great Republic taking its place in the family of kings! Fit lesson for mankind! And now the moment has come when these vows must be fulfilled to the letter. In securing the Equal Rights of the freedman, and his participation in the Government which he is taxed to support, we shall perform the early promises of the Fathers, and at the same time supplementary promises only recently made to the freedman as the condition of alliance and aid against the Rebellion. Failure here is moral and political bankruptcy. It is repudiation of moral and political duties, ending in repudiation of the financial obligations. So are duties to the national freedman linked with obligations to the national creditor, that you cannot repudiate the former without impairing the latter. Whoever disowns any of the promises of the Republic leads the way in repudiation.