Alfred H. Stone Collection
Volume: 11

2. George S. Boutwell, Speech of Hon. George S. Boutwell, of Massachusetts, on Suffrage in the District of Columbia; Delivered in the House of Representatives, January 18, 1866 (Washington, DC: Congressional Globe Office, 1866). (7 p.)

Speech advocating extension of the suffrage to African Americans in the District of Columbia. Mr. Stone has underlined Rep. Boutwell’s discussion of the qualifications for voters that was being considered as part of the bill. The first qualification was service in the army or navy of the United States, which Boutwell endorses. The second qualification was owning property, which he rejects as being an outdated notion. Finally, he objects to a qualification based on the ability to read and write because African Americans in the District of Columbia were generally prevented from gaining an education prior to their emancipation. (The collection has another copy of this speech in volume 90 [no. 17].)