Alfred H. Stone Collection
Volume: 61

22. Alpheus Crosby, The Present Position of the Seceded States, and the Rights and Duties of the General Government in Respect to Them. An Address to the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Dartmouth College, July 19, 1865 (Boston: Geo. C. Rand & Avery, 1865). (16 p.)

Speech addressing two questions: “Where has the war left the seceded States? Are they in the Union, or out of the Union?” The speaker begins by considering the seceded states’ rights, should they be in the Union, such as the right to manage their internal affairs and be represented in Congress. However, the speaker rejects this scenario, given the South’s conduct during the war and, in turn, explores the duties of the federal government in this regard. These duties include establishing temporary governments in those states, exercising “guardianship” over those governments, and re-admitting those states “cautiously and securely.” The speaker makes a distinction between being part of the Union as a partner in government and being part of the Union as a governed community (i.e., a territory). The speaker also notes that establishing a democratic form of government in those states may mean than some Southern states, probably South Carolina and Mississippi, will cease to be “the white man’s land” because of their black majorities.