If what is necessary is not always according to duty, surely duty is always a necessity.
Charles Sumner
The Public Record
Charles Sumner was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1851 until his death in 1874. Before and during the American Civil War, he was a leading American advocate for the abolition of slavery, and after the war he was a key figure in the Reconstruction era, during which he and other Radical Republicans successfully fought to end slavery and ensure basic rights for Black Americans. He continued advocating for racial equality until his death, lobbying in his final days for a civil rights bill that served as a model for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Historians credit Sumner with coining the phrase "equality before the law," which he first used as part of an early attempt to integrate Boston's public school system.
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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.
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.
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…
Looking at this Declaration now, it is chiefly memorable for the promises it made.
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…
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.
You must perform these promises; and this brings me to the overruling necessity of the times.
Twice already, since Rebel Slavery rose against the Republic, it has spoken, insisting, first, that the slaves should be declared free, and, secondly, that muskets should be put into their hands for the common defence.
Reason, humanity, justice were powerless; but necessity was irresistible.
Without Emancipation, followed by arming the slaves, Rebel Slavery would not have been overcome.
Reason, humanity, and justice, all of which are clear for the admission of the freedman, may fail to move you; but you must yield to necessity, now requiring these promises to be performed.
You must grant it, or you will peril the peace of the Republic, and postpone indefinitely the great day of security and reconciliation.
Therefore, in the name of that national safety which is the supreme law, I begin my appeal.
Whatever is required for the national safety is constitutional.
When I speak of necessity, I mean that overruling compulsion which cannot be disobeyed.
In the present case it is compounded of moral duty and the instinct of self-preservation.
The moral duty to perform these promises is plain as the Decalogue.
The instinct of self-preservation, impelling us to save the Republic, is in harmony with the requirement of moral duty.
In denying justice now, you are not only guilty of grievous wrong, but you expose your country to incalculable calamity.
But the argument for Enfranchisement, which is nothing but the complement of Emancipation, is the same.
Enfranchisement is not only intrinsically just, but necessary to the safety of the Republic.
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