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U.S. Statutes at Large
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Historical SummaryThe annual message of President Grant, December 6, 1869, urged the admission of Virginia to representation, but stated that the results of the recent elections in Mississippi and Texas were not yet known. To the proposition to rehabilitate Virginia there was strong opposition, but the wish of the President prevailed. A bill to give effect to the recommendation was reported January 11, 1870, from the Committee on Reconstruction. On the 14th a substitute offered by Bingham was agreed to by a vote of 98 to 95, 17 not voting, and the bill passed, the final vote being 142 to 49, 19 not voting. The Senate added various amendments imposing conditions and restrictions, and passed the bill on the 21st by a vote of 47 to 10. On the 24th the House concurred in the Senate amendments, the vote being 136 to 58, 16 not voting. July 28 the military authority in Virginia ceased. Acts of February 23 and March 30 provided in similar terms for the restoration of Mississippi and Texas, and the military authority in those States was withdrawn. REFERENCES. — Text in House and Senate Journals, 41st Cong., 2d Sess., and the Cong. Globe.
No. 166.
Admission of Virginia to Representation in Congress
January 25, 1870
An Act to admit the State of Virginia to Representation in the Congress of the United States.
WHEREAS the people of Virginia have framed and adopted a constitution of State government which is republican; and whereas the legislature of Virginia elected under said constitution have ratified the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to the Constitution of the United States; and whereas the performance of these several acts in good faith was a condition precedent to the representation of the State in Congress: Therefore,
Be it enacted . . . , That the said State of Virginia is entitled to representation in the Congress of the United States: Provided, That before any member of the legislature of said State shall take or resume his seat, or any officer of said State shall enter upon the duties of his office, he shall take, and subscribe, and file in the office of the secretary of state of Virginia, for permanent preservation, an oath1 in the form following: "I, — — — — , do solemnly swear that I have never taken an oath as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, and afterward engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof, so help me God"; or such person shall in like manner take, subscribe, and file the following oath: "I, — — — — , do solemnly swear that I have, by act of Congress of the United States, been relieved from the disabilities imposed upon me by the fourteenth amendment of the Constitution of the United States, so help me God"; . . . And provided further, That every such person who shall neglect for the period of thirty days next after the passage of this act to take, subscribe, and file such oath as aforesaid, shall be deemed and taken, to all intents and purposes, to have vacated his office: And provided further, That the State of Virginia is admitted to representation in Congress as one of the States of the Union upon the following fundamental conditions: First, That the Constitution of Virginia shall never be so amended or changed as to deprive any citizen or class of citizens of the United States of the right to vote who are entitled to vote by the Constitution herein recognized, except as a punishment for such crimes as are now felonies at common law, whereof they shall have been duly convicted under laws equally applicable to all the inhabitants of said State: Provided, That any alteration of said Constitution, prospective in its effects, may be made in regard to the time and place of residence of voters. Second, That it shall never be lawful for the said State to deprive any citizen of the United States, on account of his race, color, or previous condition of servitude, of the right to hold office under the constitution and laws of said State, or upon any such ground to require of him any other qualifications for office than such as are required of all other citizens. Third, That the constitution of Virginia shall never be so amended or changed as to deprive any citizen or class of citizens of the United States of the school rights and privileges secured by the constitution of said State.
1 An amending act of February 1, 1870, provided for the usual alternative of affirmation. — ED.
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Chicago: "Admission of Virginia to Representation in Congress," U.S. Statutes at Large in Documentary Source Book of American History, 1606-1913, ed. William MacDonald (1863-1938) (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1916), 545–546. Original Sources, accessed March 24, 2025, http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=4ARBRDRDH4VM3QB.
MLA: . "Admission of Virginia to Representation in Congress." U.S. Statutes at Large, Vol. XVI, in Documentary Source Book of American History, 1606-1913, edited by William MacDonald (1863-1938), New York, The Macmillan Company, 1916, pp. 545–546. Original Sources. 24 Mar. 2025. http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=4ARBRDRDH4VM3QB.
Harvard: , 'Admission of Virginia to Representation in Congress' in U.S. Statutes at Large. cited in 1916, Documentary Source Book of American History, 1606-1913, ed. , The Macmillan Company, New York, pp.545–546. Original Sources, retrieved 24 March 2025, from http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=4ARBRDRDH4VM3QB.
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