Item No: #308260 A Journal of the Proceedings of the House of Representatives of the General Assembly of the State of Florida at the 2d Session of the 14th General Assembly. Florida 1866.
A Journal of the Proceedings of the House of Representatives of the General Assembly of the State of Florida at the 2d Session of the 14th General Assembly

Florida Rejects the 14th Amendment

A Journal of the Proceedings of the House of Representatives of the General Assembly of the State of Florida at the 2d Session of the 14th General Assembly

Notes: The Florida legislature confronts the 14th amendmet to the Constitution, granting formerly enslaved people citizenship, due process rights, and equal protection. The governor, David S. Walker, recommended that the legislature reject it, which it promptly did (like most Southern states, Florida finally capitulated in 1868 and adopted the Reconstruction amendments that form the basis of America's modern set of civil rights).

Walker, like most White Floridians, was unhappy with Reconstruction and lamented to the legislature the North's demands for the former Confederate States to be readmitted to the union. "I regret that the information of the state of the Government which I am now able to give you, is of a most gloomy character—far more gloomy than any of us anticipated it would be when I addressed you at the commencement of your last session."

He was unhappy about the 14th amendment, about the Freedmen's Bureau, which provided federal support to the formerly enslaved people, and remaining elements of martial law. The legislature was concerned that the 14th amendment would give Black Floridians control of the state government: "We [White people] must be shorn of our representation or give the inferior and unintelligent race the supremacy in State government... The control of the Southern States by the negro would result either in a war of the races or the emigration of one or the other race, and a consequent total destruction of all interests" (p. 77)..

This legislative session opened on November 14, 1866, and concluded on December 14, 1866.

308 (Journal), 29 (an appendix of documents supporting the governor's message) pages. The final document is a "Report of the Sup't of Common Schools for Freedmen."

Edition + Condition: Contents generally very good (no separate wrappers, as issued). The printing, however, is terrible, with uneven inking and poorly set type. The text on page 27 of the Journal is partially lost because of a scrap of paper that was on top of the sheet as it went through the press.

Finely bound in three-quarter's leather and marbled paper-covered boards. The spine has raised bands and is stamped in gilt. A truly lovely period-style binding.

Publication: Tallahassee, FL: Office of the Floridian, Printed by Dyke & Sparhawk, 1866.

Item No: #308260

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