Page:Disunion and restoration in Tennessee (IA disunionrestorat00neal).pdf/37

 the people of Tennessee, in Convention assembled, do propose the following alterations and amendments to the Constitution, which, when ratified by the sovereign loyal people shall be and constitute a permanent part of the Constitution of Tennessee." This assertion of constituent powers by the Convention was purely a revolutionary act. The Constitution could be legally changed only in the manner prescribed by the Constitution itself. In the third section of the eleventh article, it provided that all amendments must originate with the State Legislature. In no sense could the Convention be held to represent the Legislature. It was therefore in the eyes of the law a body of private citizens.

The second section of the resolution passed by the Convention contained the proposed amendments. The most important were: the abolition of slavery, the declaration of the invalidity of the secession acts, and an article giving the Legislature the power to determine the suffrage. It was further provided that these amendments should be submitted to a vote of the people, and if ratified by the majority of those voting, the military governor was ordered to hold an election for Governor and Legislature. All voters should be required to take the following oath: "I solemnly swear that I will henceforth support the Constitution of the United States, and defend it against the assaults of all its enemies; that I am an active friend of the government of the United States, and the enemy of the so-called Confederate States; that I ardently desire the suppression of the present rebellion against the United States; that I rejoice in the triumph of the armies and navies of the United States, and in the defeat of the armies, navies, and all other armed combinations of the so-called Confederate States; that I will cordially oppose all armistices or negotiations for peace with rebels in arms until the Constitution of the United States and all laws and proclamations made in pursuance thereof, shall be established over all the people of every State and