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The Civil War was over, and Congress was considering the submission of a proposed Amendment to the Constitution to the States for ratification. The amendment read "ARTICLE - The Congress shall have power to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper to secure to the citizens of each State all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States, and to all persons in the several States equal protection in the rights of life, liberty, and property. Mr. Davis was opposed to this amendment as written, and in the Speech of Hon. Thomas T. Davis, of New York, on Equality of Rights; delivered in the House of Representatives, February 28, 1866 he presented his reasons. He states early in his speech that ".I am unwilling, after this Constitution has been tested in peace, and in foreign war, for nearly eighty years, and when, during the last four years, it has been to us as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, pointing out a safe pathway to the nation through the Red Sea of civil war, and has led us to final triumph, and while the passions excited by the civil strife remain active and unsubdued, and wounds received are still open and bleeding, to amend or alter the organic law of the nation in any particular where a supreme necessity does not demand it.". The First Edition copy of the speech is contained in a 12-page double-column booklet that measures approximately 6 ½ x 9 ½ inches. The speech is bound in plain gray cardboard covers, which were added to the booklet for protection some time after the item's publication. The pages are tanned, but the text is clear and easily read. There are markings on the title page reflecting the prior ownership by the Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio. The overall condition of the item is good. The illustrations accompanying this description show the title page and the first and last pages of the speech. Thomas Treadwell Davis (1810- 1872) was a United States Representative from New York during the latter half of the American Civil War and the subsequent beginning of Reconstruction. Davis was elected as a Unionist to the 38th Congress and re-elected as a Republican to the 39th Congress (March 4, 1863-March 3, 1867). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1866, [Wikipedia]. Seller Inventory # 001677
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