The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 19, July 1915 - April, 1916 Page: 19
452 p. : maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Texas v. White
the Constitution, were the nature and prerogatives of the State,
in such a condition, the court did not feel it necessary to specify.
The opinion presented the curious phenomenon of an abstract en-
tity, a State, remaining in the Union, while devoid of loyal gov-
ernment and inhabitants. To this extent, the court adopted the
forfeited rights theory of the status of the States.
It has been seen that the court required the State to meet cer-
tain requirements before it could take advantage of the original
jurisdiction. These were spoken of by the court in vague and
general terms. No specific rule was laid down by which it would
be possible to determine with certainty whether or not a particu-
lar political body, purporting to be a State, possessed the pre-
requisites which made such an invocation legal and proper. In
the first place, it was asserted that there must be a government
competent to represent the State in the national government. It
was not required that this government actually have representa-
tives in good standing at Washington,-only that it be capable of
having them there. A state government in rebellion against the
United States could not sue in the court, but this inhibition did
not extend to other governments of proper allegiance which might
under different circumstances be organized.22 Instead of announc-
ing a definite criterion by which the claims of a State might be
judged, each case must be decided upon its own merits by the court.
5. Restoration and Reconstruction
The duties of the United States when confronted by the extra-
ordinary conditions of 1861 were twofold: the first was the sup-
pression of the rebellion, and the second was the restoration of
the erring States to their former relations. The authority for
the first, said the court, is provided by the Constitution in the
power to suppress insurrection and carry on war; and, for the
second, in the obligation of guaranteeing a republican form of
government to each State. The latter power is the natural and
necessary complement of the former. The application of these
very clear powers and duties would have been simple enough had
the task not been complicated by an additional element-the great
'This opinion, for example, would not have prevented the Peirpoint gov-
ernment of Virginia from suing in the court.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 19, July 1915 - April, 1916, periodical, 1916; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101067/m1/27/?rotate=270: accessed May 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.