They believed that, even against the popular verdict in the North, the President would in the end prevail.

They had unbounded faith in the power of patronage, and they constantly exhorted the President to turn every opponent of his policy out of office, and give only to his friends the honors and emoluments of the National Government.

They had full faith that this would carry consternation to the Republican ranks, and would establish the President's power on a firm foundation.
Unless, therefore, the Loyal States were willing to allow the Rebel States to come back on their own terms, in a spirit of dictation to the Government of the Union, they were under the imperious necessity of providing some other basis of reconstruction than the one which the South had unitedly rejected.

Congress was charged, in the name of loyalty, to see that no harm should come to the Republic, and the point was now reached where three ways were open: _first_, Congress might follow the Administration, and allow the States to come in at once without promise, without condition, without guarantee of any kind; _second_, it might adopt the plan of Mr.Stevens, which had just been narrowly defeated, and place the Southern States under military government, with no date assigned for its termination by National authority, and no condition held out by which the South itself could escape from it; _third_, it might place the Southern States temporarily under a military government, for the sake of preserving law and order and the rights of property, during the prescribed period of reconstruction--upon the basis that all loyal men, regardless of color or previous condition of servitude, should take part in the movement.
Reduced to the choice of these three methods, the considerate, well-pondered, conclusive judgment of the Republican party was in favor of the last named, and the last named was adopted.

If, therefore, suffrage was prematurely granted to the negro; if, in consequence, harm came to the Southern States; if hardship was inflicted upon Southern people, the responsibility for it cannot be justly laid upon Northern sentiment or upon the Republican party.