To enable the court to
inquire as to the truth of these allegations, a temporary restraining
order was issued against the defendants, which was at once wholly
disregarded and treated with contempt by those to whom it was directed.
These proceedings have been widely denounced as an unwarrantable
interference by the Federal judiciary with the election of State
officers; but it is to be remembered that by the fifteenth amendment to
the Constitution of the United States the political equality of colored
citizens is secured, and under the second section of that amendment,
providing that Congress shall have power to enforce its provisions by
appropriate legislation, an act was passed on the 31st of May, 1870,
and amended in 1871, the object of which was to prevent the denial
or abridgment of suffrage to citizens on account of race, color, or
previous condition of servitude; and it has been held by all the Federal
judges before whom the question has arisen, including Justice Strong, of
the Supreme Court, that the protection afforded by this amendment and
these acts extends to State as well as other elections. That it is the
duty of the Federal courts to enforce the provisions of the Constitution
of the United States and the laws passed in pursuance thereof is too
clear for controversy.
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