Chapter XVII
An Act authorizing the Submission of the Constitutions of Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas to a Vote of the People, and authorizing the Election of State Officers, provided by the said Constitutions, and Members of Congress.
April 10, 1869
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Narrative history of Secession and Readmission | Narrative history of Annexation
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President of the United States, at such time as he may deem best for the public interest, may submit the constitution which was framed by the convention which met in Richmond, Virginia, on Tuesday, the third day of December, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, to the voters of said State, registered at the date of said submission, for ratification or rejection; and may also submit to a separate vote such provisions of said constitution as he may deem best, such vote to be taken either upon each of the said provisions alone, or in connection with the other portions of said constitution, as the President may direct.
Sec. 2 And be it further enacted, That at the same election the voters of said State may vote for and elect members of the general assembly of said State, and all the officers of said State provided for by the said constitution, and members of Congress; and the officer commanding the district of Virginia shall cause the lists of registered voters of said State to be revised, enlarged, and corrected prior to such election, according to law, and for that purpose may appoint such registrars as he may deem necessary. And said elections shall be held and returns thereof made in the manner provided by the acts of Congress commonly called the reconstruction acts.
Sec. 3 And be it further enacted, That the President of the United States may in like manner submit the constitution of Texas to the voters of said State at such time and in such manner as he may direct, either the entire constitution, or separate provisions of the same, as provided in the first section of this act, to a separate vote; and at the same election the voters may vote for and elect the members of the legislature and all the State officers provided for in said constitution, and members of Congress: Provided, also, That no election shall be held in said State of Texas for any purpose until the President so directs.
Sec. 4 And be it further enacted, That the President of the United States may in like manner resubmit the constitution of Mississippi to the voters of said State at such time and in such manner as he may direct, either the entire constitution, or separate provisions of the same, as provided in the first section of this act, to a separate vote; and at the same election the voters may vote for and elect the members of the legislature and all State officers provided for in said constitution, and members of Congress.
Sec. 5 And be it further enacted, That if either of said constitutions shall be ratified at such election, the legislature of the State so ratifying, elected as provided for in this act, shall assemble at the capital of said State on the fourth Tuesday after the official promulgation of such ratification by the military officer commanding in said State.
Sec. 6 And be it further enacted, That before the States of Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas shall be admitted to representation in Congress, their several legislatures, which may be hereafter lawfully organized, shall ratify the fifteenth article, which has been proposed by Congress to the several States as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
Sec. 7 And be it further enacted, That the proceedings in any of said States shall not be deemed final or operate as a complete restoration thereof until their action, respectively, shall be approved by Congress.
Approved, April 10, 1869.
SOURCE:
Sanger, George P., ed. the Statutes at Large, Treaties and Proclamations of the United States of America from December, 1869, to March, 1871.... Vol. XVI. Boston: Little, Brown, And Company, 1868, pp. 40-41.