In every step taken after the simple article of emancipation was decreed, the Republicans who controlled the Government met with obstacles from without and from within.

There were thousands in their own ranks who did not wish the negro advanced to citizenship; there were tens of thousands who were unwilling to see him advanced to the elective franchise.

But happily there were hundreds of thousands who plainly saw that without the rights of citizenship his freedom could be maintained only in name, and that without the elective franchise his citizenship would have no legitimate and (if the phrase be allowed) no automatic protection.
To the brave men who led the Republican party to its duty and its mission, who overcame the numbers of the opposition, who lifted their associates from the slough of prejudice and led them out of the darkness of tradition, let there be all honor and praise.

They gave hope to the hopeless, help to the helpless, liberty to the downtrodden.
They did more: they elevated the character and enlightened the conscience of the oppressing race.

The struggle is not yet ended, the final battle is not yet fought; but complete victory sooner or later is assured.