Reconstruction

by Brooks D. Simpson

  The emancipation of the slaves is submitted to only in so far as chattel slavery in the old form could not be kept up. But although the freedman is no longer considered the property of the individual master, he is considered the slave of society, and all independent State legislation will share the tendency to make him such. The ordinances abolishing slavery passed by the conventions under the pressure of circumstances, will not be looked upon as barring the establishment of a new form of servitude.

  Practical attempts on the part of the southern people to deprive the negro of his rights as a freeman may result in bloody collisions, and will certainly plunge southern society into restless fluctuations and anarchical confusion. Such evils can be prevented only by continuing the control of the national government in the States lately in rebellion until free labor is fully developed and firmly established, and the advantages and blessings of the new order of things have disclosed themselves. This desirable result will be hastened by a firm declaration on the part of the government, that national control in the south will not cease until such results are secured. Only in this way can that security be established in the south which will render numerous immigration possible, and such immigration would materially aid a favorable development of things.

  The solution of the problem would be very much facilitated by enabling all the loyal and free-labor elements in the south to exercise a healthy influence upon legislation. It will hardly be possible to secure the freedman against oppressive class legislation and private persecution, unless he be endowed with a certain measure of political power.

  As to the future peace and harmony of the Union, it is of the highest importance that the people lately in rebellion be not permitted to build up another “peculiar institution” whose spirit is in conflict with the fundamental principles of our political system; for as long as they cherish interests peculiar to them in preference to those they have in common with the rest of the American people, their loyalty to the Union will always be uncertain.

  I desire not to be understood as saying that there are no well-meaning men among those who were compromised in the rebellion. There are many, but neither their number nor their influence is strong enough to control the manifest tendency of the popular spirit. There are great reasons for hope that a determined policy on the part of the national government will produce innumerable and valuable conversions. This consideration counsels lenity as to persons, such as is demanded by the humane and enlightened spirit of our times, and vigor and firmness in the carrying out of principles, such as is demanded by the national sense of justice and the exigencies of our situation.

  December 18, 1865

  “SUCH UNIVERSAL ACQUIESCENCE”:

  WASHINGTON, D.C., DECEMBER 1865

  Ulysses S. Grant to Andrew Johnson

  HEADQUARTERS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES,

  Washington, D.C., December 18, 1865

  SIR:

  In reply to your note of the 16th instant, requesting a report from me giving such information as I may be possessed of coming within the scope of the inquiries made by the Senate of the United States in their resolution of the 12th instant, I have the honor to submit the following:

  With your approval, and also that of the honorable Secretary of War, I left Washington city on the 27th of last month for the purpose of making a tour of inspection through some of the southern States, or States lately in rebellion, and to see what changes were necessary to be made in the disposition of the military forces of the country; how these forces could be reduced and expenses curtailed, &c.; and to learn, as far as possible, the feelings and intentions of the citizens of those States towards the general government.

  The State of Virginia being so accessible to Washington city, and information from this quarter, therefore, being readily obtained, I hastened through the State without conversing or meeting with any of its citizens. In Raleigh, North Carolina, I spent one day; in Charleston, South Carolina, two days; Savannah and Augusta, Georgia, each one day. Both in travelling and whilst stopping I saw much and conversed freely with the citizens of those States as well as with officers of the army who have been stationed among them. The following are the conclusions come to by me.

  I am satisfied that the mass of thinking men of the south accept the present situation of affairs in good faith. The questions which have heretofore divided the sentiment of the people of the two sections—slavery and State rights, or the right of a State to secede from the Union—they regard as having been settled forever by the highest tribunal—arms—that man can resort to. I was pleased to learn from the leading men whom I met that they not only accepted the decision arrived at as final, but, now that the smoke of battle has cleared away and time has been given for reflection, that this decision has been a fortunate one for the whole country, they receiving like benefits from it with those who opposed them in the field and in council.

  Four years of war, during which law was executed only at the point of the bayonet throughout the States in rebellion, have left the people possibly in a condition not to yield that ready obedience to civil authority the American people have generally been in the habit of yielding. This would render the presence of small garrisons throughout those States necessary until such time as labor returns to its proper channel, and civil authority is fully established. I did not meet any one, either those holding places under the government or citizens of the southern States, who think it practicable to withdraw the military from the south at present. The white and the black mutually require the protection of the general government.

  There is such universal acquiescence in the authority of the general government throughout the portions of country visited by me, that the mere presence of a military force, without regard to numbers, is sufficient to maintain order. The good of the country, and economy, require that the force kept in the interior, where there are many freedmen, (elsewhere in the southern States than at forts upon the seacoast no force is necessary,) should all be white troops. The reasons for this are obvious without mentioning many of them. The presence of black troops, lately slaves, demoralizes labor, both by their advice and by furnishing in their camps a resort for the freedmen for long distances around. White troops generally excite no opposition, and therefore a small number of them can maintain order in a given district. Colored troops must be kept in bodies sufficient to defend themselves. It is not the thinking man who would use violence towards any class of troops sent among them by the general government, but the ignorant in some places might; and the late slave seems to be imbued with the idea that the property of his late master should, by right, belong to him, or at least should have no protection from the colored soldier. There is danger of collisions being brought on by such causes.

  My observations lead me to the conclusion that the citizens of the southern States are anxious to return to self-government, within the Union, as soon as possible; that whilst reconstructing they want and require protection from the government; that they are in earnest in wishing to do what they think is required by the government, not humiliating to them as citizens, and that if such a course were pointed out they would pursue it in good faith. It is to be regretted that there cannot be a greater commingling, at this time, between the citizens of the two sections, and particularly of those intrusted with the law-making power.

  I did not give the operations of the Freedmen’s Bureau that attention I would have done if more time had been at my disposal. Conversations on the subject, however, with officers connected with the bureau, lead me to think that, in some of the States, its affairs have not been conducted with good judgment or economy, and that the belief, widely spread among the freedmen of the southern States, that the lands of their former owners will, at least in part, be divided among them, has come from the agents of this bureau. This belief is seriously interfering with the willingness of the freedmen to make contracts for the coming year. In some form the Freedmen’s Bureau is an absolute necessity until civil law is established and enforced, securing t
o the freedmen their rights and full protection. At present, however, it is independent of the military establishment of the country, and seems to be operated by the different agents of the bureau according to their individual notions. Everywhere General Howard, the able head of the bureau, made friends by the just and fair instructions and advice he gave; but the complaint in South Carolina was that when he left, things went on as before. Many, perhaps the majority, of the agents of the Freedmen’s Bureau advise the freedmen that by their own industry they must expect to live. To this end they endeavor to secure employment for them, and to see that both contracting parties comply with their engagements. In some instances, I am sorry to say, the freedman’s mind does not seem to be disabused of the idea that a freedman has the right to live without care or provision for the future. The effect of the belief in division of lands is idleness and accumulation in camps, towns, and cities. In such cases I think it will be found that vice and disease will tend to the extermination or great reduction of the colored race. It cannot be expected that the opinions held by men at the south for years can be changed in a day, and therefore the freedmen require, for a few years, not only laws to protect them, but the fostering care of those who will give them good counsel, and on whom they rely.

  The Freedmen’s Bureau being separated from the military establishment of the country, requires all the expense of a separate organization. One does not necessarily know what the other is doing or what orders they are acting under. It seems to me this could be corrected by regarding every officer on duty with troops in the southern States as an agent of the Freedmen’s Bureau, and then have all orders from the head of the bureau sent through department commanders. This would create a responsibility that would secure uniformity of action throughout all the south; would insure the orders and instructions from the head of the bureau being carried out, and would relieve from duty and pay a large number of employees of the government.

  I have the honor to be, very respectfully,

  your obedient servant,

  U. S. Grant, Lieutenant General.

  His Excellency Andrew Johnson,

  President of the United States.

  “THE PHARAOH OF OUR DAY”:

  MASSACHUSETTS, DECEMBER 1865

  Lewis Hayden:

  from Caste among Masons

  I WILL NOW speak of the character of the people—their seeming hopes and prospects. I regret to say that at Richmond they did not present so hopeful an aspect, so intellectual nor so dignified a character, as I found among the people of Petersburg and Charleston; for while at Richmond there seemed to be jealousies and bickerings, so that in the words of the Scriptures, like Ishmael of old, their hands are against every man, and every man’s hand against them;—at Petersburg they had already formed land associations, building companies, &c.; and they appeared to be united and harmonious, under the leadership of such men as Eilbech, Scott, Colston, and others. The large brick building in which the Lodge is held, a four story building, is owned by themselves; while, at Richmond, we obtained a room in which to form the Lodge with great difficulty. I found in Charleston, S.C., a still higher class of people, even, than at Petersburg, as regards general education, the mechanical arts, and all the elements which tend to make a first-class society. In proof of this, I have brought with me a list of applications for initiations to their Lodge, the signers of which will compare favorably with the members of any Masonic Lodge, either white or black, in the United States—whether we take into consideration proficiency in the mechanical arts, or social and mental endowments. Of the people of Charleston, whether in the Order or not, I am constrained to say, that the many acts of kindness and the generous hospitality received at their hands, during my sojourn among them, have made an impression upon my heart, which neither time nor changing fortune can ever efface. I regret to add, that in each of the places I visited, there is evidently a deep and unalterable purpose in the hearts of the old oppressors to blast, or at least to crush out, the rising hopes and dawning prospects of their late bondmen. I rejoice, on the other hand, to be able to say that there is among our people that unwavering trust in God, and that abiding faith in the justice of their cause, which enable them to look to the future, not only with hope and confidence, but with exultation, feeling that—

  “Truth, crushed to earth, shall rise again;

  The eternal years of God are hers;

  But Error wounded, writhes in pain,

  And dies among his worshippers.”

  This, let me be understood, is the feeling of our people in the cities. With the dwellers in the country, it is different. Away from the cities and the seaboard, the condition of the colored man is deplorable enough to-day. Lacking the intelligence and opportunities of the freemen in the city,—never having enjoyed the same advantages,—he is still almost completely at the mercy of his old master. If the latter treats him kindly, it is well; but if ill-used and oppressed, in nine cases out of ten he has no remedy. There is no power under heaven to which he can appeal for redress. The United-States army can do nothing for him, for it has gone. If an agent of the Freedmen’s Bureau happens along, no complaint can reach his ear till it has been forestalled by the story of the master and his interested attentions. The power of organized and concentrated effort, which may be available in the city, is denied to him. What then can he do? On what possible loop can he hang one solitary hope? God help him! for Andrew Johnson will not,—although he was to be our Moses to lead us to liberty and equality; instead of which, I fear he will prove to be the Pharaoh of our day. In this we ought not to be deceived; for it is plain that he who undertakes to be the friend of the black man in this land of negro haters, will not have the negro haters all over the country singing praises to him, as you see they are now doing to our said Moses; so much so, that the astonished people stand off amazed, and know not what to do or to say. First they look at him; then at Gettysburg; then at Pittsburg Landing; then at Milliken’s Bend; then at Andersonville; and then at a murdered President. With all these things before them, and ere they have had time for reflection, they are startled by the perpetration of some new act of high-handed infidelity, which well serves his purpose to hide some former wrong. As an evidence of some of his new acts of infidelity, they beheld him, within three days after the murder of our ever-to-be-lamented President, Abraham Lincoln, standing up before God, and in the presence of an outraged nation, solemnly declaring that he would make treason a crime, and punish the traitor. Has he done either? No. Then, what has he done? you ask. My answer is, that he has done much to make treason a virtue, by elevating traitors to offices of honor and trust,—to be paid for their services in such offices by the taxing of the widows and orphans, whose fathers and husbands their own hands have slain. By these acts he has honored and given new license to traitors to perpetrate outrages and crimes. Humanity revolts and refuses to believe that man, made in the image of God, could so debase and belie his nature as to be guilty of such wrong against his fellow-man. But did they not murder their slaves with impunity while they had a moneyed interest in them? If so, will they not slaughter the freedmen in whom they have no such interest, with such an one at the head of the nation fostering and honoring traitors? Were it not that we are forbidden to speak against those in authority, I should say, the Lord rebuke thee and deliver us from such a Moses.

  December 27, 1865

  DESTITUTION AMONG THE FREED PEOPLE:

  GEORGIA, JANUARY 1866

  Harriet Jacobs to The Freedman

  SAVANNAH, Jan. 9, 1866.

  From Harriet Jacobs.

  Your letter with commission for teachers received, also three cases. At present I am well provided with clothing. The shoes have been the greatest comfort to the poor, shivering people. Just now it is bitter cold weather for this climate; Christmas day the thermometer was 82°, yesterday it was 31°, and it is freezing to-day. The change is so sudden the people feel it very much. They are turning most of the people from the plantations. It is a pitiful sight to
go down to the Bluff where the poor creatures are landed. You will see crowds of them huddled around a few burning sticks, so ragged and filthy they scarce look like human beings. Some of these people are from Florida, some from Alabama, some from the upper country in South Carolina. They were carried to these places that they might be out of the reach of the Union army. Some of the river plantations that I visit are sending off all that will not make yearly contracts. The old men and women are not considered. Some of the conditions of these contracts are very unjust. They are not allowed to have a boat or musket. They are not allowed to own a horse, cow, or pig. Many of them already own them, but must sell them if they remain on the plantations. I was on one plantation where the master owns three hundred acres of rice land. He wants to employ thirty hands; make the contract for the year, at ten dollars per month; gives them rations and four dollars a month out of their wages. When the crop is laid by, the master has two-thirds, the laborer has one-third, deducting the pay for the rations. Many of the freed people are leaving this place. There was an interesting school established here, but it has been broken up.

  HARRIET JACOBS.

  The Freedman, February 1866

  SAVANNAH, Jan. 19th, 1866.

  From Harriet Jacobs.

  We have a great deal to do here. In every direction the colored people are being turned from the plantations when unwilling to comply with the hard proposals of the planters. The contracts proposed are sometimes very severe and unjust. The freedmen are not allowed to hire land or work it on shares, but must work under their former overseers. They cannot own a horse, cow, pigs, or poultry, nor keep a boat; and they cannot leave the plantation without permission. If a friend calls to see them a fine is imposed of one dollar, and a second offence breaks the contract. They work for ten dollars and rations. They are very unwilling to be placed under the overseers who formerly treated them with cruelty. I have this week visited several plantations on both the Georgia and Carolina sides of the river. In these places the people are expecting the return of their old masters. Poor things! some are excited; others so dispirited that they cannot work. They say, “I can’t eat, I can’t sleep, for tinking of de hard time coming on me again; my heart ’pears to be all de time quiverin’; I knows ’tis trouble.” I wrote in another letter of the poor people who are daily landing at the wharf to be scattered as they can find homes. The Bureau only assists them in making contracts.