Reconstruction

by Brooks D. Simpson

  PRESIDENTIAL RECONSTRUCTION, 1865–­1866

  5.8–9 the meetings of this society] Douglass spoke at the thirty-­second annual meeting of the Massachusetts Anti-­Slavery Society, held in Boston on January 26, 1865.

  5.17–18 I have lived out West] In Rochester, New York, where Douglass lived from 1848 to 1870.

  5.31 Mr. Phillips] Wendell Phillips; see Biographical Notes.

  5.32 Gen. Banks . . . policy.] Major General Nathaniel P. Banks (1816–­1894), a former Republican governor of Massachusetts, was the Union military commander in Louisiana, 1862–­64. Banks had instituted a contract labor system that bound freed people to work on plantations for one-­year terms in return for wages, food, and shelter.

  8.10–11 Toombses and Stephenses] Robert Toombs (1810–­1885) was a congressman, 1845–­53, and senator, 1853–­61, from Georgia who had commanded a brigade in the Confederate army and served as inspector general of Georgia militia in 1864; Alexander H. Stephens (1812–­1883), congressman from Georgia, 1843–­59, and vice president of the Confederacy, 1861–­65.

  11.1–3 “What doth it . . . his own soul?”] Cf. Matthew 16:26, Mark 8:36.

  11.36 eleven States . . . old thirteen.] In 1787 black men were explicitly enfranchised in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina, and were prohibited from voting in Virginia, Georgia, and South Carolina. Maryland permitted voting by men who had been freed before 1783, while the laws in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Delaware did not explicitly address the question.

  11.37–38 In 1812 Gen. Jackson . . . citizens] Andrew Jackson published an address to the free people of color in Louisiana in 1814, asking them to help defend the state against British invasion.

  13.24 Mr. Quincy] Edmund Quincy (1808–­1877), an abolitionist who served as vice president of the Massachusetts Anti-­Slavery Society, 1848–­60.

  14.2 Speech on Reconstruction] Lincoln delivered this speech, his last public address, from a window in the White House. John Wilkes Booth was in the audience with his co-­conspirator Lewis Powell, who later recalled that Booth told him: “That is the last speech he will ever make.”

  14.12 I myself, was near the front] Lincoln visited Ulysses S. Grant’s headquarters in City Point, Virginia, from March 24 to April 8, 1865, and toured Richmond after its evacuation by Confederate forces.

  15.7 One of them] Salmon P. Chase; see Biographical Notes.

  15.15 new constitution of Louisiana] A new state constitution was approved by white Unionist voters on September 5, 1864.

  19.2 Springfield Republican] Published and edited by Samuel Bowles (1826–­1878), the Springfield Republican was one of the most influential newspapers in Massachusetts.

  19.26 the President’s plan] President Lincoln had used his annual message to Congress in December 1863 and an accompanying proclamation to outline a plan for restoring loyal governments in the insurrectionary states. Under his proposal, a new state government committed to the abolition of slavery could be established after 10 percent of the state’s voters had sworn future allegiance to the Union.

  20.1–2 theories of reconstruction . . . into territories] Some Radical Republicans, including Massachusetts senator Charles Sumner, had advanced the theory that the Confederate states had lost their sovereignty and reverted to the status of federal territories.

  21.2–3 Interview with Pennsylvania Delegation] The text of Johnson’s remarks printed here appeared in the New York Herald, May 4, 1865.

  21.5 MR. CHAIRMAN] Simon Cameron (1799–­1889), a former senator from Pennsylvania who had served as secretary of war, March 1861–­January 1862, and as minister to Russia, 1862–­63.

  24.29 Fort Wagner and Port Hudson] Black troops took part in the Union assaults on Fort Wagner, South Carolina, July 18, 1863, and Port Hudson, Louisiana, May 27, 1863.

  25.5–6 you were . . . North Carolina] Andrew Johnson was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1808 and lived in the state until 1826, when he moved to Tennessee.

  26.2–3 Reply to a Delegation of Colored Ministers] Johnson met with a delegation from the National Theological Institute for Colored Ministers, founded in Washington, D.C., in 1865 by the Baptist minister Edmund Tunney (1816–­1872). His remarks are taken from the Washington Morning Chronicle, May 12, 1865.

  26.14 I have owned slaves] Johnson purchased his first slave, a young woman named Dolly, in 1842. He was recorded in the 1860 census as owning five slaves, who worked primarily as domestic servants. The Johnson family freed their slaves in August 1863.

  26.32–34 I was the first . . . Tennessee were free] On October 24, 1864, Johnson addressed a crowd of African Americans who had held a torchlight parade in Nashville in support of the Lincoln-­Johnson ticket. Speaking from the steps of the state capitol, Johnson reminded the marchers that Tennessee had been exempted from the Emancipation Proclamation, then said that “with the past history of the State to witness, the present condition to guide, and its future to encourage me, I, Andrew Johnson, do hereby proclaim freedom to every man in Tennessee!” He later expressed the wish that “a Moses might arise” who would lead the freed people to safety. When voices in the crowd shouted “You are our Moses,” Johnson replied: “Well, then, humble and unworthy as I am, if no other better shall be found, I will indeed be your Moses, and lead you through the Red Sea of war and bondage, to a fairer future of liberty and peace.” Slavery remained legal in Tennessee until February 22, 1865, when loyal white voters approved an abolition amendment to the state constitution.

  28.3 Salmon P. Chase] Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase met with President Johnson several times in April 1865 and advised him to enfranchise black men in the South. On May 1 Chase left Washington on an inspection tour of the South, ostensibly undertaken for the purpose of reopening the federal district courts in the region. As the chief justice traveled along the Atlantic seaboard from Virginia to Florida he wrote seven letters to Johnson, reporting on his conversations with southerners and Union officers and offering his advice on Reconstruction. When Chase reached Mobile, Alabama, in early June, he learned that Johnson had instituted a Reconstruction policy for North Carolina without providing for black suffrage (see Chronology, May 29, 1865). Chase continued on his tour, but stopped writing to the president.

  28.7 General Dodge] George S. Dodge (1838–­1881), the chief army quartermaster at Wilmington.

  28.8–9 Hawley . . . Abbot] Brigadier General Joseph R. Hawley (1826–­1905), commander of the Wilmington district, was born in North Carolina and lived there until 1837, when he moved to Connecticut. Brevet Brigadier General Joseph C. Abbott (1825–­1881), a lawyer and journalist from New Hampshire, moved to North Carolina after leaving the army and served in the U.S. Senate as a Republican, 1868–­71.

  28.28 Mr. Moore] Bartholomew F. Moore (1801–­1878) served as attorney general of North Carolina, 1848–­51, and was a delegate to the state constitutional convention held in October 1865.

  30.13–16 New York Herald . . . general suffrage.] The New York Herald, founded and edited by James Gordon Bennett (1795–­1872), had urged President Johnson on May 3, 1865, to give “the emancipated negroes of the rebel States, the right to vote along with the whites.” In an editorial titled “Chief Justice Chase, the Great Negro-­Worshipper,” that appeared on May 24, the Herald changed its position: “According to the constitution the question of negro suffrage is left to the several States, and there we are content to leave it.” The newspaper denounced Chase’s southern tour as an exercise of his presidential ambitions, and warned that his advocacy of black suffrage was “provoking a new social war between the races of the South.”

  30.19–21 The spokesman . . . in Philadelphia] Jonathan C. Gibbs (1827–­1874), ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1852, was an active abolitionist who also campaigned against racial discrimination in New York and Pennsylvania. Gibbs later moved to Florida, where he served as secretary of state, 1868–­72, an
d as superintendent of public education, 1872–­74.

  32.17 rebels will re-­elect . . . Virginia.] In a proclamation issued on May 9, 1865, Johnson had recognized the Unionist “restored government” of Virginia established in Alexandria in 1863 by Governor Francis H. Pierpont. After six counties along the eastern shore of Virginia held elections for the state legislature on May 25, the New-­York Daily Tribune reported on May 27 that “the Disunionists” had “swept the State, as far as the returns have come in.”

  33.12 Strong arm of Millitary power] Lincoln had declared martial law and suspended the writ of habeas corpus in Kentucky on July 5, 1864, in response to the guerrilla warfare in the state.

  33.32 Genl. Palmer] Major General John M. Palmer (1817–­1900) commanded the Department of Kentucky, February 1865–­April 1866.

  34.1 you will not Remove Marshall Law] Johnson would issue a proclamation ending martial law in Kentucky on October 12, 1865.

  34.17 sold a slave] Slavery remained legal in Kentucky until the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment.

  34.34–37 Chas. A. Roxborough . . . Wm. F. Butler] In Louisville city directories from 1866–­71, Charles A. Roxborough is listed as a steward, Richard M. Johnson as a dry goods merchant, Henry H. White as a laborer, and William F. Butler as a steamboat steward.

  35.31–32 Brevet Brigadier General Hartwell] Alfred S. Hartwell (1836–­1912) had commanded the black 55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, 1863–­64, before becoming a brigade commander.

  35.34 Brig. Gen’l. Hatch’s] John P. Hatch (1822–­1901) commanded the Northern District of the Department of the South.

  43.24–25 Genl Saxton is the Asst Commissioner for S.C.] Brigadier General Rufus Saxton (1824–­1908) was the wartime Union commander in the South Carolina Sea Islands. Saxton served as assistant commissioner of the Freedmen’s Bureau for South Carolina from May 1865 to January 1866. He was relieved on Johnson’s orders for opposing the return of the abandoned coastal plantations reserved in January 1865 for settlement by freed people.

  44.32–33 the Supreme Court . . . unanimous decision] In the Prize Cases, decided 5–­4 on March 10, 1863, the majority ruled that Lincoln’s proclamation of April 19, 1861, had imposed a legal blockade on southern ports, while the dissenters held that a lawful state of civil war did not begin until July 13, 1861, when Congress authorized the declaration of a state of insurrection. Dana, the U.S. district attorney for Massachusetts, had appeared before the Court in the Prize Cases as lead counsel for the government.

  45.20–21 sinking the Alabama . . . Channel] The USS Kearsarge sank the Confederate commerce raider CSS Alabama off Cherbourg, France, on June 19, 1864.

  47.29–30 New Jersey . . . proposition of amendment] New Jersey rejected the Thirteenth Amendment on March 16, 1865, then ratified it on January 23, 1866, a month after it was declared in effect. In 1784 Thomas Jefferson proposed a plan of government for the western territory ceded to Congress under the Articles of Confederation. His plan included a proviso prohibiting slavery after 1800 in any new state formed out of the ceded territory, but his antislavery measure failed to win the required majority of seven states because of the illness of a New Jersey delegate.

  47.35–36 Louisiana . . . Kentucky] Louisiana ratified the Thirteenth Amendment on February 17, 1865; Kentucky rejected the amendment on February 24, 1865, and did not ratify it until March 18, 1976.

  50.32–33 Prof. Parsons] Theophilus Parsons (1797–­1882), the Dane Professor of Law at Harvard, 1848–­70.

  51.29–30 “Every turf . . . soldier’s sepulchre.”] Cf. lines 31–­32 of “Hohenlinden” (1802) by Thomas Campbell (1777–­1844).

  52.12–14 President Johnson . . . North Carolina] See Chronology, May 29, 1865.

  54.13–14 sown the wind . . . reap the whirlwind?] See Hosea 8:7.

  56.2 Gideon Welles] A former journalist from Connecticut, Welles (1802–­1878) served as secretary of the navy in the Lincoln and Johnson administrations, 1861–­69.

  56.7 Mr Hooper] Samuel Hooper (1808–­1875), a successful merchant, was a Republican congressman from Massachusetts, 1861–­75. Sumner would marry Alice Mason Hooper (1838–­1913), the widow of William Sturgis Hooper, Samuel Hooper’s son, in October 1866, but they separated in June 1867 and ­divorced in 1873.

  56.8 What you say . . . the Administration] Welles had written to Sumner on June 30, 1865, defending Johnson’s Reconstruction policy as being “within constitutional limitations” and arguing that the former Confederate states had not “forfeited their civil, territorial, or political rights,” including the right to determine their own suffrage qualifications.

  56.33 requirements of a republican govt.] Article IV, Section 4, of the Constitution provides that the “United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government.”

  57.18–19 Burke, “to turn . . . the Constitution,”] Cf. Edmund Burke (1729–­1797), in his speech in the House of Commons on American taxation, April 19, 1774: “are we to turn to them the shameful parts of our constitution?”

  57.28–29 oath of office . . . Congress] On July 2, 1862, Congress passed legislation requiring all federal civil and military officers to take the so-­called Ironclad Oath and swear that they had never voluntarily supported or aided the rebellion.

  60.14–15 the CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.] A former newspaper editor, Edward McPherson (1830–­1895) was a Republican congressman from Pennsylvania, 1859–­63. Defeated for reelection in 1862, McPherson served as clerk of the House from December 1863 until December 1875. When the Thirty-­ninth Congress met on December 4, 1865, McPherson, acting according to a plan devised by Representative Thaddeus Stevens, omitted the names of the representatives from the former Confederate states while calling the roll and refused to hear any Democratic objections. The Republican majority then elected Schulyer Colfax of Indiana as Speaker.

  61.22–23 potentates of Europe . . . our Continent] Napoleon III invaded Mexico in 1862 and installed the Austrian archduke Maximilian (1832–­1867) as emperor in 1864. Maximilian was overthrown and executed by the republican forces of Benito Juárez (1806–­1872) soon after the withdrawal of the last French troops in 1867.

  62.12 marked servitude . . . days of Ham.] See Genesis 9:18–­25. The “curse of Ham” was often used to justify enslaving black people because African peoples were listed among Ham’s descendants in Genesis 10:6–­20.

  63.1 Faneuil Hall appeal] The public meeting in Boston that Richard Henry Dana addressed on June 21, 1865 (see pp. 44–­55 in this volume) adopted several resolutions, including the following: “Resolved, That in reorganizing the rebel States, the safety of loyal citizens in those States, the stability of our government, and the claims of justice, require that none shall be allowed to vote who are not loyal, and that none should be expelled from voting because of their race or color.”

  64.18–19 Mr. Chase to say . . . worth fighting for.”] Montgomery Blair (1813–­1883), the eldest son of Francis Preston Blair, had served as postmaster general from 1861 until 1864. In a speech delivered at Clarksville, Maryland, on August 26, 1865, Montgomery Blair alleged that during a cabinet meeting held in March 1861 to discuss whether Fort Sumter should be resupplied, Chase had said: “Let the South go; it is not worth fighting for.”

  64.22 Essex Junto] A faction of conservative Massachusetts Federalists who opposed the presidential policies of both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

  64.26–29 carried a bill through congress . . . appealed to the people] On July 2, 1864, Congress passed a Reconstruction bill, sponsored by Ohio senator Benjamin F. Wade and Maryland congressman Henry Winter Davis, that required a majority of a state’s white male voters to swear allegiance before elections could be held for a new state constitutional convention. Suffrage in the new elections would be restricted to voters who took the “Ironclad Oath” swearing that they had never voluntarily supported or aided the Confederacy. After L
incoln pocket vetoed the bill, Wade and Davis published a manifesto denouncing the president on August 5, 1864.

  65.39–40 “out upon . . . fellowship”] 1 Henry IV, I.iii.208.

  71.2 Andrew J. Smith] Major General Andrew J. Smith (1815–­1897), the senior army occupation commander in Alabama.

  71.26 ocupation of Mobile] Union troops occupied Mobile on April 12, 1865.

  71.33 C. C. Andrews] Brigadier General Christopher C. Andrews (1829–­1922).

  71.34 Mayor Slough] Robert H. Slough (1820–­1872) was the mayor of Mobile, 1861–­65. On August 4, 1865, Major General Noah Swayne (1834–­1902), the assistant commissioner of the Freedmen’s Bureau for Alabama, ordered the civil courts in Alabama to accept the testimony of African Americans; failure to comply would result in cases being tried in military courts. After Lewis Parsons, the provisional governor appointed by President Johnson, issued a proclamation urging compliance with Swayne’s order, Slough resigned as mayor on August 14, 1865.

  72.28–30 the Methodists South . . . of their Zion] Before the war the black Zion Church congregation in Mobile had vested the title to its church building with white trustees due to legal restrictions on black property ownership. The trustees unsuccessfully attempted to take possession of the church in 1865.

  74.2 P. H. Anderson] A merchant and farmer, Patrick Henry Anderson (1823–­1890), was listed in the 1860 census as the owner of thirty-­two slaves.

  74.3 LETTER FROM . . . OLD MASTER.] The letter first appeared in the Cincinnati Commercial and was reprinted in the New-­York Daily Tribune on August 22, 1865. It was included by Lydia Maria Child in The Freedmen’s Book (1865), a collection of stories, speeches, and poems intended for use as a reader in schools for freed people.