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74.28 Mandy] Amanda McGregor Anderson (1828–1913), who had married Jordan Anderson in 1848.
75.18 V. Winters] Valentine Winters (1807–1890), a successful banker who had helped Jordan Anderson and his family settle in Dayton. It is possible that Winters collaborated with Anderson in writing the letter to P. H. Anderson.
76.3 Carl Schurz to Andrew Johnson] From July to September 1865 Schurz made an extensive inspection tour of the South on behalf of President Johnson, traveling through South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. During his trip Schurz sent thirteen letters and telegrams to the president, as well as five dispatches to the Boston Daily Advertiser.
76.23–24 report . . . the Provost Marshal at Selma] In his report, Major John P. Houston of the 5th Minnesota Infantry cited twelve cases in which whites had murdered blacks and characterized the killings as “but a small part of those that have actually been perpetrated.” Houston concluded that “the country is filled with desperadoes and banditti who rob and plunder on every side” and “is emphatically in a condition of anarchy.”
76.28–29 Capt. A. C. Haptonstall] Captain Abram C. Haptonstall of the 47th Illinois Infantry.
77.1 Maj. Genl. Woods] Major General Charles R. Woods (1827–1885) commanded the Department of Alabama, June 1865–May 1866.
77.7 Gov. Parsons] Lewis E. Parsons (1817–1895), a successful lawyer and Unionist, was appointed provisional governor of Alabama by Johnson on June 21, 1865. Parsons served as governor until December 20, 1865, when the legislature elected him to the U.S. Senate. The exclusion of the former Confederate states from the Thirty-ninth Congress prevented him from taking his seat.
77.11–12 Governor Parson’s own proclamation] In a proclamation issued on August 9, 1865, Parsons enjoined the citizens of Alabama to cease the widespread stealing of horses and cotton.
77.29 adjournment of the Convention.] The Mississippi state constitutional convention met from August 14 to 24, 1865.
78.3 Amos R. Johnson] Amos R. Johnston (1810–1879) was a lawyer and the editor of the Jackson Standard.
78.6–8 “If we do . . . Black Republicans.”] In fact, Johnston made these remarks during the convention debate over abolishing slavery, not the debate over repeal of the secession ordinance.
78.19–20 second section of the Amendment] The second section of the Thirteenth Amendment stated: “Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”
78.21–22 action of the Convention . . . abolition of slavery] On August 21, 1865, the convention adopted an article that read: “The institution of slavery having been destroyed in the State of Mississippi, neither slavery nor involuntary servitude otherwise than in the punishment of crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall hereafter exist in this State; and the Legislature at its next session and thereafter as the public welfare may require, shall provide by law for the protection and security of the persons and property of the freedmen of the State, and guard them and the State against any evils that may arise from their sudden emancipation.”
79.22–23 Genl. Osterhaus] Major General Peter Osterhaus (1823–1917) commanded the Northern District of Mississippi, June 1865–January 1866.
80.13–14 Gov. Sharkey’s . . . militia of the State] William L. Sharkey (1797–1873), a former state judge who had opposed secession, was appointed provisional governor of Mississippi by Johnson on June 13, 1865, and served until December 25, 1865. On August 19 Sharkey issued a proclamation calling for the raising of militia in Hinds and Madison Counties.
80.17 Gen’l. Osterhaus’ correspondence with Gov. Sharkey] Osterhaus told Sharkey on August 21 that no military organization not commanded by U.S. army officers could be permitted in the state.
80.19 Genl. Slocum’s Genl. Order No. 22] Major General Henry W. Slocum (1827–1894), commander of the Department of Mississippi, issued an order on August 24 revoking Sharkey’s militia proclamation.
82.9 Secretary of State] James R. Yerger (1840–1891).
82.17–21 Gen. Dana . . . Gen. McPherson] Major General Napoleon Dana (1822–1905) served on occupation duty in Mississippi, August 1864–May 1865. Major General James B. McPherson (1828–1864) was a corps commander under Grant during the Vicksburg campaign, 1862–63.
83.16–17 Genl. Slocum’s order . . . not be sustained] President Johnson overruled Slocum on September 2 and ordered him to let Sharkey form a militia.
87.24–25 Russia has just started] Serfdom was abolished in Russia in 1861 by Czar Alexander II (1818–1881).
92.3 Speech at Lancaster] Stevens had lived in Lancaster since 1842. The text of the speech is taken from the Lancaster Evening Express, September 8, 1865.
94.5 Semmes] Raphael Semmes (1809–1877) commanded the Confederate commerce raider Alabama, 1862–64.
94.29–31 “by an impartial . . . by law.”] From the Sixth Amendment.
95.2–3 Lord Russell] William Russell, Lord Russell (1639–1683), was convicted of treason and executed for his alleged involvement in the Rye House plot to assassinate Charles II and his brother James.
95.18–19 the court in the prize cases] See note 44.32–33.
97.7 Halleck . . . Hautefeuille] Henry Halleck (1814–1872), International Law, or, Rules Regulating the Intercourse of States in Peace and War (1861); Laurent-Basile Hautefeuille (1805–1875), French writer on international maritime law.
97.11 Vattel] Emerich de Vattel (1714–1767), The Law of Nations, Or, Principles of the Law of Nature, Applied to the Conduct and Affairs of Nations and Sovereigns (1760, originally published in French in 1758).
97.24 Capt. Wirz] Captain Henry H. Wirz (1823–1865) was the commandant of the Confederate prisoner of war camp at Andersonville, Georgia, from April 1864 until his arrest in May 1865. He was tried on multiple charges, including murder, and was hanged on November 10, 1865, the only Confederate officer to be executed for war crimes.
98.17–18 Fort Pillow and Fort Wagner] Confederate troops captured the Union outpost at Fort Pillow, Tennessee, on April 12, 1864, and killed hundreds of black soldiers trying to surrender. Black soldiers captured at Fort Wagner, South Carolina, on July 18, 1863, were threatened with possible execution or enslavement by Confederate authorities.
98.18–19 Sixty thousand . . . starved to death] About 30,000 Union prisoners died in Confederate prisons and camps.
98.22 corner-stone should be slavery,”] In a speech delivered at Savannah, Georgia, on March 21, 1861, Alexander Stephens (1812–1883), the Confederate vice president, said that the “corner-stone” of the new Confederacy “rests upon the great truth, that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery—subordination to the superior race—is his natural and normal condition.”
99.3 six millions of freedmen] The 1860 census recorded 3,950,528 slaves living in the United States, so the figure of “four millions,” used by Stevens at 104.34, is more accurate.
101.10–12 Grotius . . . Phillimore.] Hugo Grotius (1583–1645), Dutch writer on international law; Samuel von Pufendorf (1632–1694), German legal philosopher; Thomas Rutherford (1712–1771), British moral philosopher and legal scholar; Sir Robert Joseph Phillimore (1810–1885), British jurist and author of Commentaries on International Law (4 vols., 1854–61).
101.17 Theophilus Parsons . . . public speech] Parsons (see note 50.32–33) spoke at the meeting held at Faneuil Hall, Boston, on June 21, 1865.
102.22–23 Gen. Smith conquered . . . proclamation!] Brigadier General Alexander Smyth (1765–1830) issued a proclamation to his army in upstate New York on November 17, 1812, declaring that his forces would soon conquer Canada. His attempt to cross the Niagara River on December 1 failed because of poor preparation, and Smyth was relieved of his command.
102.27–30 Mr. Bancroft . . . feudal principles.] The historian George Bancroft (1800–1891) made this a
rgument in his memorial oration for President Lincoln, delivered in New York City on April 25, 1865.
104.17 Milesians] Irish immigrants, from the mythic ancestors of the Celtic population of Ireland.
104.36 the Blairs] Francis Preston Blair (see Biographical Notes) and his sons Montgomery (see note 64.18–19) and Frank (see Biographical Notes).
104.37–38 a single experiment] President Lincoln had signed a contract on December 31, 1862, with Bernard Kock, a cotton trader who proposed to transport 5,000 freed slaves to Île à Vache, a small uninhabited island off the southwest coast of Haiti. In April 1863 a ship carried 453 former slaves from Fort Monroe, Virginia, to the island, where attempts to establish a cotton plantation failed. Of the colonists, 88 died of hunger and disease, 73 fled to the Haitian mainland, and 292 returned to the United States on the relief ship Marcia Day, which docked at Alexandria, Virginia, on March 20, 1864.
105.12–13 say, as Mr. Lincoln . . . HAS COME!”] Lincoln replaced Montgomery Blair as postmaster general with William Dennison on September 23, 1864, as a conciliatory gesture to Radical Republicans.
106.3 “cold obstruction, and to death.”] Cf. Measure for Measure, III.i.118.
106.11 the Dorr case] Luther v. Borden, decided 8–1 on January 3, 1849, arose from the 1842 Dorr Rebellion in Rhode Island that led to the establishment of rival “People’s” and “Freeholder’s” state governments. The Supreme Court rejected the plaintiff ’s challenge to the legitimacy of the Freeholder’s government, ruling that it was a political question to be decided by Congress and not the judiciary.
108.8–9 Both parties . . . Albany, New York] The New York Democratic state convention was held in Albany on September 7, 1865, while the Republican state convention met in Syracuse on September 20.
108.11 “Dionysius the Tyrant,”] Dionysius (c. 430–367 B.C.E.) ruled Syracuse as a tyrant, 405–367.
108.12 murder of Mrs. Surratt] Mary Surratt (1823–1865) was convicted by a military commission of conspiring to assassinate President Lincoln and hanged on July 7, 1865, after President Johnson refused to grant clemency. She was the first woman ever to be executed by the federal government.
109.9–10 on October 2 . . . in Wisconsin.] State constitutional amendments extending suffrage were defeated on October 2, 1865, in Connecticut, 33,489–27,217, and on November 7 in Minnesota, 14,480–12,170, and in Wisconsin, 55,591–46,388. In Iowa, where the Republican platform called for amending the state constitution to permit black male suffrage, the Republican ticket carried the state on October 10, but with a significantly reduced majority.
109.33–34 convention of Massachusetts Republicans . . . Worcester.] The convention met on September 14, 1865.
111.31–34 Senator Hunter . . . Fort Monroe] Robert M. T. Hunter (1809–1887) was a congressman from Virginia, 1837–43 and 1845–47, and a senator, 1847–61. Hunter served as the Confederate secretary of state, 1861–62, and in the Confederate senate, 1862–65, and was one of the three peace commissioners who met with Lincoln at Hampton Roads, Virginia, on February 3, 1865. Imprisoned in Fort Pulaski outside of Savannah, Georgia, Hunter was granted a parole by Johnson on September 6, 1865. Clement Clay (1816–1882) was a senator from Alabama, 1853–61. Clay served in the Confederate senate, 1862–64, and as a Confederate agent in Canada, 1864–65. Accused of complicity in the assassination of President Lincoln, he was imprisoned in Fort Monroe, Virginia, until his release on April 18, 1866. An exiled Irish nationalist who supported the Confederacy, John Mitchel (1815–1875) edited the Richmond Enquirer, 1863–65. Mitchel moved to New York City after the fall of Richmond and became the editor of the pro-Confederate New York Daily News. He was arrested by the military on May 14 for aiding the rebellion and was imprisoned in Fort Monroe until his release on October 30, 1865.
111.35 Jefferson Davis’s trial has been delayed] Davis was eventually released on bail on May 13, 1867, while under indictment for treason. His trial was repeatedly postponed, and on December 25, 1868, Johnson issued a general amnesty proclamation that covered Davis, ending the case.
111.39–40 in 1862 . . . Chandler] Lieutenant Colonel Daniel T. Chandler (1820–1877) submitted an inspection report on Andersonville to the Confederate war department on August 5, 1864.
112.4 thousands . . . died at Andersonville] About 13,000 Union prisoners died in the camp.
112.7 General Lee . . . a college] Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) in Lexington, Virginia.
112.9–10 Magruder . . . Maury] Former Confederate officers Major General John B. Magruder (1807–1871), Major General Sterling Price (1805–1867), Brigadier General Trusten Polk (1811–1876), and Commander Matthew F. Maury (1806–1873). All four men returned to the United States by 1868.
113.4 Interview with President Johnson] The interview appeared in The New York Times on October 23, 1865.
117.2–3 1st U.S. Colored Infantry] Organized in the District of Columbia and mustered in on June 30, 1863, the regiment saw action in the fighting around Petersburg and Richmond, June–December 1864, and in North Carolina, January–April 1865. It lost four officers and 67 men killed or mortally wounded in battle; one officer and 113 men died of disease.
122.5–6 an order . . . Major General commanding] The order was issued by a provost judge acting under the authority of Major General Alfred H. Terry (1827–1890), the commander of the Department of Virginia, June 1865–August 1866. It sought to protect the rights of African Americans charged with violating a local curfew.
122.32–34 “clothed with a little . . . the angels weep!”] Cf. Measure for Measure, II.ii.118, 121–22.
122.37 father and brother] Lunar Whittlesey (b. 1795), a tutor, and Oscar Whittlesey (b. 1826), a lawyer.
125.9–10 restoring these lands to the former owners.] On January 16, 1865, Major General William T. Sherman issued Special Field Orders No. 15, reserving a coastal strip of abandoned and confiscated lands thirty miles wide from Charleston, South Carolina, to the St. John’s River in Florida for settlement by freed people. By the summer of 1865 about 40,000 former slaves were living on the 400,000 acres of land set apart by the order. (Some of the settlers worked their 40-acre plots with surplus mules provided by the Union army, possibly giving rise to the phrase “forty acres and a mule.”) In October of 1865 Johnson directed Oliver O. Howard, the commissioner of the Freedmen’s Bureau, to begin restoring the land covered by Special Field Orders No. 15 to owners who had taken the oath of allegiance. Howard visited Edisto Island on October 19 and told the freed people that their land would be returned. A committee of three men—Henry Bram, Ishmael Moultrie, and Yates Sampson—replied to Howard a few days later. Referring to Howard’s loss of his right arm at Fair Oaks, Virginia, in 1862, they wrote: “You ask us to forgive the land owners of our Island, You only lost your right arm. In war and might forgive them. The man who tied me to a tree & gave me 39 lashes & who stripped and flogged my mother & my sister & who will not let me stay In His empty Hut except I will do His planting & be Satisfied with His price & who combines with others to keep away land from me well knowing I would not Have any thing to do with Him If I Had land of my own.—that man, I cannot well forgive. Does It look as If He Has forgiven me, seeing How He tries to keep me In a condition of Helplessness.” The committee also wrote to President Johnson on October 28.
127.3 Nathan A. M. Dudley] Brevet Brigadier General Nathan A. M. Dudley (1825–1910) was superintendent of the Freedmen’s Bureau for the Memphis subdistrict.
129.3–4 Address . . . South Carolina] The convention met in Charleston, November 20–25, 1865, and was attended by more than fifty delegates. Its address was drafted by Richard Harvey Cain (see Biographical Notes).
130.32–37 Breathes there . . . foreign strand?] Walter Scott (1771–1832), “Lay of the Last Minstrel” (1805), canto VI.
131.16 Convention and Legislature] The South Ca
rolina state constitutional convention was held in Columbia, September 13–27, and the new legislature convened on October 25, 1865.
132.28 “a man’s a man for a’ that.”] From “Is There for Honest Poverty,” song (1795) by Robert Burns (1759–1796).
135.37 my Secretary of State.] An opponent of secession, James H. Bell (1825–1892) was an associate justice of the Texas supreme court, 1858–64, and secretary of state in the Texas provisional government, 1865–66.
136.6 address to the freedmen] Hamilton issued the address on November 17, 1865.
136.39 Rio Grande . . . for obvious reasons] Hamilton refers to the ongoing conflict in Mexico; see note 61.22–23.
138.3–4 Sidney Andrews . . . Since the War] In early September 1865 Sidney Andrews, a Washington correspondent for the Chicago Tribune and the Boston Advertiser, landed in Charleston, South Carolina. Andrews traveled through the Carolinas and Georgia until the beginning of December, then sailed north from Savannah. The South Since the War was published in the spring of 1866.
140.18–19 Mr. Wendell Phillips . . . “The South Victorious.”] Phillips first gave “The South Victorious” in Boston on October 17, 1865, and then repeated the speech in several New England cities. The speech attacked both Johnson and the Republicans in Congress for failing to push for black suffrage.
141.29–30 “Do men gather . . . figs of thistles?”] Matthew 7:16.
142.28–29 Howell Cobb] Cobb (1815–1868) was a congressman from Georgia, 1843–51 and 1855–57, governor of Georgia, 1851–53, secretary of the treasury, 1857–60, president of the Provisional Confederate Congress, 1861–62, and commander of Georgia state troops, 1863–65.
144.36–37 apples of Sodom] In the History of the Jewish War (c. 75), book IV, chapter VIII, Flavius Josephus (c. 37–c. 100) describes fruits growing near the burned land of Sodom that “have a colour, as if they were fit to be eaten; but if you pluck them with your hands, they dissolve into smoke, and ashes” (translated by William Whiston).