Reconstruction and its Benefits

W. E. Burghardt Du Bois

The American Historical Review, Vol. 15, No. 4. (Jul., 1910), pp. 781-799.

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TIIIi:c i5 dallger to-day that l~etween the intense feeling o f the 5011th ant1 the conciliator>- spirit of the North grave injustice \\ill he done the negro -American in the history of Reconstruction. Those who see in negro suffrage the cauie of the main evils of Recoastruction must remember that if there had not heen a single freedman left ill the South after the vial- the problemi of Recon- struction would still have been grave. Property ill slave5 to the extent of perhaps two thouiand million dollars had sudtlealy dis- appeared. One thousand five hundretl more million\, representing the Collfetlerate xi-ar debt, had largely disappeared T x g e amounts of real estate and other property had been destroyed, intlustry had been rlisorganized. 250,000 men had heen killed and many more maime(1. l \ 7 i t l ~this went the moral effect of a a ullsucces.ful war n-it11 all its letting tlo~vn of social 5tandards and quicltelling of hati-etl and discouragenlent-a situation ~\-hich \\ollltl nia'.re it (lift- cult untlcr any circumstances to reconstruct a new governmellt and a new civili7ation. ,Adtl to all this the presence of four millioll freedmen and the situatioll i; f ~ ~ r t h e r But this complicated. com-plication is very largely a matter of well-known historical causes. r lny huiilall being " doometl in his own person, and his posterity, to live ~vitliout kllonledge, and without the capacity to make anything his o n n , and to toil that another may reap the fruits ",' is hound. on sutltlen emancipation, to loo111 like a great dread on the l lo r i~oa .

Hen- to train and treat these ex-,laves easily l~ecame a central lx-ollletn of Recon\truction, although by no means the only prohlem. Three agencies untlertook the solution of this prohlem a t first and their influence is apt to be forgotten. IYithout them the p ro l~ len~s of Reconstruction I\-ould have been far graver than they ivei-e Theze agencies were: ( a ) the negro ch~~i -ch . ( b ) the negro scliool, and ( c ) the Freetlmell's Bureau. * l f ter the war the nhi te churches of the South got rid of their ~legi-o meml~ers ant1 the negro churcli organization5 of the Korth invaded the South. The 20.000 mem-l ~ e r s of the _African 3lethodist E p i s c o ~ a l Church in 1856 leaped to 75,000 in 1866ant1 200.000 ill 1876,while their property increasecl

Paper read a t the annual meeting of the .4merican Historical .4ssociatiorr in S e w \-ark. December, 1909.

'State e . hlann. Sort lz Caro1i)zn Rcports, 2 Devereux 26;.

(781)

sevenfoltl. The negro Eaptiits ivith I 30.000 memljer- in 18 j o had fully a half millioa in 1870. There n-ere, l~e fo re the end of Re-construction, perhaps ~ o , o o o local l~odies touching the majority of the freed population, centring allllost the whole of their aocial life, and teaching them organization ant1 autonomy. The!- lvcrc primitive, ill-governed, at times fantastic groups of human l ~ e i n g ~ . antl yet it is difficult to exaggerate the iafluence of this ne\v re-sl~o~~sibilit!--the first social institution fully controlled 11y black men in limerica, wit11 traditions that rooted hack to -1frica and ~v i th 110s- siljilities I\-hich make the 35,000 negro -\mcricail churches to-day. with their three and one-half million ~nemljers, the most pon-erful negro institutions ill the ~vorld.

T\.ith the negro church, but separate fro111 it, arose the .cho~)l as the first esl~ression cf the missionary activity of Sor the rn religious hod ie~ . Seltlom in the history of the worltl has an almost totally illiterate ~opu la t ion 11een given the lllealls of self-education in so sl~oi-ta time. The movenlent startetl ivith the llegroes t h c n l ~ e l v e ~ ant1 they colltill~~etl to form the dynamic force hehind it. " This great multitutle rose up si~ilultaneously and asked for intelligence.

. . ., ., l 'he etlucatio~l of thii mass hncl to begin at the top wit11 the training of tcacl~ers, ant1 withill a ~ C T Vyears a dozen colleges and nol-inai schools startctl; by 1877, 571,506 negro chiltlren wcre in school. Therc call 11e no doul~t that these schools \$-ere a great conservatix-e steatl!-ing force to ~vliicll the South owes much. I t must not he forgotten that anlong tht. agent. of the Freedmen's Eureau were not only .oltliers antl politician.;. I I I I ~ school-teachers ant1 etluca- tional leatlers like \\'are and Cravath.

C;rantetl that the situatioll was in any case hat1 and that negro churches ant1 schools stood as conservative e:lucative forces, hoiv far tlitl ncgro suffrage hintler progress, and was it expedient? T h e ditiicultic~ that stared Reconstruction politicialls in the face were these : ( a ) They must act quickly. (11) Emanc i~a t ion had i~lcreased the political power of the South hl- one-sixth: could this increased political pon-er he put in the hantls of those who, in defellse of slavery, hat1 disrupted the L h i o a l ( c ) I low was the .abolition of

slavery to be made effective? ( d ) IT-hat was to he the political position of the freed~llell?

r lndrew Johllson said ill 1864, in regard to calling a collvcn-tion to restore the state of Tennesee,

1~110511all restore a11d re-establish i t ? Shall the illail nho gave his influence and his Inealls to destroy the Government? Is 11e to partici- pate in the great work of re-organization? Shall he ~ h o brought this

Firs t (;enern1 Report of the Inspector of Schools. Freedmen's Bureau.

miser^ upon the State be permittetl to control its clestinies? If this be so, then all this precious ljlood of ollr b r a ~ e soldlers and officers so freely poured out \\ill ha\ e been n antonlj spilled."

T o settle tliese and o ther difficulties, th ree \vays were suggested: ( I ) the Freedmea ' s Bureau , ( 2 ) part ia l l iegro suffrage, a n d ( 3 ) full manhood suffrage f o r negroes.

T h e Freetlmen's I3ureau w a s a n at tempt to e,<tahlish a gov-erniilent guardialiship over the negroes antl inhure their econoniic ant1 civil right;. I t s estal~lishliient w a s a lierculeali task 110th physi- cally ant1 socially, aiid it not only iiiet tlie solid oppositioa of the n-liite South . 11ut even the Sort11 looked a t the ne\\- thing a s .ocial-istic an(l over-paternal. I t acco~iiplichetl a grezrt t a i k l ~ t i t it \vas reln~(liatetl . Car l Scl iurz in 1865 felt n.arranted ill -a>-ing

that not half of the laljor t!iat has been done in the soutli till? vtnr , or nil1 1)e tlo~ie there iiext \ e a r , ~ ~ o l l l d 1)e clone hut linve been or T T O L I ~ ~

for the euertiolis of the Freedmen's Bureau. . . . Ko other agency, ex- cept r.ne 11laccc'l there 11y the ~intic;nnl gover~lment, coldti have \\-ivlded that inoral l)o\r-er \\-hose interposition ]\.as so necessary to prevcnt the so~~tl ie l-n once :I general col-society from fallilrg nt into the chaos of licion bet~vven its differelit ele~iiviit...~

I io tn . i th~ tan t l ing t h i the 1:ureau n-as te:nporarj-, \\-a,< rcgartletl as a inakeshift antl so011 ahantloiietl.

l i e a ~ i t i m e , par t ia l ncgro s ~ ~ f f r a g e seemc(1 not olily just hu t almoqt inevitable. T,incoln in 1864 " cautiou.1~- suggested " t o Louisialia's pr ivate consideration, " n.liet1ier sonic of the colored people m a y ilot 11e let in, a > , f o r instalice, t h e vcr\- intelligent, a n d e5pecially those ~ v l i o liavc fought gallantly ill o u r ranks. T h e y \x--o~~ldprobably help, in some trying t ime to come, to keep the jewel of liberty in tlie faliiily of frcetlom."'; Ititlcc(1, the " fainilY of frect lom'? in Lou-. .islana l x i n g ..oillc\\-llat ,.mall juqt then. xvho elye \\-:is tee 11e ill-t rusted wit11 the " je\vel " ? L a t e r ant1 f o r different r e a > o n . John- son in I 865 \\-rote t o 11issis.;ilq~i:

If you coultl extend the elective franchise to all llersons of color ~ v h o can rent1 the Constitution of the Uniteti States in English anti \\-rite their names, and to all persons of color n-110 own real (,state v a l ~ ~ e t lat not less than tn-o hundred anti fifty clollars, and pay taxes thereon, you woulcl completely clisarm the nclversary antl svt an example the other States \\-ill folloxv. This you can (lo with perfect safety, ancl yoti t1111s place the southern States, in reference to free persons>of color, upon the same basis with the free States. I hope nncl t r ~ ~ s t con-your vention n-ill do this.'

LIcPhersoil. Rrcoi~str.ilctio~i,13. 46. Y c h u r z . Report to the President. 186j . Sciintc. E.T. DOC. .\.o. r . 39 Cong.,

sess.. p. 40. " 1,etter to Hahn . March 13. 1IcPhersoil. p. 20.

' Johnson to Sharkey. August I j. Ibi i i . . 1). 10.

I

I\leantime the negroes themselves began to aqk for the suffrage- the Georgia Con\-ention ill Augusta. 1866, advocatiilg " a proposi-tion to give those n.110 could \Trite antl read well, and possessed a certain property qualification, the right of suffrage ". The reply of the South to these suggestioils was decisive. I n Tennessee alone waq any action attempted that e\-en suggested possible negro suf-frage in the future, and that failed. I n all other states the " Elack Codes " adopted viere certainly not reassuring to friencls of free-dom. T o be qure it was not a titne to look for calm, cool, thoughtfuI action on the part of the white South. Their economic coildition \\-as pitial~le, their fear of negro freedom genuine; yet it vias reasoil- able to expect froill them something less than repression and utter rcaction t o ~ ~ a r d T o some extent this expectation vias ful- slavery. filled: the abolition of slavery \\-as recognized and the civil rights of owning property and appearing as a \%-itness in cases in ~ v h i c l ~ he was a party were generally granted the negro; yet ~ v i t h these \vent in many cases 11arsh and unbearable regulations which largely neu-tralized the concessions and certainly gave ground for the as-surnptioil that once free the South \\-ould virtually re-enslave the negro. The colorecl people themiel\-es naturally feared this and protested as in 1Iiisisiippi " againit the reactionary policy pre-vailing. antl erpre~.ing the fear that the Legislature \\-ill pass such proqcriptive l a ~ ~ s ill drive the freeclmcn from the State. or prac-as tically re-cnrlave them ".S

The Cocles spoke for themsel\-e5. They have often heen re-printetl and cluoted. S o open-minded student can read then1 with- out being conviilced that they ineailt ilothing lllore nor le5s t h a i ~ slaver> in daily toil. Not only this hut as Professor Eurgess (\v110111 no one accuses of being negrophile) says :

Allmost ever) act, worcI or gesture of the Segro, not consonant with goocl taqte anti goocl inanners as well as ~oocl morals, nns made a crime or misdemeanor, for nhich he coultl first be finecl b~ the innqistrntes and then be consigneti to a conclition of almost slaver) for an indefinite time, i f he could not pa) the bill.

These laws luight have heen interpreted and applied liberally, but the picture painted by Carl Schurz does not lead one to anticipate this :

Some planters held bacb their former slnws on their plantations by brute force. A2rmetl bnncls of nhite men patrolletl the country roads to clrixe back the negroes nantlering about Deacl botiies of rnurdered negroes \\ere founcl on anti near the highwa? s anti by-paths Gruesome reports came froin the hosprtals-reports of coloreti men ancl women \\hose ears hacl bee11 cut off, nhose skulls had been broken by blows,

October 7 , 186;.

ivhose boclies had bee11 slashed by knives or lacerated \\-it11 scourges. h 11u1nberof such cases I 11at1 occasion to examine myself. A veritable reign of terror prevailecl in many parts of the South. The negro fount1 scant justice in the local courts against the xvhite man. I-Ie could look for protection only to the military forces of the United States still gar- r i s o ~ l i ~ l gthe "S ta tes lately in r e h e l l i o ~ ~ "and to the Freetimen's Bureau.

-211 things considered, it seeins prohable t h a t if t h e S o u t h liacl

been permit ted t o have its \yay i n 1865 the harslines, of negro

slavery mould have been niitigated so a s t o m a k e s lai c-trading tliffi- cult, a n d t o make it pos5ible f o r a negro t o hold propert)- a n d appear ill soiile cases in c o u r t ; bu t tliat ill mos t o ther respects tlie black< n ould have remained in slavery.

\\.hat could prevent tlli,? ,\ Freedmen ' s Bureau , established

f o r tcn, t n e n t y o r for ty years wit11 a careful distribution of lailtl a n d capital a n d a system of education f o r the cl i i ldrei~, might have

prevented such a n extension of slavery. I3ut t h e count ry I\-ould

not listen t o such a compreliensive plan. -1 restricted g r a n t of the

s u e r a g e voluiltarily inade by tlie s ta tes would have beell a reassur-

ing proof of a desire t o t reat tlie f reedmen fairly, a n d n.ould haye

balancctl, in par t a t least, the increasecl political pol\-er of the South .

T h c r e w a s n o such disposition evident. O n the o ther hand , there

was ground f o r t h e conclusion in the Reconstruct ion report of June

18, 1866, tliat so f a r a s slavery was concerned " the language of ail tlie provisions a n d ordiilances of these S ta tes o n tlie subject amounts t o nothing illore t h a n ail ~invi i l l ing adnlission of a n unvielcome truth." T h i s w a s of course natural , hu t w a s it unna tura l tliat the

Sort11 should feel tliat better guarantees \\-ere needed t o abolish s lavery? Car l Schui-z wro te :

I deem it proper, hoivever, to offer a ieiv remarks on the assertion frequently put forth, that the franchise is likely to be extenclecl to the coloretl inan bj- the voluntary action of the Southern ivhitrs themselves. hly obseri-ation leads me to a contrary opinion. Asicle from a very feiv enlightened men, I found but one class of people in favor of the en-frallchiselnent of the blacks: it ivas the class of Unionists ivho found themselves politicallj- ostracised anti looked upon the el~franchisement of the loyal negroes as the salvatioll of the whole loyal element. . . . The masses are strongly opposecl to colorecl suffrage; anybody that dares to ativocate it is stig~natizecl as a dangerous fanatic.

The only manner in ivhich, in my opinion, the souther^^ people can 11e induced to grant to the freedman some measure of self-protecting poiver in the forin of suffrage, is to make it a condition precedent to " read~nission".'

"eport to the President, 1865. Sc!iate E.Y.Doc. .Yo. 2, 39 Cong., I sess., P 14.

E r e n in Louisiana, uncler the p ropoied reconstruct ioi~

not one ncgro xl-as allowetl to vote, though a t that 1-ery tinle the wealthy intelligent free colored people of the state paitl taxes on property asscssetl a t $r~,ooo.ooo and inany of them n-ere well k n o \ \ - ~ ~ for thcir patriotic zeal ant1 love for the Union. Thousands of colorecl Inell n-hose homes n-ere in Louisiana. serl-etl hravely in the national army antl nay>-, ant1 many of the so-calletl negroes in S e w Orleans could not 1)e clistinguisl~etl by the nlost intelligent strangers from the hest class of xvhite gentlemen, either by color or manner. clress or language, still, as it \\-as b;no\v11 by tratlition ant1 common fame that they n-cre not of pure Caucasian t l esce~~t , they could not vote."

T h c l'nitctl S ta tes government inigllt i ~ o ~ v onehave takcn a n y of thrce courses :

I . Allon-etl the whites to reorganize the states and take no measures to enfranchise the freedmen.

2. .\llon.ctl the whites to reorganize the states h11t provicletl that after the lapse of a reasona1,le length of time there should he 110 dis-crin~ination in the right of s ~ ~ f f r a g e on account of " race, color or previ- ous conditinll of sen-itude ".

3. Atlmitted all mrn , hlacli and \\-hite, to take part in reorganizing- the states ant1 then provitlecl that future restrictions on the suffrage shoulrl 11e nlatle on any ljasis except " race, color and previous contiitio~l of serl-itude ".

T h e fir-t course \\-as clear l j inadmi55ible since it meant vlr tual l j gixitlg u p the grea t principle on xvhich t h e n a r xvas largely fought antl n o n , i. c., hunlan freetlonl; a giving of f reedom n h i c h con-tentccl it5elf nit11 ail edict, antl the11 tu rned the " f reed '' slave5 over t o the tender mercies o f their impoverished a n d a n g r y ex-masters \\-as n o gif t a t all. T h e secoiltl courqe n-as theoretically at t ract ive but practically impoqs~ble. I t nleant a t least a prolongation of hlaverj a n d inqteatl of a t tenlpts t o raise the frectlmen, it gave t h e \I hite c o n ~ m u n i t j 5trong incentives f o r keeping t h e blacks tlon n so

that a. f ew a s possible noul t l e l e r qual i fy f o r the suffrage. X\~egro school- \vould have been tliicouraged a n d ecoilonlic fet ters ~ ~ o u l t l hnvc hilt1 the 1)lack m a n a s a serf f o r an indefiilite time. (111 the o ther hantl, the a rg~uments f o r tmivcrsal ilegro suffrage froin t h c s ta r t I\ ere btrong ant1 a1 e <till s t rong, ant1 110 one ould cluestion their s t rength n e r e it not f o r the aqsun~pt ion tha t the evperiineilt failetl. l 'redcrick Dougl;i*5 ,aitl to Preqident Johnson . " Y o u r noble ant1 h ~ m l a n e predecessor ~ ~ l a c e c lin o u r ha~l t l s the q1vortl to assist in saviilg the ilation, a n d we d o hope that you , hi. able suc-cessor. ~v i l l favorably regard the placing in o u r hailtli. the l ~ a l l o t wit11 which t o save oui-selve\."l1 -And n-hen Johnson deinurred

Erenster . S k c t c i l e s o f S o i r f i i o 11 , 21ys foy T i c a s o l t , allif Ai'ii~dcl-, p. 116. "Frederick Douglass to Johnson, February 7 . 1866. RIcPhersor~,p. 5 2 .

on a c c o ~ i n t of tlie lio-tility bet \ \een l)lacl;i ant1 poor \ \ -h~te \ , :i com-mittee of 111-omine~lt colorctl men repliecl :

17ven if it ~ ~ - c r e of the lilaclis true, as you allege, that the hostility townrtl the poor \vhitcs must necessarily project itself into a state of frcetlom, :rntl that this enmity bctn-ecn the tn-o r:rces is ?\-en more in-tilise in n state of freetlom than in a state of slavery, in the name of 'Ttal-en. 11-e reverently ask, how can you, in ~ i c n - of your professed de- sire to 1)rornote the \\-elinre of the bl;lck tnan. tleprive him of all means of tleiencc, ant1 clothe h i n ~ n-horn you rcgartl as his cnemy in the panoply o f liolitical po~vcr?"

Carl S c h ~ i r z espreqsetl this a rgument most enlphatically:

The cmnncipat~on of the slaves is su1)mitted to only in so fa r ;Is cha t~e l slavery In the oltl form coultl not he kept up Eut a l t h ~ u g h the f reedn~an 1s no lonqer cons~dered the propert! of the indiv~tlual master, he 1s co~~s l ( le red the slave of s o c i e t ~ , and all independent State legisla- tion \\-ill s11:rre the tendency to make him such.

7'hc solution of the problem ~ ~ o u l t l very much f:rcilitatetlhe by enabling all the lo!-a1 and free-labor elements in the south to exercise a healthy influence upon legisl:rtion. I t IT-ill hardly be possible to secure the frcetlman against oppress i~e class legislation and private persccut io~~, u~lless lie be cntlo\ved \\-it11 n certain measure of political p o ~ e r . ' ~

T o tlie a r g ~ i n c l l t of i g ~ l o r a n c e Scl iurz replied :

T h e cffect of the extension of the fra~lchise to the colored people upon the tlcve~opment of free lahor and upon the security of human r ig l~ t s in the south being the principal object in vicn-, the objec-tions raisctl 011 the grountl of the ignorance of the freeclmen become unitnportant. Practical liherty is n gooti school. . . . I t is idle to say that it will 11e time to speak of ncgro suffrage n-hen tlie ~vholc colored racc \\-ill be ctlucated, for tile ballot may he ncccssary to him to secure his etlucation."

T h e 21-antiny of full negro quffrage meant one of two alter-n::ti\c. t o tlie S o ~ i t l i .i a i the u l ~ l i f t o f tlie Ilcgro f o r sheer self-~ x - c s c l - ~ - n t ~ o ~ i ; 1~11,it Scli~ii-7 ant1 tlic ~ a n e r Sort11 es]>ectctl: t l~i i . i- a s o l ~ c Southern s u l ~ e i - i n t e n t l e ~ ~ t "Yaitl . the ele\at ion of this class is a mat te r of pr ime impc>rtance ,ince a l~a l lo t in the I ~ a n t l s of a black cit17en i i c ju~tc a - ~ ~ o t e n t a - ~n the Iiantls of a \vliite one." O r (I)) a tletcrii~intcl concentration of souther^^ effort 11y actual force to tleprive the negr-o of the l~a l lo t01- n ~ i l l i f y it; u-e. 71'l~isi s wha t

h a l ~ l ~ e n e t l ,1)ut even in thii. case s o 111~ich energy was taken in keep- ing tlie negro f r o m voting tha t the plan f o r k c e l ~ i n g hi111 in \ii-tual slavery a1ic1 denying l i i l~ l eclucatio~l failecl. I t took tell years to

' ~ I c P h e r s o n .p. 56. '"Report to the President. 186;. Scl iofc E.Y.Doc. S o . s . 39 COII~ . ,I sess..

1'. 45. " Ibiii.. p. 33 .

null i fy negro suffrage in par t a n d tn-enty years to escape the fea r of fctleral intervention. In these txvent) ) e a r s a vast number of

1legroi.y liatl !-Isen so f a r a s t o escape s l a ~ e r ) f o r e ~ e r . Debt peonage coulcl be fastenecl on par t of the ru ra l South , a n d was, bu t e \en here tlic nixv negro landholder appeared. Tht is despite ever] thing t h e 1:ifteenth d i n ~ e n t l n ~ e ~ l ta n d tha t a lone s t ruck t h e death knell of slaver].

TJ'l~e stells tha t entlc>tl in t h e F ~ f t i e n t h ln lendmcnt n e r e not , ho\ve\ cr, taben sutldenl] . 'The n igroes \Yere gix en the right 11y u~livei-sal suf irage t o j o ~ n in reconstr~ict i i lg the s tate g o v e r n m e ~ l t s a11d tlle reasons f o r it were c o g e n t 1 set f o r t h in t h e report of tile Joint Committee o n Reconstruct ion in 1866, \vhich began a s f o l l o n s :

X large proportion of the popu1,ltion had hecome, instead of mere chattels, free men ant1 citizens. Through all the past struggle these had remainetl true and lol, al, and had, in large numbers, fought on the side of the Unio t~ . I t was impossible to abandon then1 ni thout securing them their rights as free men and citizens T h e whole civilized norlcl nould have cried out against such base ingratitude, and the bare idea 1s offeil\lvc to all right-thinking m c t ~ Hence it became important to incluisc \ \hat coultl be clone to secure their r igl~ts , cixil anil political.'"

T h e report tllen proceedecl t o emphasize t h e increased political p o n e r of tlie S o u t h a n d reco~nme~idec l the F o u r t e e ~ i t h A i m e ~ l t l ~ n e n t , since

I t appvaretl to your committee that the rights of these persons hp w11om the 11asis of representation had heen thus iilcreased should be recognizeil by the General Governlneilt. \\.hilt slaves, they n-cre not considered as having any rights, civil or political. I t did not seein just o r proper that all the political advantages clerivetl fro111 their becoming f ree sl~onld be confined to their former masters, ~ v h o Ilad fought against the Union, and \vitl~held from themselves, xvho had aln-ays been loyal.lG

I t \vas so011 seen tha t this expedient of the Four teen th + i m e ~ l d - I I I C I ~ ~\\-as going t o prove abort ive and t h a t d e t e r ~ i l i ~ l e d ancl organ- ized effort n oulcl be used t o deprive the freeclmell of t h e ballot. Tl iereupon the Uni ted S ta tes said the final \vord of s i~ i lp le justice, n a ~ n e l >: tlie s ta tes m a y still regulate the suffrage a s they please b u t they ma!- no t deprive a m a n of tlie r ight t o vote simply because h e is a negro.

F o r > u c l ~ reasons the negi-o 11a s e~ i f i -a~ lch ised .T\'hat n a s the

resu l t? S o language h a s been spared t o t l esc r~be these results a s t h e n o r s t imaginable. S o r is ~t nece-sary t o dispute f o r a n lon le~i t tha t there w e r e bacl results, and bad results ar is ing f r o m negro

suf f rage ; bu t it nlay be cluestioned if t h e resul ts were a ? had a < painted o r if ncgro suffrage w a s t h e prilne cause.

Hoilsc Reports .Yo. 30, 39 Cong., I sess., p. xiii. I l l l ~ l .

Reconsfrztctio~zand its Befzefits 789

Let us not forget that the \vhite South believed it to be of vital i n t c r e ~ t to it, \\-elfare that the experiment of ilegro suffrage s110~1ld fail ignominiously, and that altliost to a 111a11 the \i-hitcs \\-ere \i-illing to insure this fatlure either by active force or passive acquiescence; that bcqitle thii, there were, as might be expected, men, black and i\hite. Sor thern and Souther i~ , 0111) too eager to take atlvantage of -uch a qituation for feathering their o\x711 nest< . The reqults in such case had to be evil but to charge the evil to negro suffrage is unfair. It may be charged to anger, poverty, venality, and ignorance; but the anger and poverty were the almost incvttable aftermath of war ; the venality \\-as much greater anlong \i-hitcs than negroes, and 11 hile tgnorailce as the curqe of the ncgroes, the fault ti a i not theii-q, alld the! took the initiative to correct it.

The chief charges against the negro governments are extrava-gancc, theft, and incompetency of officials. There is no scriou. charge that t11e.e governmentq threatened civilizatioil or the founda- tions of social ortler. The charge is that they threatened propert), and that they \ \ere inefficient. These chargcq are in part u11-tlo~~l>tetll)true, but they are often exaggerated. \Yl1cn a man ha< , in hii opi i~ioi~ , been robl~cd and nlaltreatecl he is sen.;itive about mone! mattt rq The South had been terribl) impoverished and sacltllctl \\it11 ne\x7 social burdens. In other \i-orcls, a state \\-it11 smaller rcqources n a s aslted not only to do a n o r k of reqtoration but a larger ~ o c i a l 11ork. The propert) -holders \iere aghast. They not onl\ tlcnlui-red, but, predicting ruin ancl re1 olution, the) appealed to secret societies, to intimidation, force, ancl murder. They re-fused to believe that these novices in government and their friends \\ere aught but scainps and fools. Under the circumstance^ occur-ring clirectl~ after the nai- , the \\~iscst statesman \voultl have bccu coil~pellcd to reqort to increased taxation and would in turn have lxen e\ecrated as extravaqant and e l en diqhoncst. \\Tllcn 110\x7. in atldition to this, the new legislators. ~ v l ~ i t e and black, \ \ere un-do~~btecllyin a large number of cases extravagant, diihonest, and incompetent, it is easy to see \\-hat flaming and illcredible stories of Reconstruction governments could gain \vide currency and belief. 111 fact, the extravagance, although great, \\-as not universal, and mucli of it n a s clue to the extravagant spirit pervading the \\-hole country in a day of inflated currenq- and speculation. The ignor- ance \x7as deplorable but a deliberate legacy from the pa,t, and some of the extravagance and mucli of the effort was to remedy this ignorance. The incompctcnc~ \\as ill part real and in part empha- qizcd by the attitude of the \\7hitcs of the better claqq.

A\[. HIST. REV., VOL YV.-Sj .

\\-hen incompetent\ gain, polltical po\ver in an extravagant age the result iq ~v~despreacl d~shoiicst\-. T h e dishonesty in the recon-struction of the South I\ a s helped 011 by three circumstances :

I . The fonner clishoneqty in tlie political South. 2. Tlie prcseilce of many diqhoilcst Sor thc rn politicians. 3. The tc~llptatioil to Soutlicrii politicians at once to profit by

clisl~onest\ and to diqcrctlit negro government. 4. The povertl of the ncgro. ( I i Dishonesty in public life ha< no nlonopol\ of time or place

in Ximerica T o take one statc: I11 1839 it \ \ a s rcported in l l i s - siqsippi that nincty per cent. of the fine< collected by sheriffs and clerks \yere unaccounted for. I n 1831 the state treasurer ackno\vl- edges himiclf " at a 10si to tleterllliile the preclse liabilltics of the qtate and her means of paying the same". A\nd in 183cj the auditor's books had not been posted for elghtccn moiitl~s, no entries made for a \ ea r , and no voucliers examined for three \ears . Con-gresq gave Jefferson College, Natclicz, more than 40.000 acres of land; bel'ore the u a r tlils \\711olc property had " disappeared" and the college \ \as closetl. Congreqs gave to llissiqsippi among other .tatei the " 16th qection" of the public lands for schools. I n thirty year. the procectls of this lantl in llissis.;~ppi n c r e e~nbezzled to tlie amount of at lcaqt one ant1 a half i~~i l l io i l iof dollars. I n Col~unbus, l l iqqi~sippi, a recelver of public inone\ s stole Xroo,ooo anrl rcilgnetl. II is .uccc,.or stole $j;.ooo, and a treaiury agent I\ rote. " .\nother r e c e i ~ e r in thc foot\tcps of \I ould p robab l~ f o l l o ~ ~ the t\vo 170u 11111 not be surprised if I hisr e c o ~ ~ ~ i i ~ e t l dbeing retained ill preference to another appointment " From 1830 to 1860 Southern men in federal offices alone enibczzled illore than a million dollar\-a f a r larger sum then than non . There t ~ ~ i g h t ha1 e been less stealing in the South cluring Reconstruct~on without ncgro suffrage but it is certainly highly inqtructivc to remember that the inark of the thief \ \ h i c l~ dragged its slinlc across nearly every great Sor thc rn i tate and alillost up to the presiclciltial chair could not certainly in those caqeq be charged against the vote of black men. T h i i \ \as the clay when a national secretary of l i a r was caught stealing, a vlce-president pre\urnably took bribes, a private yecrctary of the president, a clilcf clerk of the Treasury, and eighty- six government officials stole millions 111 the \illiskey frauds, \vhile the Credit Alobilier filched fifty ~llillioils and bribed the government to an extent never full)- revealed; not to mention less distinguisliecl thieves like T\veetl.

Is ~t surprising that in such an atnlosplicrc a 11e\x7 race learning the a-b-c of govcrllillellt should have become the tools of thieve\?

Z2eco?zst~ztctiona?zd its Benefits 791

_\ntl \\-hen they (lit1 was the stealing their fault or was it justly chargeable to their cnfranchiicrnci~t ?

Cntloubtctlly there were illally ritliculou~ things connected \I it11 Reco11,truction go\ ernnlcnts : the placing of ignorant field-l~ailcls \vho coultl neitller read nor 11rite In the lcgiklature, the gold \l~ittoon.; of South Carolina, the enormous public printing bill of llisiisiil~l>i- all these were c\travagant antl f u n n \ , and j e t ioillello\\, to oile \\ 110 iees beneat11 all that is bizarre. the real 1111man traqctl! of the up\\-art1 ~ t r i v i n g of <lo\\ 11-trotltlen men, the groping for light amollg people born in tlai-kncs,, there i i less tcntlenc~ to laugll antl gibe than amoilg ,hallo\\ el- mintls antl caiier collicicnce.. A11 that is funn\ 1. not bad.

Then too a careful exanliilation of the alleged itcaling in tllc South rcveali much. Fir.t, there is rcpeatetl exaggeration. For illstance it is saitl that the taxation in 1Iississippi \\-as fourtceil time; as great in 1873 as ill 1869. Thi.; sountls staggering until we learn that the state taxation in 1809 was only tell cents on one huntlretl tlollari, antl that the expellie5 of go~ernnleil t in 1874 were oi11y t\\.icc a. grcat as ill 1860, ant1 that too with a tleprcciated currency. I t coultl certainly be arguetl that tlle state g o ~ c r n m c n t ill llissi,iippi 11a \ tloing enougll atltlitioilal \I ork 111 1873 to \I ar-rant greatl!. incrcasccl c0.t. A Southcril white 11i.torian ackno\vl-edge, that

t he \vork o f restoration \\-hich t h e gol-ernment xvas ol~ligetl t o untlertake. matle increasetl c spenses necessary. I111ring t he 1)eriotI o f t h e \\-ar, ant1 f o r several years t he rea f t e r . ~ ) u l ~ l i c l~u i ld ings allti s tate inst i tut ions \yere ~)crinit tet! t o fall in to tlccay. T h e state housc ant! g r o u n t ! ~ , t h c execu t i ve mansion , t he ~ ) e i ~ i t e n t i a r y , t h e insanc a sy lum, and the 1)uiltlings f o r t h e I~ l i nd , ( l e a f , antl t l ~ l m b \yere i n a tlilapitlatetl contlition. ant1 hat1 t o 1)c ex te i~ t lc t l ant1 repaired. -4 nc\\- building f o r t he 1)lind \\-as 1)urchased antl fittetl up . 'l'hc reconstructionists cstablisl~etl a public school sys tem ant1 spent m o n e y t o mainta in antl s u l ~ ~ ~ o r t i t , ~ ) e r h a p s t oo f r ee l y , i n l-ic\v o f t he i m p o v e r i s h m e ~ ~ t o f t he peo1)lc. \\71~en they toolc l~o l t l , \\-arrai~ts \\-ere n o r t h 1)ut s i x t y or seventy cents o n the tlollar, a f ac t \~-h ich mntle t he price o f l~ui l t l ing materials used i n t h e \\-orlc o f construction cor-res~)on( l ingly h igher . S o f a r as t h e conduct o f state off icials \~-Ilo \\-ere i i~ trus tc t l w i t h t hc custotly o f public f u ~ ~ t l sis concernctl, it m a y 11e said that thcre were n o great embczz l cmen t s or o ther cases o f 1nisa1)pro- riati ti on dur ing t he l~cr io t l o f Repu l~ l i can rule."

The state tlel~t of llississippi \\-as saitl to have beell increasetl froin a half million to t\\-enty million when in fact it hat1 not beell increase~l at all.

The cllaractcr of the real tllieving sho~vs that ~vh i t e men must

"Garner . Rcco11stri~ctiol1 ill Adississippi, p. 322.

have beell the chief beneficiaries and that as a fernier South Caro- lina slaveliolder said :

T h e legislature, ignorant a s it is, could not have been b r ~ b e d n ~ t h o u t Illoney, that niust h a r e been f u r n ~ s h e d f rom some source that ~t is our duty to discover. X legislature com1)osed cllieflj of our fornler s lares has been bribed. One 1)rominent f e a t ~ l r e of this transaction i i the par t \ ~ h i c h n a t ~ v e Caro l~n ians have pla jed 111 i t , sonic of our o\Tn household men n h o m the state, in the past, ha, de l~gh ted to honor, a1)pealing to their c u ~ ) ~ t l i t jand avarice make them the instruments to effect the robbe:-y of their imporerished n h i t e brethren. O u r fo r~ l l e r slaves have been bribed by these men to gixe them the privilege by laxv of pluntler- ing the property-holders of the state."

The character of much of the stealing sho~vs n h o mere the thieveq. The frauds through the manipulation of state and rail11 a! bo~ lds and of bank-notcs ~ l l u i t have inurcd chiefly to the bellefit of

experienced white men, and this must have beell largely the casc in the furni<hing am1 printing frauds. I t n a s chicfly in the ex-travagance for " sundries and incidentals" and direct money pa?- ments for votes that the ilegrocs received their share.

Tha t the ilegroes led by astute thieves became tools and receiveti a s~nal l share of the spoils is true. Eut trio coni.ideratioils mu5t be added: much of the legislation nhich resulted in fraud I\ a -rcpre,eiitcd to the negroes a< good legislation, and thus their voti,. were qccurcd by tleliberate mi~reprcsenta t io i~ . Take for initancc the lailtl fraud< of South Carolina. _\n i se iicgro leader of tliat state, atllocatiilg the state purcliasc of lantls. saicl:

One of the greatest of sla\er! l ~ u l n a r k s \ \as the infernal plantation system, one nlnn onn ing his thousantl, another 111s t n e n t v , n~ lo the r fiit~ thousantl acres of lantl. Th i s is the onl! wa! by \\hich xre n111 hreak 1111 that s! .tern, ant1 I maintain that our freetlom xvill lie of no effect ~f \ \e alloxv it to continue. \I hat is the main cause of the 1)rosy)erity of the N o r t h ? I t is because ever! man has his oxvn f a r m and is f ree and indepentlent. Le t the lantls of the South be s~milarl! divitletl.

1;rom quch argullieiits the negroes \iere induced to aid a scheine to bu\ land and distribute i t ; \ c t a large part of $8oo,ooo appi-ci-priated \ \ a s \vasted to the 11hite landholtler's ~~oc l \ e t ,and ~ ~ e t l t T h e railroad schel~lcs n e r e in most cases feasible and eventually carried out ; it \\-as not thc object but the mcthod that \\ as 11rang

Granted then that the ilegroes 11ere to sollie evtciit venal but tn

a much larger extent ignorant and deceived, the clue<tion is: tl~tl they shorv any signs of a tlispoiition to learn better thingq? Tile

theory of tlemocratic goverilment is not that the nil1 of the people is always right, but rather that norlnal hui~laii being. of a lerage

i~~tc l l ig i . :?ce\\.ill, i f g iven a cliniice, lear-11 t h e r ig l i t ancl 11c.t cot i rse

I,!. 11itti.r c ~ ! > c ~ - i c n c e . T h i s is preciii.l!- \ \ . l ~ a t t l ie l i eg ro v o t e r s ;lie\\ c ~ l intlu1)itnl)le sign.; o f do ing . IGl-ht, t!lcy t r o v c f o r s choo l s

t o :il)irli,li n ~ l t l , , ccond, n l a r g e n ~ i t l g ro \ \ i i i q nuinl )eri g i ~ ~ ~ r a ~ l c c ,

o f t l i e ~ i i rcvoltc(1 a g a i n i t t l ie c a r ~ l i v a l o f c \ t r a \ a g a n c e ant1 5tc:tlinq t l la t nial-l-etl tlic 1)cginnirig o f Rccc,n.;truction. ;in11 joinctl \\.it11 t l ie

hc-t e l i m c n t , t o in,titllte r e f o r - m ; ant1 t h e grcnt i ,c t s t i g m a oil t i le

a ~ i t l i11co1i1l1c~tc1icc. b u t t l ia t \ \ l i e n i t i n n tlli. r e f o m 1 mov i .men t

~ I - [ I \ \i11g ; i i ~ t ! c r - i l l ill i o l n e ca ses t r i ~ m i l r h i ~ ~ g , nntl a l n r g c r ant1 l a r g e r

iil1nil1i.1-o f l)l:~cl; voter. Icnl-11ing t o v o t e f o r l i o ~ i i ~ ~ t y ant1 aliility. it

t l i~f rn l ic l i i sc t l I lcgrocs ins tca t l o f p u n i s h i n g rascal - .

So t-,lie Iiaq cx.rpreshctI t h i s mc-)re convinci i ig ly t h a n a n e g r o TT.~IO

rx a, l i i ~ i i ~ i l i o f t l ic 12ccon~tr11ctio1i l c . g l ~ l n t ~ ~ r e S o u t ha me i? i l r~ i - o f

C'nrci1iii;l a n d \ \ - l ~ o .puke \vIiich d i s f r a i l ch i sed h i m , a t t h e c o ~ l ~ . c ~ i t i o i l

agai i l - t o l le of t h e ons lnug l i t s o i T i l l l n n n : - .

I lie gc.ntle~nan i r o m Etlgefiiltl [_ \ I t - . ~l'illn~;iii] ~ l ) ~ > i ! i ~ o i the pil ing tlp c i i tliv StatL> t !~ l ) t ; oi jol)lier!- nut1 pecl~laiioii i111i-ing tlic ~)i ' r ioil bet\\-cen IS&) n1i11I Y ; ~in Soutll Carol ina , 11t1t lie 1i;is not io t l l~ t l ~ .o i c ' cloilucrit ?!1o!iyli, ncir pen c s a c t enough to ~ n e n t i o t ~ those i n ~ p e r i s h a l ~ l eg i i t s he- <ion-i .~ltipon Sou th C'nroli~ia bi.t~\-een 1Sj .3 an!! 1876 1)y S e ~ r o 1cgisl:l-t~)r.--tlic lalvs rclntive to fitlmlcc, thc h ~ i i l d i i i ~ penal :11111 c1i;it-i~al~le of ili.;tit!~tic~ns,a l~ t l . grea tes t o f all. tlic i..;tal)lislin?i.iit of the pil l~lic s c l~oo l I S t a r t i ng a s iniatlt.; i l l legislatinil ill 1X6c). ~i la l iy1 L - i ; ~ t;lc:isnrcs 1:‘-ere i ~ o t tliouqlit o f . tlialiy iiiju11iciou.i acts \vi.rc 1):1s-;etI. 1:tlt in tile ntl- ~ l i i ~ l i < l r ; ~ t i i i l ~of aff;iirs for tlie n e s t f o t ~ r yc;lrs, 1i:ivin: leal-lieti 11y c s - I > C , I ~ ~ I I C ~ act.;, \x:c> p:ii\eil la\\-st 1 1 ~rebult of I):i!l i i ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ e ! l i : ~ t c . l > -ri .f i i~-~ii : i t i~i-~-~ r i i ~ c l i i l ~ ? anil lo\vn govern- c.1-cry tl~.l,artrni.iit of stat?. coui~t!-, l i i ~ l ~ ~ i ~ i l ) : i l I I

.I.l i ~ ~ ~ e 31-c tc~tlay 111,011 llie si;itiite I)oolis c~i5oi1tl1. C , I I : ~ C ~ I ~ ~ C I I ~ ~

( ' : I I . I ~ ? ~ I I : I . I~Iit.~!.i t : r~~ t lr!s l iving :'vitnec.;v.: of ill? Xcgro ' i f i t ~ i ~ , \ - . to vi-tt anil l~ .y i , la te ul)on tile r ights o f m:rlil;intl.

\ \ ii1.11 \\-I' c:~lile ilit(i 1)o:'~er ton-n govcrnlnell ts coulil Icnil tlic cretlit (:ti t ! ic i l . r t . ; l~i .c~i\-cto \ \ i i s to sccrire i1l11tls :it :in). r a i c of i t ~ t e r e i t t11:~t tlic I - I I I I I ~ C . ~ ~ i l l ? t i1: ' \11~ p :~i ( l:IS 11igI1 a s trvr11ty ~ ; i \ v fit to I > : I ~ . 50111e ~f lier i , t , ~ i t . \\.v ~111:let ~)soIii l) i t i~ig- fro111 pleilg-- p:~.q.qc%il tor\il g-iive1-1111it~11ts illy t 1 1 i cretlit o i tlii.ir 1larnli.t~ f o r rnc1lii.y l~c : i~ - ing gre:itera ra te o f ill- ic1.e-t th;in f i re Tier cellt.

1-1) 11, T S ' ? / ~ . tlic S t a t e T rca '~ i r e r lint1 tlic lio\vc.r to p:ly o11t i n c l t ~ ~ i r i ~ , 5t:iti. iulitlh :I; lic plcnscil. ILe co~tlt l clcct 1.-hctlier Ile ~vottltl Ilay out thi. i t i ~ i i l . ; on alil>riil~ri:~tit,""t !~ :~ twoultl 1)1:1cc t l ~ c 111ci1icy in the hantls o i t l ~ c , ~ ~ i i c ~ ~ I ; i t o r ; . o r \votiltl :il1111>- tliciii to :rl>pr!opriatii:~is tha t n-cre l i o n c t I I ~ : I S - . \\'c s:~n. the cl-il of t h i alitl pniictl ;ill ac t m:~king cl~ccificlevies a1111 collectioii? of t a x ? < f o r .cpccific a~)l ,ropriatioiis ,

. \ ~ i i ~ t l i c siousci. of proflig:~cy ill tile esl>cntl i ture of funtls \\-as the I:,!\- t11:it proritlctl f o r and cmpo\\-crml the Icvyiilg :iiicl collectitlg o f <l~ici: l l t : ~ \ ; i l ~ I)!. scliool ( l i s t r i c t ~ . ill t he tlalnc of tlic schools. \I-e s n \ r i t . e l i l nil 11). a consti tutional arnentl ine~lt pro\-itletl tliat there slioultl

11< E. 6.DZLBois

o111y I J ~le\ iet l ant1 collectctl ann11:llly a t a x of t \ \ o m~l l ; . f o r icliool pur- l )ows, antl took a\vay fro111 the ;cliool tlistricts the l)o\\-er to lev); aiitl to ct)llcct taxes of any kin(l . IIy this ac t \ \ c c11retl t l ~ c evil,, tli;it hat1 l ~ e c n intlictctl 111)oll 11s in the liame of the scliools. scttlc(1 the pul~l ic scliool cluestion f o r all t ime to coine, ant1 e ~ t : ~ l ) l i ~ l ~ c t l an lionest.tlie q s t c r n ulmn fi~i;r~i ' i ;~Il ) : i > i q .

S e z t . I\-e Ie:~rnctl ( lur ing tllc periotl frcrln ri'ht) to 1874. i i~clus i \ -c .tl1:rt \\-hat \\-as tlenominatetl tlic flo;lti~ig intlel~tetliic>.;. co\-eri~lg- tlic l ~ r i n t i ~ l g sc1iemc.q ant1 otlivr intlefinitc e s p e n t l i t ~ ~ r c . amountetl to 11e:lrly $l.ooc~.ooo. .'I cc~nfcrence \v:is c:~llctl of the Icatling S e g r o rc~~re . icnt ; i t i \ -es in tllc t \ \-o 1io11.w.; togctlicr \\-it11 tlie S t a t e ' l ' r c a > ~ ~ r c r .also ;i S e g r o . -1f tcr tlli. c t r~l tcrcncc\ \ e l)a>hetl :III act fo r tlic l,url,ose of nscclrt:rining tlie Ilona fitle tlo:rting clcl~t ant1 foun(l tliat it tlitl not amol~ i i t to more, t1i:in S?;o.ooo fo r the fo111- !.e:ii-h: wi. ci-cntctl a comniih>ion to bift tliat in-tlc1)tctlnc.i. a1111 ~ I Ihcalc i t . I lence \\ lien the I )enloeratic ~ ) ;w ty c;u11c in to !Icl\\.er the>- foun( l the f l oa t i l~g ::lel)t c o \ - e r i ~ ~ g 311t1 :].I1the legislati\-e otl1i.r 's l1eii~li t11re~,fisctl : ~ t the cert : i i~i s~um of S q o . o o o . 'l'lii.; 5nme c1a.s of S c g r o Ic~gi\lator-: let1 I)!. the S t a t e ' f r enh r~ re r . l l r . 1:. I-. C':irtloza. k n o \ \ - i ~ ~ g . tlicrc \\-ere millions of 1)ontls chargctl ag-ainit tha t frautlule3nt thv ccrctlit of tlle 5t:ite. ~ ~ a s > c t l rrnc~tliei- ac t to :iseel-t:~in t l i ~ ,tr11c I~ontlctl intlcl~tztlncss, antl to 11ror-itle f o r it, \et t lcment. Cntler thi.: In\\, a t one s\vccl,, those ent r r~s tc t l \ \ i t11 thc l,t:\\-er to tlo so, thi-o11gIi Seg-ro leg- izl : i tr~rs. stampet1 s ix mill ic~ns of 11o11tis. t1enomin;itetl a5 conr-crs io~l 1)ontls. " frautlulent ". rl ' l~e commission tlitl 11ot finish its \\-ark I1cf1-~rc 1976. I n t l i~ i t!-car. \\lien tlie I - In~nl~tongovernment c:llne int11 I I O I V ~ I - .

tlierc \r-c2rc still to l)e cx:iminctl i n t c :111(1 settle(1 1111(1ei- the ternis of the ;ict ~~a.qsetl 11.; l)ro\-itling f o r tlie leg-itimzrte l~~)n t l c t l of tlic l ~ y i ~ i t l ~ ~ l ~ t c l ~ e s > t a t ? , a little c,\-cr t\vc :ill11 a Iinlf niillion tlollarh \vortli of I)ontl-; :inti c o ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ i s i \ l i i c l i11atl llot 1)ce11 l):~sse(l L I ~ ~ I J I I .

( ; I I \ - ~ S I ~ O I -ll:r11111tt~i1,( ic~~'r;r l [Hag-ot111. .111(Ige S ~ I I I I I I ~ ~ O I I . j1111gc \\-:!I-Ince :i~itl in f :~ct . :ill of the coi~ier r -a t i \ -e t l i inl<i~lg I ) ~ . m o c r : ~ t > :ilignc(l t l l ~ . ~ i i ~ ~ ~ I \ - e stllc 11rc1\-iiion enactc.11 1jy fo r the cert:rin :inil fi11;rluntlcr u s .,cttlcnlent of tlle 1)ontletl int1el1te~hic.s.; ;1n11 al)l~ealctl to tlicir 1)emocrntic legisl:rtor> to s t a ~ i ( l11)- tile I:epl~l)lic:ill It.gislation oil the . ;ul~iect ant1 to confirm i t . -1 f:iction in the I)c~noci-:itic ] )ar ty ol)t:~inetl a nlajori ty of the 1)enlocrats in the legisl :~ture ag:iin\t sett l ing the qr~es t ion a1111 thev c ~ i t I c a \ t ~ r e ~ lto o l~el i u p ;lne\v the n.llole s11l1ject of the htntc. tlcl)t. \\-e Ii:itl ; I l ittle or-cr tllirt! menll~ei-%in tlie house ant1 e i i oug l~ TZel)11l)lic:~ii >en;~tcirs to .;u;t;rin the I I :~mpton conserv:~ti \ .e faction ant1 to >t:ilitI 111)

f o r Iione;t fin:~ncc, o r 1 ~ y ollr votes ~)l:rce the t le l~t cll~e.;tion of tile oltl it;ite illto the 11:lntls of the l1111ntlerc.r. ant1 l)ccul:~tors. \I-c ~r-ei-e :~l)l j i~;i le~l to 1))- ( ;enera1 I l ago~ : ( l , t l i r o ~ ~ g h in the.;? me , ailtl nl>- :ins\\-ct- to l i i ~ n \Y;IS

\\ortl.:: " (;enel-al. o1lr ~)ecil)lc ljrotli-liar-c leal-net1 the tliffercncc l ~ c t ~ r - e e n g:rtc a1111 lione,\t lcgi.ilatio11. I \ -e liar-e ~ ~ a s q e t l :lets of financial r e f ~ ~ r m . :11111 \\it11 the a-ii.~;lilce of (;otl \ \ hen the votc ihall liar-e 11ei.n tab-en. \ t iu \vill 1,e a l ~ l e to recortl f o r tlie th i r ty otltl S c g r o e s , slantleretl t h o u g l ~ they Ila\.e I ~ c c n thi-(lug-11 tile pre.>. tha t they vote11 wlitllJ- \\-it11 you all fijr l ~ o ~ l e s t of the Sta te ." Ieq-islati1111 ;in11 tile ~ ) r c i e r \ - a t i o ~ l the cretlit of .l!le tliirt!- titltl S e g r o c s in tlie !egi.;lature 411(1 their sclintors. I)!. the i r \ - o t ~ .rlitl settle the t le l~t c l ~ ~ c s t i c ~ n \\-ean11 savetl the state :';13.ooo.ooo. \ \ e r e c i ~ h t years in l,o\\,cr. \\'c hat1 l111ilt .%cliool llousci. etal)li.;liccl zli:lrit:~l)lc i n t i t u t i o n ~ . 1~11ilt anrl maintainetl tlic ~>c,nitc~lti:ir!. .;)-stc,m. Inor-itletl f o r the etl11c;ition of r e l~u i l t tile jails the (leaf :In11 t l ~ ~ r n l ) , ant1

Xeco?rst~,zlcfio?~and its Be?zefi7ts 795

court houses, rebuilt the britlges and re-established the ferries. In short, we hatl rcconstr~~cted the State ailti placetl it upon the road to proqxrity antl, at tlic same time, 11y our acts of financial reform trans- mitte(1 to the Hampton (;ol-ernnlc~it an indebtecl~~essnot g r a t e r by more than S~.;oo.on(~ than \\-as the boncletl debt of the State ~ I I 1868, before the Kepul~lican Segroes antl their ~vhite allies came into l~o~ver.lQ

So, too, in Louisiana in 1872 and in Il\lissi.;ippi later the better elenlent of the Repul~lican.; triumphetl at the polls antl joi~ling \\-it11 the Democrats instituted reforms, reputliatetl the \\-orst extrava-gance, and started toward better things. lint unfortunately there was one thing that the I\-hite South feared more than negro dii- honesty, ignorance, ancl incompetency, and that \\-as negro honest!-. ktlo\\-letlge, and eficiency.

In the mitlst of all these tlificulties the negro governments in the South accompli~l~ecl \\-e may recognize much of positive gootl. three things n-hich negro rule gave to the South :

I . ~ e m o c r a t i c governme~lt . 2. I:ree public scl~ool-. 3. Sen . scicial legislation. 'I'\l-o t a t e s \\-ill illustrate conditions of gover~lmcnt in the South

hefore ant1 after negro rule. 111 South Carolina there \\-a,< before the \\-ar a property c~ualification for office-lloltlers, antl, it1 part , for voters. The Constitution of 1868, on the other hantl. \\-as a modertl democratic tlocument starting ( in ~l larked contrast to the old con-stitutions') n-it11 a tleclaratiotl that " \I7e, the People ", framed it, ;111tl

orecctletl by a broad Ileclaration of Rights \\-hich tlitl an-ay \\-it11 lxo11ert~- tlualificatio~ls ant1 basetl representation directly on popula- tion inbteatl of property. I t especially took up nen- subjects of social legislation, tleclari~lg navigable rivers free public 11ighn-ays. instituting homesteat1 exemptions, establisl~i~lg boards of county commissioners. provitlitlg for a nen- penal code of la\\-5, establish- ing universal manhood suffrage " without distinctio~l of race or color ", devoting s i s sections to charitable ant1 penal institutions and s i r t o corporations, provitling separate property for married Ivomen, etc. Above all, eleven sections of the Tenth A-li-ticle \\-ere devotetl to the establishment of a complete public-school system.

So satisfactory n-a.; the constitution thus atlopted by negro suffrage ant1 by a convcntio~l co111posed of a majorit\- of blaclcs that the state livetl tn-enty-seven years under it \~.itllotit esseiltial change. and \\-hetl the constitution was revisetl in 1895, the revision

'"peech of Thotiias E. Lliller. one of the s ix neqro n ~ e n i l ~ e r sof the S o ~ ~ t h Carolina Constitutional Conrent ion of ~ S g j . T h e speech ~ i - a s not pul~l ished in the Joirl.iii11 hut may he found in the Occasioizal Paprrs of the A~i ier ican Negro . l ca~ lemy , no. 6. pp. "-1.3.

I\ a-. practically nothitlg m o r e than a n amplification of the Constitu- tiotl of 1868. N o eisent ial atlvance s tep of t h e for tner clocuinent \I a. changed e s c e p t t h e suffrage article.

In l\l issiicippi t h e Cotlstitutioll of 1868 n a s , a s compared nit11 t h a t before t h e n a r , m o r e democratic. I t not o n l j forbatle tlis-tinctlons o n account of color but aboliihetl all p roper t j cjualifica-tioils f o r jur j - wryice, antl property ant1 educational clualifications f o r suffrage : it recluired less r igorous clualificatiotlc f o r office : it lxohibitctl the lending of t h e credi t of the s tate f o r pr ivate col-pora-

tions-an a b u i e da t ing back a s f a r a s 1830. I t increaied the pun-eri of tlie go \e r t lo r , raised the lo\\ s t a te salaries, antl increasetl t h e nuinber of s ta te officials. S e n - idea i like t h e public-,cl~ool syste111 ant1 the imnligrat iot~ bureau w e r e iiltroduced antl ill general the actix-ity of the s tate greatly a n d necessarilj enlarged. Finally, tha t \ \ a s the 0 1 1 1 ~ constitution e \ e r submittetl t o popular a p p r o \ a l a t the poll-. Th i5 cotlstitution remained in force t\\-ent>-ti\ o year..

I n general t h e \ l o r d s of Jutlge A'ill~ion IV. Tourgce , a "carpet-bagger ", a r e t r u e nhen h e s a j s of the negro go \ erilments :

They obeyed the Constitution of the United States, and annulled the bonds of states, counties, and cities which had been issued to carry on the war of rebellion and ~naintain artnies in the field ag-ainst the Union. They instituted a public school system in a realln where public schools had been unknon-11. They opened the ballot box and jury box to thou- sands of white men who had beell debarred froill them 11)- a lack of earthly possessions. They introduced home rule into the South. Thcy abolished the n-hipping post, the branding iron, the stoc1.r~ and other barbarous forms of punishment which had up to that titne prevailed. They reduced capital felonies from about tn-enty to two or three. I n XI age of extral-ngance they were estrnvagant in the sums appropriated for pul~lic \\-orlis. 111 all of that time no man's rights of pcrson were invaded under the fornls of law. Every Democrat's life, home, fireside :~ntl business xvere safe. S o man obstrticted any white man's n-ny to the hallot bos, interfereti n-it11 his freeclotn of speech, or boycotted llim on ;iceo~int of his political fait11.'~

-1thorough study of the legislation accompatl\-ing these con-5titutions a n d its chatlges since \voultl of course be necessary before a full picture of t l ~ c situation could be given. T h i s h a s n o t been clone, 11ut so f a r a s m> studies have gone I have been 5urprised a t the comparativel\ small amount of change it1 l aw a n d g o ~ ~ e r n m e n t

\ \ h i c l ~ the over th row of ilegi-o rule b rought about . T h e r e u e r e

< h a r p antl o f ten h u r t f u l economies introduced m a r k i n g the re tu rn of 111-011erty t o power , there \ \ a s a sn-ccping change of officials.

bu t the maill bod;\ of Reconi t ruc t ion legi-lation stood.

" Occasio~inlPnpcrs of the Ainerican S e g r o Acatiemy, no. 6. p. so ; Chicago l l ~ c c k l gI ~ i t c rOccnji. Decemher 26, 1890.

171ii- democrat! 111-ought for\vartl new leaderi ant1 m i n antl tlcfillitcl~ o \ e r t l ~ r e n the old Southern ariitocrac!. tlie-eL \ ~ ~ l ~ t ~ g nen- rnen \\-ere negroes of worth and ability. Johil R. L>-nch w11ei1 spealier of the Rlississippi house of representatives n-as given a 1111b1ic teqtimonial by Republicans ant1 Deillocrats and the leading Ue~llocratic paper said :

I I is bearing in office had been so proper, and his rulings in such inarlied contrast to the partisan coiltluct of the ignoble whites of his party 7 ~ 1 1 0 hal-e aspired to he leaders of the blacks, that the conserl-a-til-es cheerfully joined in the tesrimonial."

( I f tlle colored treaqurer of Soutll Carolina. Governor Chaml~er- lain .aid :

I hal-e nel-er heard one 11-ortl or seen one act of l l r . Carilozo's n-11ich ditl not confirm nl\- confidence in his personal integrity and his political honor and zeal for the honest atlministration of the State G o ~ e r n ~ n e n t . On every occasion, antl under all circumstances, he lias been against f raud and jobber)-, and in favor of good measures and good men.22

Jonatlian C.Gibbs, a coloretl man ant1 the first state superln- teiident of ii~qtruction in Floritla, nas a graduate of Dartmouth. I r e e?tablislictl the u ~ r t e n l ailtl brought it to succesu, d ~ i n g in hai-ncqr in 1874 Such men-and there were others-ought not to be forgotten or confoun;led with other tjpcq of colol-etl and n-hitc Rcco~istruction leaders.

'I'here is no tloubt but that the thirst of the black man for kno~vletlge-a thirst ~ v h i c l ~ has been too persistent and tlural~le to 11: inere curiosity 01- n-him-gave birth to the public free-school system of tlie South. I t n-as the cluestion upon which black voters ant1 Icgislators illsisted more than anytliing else ant1 while it is poisihle tc find some vestiges of frec schools in some of the Souther11 State- 11cfoi-e the war yet a universal, nell-establishet1 system dates from the day that the blacli man got political power. Common-school instructiorl in the South, in the modern sense of the term, \\-as heg~un fo r negroes 11) the Frectlmen's Cureau and ~nissionar! societie., and the .tate public-ichool syqtenl. for all chiltlren were formed mainl! by llegi-o Recon.truction go\ernnlcnti. The earlier state conititution. of Arissis.ippi " froin 1817to 1865 contained a tleclara- ti011 that 'Religion, moralit\ and knonledge being necei.ai-y to good governnlent, the preservation of libert! and the happiness of mankind, schools and the meant of education illall forever he encouraged.' I t nas not, however, until 1868 that encouragement \\.a. given to an! general systenl of public ichools meant to embrace

" Jackson (hlississippi) Clarion, April 24, 1873. zAl lex~ ,Gosev)zou C l ~ n i ~ z b e t l a i ~ ~ ' ~ Adnzinistuatiofz in S o ~ i t l i Carolina, p. 8 2

798 TV. E. B. Du Bois

the \\hole !outhful population." The Con.titution of 1868 11lakey it the dut) of the legiilature to estahliih " a ~ in i fo rm i! item of free public \chooly, b! taxation or othern ise, for all chiltlren betn een the age. of five and twentj -one 1ears ". Tn Alabama the Kecon- struction Co~l i t i t~ i t lon of 1868 providetl that " I t shall be the dut! of the Lioard of Ed~lcation to e.tablii11 throughout the State, in each tonn\hip or other ichool district nhich it 1naj have created, one or more .chools at \\ hich all the chiltlren of the State betn een the ages of five antl t n ent! -one 1ear i may attentl free of charge." l rkai l ias ill 1868, Florida in 1869, Loui-iana in 1868, Sort11 Carolina in 1869, South Carolina in 1868, antl T7irginia in 1870. citabli\hed .chool s! stemy. The Con.titution of 1868 in Louisiana recl~lired the general as.enlbl! to e.tahlisln " at 1ea.t one free public .clnool in ever! parish", and that theie ychool. should nlake no " diitinction of race, color or previoui condition ". Georgia'i .J stem n as not full! eitahlished until 1873.

\ lye are apt to forget that in all human probability the granting of negro ~na i i l~oodyuffrage and the paysage of the Fifteenth L \ m e n d i ~ ~ e n twere deciiive in rendering pernlanent the fo~undation of the negro conlnlon school. Even after the overthron of the negro goxernment., if the lnegroei had heen left a servile ca-te, personall! free, but politicall! ponerlei., it i, not rea.onable to think that a i~+tern of common .cllool. TT o ~ l dhave been provitled for thein 11) the Southern State.. Serfdom and ed~lcatioil have over proven contratlictor! termi. 1:ut \ \hen Congre.5, backetl h! the nation, detcrminecl to make the negroey full-iletlgetl voting citizeni, the South had a hard dilemma before he r : either to keep the negroes under a. an ignorant proletariat antl .tam1 the chance of being ruletl eventual11 froill the slum. and jail., or to join in helping to rai.e t1ne.e \\ ard. of tlne nation to a po.itio11 of intelligence and thrift b! nlean. of a public-yclnool .!item. The " carpet-hag " govern-mcllt. 11a.tenetl the tlecision of the South, and although there was a perlot1 of heiitation and retrogre\.lon after the overthron of negro rule 111 the earl! reventie-, l e t the South sau that to aholisln llegro ichool-. in atltlition to nullif! ing the negro vote I\ ould invite Northern interference; antl thus evelituall! ever! Southern qtate confirrnetl the work of the negro legislators and maintained the ilegro public .clnool. along with the TT hite. *

Finall!, in legislation covering propert!, tlne \I itler function. of the .tate, the punishment of crime antl the like, it is .ufficient to \a! that the la\\ on the,e point, e~tabli \hetl by Reconstruction legis- latures \ \ere not only tlifferent froin and even rexolutionar! to tlne

799 Xeconsfvuctio~ca7td i t s Be7te3t.s

la\\ i in the oltler South, h ~ i t they \T ere so \T ise antl so TT ell suited to the needs of the neu South that it1 spite of a retrogresiive movement folloning the overthrow of the negro go\ernnlei-~ts the mass of this legislation, \T it11 elaboration and development, itill itantli on the .tatLite book. of the South.

Reconstruction constit~ition.s, practically unalteretl, were kept in

Floritla. 1868-1885 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 >ears. 1-irginia, 1870-1902 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 > ears. South Carolina. 1808-1895 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 1ear\ . 1lii.i.sippi. 1868-1890 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 !ear\

Even in the ca.e of Georgia. Sort11 Caro- states like A ~ l a l ~ a m a , lina, antl Louisiana, \T hich adopted nen con5titutions to .ignify the overthron of negro rule, the nen constitutions are nearer the motlel of the Recon.truction tloc~inlent than the> are to the previou. constitution.. The j tliffer from the negro con.titution. in ininor tletails but ver> little in general conception.

Ceside. this there .tailds on the itatute booki of the South to-clay law after la\\ pa-yed between 1868 and 1876. and ~~ll ic11 has been found TT i ie, effective, antl \T orthy of preiervation

Paint the " carpet-hag " governnleilti and negro rule a. black a. ma! be, the fact remaini that the e.sence of the re\olution which the overturning of the negro governments 11latle nas to put these 11lack men and their friend. out of p o \ ~ e r . Out.itle the ctirtailing of espcn.ei and itopping of extra\agance, not onl! (lid their .uc-ce.sori make few changei in the TT ork ~ ~ l l i c l l thew lcgiilatures ant1 conventioils hat1 (lone, b ~ i t the! largelj carried out their plani, f o l l o ~ ~ e dtheir .ugge\tion., antl .trengthelled their institutioni. I'racticallj the TT hole ne\\ gron th of the South ha. been accom-pli.hed untler l ans \\hich black men helped to franle thirty years ago. 1 knon of 110 greater compliment to negro iuffrage.

l17.E.I ? ~ I ~ L , I IIRL)I 1 1 ~L;OIS.