Reconstruction

by Brooks D. Simpson

  This classification will give you with tolerable accuracy, I think, the sentiments of the several classes into which the southern whites may be divided; & will probably satisfy you that there is no course open, if we wish to promote, most efficiently, the interests of all classes, except to give suffrage to all. I see that the New York Herald, which, though rather unreliable as a supporter of anybody or anything, is a very fair barometer of opinion on measures, has come out for general suffrage. It never sustains a cause, which has been unpopular, until it is about to triumph.

  At Wilmington, besides many white citizens, a colored deputation called on me. It was composed of four individuals. The spokesman was the minister of the 1st Presbyterian Church (Colored) in Philadelphia, who came down sometime ago at the instance of some benevolent association to look into the condition of the colored people & report upon it. Of the other three one was a carpenter, who many years ago bought himself & wife & two children. The whole family was conveyed to a white citizen, whose character was their only security against actual as well as legal slavery. Another also a carpenter had hired his time and had all the wages he could earn over the hire paid to his master. The third was a barber who had also bought himself, & then, like a sensible fellow, married a free woman & had himself conveyed to her. They wanted my advice in their present circumstances; were anxious to know whether or not they were to be allowed to vote, & whether they would be maintained in possession of the lands they had hired. I gave them the best advice I could; to be industrious, economical, orderly & respectful, proving by their conduct their worthiness to be free—as to the right of voting I could not tell whether they would have it immediately or not; but they would certainly have it in time if they showed themselves fit for it: I wd. give it at once if I had the right to decide; but the decision was with you & you would decide according to your own judgment, with the best feeling towards all men of all classes. If they should get it immediately they must not abuse it if they should not they must be patient. As to the lands I said I did not doubt that leases already made for this year would be maintained; but that they could not expect to own the lands without paying for them. They must work hard now; get & save all they could, & await the future hopefully & patiently. They were well satisfied with what I said & I hope it will meet your approval.

  I could write a great deal more, but it would do no good. While I am observing, you are doubtless resolving and acting. I am sure you will follow out the great principles you have so often announced & put the weight of your name and authority on the side of justice and right. My most earnest wishes will be satisfied, if you make your administration so beneficent & so illustrious by great acts that the people will be as little willing to spare Andrew Johnson from their service as to spare Andrew Jackson. And it will be an exceedingly great pleasure to me if I can in any way promote its complete success.

  I shall try to write again from Hilton Head.

  With the greatest respect & esteem

  Yours truly S. P. Chase

  P.S. If you can find time for writing me at New Orleans, where I expect to be in two weeks I shall be glad. I am very desirous to know from yourself, what you think of my observations & suggestions & what you are doing & intending to do.

  THE NECESSITY OF BLACK SUFFRAGE:

  NEW YORK, MAY 1865

  Joseph Noxon to Andrew Johnson

  New York May 27/65

  Andrew Johnson Prest.

  You say you believe in democratic government, or consent of loyal people. Yet you dare not avow with practical effect the right of the colord man to vote. Are you honest?

  You profess to protect loyal men & to punish traitors; yet you refuse the franchise to loyal colord people, the only means effectual for their protection or advancement. Are you honest?

  You know rebels disappointed will wreak revenge on loyal blacks, & yet you refuse the franchise for their protection.

  You say you have no right to grant it. You know in the first elections to be held to reorganize a seceded state you have the power, the right, & the duty to say who shall vote. Otherwise rebels will re-elect rebels, as witness Virginia.

  You know by prompt & vigorous action now, the question of negro sufferage can be settled & accepted by the people as an accomplished fact. Why not settle it & take it out of political controversy.

  Do you believe the loyal Union partys’ success essential to the peace & prosperity of this country? Then dont refuse 850,000 loyal votes that are always sure for liberty & the Republic.

  I am deprived of all I have by Rebels. I was formerly a resident of Tennessee but the rebs drove me from home. I was a scout for the Union army & lived in the mountains 11 months. I have some right that you hear me.

  Yours truly Joseph Noxon

  “MOST INHUMAN LAWS”:

  WASHINGTON, D.C., JUNE 1865

  Delegation of Kentucky Colored

  People to Andrew Johnson

  MR. PRESIDENT Haveing been delegated by the ­colored People of Kentuckey to wait upon you and State their greiv­eances and the terrible uncertainty of their future, we beg to do so in as respectfull and concise a Manner as Posible. First then, we would call your attention to the fact that Kentuckey is the only Spot within all the bounds of these united States, where the People of colour have No rights whatever Either in Law or in fact—and were the Strong arm of Millitary power no longer to curb her—her Jails and workhouses would groan with the Numbers of our people immured within their walls.

  Her Stattutes are disgraced by laws in regard to us, too barbarous Even for a community of Savages to have Perpetrated. Not one of those laws have Ever yet become obsolete. All have been Executed Promptly and Rigoursly up to the time the government intervened—and will be again Executed in the Most remorseless Manner and with four fold the Venom and Malignanty they were Ever heretofore Enforced—the Very Moment the government ceases to Shield us with the broad aegis of her Power.

  Not only that—but the brutal instincts of the mob So Long restrained will Set no bounds to its ferocity but like an uncaged wild beast will rage fiercely among us—Evidence of which is the fact that a member of the present common council of the city of Louisville (who when formerly Provost Marshall of that city caused his guards to carry bull whips and upon Meeting colored Men, women or children in the Public high ways any time after dark to surround them and flay them alive in the public Streets) is allready a petitioner to Genl. Palmer to remove the Millitary Restrictions that he and others May again renew the brutaleties that Shocked humanity during that Sad Period. Therefore to Prevent all the horrible Calamities that would befall us and to shut out all the terrors that So fiercely Menace us in the immediate future—we Most humbly Petition and Pray you that you will not Remove Marshall Law from the State of Kentuckey Nor her Noble Millitary commander under whose Protection we have allmost learned to Realise the Blessings of a Home under the Safeguard and sancktion of law for in him and him alone do we find our Safety. We would Most Respectfully call your attention to a few of the laws that bear most cruelly upon Us.

  1st we have No Oath

  2nd we have no right of domicil

  3rd we have no right of locomotion

  4th we have No right of Self defence

  5th a Stattute law of Kentuckey makes it a penal crime with imprisonment in the Penitentiary for one year for any free Man of colour under any Sircumstances whatever to pass into a free State Even although but for a Moment. Any free man Not a Native found within her Borders is Subject to the Same penalty and for the Second offence Shall be sold a slave for life.

  The State of Kentuckey has contributed of her colored Sons over thirty thousand Soldiers who have illustrated their courage and devotion on Many battle fields and have Poured out their blood lavishly—in defence of their country and the country’s flag and we confidently hope this Blood will be carried to our credit in any Political Settlement of our Native State. Yet if the government Should give up the State to the control of her civil authorities there is not
one of these Soldiers who will not Suffer all the grinding oppression of her Most inhuman laws if not in their own persons yet in the persons of their wives their children And their mothers.

  Therefore your Excellency we most Earnestly Petition and pray you that you will give us some security for the future or if that be impracticable at least give us timely warning that we may fly to other States where law and a christian Sentiment will Protect us and our little ones from Violence and wrong.

  Chas. A Roxborough—chairman—

  R M Johnson Thomas James

  Jerry Meninettee Henry H. White

  Wm. F. Butler Sec.

  June 9, 1865

  FALSE IDEAS OF FREEDOM:

  SOUTH CAROLINA, JUNE 1865

  Charles C. Soule and Oliver O. Howard:

  An Exchange

  Orangeburg, S.C., June 12th., 1865.

  General: In accordance with the request embodied in your “Circular Letter” of the 16th. ult., I have the honor to tender the following report of the organization and operations of the Special Commission on Contracts with Freedmen, at Orangeburg, S.C.

  Upon the occupation of this District by the U.S. troops, affairs were found to be in a very unsettled state. The “scouts” who had latterly enforced local order and preserved discipline upon the plantations, were disbanded; no civil magistrates had power to act; the planters, uncertain as to the wishes of the United States authorities, were afraid even to defend themselves against aggression and robbery;—while the negro laborers, who in this neighborhood outnumber the whites five to one, already excited by the prospect of freedom, were urged to lawlessness and acts of violence by the advice of many of the colored soldiers. Not only was there every prospect that the crops would be neglected, but it also seemed probable that the negroes would revenge themselves, by theft, insults, and violence, upon their former owners. To avert disorder and starvation, officers detailed for the purpose were sent into the country to explain to white and black alike their condition under the new state of affairs, and to induce the laborers, if possible, to resume work upon the crops,—which are now in the most critical stage. It was soon found, however, that uniformity was needed in these operations; and during the last week in May, Brevet Brigadier General Hartwell, commanding the Brigade, appointed a Special Commission to have charge over all the relations between proprietor and laborer; to supervise contracts, made under Brig. Gen’l. Hatch’s orders, and to act also as Provost Judges in cases of disorder or crime upon the plantations. The commission originally consisted of four members; afterwards of five; and this number is at present reduced to two by the establishment of an auxiliary board in Columbia, S.C. The limits of jurisdiction are indefinite, and cases are frequently brought to our notice from remote districts of the State.

  It is found that the office work alone,—merely answering questions, deciding disputes, and administering justice, occupies the attention of two officers and a clerk; while several officers are needed to visit the different sections of the neighboring country, to assemble the planters and the negroes at convenient points, and to explain,—to the former, the necessity of making equitable contracts with their workmen, of discontinuing corporal punishment, and of referring all cases of disorder and idleness to the military authorities:—to the latter, in plain and simple terms their new position as freedmen, their prospects, their duties, and their continued liability to punishment for faults and crimes. In the two weeks which have passed since the Commission was appointed, several hundred contracts have been approved, as many plantations visited, and probably two thousand whites and ten thousand blacks have been addressed. The officers engaged in this work have frequently ridden alone and unarmed twenty-five miles, or further, from the Post, and have almost invariably met with courteous and hospitable treatment at the hands of the ­planters,—most of whom seem desirous to comply in good faith with the wishes and orders of the Government, and to make the best of a system of labor in which, notwithstanding, they thoroughly disbelieve.

  It is found very difficult to disabuse the negroes of the false and exaggerated ideas of freedom they have received, in a great measure, from our own colored troops. They have been led to expect that all the property of their former masters was to be divided out to them; and the most reasonable fancy which prevails, is that besides receiving their food, clothes, the free rent of houses and gardens, and the privilege of keeping their hogs and poultry, they are to take for themselves all day Saturday and Sunday, and to receive half the crops. Their long experience of slavery has made them so distrustful of all whites, that on many plantations they persist still in giving credit only to the rumors set afloat by people of their own color, and believe that the officers who have addressed them are rebels in disguise. Even where they are satisfied that the idea of freedom comprehends law, order, and hard labor, there are many whom the absence of the usual restraint and fear of punishment renders idle, insolent, vagrant and thievish. Owing to the entire want of cavalry in this Department, it has been found possible to investigate a few only of the cases brought before the board in its judicial capacity; and the members view with solicitude the alarming increase of vagrancy throughout the country, and the idleness, half-way-work, and turbulence of a large portion of the negro population,—which they are powerless to check, except in the immediate vicinity of a military force.

  In the opinion of a majority of the Commission, little danger to the welfare of society, or of the country, need be apprehended from the former slaveowners, who appear generally desirous to become good citizens. It is the ignorance, the prejudice, the brutality, and the educated idleness,—if so it can be termed—of the freedmen,—all attributable, not so much to their race, as to the system of slavery under which they have lived,—that are mainly to be watched and placed under restraint. To supply the place of the rigid plantation discipline now suddenly done away with, some well digested code of laws and punishments, adapted to the peculiar position of affairs, should be applied throughout the entire South. The impossibility of attaching, in future, money value to the former slaves, will break up, in practice, as the Emancipation proclamation has done in theory, the system of slavery; and the interests of the capitalists and landowners of the South will lead them to make the best possible use of freed labor: but it will be more difficult to convince the freedmen themselves of their true position and prospects. Only actual suffering, starvation, and punishment will drive many of them to work. It is a general complaint on the part of the planters that although the laborers have had fair offers made to them of compensation, including a share of the crops, they nearly all have shortened their day’s work several hours, and persist in taking to themselves every Saturday.

  In districts remote from our posts of occupation the plantation discipline still prevails, and cases of flogging and shooting are continually brought to the notice of the Commission from places sixty or eighty miles from Orangeburg. Nor are the planters always to be blamed for such measures of self-defence. There must be some restraint in every community, and where there are but two classes, the one educated and intelligent, the other ignorant and degraded, it is preferable, if one class must govern, that it be the former. It is to be hoped, however, that civil or military authority will soon supplant such an exercise of irresponsible power, which is liable to great abuse.

  A form for making contracts, adapted after consultation with a number of planters, is enclosed herewith. It was found, at the outset of our operations, that half the crop,—which General Hatch had recommended as fair compensation, was too much to give, if the laborers were also to be fed and clothed until the end of the year. At the wish of General Hartwell, therefore, the planters have been left to make their own proposals, the Commission reserving the right to disapprove such contracts as seemed unjust to the workmen. It has been found, however, that in almost every instance, the offers have been very liberal. It is usual to promise food, and as far as possible, clothing, to all the people on the plantations, both workers and dependents; and
in addition, either a certain share of the crop, varying according to circumstances from one-tenth to one-half (the latter in very rare instances), to be divided among the laborers only;—or, so many bushels of corn to every “hand”,—usually a year’s supply. In consideration of the fact that only one third of the people supported, on the average, are laborers, and that General Sherman’s armies have destroyed the fences, taken the stock, and devastated the whole region hereabouts, the Commission are of opinion that these contracts are very favorable to the workmen. It would appear that so low, uneducated and inefficient a class of laborers as these now suddenly freed, should not receive more pay than Northern farm laborers,—­allowance being made for difference of circumstances. A day laborer at the North, with a large family, usually has to pay all his wages for food, clothing, and house-rent. If he can have his own little garden, and a stock of poultry and pigs,—as most of the freedmen have, he is fortunate; and if in addition to all this he gets a share of the crops—say a year’s supply of food, over and above expenditures, he is prospering beyond most of his fellows. Were the freedmen to receive more, the relation between capital and labor would be disturbed, and an undue value placed upon the latter, to the prejudice and disadvantage, in the end, of the laborers themselves.