the sequel of appomattox-第4章

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


　North　was　eager　for　news。　Able　newspaper　correspondents　like　Sidney　Andrews　of　the　Boston　Advertiser　and　the　Chicago　Tribune；　who　opposed　President　Johnson's　policies；　Thomas　W。　Knox　of　the　New　York　Herald；　who　had　given　General　Sherman　so　much　trouble　in　Tennessee；　Whitelaw　Reid；　who　wrote　for　several　papers　and　tried　cotton　planting　in　Louisiana；　and　John　T。　Trowbridge；　New　England　author　and　journalist；　were　dispatched　southwards。　Chief　of　the　President's　investigators　was　General　Carl　Schurz；　German　revolutionist；　Federal　soldier；　and　soon　to　be　radical　Republican；　who　held　harsh　views　of　the　Southern　people；　and　there　were　besides　Harvey　M。　Watterson；　Kentucky　Democrat　and　Unionist；　the　father　of　〃Marse〃　Henry；　Benjamin　C。　Truman；　New　England　journalist　and　soldier；　whose　long　report　was　perhaps　the　best　of　all；　Chief　Justice　Chase；　who　was　thinking　mainly　of　〃How　soon　can　the　Negro　vote？〃；　and　General　Grant；　who　made　a　report　so　brief　that；　notwithstanding　its　value；　it　attracted　little　attention。　In　addition　a　constant　stream　of　information　and　misinformation　was　going　northward　from　treasury　agents；　officers　of　the　army；　the　Freedmen's　Bureau；　teachers；　and　missionaries。　Among　foreigners　who　described　the　conquered　land　were　Robert　Somers；　Henry　Latham；　and　William　Hepworth　Dixon。　But　few　in　the　South　realized　the　importance　of　supplying　the　North　with　correct　information　about　actual　conditions。　The　letters　and　reports；　they　thought；　humiliated　them；　inquiry　was　felt　to　be　prying　and　gloating。　〃Correspondents　have　added　a　new　pang　to　surrender；〃　it　was　said。　The　South　was　proud　and　refused　to　be　catechized。　From　the　Northern　point　of　view；　the　South；　a　new　and　strange　region　with　strange　customs　and　principles；　was　of　course；　not　to　be　considered　as　quite　normal　and　American；　but　there　was　on　the　part　of　many　correspondents　a　determined　attempt　to　describe　things　as　they　were。　And　yet　the　North　persisted　in　its　unsympathetic　queries　when　it　seemed　to　have　a　sufficient　answer　in　the　reports　of　Grant；　Schurz；　and　Truman。

Grant's　opinion　was　short　and　direct：　〃I　am　satisfied　that　the　mass　of　thinking　men　of　the　South　accept　the　present　situation　of　affairs　in　good　faith　。　。　。　。　The　citizens　of　the　Southern　States　are　anxious　to　return　to　self…government　within　the　Union　as　soon　as　possible。〃　Truman　came　to　the　conclusion　that　〃the　rank　and　file　of　the　disbanded　Southern　army　。　。　。　are　the　backbone　and　sinew　of　the　South　。　。　。　。　To　the　disbanded　regiments　of　the　rebel　army；　both　officers　and　men；　I　look　with　great　confidence　as　the　best　and　altogether　the　most　hopeful　element　of　the　South；　the　real　basis　of　reconstruction　and　the　material　of　worthy　citizenship。〃　General　John　Tarbell；　before　the　Joint　Committee　on　Reconstruction；　testified　that　〃there　are；　no　doubt；　disloyal　and　disorderly　persons　in　the　South；　but　it　is　an　entire　mistake　to　apply　these　terms　to　a　whole　people。　I　would　as　soon　travel　alone；　unarmed；　through　the　South　as　through　the　North。　The　South　I　left　is　not　at　all　the　South　I　hear　and　read　about　in　the　North。　From　the　sentiment　I　hear　in　the　North；　I　would　scarcely　recognize　the　people　I　saw；　and；　except　their　politics；　I　liked　so　well。　I　have　entire　faith　that　the　better　classes　are　friendly　to　the　Negroes。〃

Carl　Schurz　on　the　other　hand　was　not　so　favorably　impressed。　〃The　loyalty　of　the　masses　and　most　of　the　leaders　of　the　southern　people；〃　he　said；　〃consists　in　submission　to　necessity。　There　is；　except　in　individual　instances；　an　entire　absence　of　that　national　spirit　which　forms　the　basis　of　true　loyalty　and　patriotism。〃　Another　government　official　in　Florida　was　quite　doubtful　of　the　Southern　whites。　〃I　would　pin　them　down　at　the　point　of　the　bayonet；〃　he　declared；　〃so　close　that　they　would　not　have　room　to　wiggle；　and　allow　intelligent　colored　people　to　go　up　and　vote　in　preference　to　them。　The　only　Union　element　in　the　South　proper　。　。　。　is　among　the　colored　people。　The　whites　will　treat　you　very　kindly　to　your　face；　but　they　are　deceitful。　I　have　often　thought；　and　so　expressed　myself；　that　there　is　so　much　deception　among　the　people　of　the　South　since　the　rebellion；　that　if　an　earthquake　should　open　and　swallow　them　up；　I　was　fearful　that　the　devil　would　be　dethroned　and　some　of　them　take　his　place。〃

The　point　of　view　of　the　Confederate　military　leaders　was　exhibited　by　General　Wade　Hampton　in　a　letter　to　President　Johnson　and　by　General　Lee　in　his　advice　to　Governor　Letcher　of　Virginia。　General　Hampton　wrote：　〃The　South　unequivocally　'accepts　the　situation'　in　which　she　is　placed。　Everything　that　she　has　done　has　been　done　in　perfect　faith；　and　in　the　true　and　highest　sense　of　the　word；　she　is　loyal。　By　this　I　mean　that　she　intends　to　abide　by　the　laws　of　the　land　honestly；　to　fulfill　all　her　obligations　faithfully　and　to　keep　her　word　sacredly；　and　I　assert　that　the　North　has　no　right　to　demand　more　of　her。　You　have　no　right　to　ask；　or　expect　that　she　will　at　once　profess　unbounded　love　to　that　Union　from　which　for　four　years　she　tried　to　escape　at　the　cost　of　her　best　blood　and　all　her　treasures。〃　General　Lee　in　order　to　set　an　example　applied　through　General　Grant　for　a　pardon　under　the　amnesty　proclamation　and　soon　afterwards　he　wrote　to　Governor　Letcher：　〃All　should　unite　in　honest　efforts　to　obliterate　the　effects　of　war；　and　to　restore　the　blessings　of　peace。　They　should　remain；　if　possible；　in　the　country；　promote　harmony　and　good…feeling；　qualify　themselves　to　vote；　and　elect　to　the　State　and　general　legislatures　wise　and　patriotic　men；　who　will　devote　their　abilities　to　the　interests　of　the　country　and　the　healing　of　all　dissensions；　I　have　invariably　recommended　this　course　since　the　cessation　of　hostilities；　and　have　endeavored　to　practice　it　myself。〃

Southerners　of　the　Confederacy　everywhere；　then；　accepted　the　destruction　of　slavery　and　the　renunciation　of　state　sovereignty；　they　welcomed　an　early　restoration　of　the　Union；　without　any　punishment　of　leaders　of　the　defeated　cause。　But　they　were　proud　of　their　Confederate　records　though　now　legally　〃loyal〃　to　the　United　States；　they　considered　the　Negro　as　free　but　inferior；　and　expected　to　be　permitted　to　fix　his　status　in　the　social　organization　and　to　solve　the　problem　of　free　labor　in　their　own　way。　To　*embarrass　the　easy　and　permanent　realization　of　these　views　there　was　a　society　disrupted；　economically　prostrate；　deprived　of　its　natural　leaders；　subjected　to　a　control　not　always　wisely　conceived　nor　effectively　exercised；　and；　finally；　containing　within　its　own　population　unassimilated　elements　which　presented　problems　fraught　with　difficulty　and　danger。



CHAPTER　II。　WHEN　FREEDOM　CRIED　OUT

The　Negro　is　the　central　figure　in　the　reconstruction　of　the　South。　Without　the　Negro　there　would　have　been　no　Civil　War。　Granting　a　war　fought　for　any　other　cause；　the　task　of　reconstruction　would；　without　him；　have　been　comparatively　simple。　With　him；　however；　reconstruction　meant　more　than　the　restoring　of　shattered　resources；　it　meant　the　more　or　less　successful　attempt　to　obtain　and　secure　for　the　freedman　civil　and　political　rights；　and　to　improve　his　economic　and　social　status。　In　1861；　the　American　Negro　was　everywhere　an　inferior；　and　most　of　his　race　were　slaves；　in　1865；　he　was　no　longer　a　slave；　but　whether　he　was　to　be　serf；　ward；　or　citizen　was　an　unsettled　problem；　in　1868；　he　was　in　the　South　the　legal　and　political　equal；　frequently　the　superior；　of　the　white；　and　before　the　end　of　the　reconstruction　period　he　was　made　by　the　legislation　of　some　states　and　by　Congress　the　legal　equal　of　the　white　even　in　certain　social　matters。

The　race　problem　which　confronted　the　American　people　had　no　parallel　in　the　past。　British　and　Spanish…American　emancipation　of　slaves　had　affected　only　small　numbers　or　small　regions；　in　which　one　race　greatly　outnumbered　the　other。　The　results　of　these　earlier　emancipations　of　the　Negroes　and　the　difficulties　of　European　states　in　dealing　with　subject　white　populations　were　not　such　as　to　afford　helpful　example　to　American　statesmen。　But　since　it　was　the　actual　situation　in　the　Southern　States　rather　than　the　experience　of　other　countries　which　shaped　the　policies　adopted　during　reconstruction；　it　is　important　to　examine　with　some　care　the　conditions　in　which　the　Negroes　in　the　South　found　themselves　at　the　close　of　the　war。

The　Negroes　were　not　all　helpless　and　without　experience　〃when　freedom　cried　out。〃*　In　the　Border　States　and　in　the　North　there　were；　in　1861；　half　a　million　free　Negroes　accustomed　to　looking　out　for　themselves。　Nearly　200；000　Negro　men　were　enlisted　in　the　United　States　army　between　1862　and　1865；　and　many　thousands　of　slaves　had　followed　raiding　Federal　forces　to　freedom　or　had　escaped　through　the　Confederate　lines。　State　emancipation　in　Missouri；　Maryland；　West　Virginia；　and　Tennessee；　and　the　practical　application　of　the　Emancipation　Proclamation　where　the　Union　armies　were　in　control　ended　slavery　for　many　thousands　more。　Wherever　the　armies　marched；　slavery　ended。　This　was　true　even　in　Kentucky；　where　the　institution　was　not　legally　abolished　until　the　adoption　of　the　Thirteenth　Amendment。　Altogether　more　than　a　million　Negroes　were　free　and　to　some　extent　habituated　to　freedom　before　May　1865。

*A　Negro　phrase　much　used　in　referring　to　emancipation。


Most　of　these　war…emancipated　Negroes　were　scattered　along　the　borders　of　the　Confederacy；　in　camps；　in　colonies；　in　the　towns；　on　refugee　farms；　at　work　with　the　armies；　or　serving　as　soldiers　in　the　ranks。　There　were　large　working　colonies　along　the　Atlantic　coast　from　Maryland　to　Florida。　The　chief　centers　were　near　Norfolk；　where　General　Butler　was　the　first　to　establish　a　〃contraband〃　camp；　in　North　Carolina；　and　on　the　Sea　Islands　of　South　Carolina；　Georgia；　and　Florida；　which　had　been　seized　by　the　Federal　fleet　early　in　the　war。　To　the　Sea　Islands　also　were　sent；　in　1865；　the　hordes　of　Negroes　who　had　followed　General　Sherman　out　of　Georgia　and　South　Carolina。　Through　the　border　states　from　the　Atlantic　to　the　Mississippi　and　along　both　sides　of　the　Mississippi　from　Cairo；　Illinois；　to　New　Orleans；　there　were　other　refugee　camps；　farms；　and　colonies。　For　periods　varying　from　one　to　four　years　these　free　Negroes　had　been　at　work；　often　amid　conditions　highly　unfavorable　to　health；　under　the　supervision　of　officers　of　the　Treasury　Department　or　of　the　army。

Emancipation　was　therefore　a　gradual　process；　and　most　of　the　Negroes；　through　their　widening　experience　on　the　plantations；　with　the　armies；　and　in　the　colonies；　were　better　fitted　for　freedom　in　1865　than　they　had　been　in　1861。　Even　their　years　of　bondage　had　done　something　for　them；　for　they　knew　how　to　work　and　they　had　adopted　in　part　the　language；　habits；　religion；　and　morals　of　the　whites。　But　slavery　had　not　made　them　thrifty；　self…reliant；　or　educated。　Frederick　Douglass　said　of　the　Negro　at　the　end　of　his　servitude：　〃He　had　none　of　the　conditions　of　self…preservation　or　self…protection。　He　was　free　from　the　individual　master；　but　he　had　nothing　but　the　dusty　road　under　his　feet。　He　was　free　from　the　old　quarter　that　once　gave　him　shelter；　but　a　slave　to　the　rains　of　summer　and　to　the　frosts　of　winter。　He　was　turned　loose；　naked；　hungr