The Sequel of Appomattox: A Chronicle of the Reunion of the StatesFleming, Walter L. (Walter Lynwood)
History
The Sequel of Appomattox: A Chronicle of the Reunion of the States
Fleming, Walter L. (Walter Lynwood)
Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877); United States -- History -- 1865-1898
Let the first condition of peace with them be that no people in the
rebel States shall ever lose or gain civil or political rights by reason
of their race or origin. The next condition of peace be that our black
allies in the South--those saviours of our nation--shall share with
their poor white neighbors in the subdivisions of the large landed
estates of the South. Let the only other condition be that the rebel
masses shall not, for say, a dozen years, be allowed access to the
ballot-box, or be eligible to office; and that the like restrictions be
for life on their political and military leaders.... The mass of the
Southern blacks fall, in point of intelligence, but little, if any,
behind the mass of the Southern whites.... In reference to the
qualifications of the voter, men make too much account of the head and
too little of the heart. The ballot-box, like God, says: "Give me your
heart." The best-hearted men are the best qualified to vote; and, in
this light, the blacks, with their characteristic gentleness, patience,
and affectionateness, are peculiarly entitled to vote. We cannot wonder
at Swedenborg's belief that the celestial people will be found in the
interior of Africa; nor hardly can we wonder at the legend that the gods
came down every year to sup with their favorite Africans.
One of the most statesmanlike proposals was made by Governor John A.
Andrew of Massachusetts. If, forgetting their theories, the
conservatives could have united in support of a restoration conceived in
his spirit, the goal might have been speedily achieved. Andrew demanded
a reorganization, based upon acceptance of the results of the war, but
carried through with the aid of "those who are by their intelligence and
character the natural leaders of their people and who surely will lead
them by and by." These men cannot be kept out forever, said he, for
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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