Hamilton James Eckenrode

“ We must take things as we find them and we must accept facts as they are and devote all our thoughts and energies to the single end of getting back under the protection of the Constitution and laws of the United States. ”

“ Completely demoralized and corrupted by the infamous renegades who have affiliated with them, a large portion of the negroes are now inaccessible to reason. If there were not, fortunately, in Virginia a large majority of white men, to whose instincts of race and interests we may be permitted to look hopefully, our prospects would be no better than those of Hayti when French radicalism kindled in that unhappy land the fires of servile insurrection. ”

“ The refusal to accede to the ordinance of secession cut off the northwestern counties from the Confederate east. It was now decided to erect a new government in Virginia, entirely independent of the regular State administration, and a declaration was issued to justify this radical step. It said: "The true purpose of all government is to promote the welfare and provide for the protection and security of the governed, and when any form or organization of government proves inadequate for, or subversive of this purpose, it is the right, it is the duty of the latter to alter or abolish it. ”

“ Negro suffrage had, therefore, become an assured fact. The people opposed it as obstinately as ever, but a few thoughtful men in the conservative ranks realized the hopelessness of continuing the struggle against a sentiment that had grown into a sort of faith. There was also a danger that the Underwood constitution might be passed and the disfranchisement of a large class of citizens become a settled condition. ”

“ For this reason and on account of the bitter political feeling of the time, the session of the convention was exceedingly inharmonious. The membership of the body indicates the great political revolution that had taken place in Virginia with the extension of the ballot to the colored race. The old, long-dominant planter class, which had governed the State through its previous history, was now without power; the organic law was to be framed by negroes and the white representatives of negroes and of the whites who supported the Republican party in defiance of their race. ”

“ Speaker Downey finally congratulated the members that their action in the legislature had kept the State government out of the hands of the abolitionists. "Virginia," he said, "is now safe. Whatever they may do to other States, they cannot force a provisional governor upon her. Whatever they may do to other States, thank God, they cannot now saddle negro suffrage upon us." ”

“ That we will therefore insist that a new constitution shall be framed for Virginia which shall provide that all men, white or black, without reference to previous condition of servitude, shall be perfectly equal before the laws, both in respect to political privileges and power and of civil rights ”

“ The bureau thus existed in the community as a foreign and independent judicial, social, economic and political power. Consequently, by the spring of 1867, it had done much to emancipate the colored race from Southern dominance. But it might have been expected that the blacks would be outgeneraled politically by the astute whites. Yet this did not happen. On the other hand, the freedmen were well organized and incorporated as a body in the Republican party. The radical politicians accomplished this clever feat by means of a political secret society called the Union League. ”

“ Beck's speech, "The real object of men who manipulated and projected this bill is to put all power into the hands of a few ultra radical leaders in that convention, and to deprive of the rights of suffrage twenty-five thousand white men in that State. The present provisional governor of Virginia, General Wells, came before the reconstruction committee and said . . . that in the first place he wanted a liberal appropriation to carry on the election. ”

“ While the Republicans were thus building up a party, the conservatives did not remain entirely idle. The chief political event of the summer of 1866 was the attempted union of Northern and Southern men in a new party, to uphold President Johnson in his policy of restoration. No parties existed in Virginia at the time, except the Republican party. Accordingly it was necessary to revert to old machinery, to elect delegates from Virginia to the conservative convention at Philadelphia. ”

“ The policy of the Republicans in the constitutional convention of 1868 was to make the negro a full citizen by granting him suffrage, the right to office-holding and jury-service; to provide him with education; and to give him the chance of attaining economic independence.
(8) The restoration of Virginia was due to the joint action of the conservatives and of the Republicans hostile to extreme radicalism. ”

“ His appointments of judges were much commended by the conservative press. "He has secured for himself," said the Richmond Whig, "a hold on the good-will of the people of Virginia that neither the defamation of malice nor the intrigues of knavery can dislodge." 14 Pierpont constantly urged the necessity of such sacrifices as might placate the dominant section, and the avoidance of any possible occasion of irritation. Thus, in the important matter of the election of a president of the Richmond and Danville Railroad, he interfered, in order to prevent the chance of a misunderstanding. ”

“ Nominations of delegates to the constitutional convention were made in January, 1864. By the terms of the act of the legislature, any voter in the State who had not adhered by word or act to the Confederacy since September 1, 1861, might be chosen a member of the convention ; all loyal citizens, who had not given aid or comfort to the Confederacy since January 1, 1863, possessed the right to vote. On account of the very small number of counties within the limits of the Alexandria government, it was necessary that each county should be largely represented in the convention. ”

“ The society was singularly adapted to the character of the freedmen, and the men who organized and managed it were often acute and masterful politicians. The Union League threatened to place the negro race in permanent power in several States; consequently the whites made it the point of attack, and when they succeeded in breaking it down, they had mastered one of the chief issues in the contest for supremacy. The effect of the Union League in Virginia was to completely separate, politically, the black race from the white. ”

“ The inquiry of the reconstruction committee, which began early in 1866, supplied another incentive to rigorous measures against the South. This inquiry gave the Southern radicals an opportunity to bring forward their grievances and opinions at a very critical time. The Republican witnesses testified almost unanimously to the unfitness of the late Confederate States for re-admission to their constitutional rights; and they made a deep impression upon Congress. The Unionists in the South expected the war to bring about an impossible reversal of conditions and opinions ”

“ That all men are by nature equally free and independent and have certain inherent rights of which when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity, namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and obtaining happiness and safety. ”

“ The Republicans of Virginia had come, as we have seen, to favor negro suffrage by the summer of 1865. After the Philadelphia radical convention of 1866, they abandoned all idea of restricting the franchise by property or educational qualifications or military service; and unitedly advocated "manhood suffrage" for the colored race. Congress, by the reconstruction acts of March, 1867, granted the blacks the privilege of voting for members of the constitutional convention of the Southern States. ”

“ The west, almost ever since the Revolution, had agitated for reform in the unequal system of representation which gave the east many more delegates in proportion to the white population than the west. In the constitutional convention of 1829-30, the question of representation held the chief place, but no satisfactory basis was decided upon, for the westerners wished to limit representation strictly to the white population. ”

“ The constitutional convention assembled in the capitol in Richmond on December 3, 1867.1 It was composed of 105 members. The radicals had elected 72 delegates and the conservatives 33, but several members elected by the Republicans identified themselves with the conservatives, thus making them about one-half the number of their opponents.
This convention was the most remarkable political assembly that ever met in Virginia. It was the first legislative body in the history of the State in which negroes sat as members. ”

“ Hunnicutt had been a slave-holder and voted for the ordinance of secession, although by his own statement, unwillingly. Later he became a Union man and in the beginning of the reconstruction went actively into politics as an advanced radical. His utterances were sometimes violent and even dangerous. Both as a speaker and as editor of the leading Republican journal in Virginia, the Richmond New Nation, he exerted a very great influence over the freedmen. In the Philadelphia convention Hunnicutt had withstood the more conservative views of John Minor Botts upon negro suffrage. ”

“ According to President Johnson's plan, the restoration should now have ended. Armed resistance had long ceased in the Southern States ; they were apparently reconciled to their enforced return to the Union ; they were apparently loyal to the Federal government. Representatives had been elected to Congress. All that remained to be done was the acceptance of the new Congressmen by that body, and peace would return again to the stricken States.
But great struggles cannot be so easily composed. The victors do not so readily relinquish their advantages. ”

“ For the leadership of the Republican party in Virginia a man of greater consideration was needed; a man who might also gain influence with white voters. Partly for this reason Wells was elevated to the gubernatorial chair.5 Besides, a growing antagonism had sprung up between the native white Republicans or those of long residence in the State "scalawags"6 as they were vulgarly called and the adventuring carpet-baggers. ”

“ The general assembly should make no law establishing slavery or recognizing property in human beings. [37]
Popular education was provided for in the new constitution, for the first time in the constitutional proceedings of Virginia. A poll-tax was levied on all male adults, one-half of which tax should be applied to free schools. The constitution declared that taxation should be equal and uniform throughout the State. ”

“ Botts was born in Dumfries, Virginia, in 1802. He became a prominent Whig politician and served several terms in Congress. Later he refused to acquiesce in the secession, took no part in the war and suffered imprisoment for a time by the Confederate authorities. 19 The Republican party in Virginia was particularly fortunate in having such an able and influential man for a leader, but it did not avail itself of the advantage, as the negroes considered Botts too conservative.
Sixty delegates were present in this convention, representing seventeen counties. ”

“ We have met to appeal to the North not to permit the infliction of this disgrace upon us. Our rights may be wrested from us, but we will never submit to the rule of an alien and inferior race. We prefer the rule of the bayonet. ”

“ The opposition to Pierpont's policy took form even before the June meeting of the legislature. On June 12, 1865, the Republicans of Alexandria formed a political association with S. Ferguson Beach as president. The following resolutions were adopted : (1) "That it was essential to prevent Virginia from coming into the control of the secessionists; 17 (2) that it seemed as if this control might be gained; (3) that the constitution of Virginia should be amended so as to confer the right of suffrage upon, and restrict it to, loyal male citizens without regard to color." ”

“ The Nation, 1865, p. 268.
p.58 The Political Reconstruction of Virginia.
a useful and beneficent institution. But, however much good the bureau may have done the negro, it was thoroughly disliked by the white people. It was an alien control of the working population; it intervened between the planter and the laborer, between white and black. It oftentimes saved the freedmen from injustice. It oftentimes gave ear to causeless and silly complaints on the part of the negroes, who were, of course, prone to use its power of protection to the utmost. ”

“ He had been beaten by Hunnicutt in the contest for leadership, but he still hoped to be able to found a party that might obtain the support of both white and black, a party that would secure the rights of colored men, but which would not be dominated by the political and social ideals of radicalism. ”

“ But Pierpont's policy, wise and conciliatory as it was, soon brought him into opposition to his former associates at Alexandria. For the majority of Union men in Virginia, who had supported the Alexandria government, were Republicans of radical tendencies. The strength of the radical party in comparison with the whole number of voters in the State was very insignificant. ”

“ No attempt was made by the radical leaders to reduce the mob to order. Many of the country negro delegates were also excluded. It was proposed to hold a meeting in the Capitol Square and the crowd outside went off there. Mr. Hunnicutt addressed the "mass convention" within the church, which consisted entirely of negroes except the fifty white delegates to the April convention. He said that all that was necessary for the present convention to do was to endorse the April platform. If any man did not feel disposed to vote for that declaration, he might go home and take care of his family. ”

“ No better method than the Union League could have been chosen for uniting the negro race with the Republican party, for through the secret so- ciety the radical propaganda might be carried on, largely without fear of interruption on the part of the native whites. ”

“ The committee on resolutions provided the following series : First, Congress was thanked for the reconstruction act, the beneficial effects of which were felt in the increased security of "loyal" men. Secondly, the principles of the Republican party were adopted as a platform, and the cooperation of all the classes, without distinction of race or color, was invited. The third resolution proclaimed equal protection to all men before the courts and equal political rights, including the right to hold office; free schools for all classes, and a free and equal participation therein ”

“ But the negroes were in no mood to play a subordinate part. The age was full of dream's; they were beginning to believe that boundless opportunities of advancement opened before them; and men who held the present hope of race equality would not rest satisfied with the advantages already gained. One of the most prominent negro politicians, Lewis Lindsay, in a characteristic and bitter speech at Charlottesville on July 2, announced the desires of the black men. ”

“ The campaign increased in warmth as the nominations for delegates to the convention were made. The negroes for the time gave themselves up to politics, for which they had already acquired an extreme liking. The difficulty of obtaining labor was consequently great in some sections, as the blacks lived in constant attendance upon political meetings. The freedmen showed a considerable aptitude for politics and demanded and received a share of the nominations. ”

“ New York Tribune, April 12, 1867 : "To organize a campaign on the Hunnicutt plan is to abandon any hope of a permanent Union party in the South. We cannot afford to array the white against the black or the black against the white."
New York Times : " He (Hunnicutt) and such as he are unceasing in their endeavors to organize the blacks as a party that shall hereafter control Southern affairs and with this view they teach the superiority of the negroes as a race over the white."
[20] Enquirer, May I and May 7, 1867. Whig, May I, 1867.
p.70 The Political Reconstruction of Virginia. ”

“ Some extremists advocated confiscation of Confederate property in favor of the negroes. The majority of Republicans, indeed, did not favor such a severe measure, but the blacks, ignorant and naturally desirous of bettering their condition, seized upon the idea with great avidity. It soon became the dream of the freedmen to own their farms instead of working for wages. ”