Week 8 Blog Post

Week 8 Blog Post

Comments on Ordeal by Fire Appendices:

The Emancipation Proclamation: The proclamation stated that the military and navy “will recognize and maintain the freedom” of the freed slaves and do nothing to repress them. That order was not consistently enforced especially in terms of the camp followers consisting of women and children as the Perman & Taylor documents highlighted.

It was not only stereotypical prejudice that caused Lincoln to admonish freedpeople from committing violence. It is human nature for any oppressed people to want to retaliate against their oppressors if given the opportunity. Schwalm in A Hard Fight for We detailed the violence committed by freed blacks both men and women in South Carolina especially in 1865, over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was enacted.

As we discussed in class, Lincoln felt that he could only free the slaves in the states that were in rebellion in order to be in compliance with the Constitution. Northern Democrats still felt that he had violated the Constitution.

The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution: Lincoln hoped to avoid a Constitutional challenge to his freeing of the slaves which is why he proposed the 13^th amendment to outlaw slavery completely. It was fortunate that the amendment was still able to be ratified by a sufficient number of states even after his April assassination. It was ratified in December of 1865.

Comments on Major Problems in the Civil War and Reconstruction Documents and Essays:

General Benjamin Butler was concerned for the blacks, especially those who were unfit for military duty such as old men, women and children. He understood what a hindrance these camp followers were going to be to the army if they were allowed to stay. This was very early in the war, July 1861, to have 900 Negroes already approaching Union lines. Butler was correct to ask the secretary of war what to do about them. Schwalm mentioned that Butler was one of the first generals to refuse to return fugitive slaves. (Can’t find page in Schwalm)

The Conkling Letter: Lincoln’s arguments defending his Emancipation Proclamation were very insightful and showed his skill as a lawyer. His use of if, then logical reasoning painted his adversaries into a corner. He spelled it out for the Republican Party when he stated, “I issued the proclamation on purpose to aid you in saving the Union.” (P & T, 290)

Joseph Miller, U.S.A., Protests the Mistreatment of His Family by the U.S. Army, Nov. 1864: Miller’s affidavit was very sad. He was correct to blame the army for the severe conditions that resulted in his son’s death. Living conditions would have been difficult enough in the tent Miller’s wife and children were first assigned. Tents are normally not very warm, but according to the document, the tent was providing enough shelter for his sick son to slowly recover. Miller blamed the cold wind for killing his son. The living conditions for both soldiers and camp followers during the war were tragic.

James H Payne, Aug. 1864: Payne had a valid complaint that the black regiment was not reinforced by the whites. It is good that documents such as this remain to counter any claims that whites made afterwards that the blacks did not distinguish themselves enough in battle.

Frederick Douglass: It is interesting that Douglass brought up that women also were denied the right to vote, but that did not mean that the government should “justify one wrong by another” in denying African-Americans the right to vote. He said that he approves of women’s suffrage but it is a difference argument. Douglass also argued that denying blacks the right to vote contributed to their low self-esteem. If Douglass understood that keeping blacks low was precisely what white supremacists intended to achieve, it was not a good argument to use to get them to change their minds. Lincoln was much better at using psychology. Douglass’ advocacy for justice as opposed to benevolence, pity, or sympathy had more resonance.  His entreaty of “Do nothing with us!” was likely to have better appeal to latent racists. Even though racists would still prefer to deny blacks voting rights, they would be more willing to see the Negro fall if he “cannot stand on his own legs.”

Gertrude Thomas: I was struck by Gertrude’s comment, “I assisted [Patsy] in wiping the breakfast dishes, a thing I never remember to have done more than once or twice in my life.” (P & T, 297) I totally sympathize with the Southern white women. I wish that I never had to wash dishes. I positively hate washing dishes and even with a family of only three and a dishwasher, the stream of dishes throughout the day seems constant. I even let my dishes air dry and the chore is still endless!

I think that Southern women after emancipation deserve more sympathy than they’ve gotten. I certainly wouldn’t want to be faced with trying to run a plantation or even the manor house with ex-slaves, now paid servants, who refuse to work and still expect to be fed and taken care of. It is no wonder the whites viewed their ex-slaves as immature and childlike. The freedwomen especially had no concept of economics. I am reminded of my fourteen year old daughter.

The African American Role in Union Victory: This was a very good, concise essay on the blacks’ participation in the military and sabotage on the Confederate homefront. One fact that I underlined was Glatthaar’s comment, “There were more white volunteers than the government could accept into uniform.” (P & T, 310) I did not think that was true since even the Union needed to start a draft in 1863. Glatthaar gives no reference date for his comment.

It was interesting to learn that Butler was one of the first generals to allow blacks to work for the army which led to the First Confiscation Act. Also interesting was the account of Edmund Ruffin wondering why his slaves would want to run away from his care. Ruffin evidently didn’t understand the lure of freedom. As Glatthaar pointed out, “[T]he situation challenged their core beliefs.” (P & T, 313)

Douglass was right that blacks fighting in the army would prove that they had earned their right to citizenship. (P & T, 314) This is precisely what the Confederates feared as embodied in the quote from Georgia governor Joseph E. Brown, “Whenever we establish the fact that they are a military race, we destroy our whole theory that they are unfit to be free.” (P & T, 310)

I found Glatthaar’s section on the effect of white officers upon black troops enlightening. He pointed out the white officers were volunteers but also “men of their time” who couldn’t help being burdened with “some degree of racial prejudice.” New information to me was that these officers had to pass competency examinations and provide character references. So the black regiments benefited from having “talented, experienced officers who could prepare them for battle” more so than the all volunteer regiments. (P & T, 317) Still, that did not make up for the black regiments being unsupported by white regiments in battle as told in the document by James Payne mentioned above. (P & T, 294-295)

Comments on A Hard Fight For We by Leslie A. Schwalm to follow in next post.

Written by Molly Kettler