Harpers+29

Harper's Weekly, April 1, 1865, page 194 (Editorial)
 * PARTIES AT THE SOUTH **

From the glimpses opened by Sherman, and furnished by the rebel journals, and the message of Jefferson Davis, it is not difficult to understand the condition of public sentiment at the South. There is the original fire-eating war-party, of which Davis is the gloomy chief. To this belong the mass of the women and the aristocracy of the plantations. The young men of this party are in the army, and the army is controlled by the Richmond cabal. The adherents of the party retire before our advance. They desert their town-houses for the interior, grimly hoping that accumulating disaster may drive every body to their own desperation. Then there is the small party of original Unionists, of whom Mr. Pettigru was a chief. They have been utterly overpowered, and in the ruder districts remorselessly slaughtered for their fidelity. Beside these there are the Unionists of whom Mr. Aiken is a representative; those whose sympathies are entirely Southern but who thought secession a dangerous mistake. Beyond these is the great party of those who acquiesce in the situation whatever it may be; who submit quietly to the rule of the rebellion, and with equal passivity to that of the government.

In addition to these there are the slaves, who are much the largest party of all. They are the most faithful of the whole population of the Southern States. Despite their ignorance, and the careful falsehoods of the rebel chiefs, they know perfectly well that the Yankees are their friends. Notwithstanding the criminal blunders of Generals Halleck and M’Clellan, a sure instinct keeps the slaves true to us. The best information for our armies and fleets comes from them. Escaping Union soldiers, whether in Louisiana, Georgia, Carolina, or Virginia, make straight for the negro quarters. There they are fed, cheered, and guided. One officer, making his way through the heart of the rebel region to our lines, traveled two hundred miles without seeing a white man. He went by night and was passed along to freedom by friendly black hands. The slaves have been forced to work upon the rebel fortifications. They speak freely of it; but they have one answer when asked what they will do if they are armed by the rebels. They will shoot behind. The slave-masters are not ignorant of this, and therefore they are opposed to arming them. It is the same knowledge which made Lee’s Adjutant-General declare that the opinions of the soldier would not impair his military efficiency, if only discipline were severe enough. In other words, this wiseacre thinks that a man will fight just as well for his slavery as his liberty if he is only drilled sufficiently.

In all our mediations upon reconstruction we must constantly remember these various groups. The fire-eaters and those who have been conspicuous in rebellion will always retain a certain hate of the Union and Government. But they will be the smallest element of the population, and constantly dwindle by exile as they have been destroyed by the war. They will be the most dangerous political allies, because they will constantly compromise any party with which they may act. The Aiken Unionists and the acquiescers will be disposed to co-operate with their old political friends at the North. But the true Union men of the South, of whom Joseph Holt and the Maryland liberals are the noblest representatives, will accept with all their hearts the new conditions of the country, and become the active power in the Southern regeneration, as the fire-eaters were in the Southern rebellion. With these must be counted the late slaves, the great laboring population. They will be enfranchised, we have little doubt, by the sagacity of the new party in the Southern States as a permanent security against reaction. When that is done, there will be no more "natural antipathy" to the African than to the Asian, or to the European. The rebels have discovered that a colored man is as good as any other if he will only fight for them. We shall find that he is no worse than others if he will only vote with us.

The work of reconstruction will be done by those who are in earnest, both at the North and South. And as the vast cloud of ignorance which has overshadowed the whole South scatters and lifts, and the people there are enabled to see their country and understand their Government, they will have touched the bottom of the slough in which slavery and State sovereignty had plunged them.


 * 1. According to this author, what is the position of the majority of the Southern Whites regarding the war? **
 * 2. What dad Halleck and M’Clellan done? **
 * 3. How did slaves serve in the Confederate army? **
 * 4. Did Joseph Holt rise politically in the South as the author predicted? **