Mary - Journeytohistory

Chapter 13Losing the Peace277struggle between 1861 and 1865 was civil war, so was the conflict from 1865 to1877, with as much bitterness and hatred but less bloodshed. The peace wasbeing lost because of the vigorous efforts of both parties and sections to recruittheir strength from the ruins of war. Peace could not prevail in such a warlikeenvironment.THE OVERTHROW OF RECONSTRUCTIONReconstruction did not end abruptly as the result of congressional or presidentialaction. Rather it came to a gradual end as restraints were relaxed and stringentlegislation repealed. Just as Reconstruction had begun long before the warwas over, so it drew to a close long before the final withdrawal of troops fromSouthern soil. As early as 1865 many white Southerners had resumed theirplaces at home as respected citizens of their communities, and they resumedpolitical activity on taking the oath of allegiance. Even during Radical Reconstructionthey continued to return to the fold and to aid in restoring home rule.In 1869 the ex-Confederates of Tennessee were enfranchised. Within a fewmonths large numbers of white Southerners in other states reclaimed thcir citizenshipthrough individual acts of amnesty. In 1871 the "ironclad" oath,which Congress had imposed at the beginning of Radical Reconstruction to disqualifymany ex-Confederates, was repealed. In the foHowing year a generalamnesty restored the franchise to all but about 600 ex-Confederate officials. Itthen became possible for the South to take up where it left off in IH61 and togovern itself.The effect of pardoning white Southerners was seen early in the revival ofthe Democratic party. In 1870 the border states began to go Democratic; NorthPardoning of white Carolina and Virginia came under the control of Conserva-Southerners and tives, who outnumbered the Republican combination ofre,·iva! of the blacks, scalawags, and carpetbaggers. In the follOWing yearDemocratic pUrt), Georgia Democrats returned to power. In other states controlledby Republicans, Democrats won partial control, especially in the socalledwhite counties. In 1874 and 1875 they resumed the rule of Texas,Arkansas, and Alabama. All that Republicans could claim in the South by 1876were South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana. The cause of the Democrats hadgained so much momentum that the overthrow of Republicanism was regardedby many as a crusade.It looked as though the Civil War would break out anew as the Democratsresorted to every possible device to overthrow the Radicals. In 1875 Mississippiwas on the verge of war. The black militia maintained by Governor AdelbertAmes was especially offensive to the resurgent Democrats, and when the governorordered 100 copies of Infantry Tactics, presumably for the blacks, thewhites thought it time for a "protective" white militia to step forward. Bothsides imported arms, paraded, and actually skirmished. Although Ames promisedto disband the black militia, disorder and killings continued until the