TELEGRAPH TIMES
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Ritz Turtle
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51
March 1870
Issue No. 37
The South Reacts To New Laws
I don’t think anyone expected for the South to
just accept the new status quo of the Nation, or them
to even slightly agree with the fact that their former
slaves being equal to them. However, instead of just
readjusting to the new way of life the south have
decided to continue to keep the freed blacks
underneath them. The Southerners don’t want blacks
to be able to be free, not even including the fact that
they can now vote, be citizens, and are equal to them
in every way.
Also, you have to understand that the Southerners
are feeling like their way of life is being stolen from
them. The Southerners paid a lot of money for their
slaves and also invested a lot into them once they
owned them, now that money is just gone and its like
they wasted it. The income of the south is and will
continue to go down because they cannot meet the
same demands for cotton that they used to. The 13th,
14th, and 15th Amendments freed the slaves and gave
them the rights to vote and be citizens and these
amendments are causing them to disagree almost
completely with this new life that they are having to
accept. Not all people are trying to control the blacks
still, Elizabeth Pringle rented some of her land to some
blacks so they can get started, here is what she says
about what she is doing:
“I assembled the hands and told them that all
who could not support themselves for a year would
have to leave the place. With one accord they declared
they could do it; but I explained to them that I was
going to take charge myself,
that I was a woman, with no resources of money behind
me, and, having only the land, I intended to rent to them
for ten bushels of rice to the acre. I could advance
nothing but the seed. I could give them a chance to
work for themselves and prove themselves worthy to be
free men. I intended to have no overseer; each man
would be entirely responsible for the land he rented.”
Telegraph Times, 5786 Turtle Rd Ritz, Vermont 87351
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From Slave Labor to Free Labor
A new organization known as the Ku Klux Klan have
formed and our dedicated solely to keeping the freed blacks
down and “in their place”. They have spread across the
South like a wildfire and attack freedmen and their allies in
an attempt to restore white supremacy. The federal
government put the force acts in place to try to control klan
activities and it appears to be working. Laura Elizabeth
Battle told me about an incident with the klan that she
knows of and this is a great example of how far they will go
to revolt against the amendments that helped free the
slaves and give them the rights they deserve:
“This lady whose husband, I suppose was a member of
the Ku Klux Klan, told of a company of grotesque figures
that had been seen the night before, mounted on
horseback, appearing like the heads of skeletons
illuminated, their grinning teeth and horrible looking sockets
glittering with lights shining out from a white robe that
enveloped both horse and rider. She related further that a
negro, who had made threats against some of the white
people had been found, killed and quartered and hung from
Neuse river bridge, with a notice of warning to the other
negroes and "Red Stringers." However, that cured our
county of such lawlessness . . . so that the Society of Red
Strings disbanded and never drilled again.”
The South is a mixed bag when it comes down to the
reactions to the current laws going into effect. They may not
all completely agree with the 13th, 14th, and 15th
amendments but it does seem like most will obey.
When traveling through the South, the changes
are visible! Some slaves are taking advantage of
their freedom and are not being controlled by
white folks. They now have control over their
personal lives. One can see that they come and
go as they please, determine which members of
their family work in the fields, and their children
attend school. These observed actions are truly
the definition of Freedman’s Bureau. Also, one
can see the obvious changes in some whites in
the South. Driving through the country it is
evident that Southerners are creating more
diverse working opportunities not only for black
laborers, but for white laborers also. Whites are
depending on machinery more and less on
laborers.
In the South, some slaves now work as
sharecroppers. According to some former slaves,
sharecropping is not the ideal job, but it is a
place to start and move up. This might not sound
astonishing, but they keep over one-third of the
crop for their own family, and what is left they
give to the actual landowner. One might also
observe that some blacks no longer live near
their former owners. They have the opportunity to
own land, have personal houses, have their own
black churches, and schools. This might make
the Southerners sound as if they are happy
about Freedman’s Bureau, but as one drive, they
can see the disgust and rage plastered on their
faces. Freedman’s Bureau has also helped bring
families together since most families were
separated. When taking a stroll downtown, I
encountered a former slave who had walked over
600 miles searching for his loved ones.
As one can tell, some slaves did take
advantage of Freedman’s Bureau. However,
while visiting the South a former slave, Uncle Bill
McCrea, said, “And I remember and the Yankees
stop here, and the Yankees stop right here on the
courthouse square. I was a good size boy then.
Telegraph Times, 5786 Turtle Rd Ritz, Vermont 87351
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And then what they call Freedman
Bureau, you hear tell of it ain't you?
And they prosecuting people you
know, what they do, you know, and
all like that, and I mean just as hard
as they could. I've seen two mens
they had they were punishing for
what they do." McCrea’s statement is
outrageous considering slavery has
been banned. Another former slave,
Isom Moseley, stated, “Well now,
they tell me it was a, a year before
the folks knowed that, uh, they was
free. And when they found out they
was free, they worked on shares,
they tell me. Worked on shares,
didn't rent no land, they worked on
shares. Now you know I was a boy,
I'm about explaining to the best of my
understanding. They say they
worked on shares. I think they said it
was, was it fourth, or third I think.
They got the third, I think they say,
what they made, after surrender."
Even though the South is trying to
enforce Freedman’s Bureau, there is
definitely more work to be done.
Black Codes and Jim
Crow Laws
Freedom was not as
expected by the recently released
slaves. Certain laws allowed white
southerners to recover power over
slaves and use these laws in order to
attain this goal for control.
Southerners developed Black Codes
in order to limit the freedom of former
slaves in 1865. The main purpose for
these codes did not just involve the
intention of owning former slaves, but
also included the idea of individuals
who would work day in and day out.
These particular restrictions for
African Americans would not
necessarily bring back the idea of
slavery, but would give the idea of
white supremacy.
With the benefit of choosing
who would work at what, the white
southerners were supplied with
workers. However, in areas such as
South Carolina, a distinct certificate
from a local judge was needed in
order to seek certain occupations.
This was required in order to
discourage self-sufficiency by the
former slaves. These laws hindered
the possibilities of African Americans
from growing their own crops. For
example, Mississippi banned black
ownership of any land outside of
towns.
Some of the black residents
found without permission in the town
after ten o’clock were subject to
imprisonment. Joseph
Holloway expressed his feelings on
the subject of certain time limits
blacks were held to. “As we were
about to leave after getting our gas,
the owner walked over to the car. He
looked serious but not so mean now.
He said to my uncle in a voice kind of
under his breath but clear, ‘Boy I'm
goin' give you some friendly advice.
You niggers be out this town by
nightfall. I would not like to see
something happen to your family. I
can't tell you much, but by nightfall
y'all better be gone from here.” The
creators of the codes did not try to
hide the obvious bias and prejudice.
By 1866, Black Codes were
suspended for being too harsh and it
was decided that blacks should be
subject to the same penalties and
regulations as whites. However,
there were further laws known as Jim
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Cow Laws. Some of these Jim Crow
Laws were statutes and ordinances
established between 1874 and 1975
to separate the white and black races
in the American South. It was meant
to create "separate but equal"
treatment, but in practice Jim Crow
Laws condemned black citizens to
inferior treatment and facilities.
Education was segregated as were
public facilities such as hotels and
restaurants under Jim Crow Laws. In
fact, the United States military was
segregated until integrated by Harry
S. Truman after World War II.
Telegraph Times, 5786 Turtle Rd Ritz, Vermont 87351
THE COLLECTOR!
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Carpetbaggers
Carpetbaggers were classified as yankee’s,
and scandals, etc. They were northerners coming to
the south seeking self fortune in areas that the south
did.
During and immediately after the Civil War,
many northerners headed to the southern states,
driven by hopes of economic gain, a desire to work on
behalf of the newly emancipated slaves or a
combination of both. These "carpetbaggers"–whom
many in the South viewed as opportunists looking to
exploit and profit from the region's misfortunes–
supported the Republican Party, and would play a
central role in shaping new southern governments
during Reconstruction.
In general, the term "carpetbagger" refers to a
traveler who arrives in a new region with only a satchel
(or carpet bag) of possessions, and who attempts to
profit from or gain control over his new surroundings,
often against the will or consent of the original
inhabitants. After 1865, a number of northerners
moved to the South to purchase land, lease plantations
or partner with down-and-out planters in the hopes of
making money from cotton. At first they were
welcomed, as southerners saw the need for northern
capital and investment to get the devastated region
back on its feet. They later became an object of much
scorn, as many southerners saw them as low-class
and opportunistic newcomers seeking to get rich on
their misfortune.
Carpetbaggers are the epitome of control in this
time of the Reconstruction Era. Carpetbaggers are
northerners who moved south after the Civil War for
economical gains, personal gains, and for political
control. These northerners migrated to the south
because of the damages the Civil War had caused and
because of their poor economic situations. The after
effects of the Civil War made land cheap and the ability
for the carpetbaggers to obtain control easy.
Southerners looked as carpetbaggers as insidious,
unwelcome, and over controlling. The south named
these northerners carpetbaggers because of their bags
they carried that held all of their belongings. These
bags were made of carpet. Hence the term,
carpetbaggers.
Carpetbaggers were Republicans, which created
even more controversy between the north and south
because most of the southerners were Democrats. But,
there was a small exception of southerners who
supported the carpetbaggers, who were called
scalawags. Scalawags were white southerners that
supported the Reconstruction plan. Freedmen soon
united with the carpetbaggers as well. This ally,
carpetbaggers, scalawags, and freedmen, is trying to
take total control of the south.
I have interviewed a northerner and he has shared his
perspective on the carpetbaggers and his take on the
Reconstruction:
“If there be a "war of races," as is the apologetic
defense of the murderers, then it is war declared and
carried on by whites. The other race is inoffensive and
makes no war, asking only its rights. The whole
pretension of a "war of races" is an invention to cover
the brutality of the oppressors. Not less wicked is the
loud-mouthed attack on immigrants, whom rebels
choose to call "carpet-baggers;" that is, American
citizens, who, in the exercise of the rights of
citizenship, carry to the South the blood,the capital and
the ideas of the North. This term of reproach does not
belong to the Northerner alone. The carpet-bag is the
symbol of our whole population: nobody who is not a
"carpet-bugger" or at least the descendant of one.
Constantly the country opens its arms to welcome
"carpetbaggers" from foreign lands. And yet the cry
ascends that "carpetbaggers" are to be driven from the
South. Here permit me to say that if anybody is driven
from anywhere; it will not be the loyal citizen, whether
old or new.”
-- Charles Sumner, Massachusetts Senator.
I have also interviewed a southern school teacher.
She has shared her personal insight and self
experiences of how the carpetbaggers have changed
the south: "There has been much opposition to the
School. Twice I have been shot at in my room. Some of
my night-school scholars have been shot but none
killed. A week ago an aged freedman was shot so
Telegraph Times, 5786 Turtle Rd Ritz, Vermont 87351
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badly as to break his arm and leg -- just
across the way. The rebels here threatened
to burn down the school and house in which
I board before the first month was passed.
Yet they have not materially harmed us. The
nearest military Jurisdiction is two hundred
miles distant at New Orleans." -- Edmonia
Highgate, a teacher in Louisiana, Dec. 17th,
1866.
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The reaction to
government orders
• The south no longer had a large, cheap
workforce for picking cotton
• In return of the 13th amendment, they
began to pass “black codes” which
restricted the freedom of blacks, in some
ways making their situation as bad as it
was under slavery
• Resistance to the Civil Rights Act
strongly disliked radical republicans
Editor: Alex Elgin & Averia Padgett
Journalist: Kyle Lynn, Averia Padgett,
Alex Elgin, Brady Joyner, Kenedi
Hamrick, and Jack Vaughn
Telegraph Times, 5786 Turtle Rd Ritz, Vermont 87351