E
53 \
•M34-
Disunion and Restoration
IN Tennessee
% BY
JOHN RANDOLPH NEAL, M.A., LL.B.
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of doctor of philosophy
IN THE
Faculty of Political Science
Columbia Universiiy
NEW YORK
Zbe IknicNerhocher press
1899
Qass.
Book.
Disunion and Restoration
IN Tennessee
JOHN RANDOLPH NEAL, M.A., LL.B.
.-n
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of doctor of philosophy
IN THE
Faculty of Political Science
Columbia University
NEW YORK.
Ube IkniclterbocNer press
1899
f^l
1^
r
i.u'S^^
:«.*a«^'
BY X^ 3
%
MA;1 13 tin
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER PAGE
I. Separation ........ i
II. Responsibility for Separatkjn . . . .12
III. Loyalty of East Tennessee .... 16
IV. Restoration of Civil Government ... 24
V. Recognition by Congress ..... 32
VI. Tennessee and the New Amendments . . 39
VII. Financial Administration of the Radical
Government ... .... 44
VIII. Radical Municipal Administration ... 52
IX. Ku-Klux Outrages 57
X. Close of the Radical Domination ... 66
XI. Constitutional Convention of 1870 ... 74
f
DISUNION AND RESTORATION IN
TENNESSEE
CHAPTER I
SEPARATION
The vote of Tennessee in the presidential election of i860
shows conclusively that at that time a majority of her citi- t^
zens did not hold disunion sentiments. Her electoral vote
was cast for John Bell and Edward Everett, who represented,
as their platform expressed it, " no political principle other
than the Constitution of the country, the Union of the
States, and the enforcement of the laws."
The first step toward secession was not the result of popu-
lar initiative, but was mainly due to the efforts of the Gov-
ernor of the State, Isham G. Harris. Governor Harris had
entered public life just after the rupture between Andrew
Jackson and Hugh Lawson White, which had resulted in
the formation, in Tennessee, of the Whig party. For thirty
years the Whigs and Democrats contended for the control of
the State. They were so equally matched that victory often
turned upon the individual strength of the candidate. This
resulted in the development of a class of public men who
possessed, in a high degree, the usually divergent abilities
of public speakers and party leaders. From this school of
practical politics were graduated James K. Polk, Cave John-
son, Felix Grundy, John Bell, and Andrew Johnson.
The contest between the Whigs and Democrats, which
2 DISUNION AND RESTORATION
was at first merely a personal quarrel, soon ripened into a
division along true party lines. The Democrats, after the
death of Andrew Jackson, joined the national Democratic
party in its struggle for the perpetuation and extension of
slavery. The Whigs on the other hand shared in the broad
policies and national aspirations of the national Whig
party.
Governor Harris had at the very beginning of his career
allied himself with the Democrats. As early as 1849, "^^^ ^'^^^
been elected to Congress, where he became conspicuous for his
advocacy of extreme State rights. In 1857 he defeated Neil
S. Brown for governor, and was re-elected in 1859. -^^ ^^s
not difificult to predict what his action would be in the crisis
of i860. Immediately after the election of President Lin-
coln, he issued a call for an extra session of the Legislature.
It convened on the seventh day of January, and on the same
day he sent in his message. This message is worthy of
study, as it has been pronounced by a distinguished writer
to be " the ablest and most succinct as well as the most in-
telligent presentation and justification of the reasons for the
action of the seceding States." ' It began with the following
description of the crisis confronting the State : " The long,
systematic, and wanton agitation of the slavery question,
with actual and threatened aggressions of the Northern
States and a portion of their people upon the well-defined
constitutional rights of the Southern citizens, the rapid in-
crease of a purely sectional party, whose bond of union is
uncompromising hostility to the rights and institutions of
the fifteen Southern States, have produced a condition in
the affairs of the country unparalleled in the history of the
past, resulting already in the withdrawal from the Confed-
eracy of one of the sovereignties which compose it, while
others are rapidly preparing to move in the same direction." *
' Cox : Three Decades of Federal Legislation.
■■"Acts of Tennessee, Extra Session, i86r, pp. i to 13.
SEPARA TION 3
This opening statement was followed by an historical re-
view in which was traced the growth of the Republican party.
The offences it had committed against the Southern States
were then enumerated. Among other things, he said :
" It has sought to appropriate to itself, and to exclude
the slaveholders from, the territory acquired by the common
blood and treasure of all. It has, through the instrument-
ality of the Emigrants' Aid Society under State patronage,
flooded the territories with its minions armed with Sharp's
rifles and bowie knives, seeking thus to accomplish by in-
timidation, violence, and murder what it could not do by
constitutional means.
" It claimed the constitutional right to abolish slavery in
the District of Columbia, the forts, arsenals, dock-yards, and
other places ceded to the United States within the bounds
of the slaveholding States. It proposed a prohibition of
the slave-trade between the States, thereby crowding the
slaves together, and preventing the exit south until they
became unprofitable to such an extent that it would force the
owner finally to abandon them in self-defence. It has, by
the deliberate legislative enactments of a large majority of
the Northern States, openly and flagrantly nullified the clause
of the Constitution which provided for the return of fugitive
slaves.
" It has, through the executive authority of the States,
denied the extradition of murderers and marauders.
" It obtained its own compromise in the Constitution to
continue the importation of slaves, and now sets up a higher
law than the Constitution to destroy the property imported
and sold to us by their fathers.
" It has caused the murder of owners in the pursuit of the
fugitive slave, and shielded from punishment the murderers.
" It has on many occasions sent its emissaries into the South-
ern States to corrupt our slaves, induce them to run off, and
excite them to insurrection. It has by its John Brown and
4 DISUNION AND RESTORATION
Montgomery raids invaded sovereign States and murdered
peaceful citizens. It has justified and exalted to highest
honors of admiration the horrid murders, arsons, and rapines
of the John Brown raid, and canonized the felons as saints
and martyrs.
" It has burned the towns, poisoned the cattle, and con-
spired with the slaves to depopulate Northern Texas. In has
through certain leaders proclaimed to the slaves the terrible
motto : ' Alarm to the sleep, fire to the dwelHngs, and poison
to the food and water of the slaveholders.'
" It has repudiated the decision of the Supreme Court.
" It has assailed our rights, guaranteed by the plainest pro-
visions of the Constitution, from the floor of each House of
Congress, the pulpit, the hustings, the schoolroom, their
State Legislatures, and through the public press, dividing
churches, and disrupting poHtical parties and civil govern-
ment."
The party that had committed the offences enumerated
was in possession of the House of Representatives, and h'ad
elected one of its leaders to the presidency, and in the pro-
gress of events the Supreme Court and Senate must also pass
into its hands. With such a party in power, Governor
Harris contended that the Union could be preserved only
on the condition that certain amendments to the Constitu-
tion should be adopted, which would put slavery beyond its
attacks.
The amendments he suggested were :
1. Establish a line upon the northern boundary of the
present slave States, extend it through the territories to the
Pacific Ocean, upon such parallel of latitude as will divide
them equitably between North and South, expressly provid-
ing that all territory now owned, or that may be hereafter
acquired, north of said line shall be forever free, and south
of it forever slave.
2. In addition to the fugitive-slave clause, provide, that,
SEPARA TION 5
whenever a slave has been demanded of the executive
authority of the State to which he has fled, and is not
delivered, and the owner permitted to carry him out of the
State in peace, the State so failing to deliver shall pay
to the owner double the value of such slave, and secure his
right of action in the Supreme Court.
3. Provide for the protection of the owner in the peace-
able possession of his slave while in transition or temporarily
sojourning in any of the States of the Confederacy, and, in
the event of the slave's escaping or being taken from the
owner, require the State to return, or account for, him as in
the case of a fugitive.
4. Especially prohibit Congress from abolishing slavery in
the District of Columbia, in any dock-yard, navy-yard, arse-
nal, or any district of any character whatever, within the
limits of any slave State.
5. Provide that these amendments shall never be changed
except by consent of all the slave States.
With these amendments to the Constitution, Governor
Harris said that he could feel that the rights of the Southern
States were reasonably secure, not only in theory, but in
fact, and should indulge the hope of living in the Union in
peace. " If the non-slaveholding States refuse to comply
with a demand so just and reasonable ; refuse to abandon at
once and forever their unjust war upon us, our institutions,
and our rights ; refuse, as they have heretofore done to per-
form, in good faith, the obligations of the compact of the
Union, much as we appreciate the power, prosperity, and
glory of this government, deeply as we deplore the existence
of the causes which have already driven one State out of
the Union, much as we regret the imperative necessity
which they have wantonly and wickedly forced upon us,
every consideration of self-preservation and self-respect re-
quires that we should assert and maintain our equality in
the Union, or our independence out of it."
6 DISUNION AND RESTORATION
The message closed with the following recommendation to
the Legislature : " I recommend that you provide by law for
submitting to the people of the State the question of Con-
vention or No Convention ; and also the election of dele-
gates by the people to meet in State Convention at the
Capitol at Nashville, at the earliest day practicable, to take
into consideration our federal relations, and determine what
action shall be taken by the State of Tennessee for the
security of the rights and the peace of her citizens. This
will place the whole matter in the hands of the people, for
them, in their sovereignty, to determine how far their rights
have been violated, the character of the redress or guaranty
they will demand, or the action they will take for their
present and future security."
The Legislature proceeded without delay to put into effect
the recommendations contained in Governor Harris's mes-
sage. On January 19th it passed an act known as the Con-
vention Bill,' which provided for submitting the question of
holding a convention to the vote of the people. The con-
vention was to take into consideration the relation between
the government of the United States and the people of the
State, and was to have the power to adopt any measures for
vindicating the sovereignty of the State and the people it
saw fit.
Only a few days intervened between the passage of the
Convention Bill and the day appointed for taking the popu-
lar vote ; nevertheless, an exciting canvass of the State
ensued. The people came together in vast crowds to hear
the question debated. The Whig leaders were almost
unanimous in their opposition. They were joined by the
Democrats of East Tennessee. The vote was taken on the
fifth of February, 1861. The result was : 24,749 for the Con-
vention ; and, 91,803 against it.
This defeat put a stop for the moment to all official
' Acts of Tennessee, Extra Session, 1861, p. 14.
SEPARATION 7
action, as the Legislature had adjourned, but the public agi-
tation and discussion continued. The disunion sentiment
began to grow very rapidly as a result of events which were
transpiring outside the State. Amid the intense excitement
which followed the taking of Fort Sumter, Governor Har-
ris issued a call for a second extra session of the Legislature.
On the 1 8th of April he had replied to President Lincoln's
call for troops : " Tennessee will not furnish a single man for
coercion, but fifty thousand, if necessary, for the defence of
our rights and those of our Southern brothers."
The Legislature convened on the twenty-seventh of April.
The public were excluded from its meeting, and its members
were pledged to secrecy. The session opened with the
reading of the gubernatorial message,' which asserted that
the President of the United States had wantonly inaugurated
an internecine war upon the people of the slave States.
"This war," he said, " is likely to assume an importance,
nearly, if not equal to the struggle of our revolutionary
fathers in their patriotic efforts to resist usurpations and
throw off the tyrannical yoke of the British Government.
" This declaration of war upon the South has virtually
dissolved the Union. It will be idle to speak of ourselves
any longer as members of the Federal Union ; and it is be-
lieved by many whose opinions are entitled to the highest
respect, that, by reason of the subversion of the Constitution
by the authorities in power, inaugurating a revolution be-
tween the States thereof, each and every individual is
already released from his obligations to that government ;
yet, as best comports with the dignity of the subject, and
also from due regard to those who may hold a different
opinion — and further still, that all the world may be advised
of our action, — I respectfully recommend that our connec-
tions with the Federal Union be formally annulled in such
manner as shall involve the highest exercise of the sovereign
'Acts of Tennessee, 2d Extra Session, 1861, pp. i to 11.
8 DISUNION AND RESTORATION
authority of the people of the State and best secure that
harmony, so much to be desired, in times like the present, in
questions of detail. The speediest method of accomplish-
ing this will be the perfecting of an ordinance by the Legis-
lature formally declaring the independence of the State of
Tennessee of the Federal Union, renouncing its authority,
and resuming each and every function belonging to a
separate sovereignty ; and said ordinance when perfected
should be submitted to a vote of the people to be by them
adopted or rejected. Under existing circumstances I can
see no propriety in encumbering the people of the State
with the election of delegates, to do that which is in our
power to enable them to do directly for themselves. The
most direct as well as the highest act of sovereignty, accord-
ing to our theory, is that by which the people vote, not
merely for men, but for measures submitted for their ap-
proval or rejection. Since it is only the voice of the people
that is to be heard, there is no reason why they may not as
readily and effectively express themselves upon an ordinance
framed and submitted to them by the Legislature as if
submitted by a convention."
The Legislature was as eager as before to execute the will
of the Governor. It embodied his recommendations in an
act passed May 6, 1861.' This act contained two important
provisions. The first was :
" Declaration of Independence and Ordinance dissolving
the federal relations between the State of Tennessee and
the United States of America.
We the people of the State of Tennessee, waiving any ex-
pression of opinion as to the abstract doctrine of secession,
but asserting the right, as a free and independent people, to
alter, reform, or abolish our form of government in such
manner as we think proper, do ordain and declare, that all
the laws and ordinances by which the State of Tennessee
' Acts of Tennessee, 2d Extra Session, 1861, p. 13.
SEPARA TION g
became a member of the Federal Union of the United
States of America are hereby abrogated and annulled, and
that all obligation on our part be withdrawn therefrom ;
and we do hereby resume all the rights, functions, and
powers which by any of said laws and ordinances were con-
veyed to the Government of the United States, and absolve
ourselves from all obligations, restraints, duties, incurred
thereto ; and do hereby henceforth become a free, sovereign,
and independent State."
This ordinance was to be submitted to a direct vote of the
people. Two sets of tickets were to be prepared ; one set
marked Separation, the other Non-Separation. Those
favoring the ordinance were to vote the former ticket, those
opposed, the latter. The act of May 6th further provided
for the submission at the same election of the question as to
whether Tennessee, if it severed its relations with the
Union, should join the Confederacy. This question was also
embodied in the form of an Ordinance.
But the Governor and the Legislature did not wait for
the popular verdict upon these Ordinances. As early as
May 7th, they extended an invitation to the Confederacy to
select Nashville as its capital city. A few days later a still
more extraordinary step was taken. Governor Harris,
acting under a joint resolution of the Legislature, appointed
three commissioners to negotiate a military league with the
Confederate authorities. These commissioners, representing
the State of Tennessee, and Mr. Henry W. Hilliard, an agent
of the Confederacy, drew up the following agreement :
" Convention between the State of Tennessee and
Confederate States of America.'
" The State of Tennessee, looking to a speedy admission
into the Confederacy established by the Confederate States
of America, in accordance with the Constitution for the
Provisional Government of said States, enters into the fol-
' Acts of Tennessee, 2d Extra Session, 1861, p. 19.
10
DISUNION AND RESTORATION
lowing temporary Convention, Agreement, and Military-
League with the Confederate States, for the purpose of
meeting pressing exigencies affecting common rights, in-
terests, and safety of said State and said Confederacy.
" First. Until the said State shall become a member of
said Confederacy, according to the constitutions of both
powers, the whole military force and military operations,
offensive and defensive, of said State in the impending con-
flict with the United States, shall be under the chief control
and direction of the President of the Confederate States,
upon the same basis, principle, and footing as if said State
were now during the interval a member of said Confederacy,
said force, together with that of the Confederate States, to
be employed in common defence.
" Secondly. The State of Tennessee will, upon becoming
a member of said Confederacy under the permanent Consti-
tution of said Confederate States, if the same shall ever
occur, turn over to the Confederate States all the public
property acquired from the United States on the same
terms as the other States of said Confederacy have done in
like case."
This agreement was laid before the Legislature in a
special message, and almost unanimously ratified. Its pro-
visions were promptly executed. The vote of the people
upon the Declaration of Independence and the Ordinance
adopting the Provisional Constitution of the Confederacy
did not occur till the eighth of June. The result of the
vote, as shown by the official returns, was as follows :
Separation.
No Separation.
East Tennessee
14,780
58,265
29,127
6,246
32,923
7,956
6,117
Middle Tennessee
West Tennessee
Camps
Total
108,418
46,006
SEPARA TION
II
Representation.
No Representation.
East Tennessee
14,061
58,198
28,912
6.340
32,962
8,298
6,104
Middle Tennessee
West Tennessee
Camps
Total
107,511
47,364
Immediately after the election, Gov. Harris issued a
proclamation announcing Tennessee's withdrawal from the
Union. This was followed by the proclamation of Jefferson
Davis, ofificially declaring that Tennessee had become a
member of the Confederacy. On the first of August the
State adopted the permanent Confederate Constitution by
vote of 83,133 for, 30,357 against.
Nothing now remained to complete Tennessee's absorp-
tion into the Confederacy but the election of representatives
to the Confederate Congress. In October, the Legislature
selected Langdon C Haynes and Gustavus Henry as Con-
federate Senators. Haynes was a distinguished Democrat
of East Tennessee, while Henry was a Whig. Representa-
tives to the Lower House were chosen by a vote of the
people. Here again the Whigs and Democrats were equally
represented.
CHAPTER II
RESPONSIBILITY FOR SEPARATION
Just as radical differences of opinion have existed as to
the parties responsible for the whole secession movement, so
the action of Tennessee has been variously interpreted. A
number of writers have contended that the majority of her
citizens were never in favor of secession, and it was only a
coup d' ^tat of Governor Harris that carried the State into
the Confederacy. This view is a survival of the opinion once
so widely prevalent in the North that the Civil War was the
result of a conspiracy of a few ambitious Southern politi-
cians, who tricked the mass of the Southern people into
a war which never had their genuine approval.
It must be confessed that at first view the mode of Tennes-
see's withdrawal gives some countenance to this theory.
In February, 1861, she had placed her disapproval upon
secession by voting down a proposition to call a convention.
Instead of yielding to this mandate of the people. Gover-
nor Harris and the Legislature had entered into a military
league with the Confederate authorities, and having thus
surrendered the real control of the State, they again went
through the form of appealing to a plebiscite for approval of
their action. Nevertheless, we are confident that an un-
prejudiced examination of these events will show that Ten-
nessee, with the exception of the eastern part of the State,
joined the Confederacy as willingly as South Carolina or
Mississippi.
In the first place, these writers have made the mistake of
classing Tennessee among the border States. Mr. Wilson
in his History of the Slave Power says : " Exactly why
RESPONSIBILITY FOR SEPARATION 1 3
Tennessee should have been taken out of the Union, while
Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri were prevented from
going, no man is wise enough to say. At least, none but
general reasons can be given. Exactly why the conspirators
were foiled in one case and not in the other, exactly by whom
the current of treason was checked and turned in the one
and not in the other, the wisest can only conjecture."
The answer to the problem which Mr. Wilson found so
difficult to solve lies in the fact that conditions in Tennessee
were in no wise similar to those in Maryland, Kentucky, and
Missouri. These border States were not distinctly slave
States. In all of them the institution of slavery existed, but
their industrial system was not based upon it. This arose
largely from the fact that cotton was not their chief staple.
Tennessee, on the other hand, was a great cotton-producing
State, According to the census of i860, her annual product
was 296,465 bales of 400 lbs. each. Her interest was there-
fore identical with the extreme Southern States. If there
were to be two republics side by side, one free and the other
slave, both sentiment and interest apparently demanded that
Tennessee should cast her lot with the latter.
When the vote of February was taken she was confronted
by no such dilemma. At that time, the Confederacy had
not yet been organized, and it was by no means clear that
war would occur. In June, conditions had entirely changed.
The Confederacy was an established fact, and actual
hostilities had commenced. Neither side would permit
Tennessee to occupy a neutral position. She must fight
either for or against the South.
This change in the issues is clearly shown in the two
messages of Governor Harris. In his message of January
7th, he had sought to establish the right of secession, and
justify its present or immediate assertion. But these
principles had found no support in the Whig party. Their
opposition defeated the proposal for a convention. The
14 DISUNION AND RESTORATION
keynote to his second message is found in the following
passage : " Whatever differences may have heretofore
existed amongst us growing out of party divisions, as to the
constitutional right of secession as a remedy against usur-
pations, all admit the moral right asserted by our fathers to
resist wrong and to maintain their liberties by whatever
means necessary." This was a direct appeal to the right of
revolution, and it found as ready a response among the
Whigs as the Democrats. It was therefore this change in
the issue, and not coercive means adopted by Governor
Harris, that turned the tide toward disunion.
The recognized leader of the Whig party was John Bell.
Throughout his long career in the service of the national
government, he had consistently opposed the doctrine of
secession. In the presidential election of i860, he, even
more than Mr. Lincoln, was the Union candidate. When
the question of holding a convention was submitted to a
vote of the people, he vigorously opposed it. In this
opposition he was joined by Neil S. Brown, Cave Johnson,
Ewing, and other distinguished Whig politicians. It was
due to their efforts that the Convention proposal was de-
feated. The vote against the Convention was 91,803. This
represented the entire Whig party, and the Democrats of
East Tennessee. The votes cast for the Convention came
almost wholly from the Democrats of Middle and West
Tennessee. In short, the election of February was a
division along party lines. Its result was simply an indica-
tion that the Whig party of Tennessee was still opposed to
the doctrine of secession.
In June, party lines had been obliterated. For only a
few weeks elapsed after the defeat of the Convention, till a
majority of the Whig leaders, either in public addresses or
through the public press, counselled withdrawal from the
Union. The contest now became sectional ; it was East
Tennessee against Middle Tennessee and West Tennessee.
RESPONSIBILITY FOR SEPARATION 1 5
Governor Harris, in his negotiations with the Confederate
authorities, was counselled and supported by both Whigs and
Democrats. Although the unfavorable verdict of the people
upon secession had not been formally reversed, he was con-
scious that a real change had taken place in their sentiments,
and that he was, in fact, executing their will by concluding
a military league with the Confederacy.
CHAPTER III
LOYALTY OF EAST TENNESSEE
While we have attempted to show the untenable position
of those who maintain that the majority of the people of
Tennessee were opposed to separation and it was only a
coup d'etat of Governor Harris that carried the State into the
Confederacy, it is, however, true that a great number of her
inhabitants did resist withdrawal and remain openly loyal.
This was especially the case with East Tennessee. Her per-
sistent loyalty is a striking illustration of the physical
conditions and causes which lay behind the Civil War. Ten-
nessee had been settled by a common stock of pioneers
from North Carolina. Many of these, attracted by the
beautiful scenery and genial climate, had found homes east
of the Cumberland Mountains, while others had crossed the
mountains and taken possession of the rich tablelands and
the alluvial bottoms of Middle and West Tennessee. When
the State was admitted into the Union, in 1796, her popu-
lation was homogeneous. The institution of slavery existed
in all sections of the State.
In West and Middle Tennessee, where the soil and climate
were suitable for raising cotton, slave labor was very profita-
ble. In East Tennessee, the poor upland farms scarcely
yielded a return to white labor. As the result of this differ-
ence in natural conditions, slavery flourished in West and
Middle Tennessee, but in East Tennessee, by i860, it had
become almost extinct, except upon the rich plantations that
bordered the Tennessee River. The efforts to form a Con-
federacy based upon slavery found, therefore, no support
among the inhabitants of East Tennessee. Their interests
16
LOYALTY OF EAST TENNESSEE IJ
and sympathy were with the free States of the North, and
they rejected by a vote of two to one every proposal looking
toward separation.
In the eyes of the nation, Andrew Johnson stood as the
representative of East Tennessee loyalty. Upon the floor of
the United States Senate he denounced the withdrawal of
the Southern members as treason, and refused to vacate his
own seat even after Tennessee had been proclaimed by
Jefferson Davis a part of the Confederacy.
Next to Johnson, the most prominent Union man was W.
G. Brownlow, the editor of the Knoxville Whig. Mr. Brown-
low is in many respects the most unique figure in the his-
tory of Tennessee. He commenced life as a carpenter's
apprentice, but after serving his apprenticeship he entered
the Methodist ministry and travelled as a circuit rider for
ten years without intermission. His love of controversy
led him into most of the political and religious discussions
of the day, and gained for him the name of the " Fighting
Parson." About 1835 he became the editor and publisher
of a Whig newspaper, which rapidly gained a larger circula-
tion than any other political paper in the State.
In the presidential election of i860 Mr. Brownlow sup-
ported Bell and Everett. After the election his voice was
on the side of peaceful acquiescence in the results. In
vigorous editorials he denounced the sentiments expressed
in the message of Governor Harris to the extra session of the
Legislature. After the passage of the Convention Bill he
joined several prominent citizens in issuing a call for an
" East Tennessee Convention." Every county in East Ten-
nessee except two responded to the call. The Convention
assembled at Knoxville, on the 13th of May, 1861. The
delegates present numbered four hundred and sixty-nine, and
represented twenty-eight counties. Hon. Thos. A. R. Nelson
was elected chairman. On motion, he appointed a commit-
tee to prepare and report business for the Convention.
1 8 DISUNION AND RESTORATION
This committee drew up an address to the people, which
was in part as follows : '
" Our country is at this moment in a most deplorable
condition. The Constitution of the United States has
been openly contravened and set at defiance, while that of
our own State has shared no better fate, and by the
sworn representatives of the people has been utterly dis-
regarded. In this calamitous state of affairs, when the
liberties of the people are so imperilled and their most
valued rights endangered, it behooves them, in their primary
meetings and in all their other accustomed modes, to as-
semble, consult calmly as to their safety, and with firmness to
give expressions to their opinions and convictions of right.
" We, therefore, the delegates here assembled, represent-
ing and reflecting, as we verily believe, the opinions and
wishes of a large majority of the people of East Tennessee,
do resolve and declare ;
"That the evils which now afflict our beloved country, in
our opinion, are the legitimate offspring of the ruinous and
heretical doctrine of secession ; and that the people of East
Tennessee have ever been, and we believe still are, opposed
to it by a very large majority. That while the country is
now upon the very threshold of a most ruinous and deso-
lating Civil War, it may with truth be said, and we protest
before God, that the people, so far as we can see, have done
nothing to produce it. That the people of Tennessee, when
the question was submitted to them in February last, de-
cided by an overwhelming majority that the relations of
the State towards the Federal Government should not be
changed ; thereby expressing their preference for the Union
and the Constitution under which they had lived prosperously
and happily, and ignoring in the most emphatic manner the
idea that they had been oppressed by the General Govern-
ment in any of its acts, legislative, executive,or judicial.
' Hume's, Loyal Mountaineers of Tennessee.
LOYALTY OF EAST TENNESSEE I9
" That in view of a so decided expression of the will of the
people, in whom all power is inherent and on whose author-
ity all free governments are founded, and in the honest
•conviction that nothing has transpired since that time which
should change that deliberate judgment of the people, we
have contemplated with peculiar emotions the pertinacity
with which those in authority have labored to over-ride the
judgment of the people and to bring about the very re-
sult which the people themselves had so overwhelmingly
condemned.
" That the Legislative Assembly is but the creature of the
•Constitution of the State, and has no power to enact any
laws or to perform any act of sovereignty, except such as
may be authorized by that instrument : and believing, as we
do, that in their recent legislation, the General Assembly
have disregarded the rights of the people and transcended
their own legitimate powers, we feel constrained, and we in-
voke the people throughout the State, as they value their
liberties, to visit that hasty, unconsiderate, and unconstitu-
tional legislation with a decided rebuke, by voting on the
eighth day of next month against both the Act of Secession
and that of Union with the Confederate States.
" That the Legislature of the State, without having first
obtained the consent of the people, had no authority to
•enter a 'Military League' with the 'Confederate States'
against the General Government, and by so doing to put the
State of Tennessee in hostile array against the Government
of which it then was and still is a member. Such legislation
is in advance of the expressed will of the people to change
their governmental relations, was an act of usurpation, and
should be visited with the severest condemnation of the
people."
This report was unanimously adopted by the Convention
and ordered to be printed, so that it might be circulated
among the voters of the State. Before the Convention ad-
20 DISUNION AND RESTORATION
journed it was addressed by Andrew Johnson. According
to a contemporary report, " he spoke for three hours and
commanded earnest attention throughout his entire speech."
In the election of June 8th, the vote of East Tennessee
stood: 14,780, separation; 39,923, no separation; 14,601^
representation ; 32,962, no representation.
Nine days afterthe election, a second Convention of Union
men assembled at Greenville. Two hundred and ninety-
nine delegates were present. Many of them were in favor
of forming at once a Provisional Government and organizing
an army, but after a heated discussion more moderate coun-
sel prevailed. A Declaration of Grievances was drawn up
by the same committee that had prepared the address to the
people adopted by the Knoxville Convention. A new com-
mittee was appointed to prepare and present a memorial to
the State Legislature, asking its consent to the formation of
a new State to be composed of East Tennessee and such
counties in Middle Tennessee as desired to cooperate to that
end. But before this committee had an opportunity ta
present the memorial to the Legislature the Confederate
Government had put it beyond the power of Tennessee to act
in the matter by organizing East Tennessee into a military
department, and placing General Zolicoffer in supreme com-
mand. His presence in Knoxville with several regiments of
soldiers prevented any further steps towards the formation
of a new State hostile to the Confederacy.
There was at first no disposition on the part of the Con-
federate authorities to deal harshly with the loyal in-
habitants of East Tennessee, or to coerce them into the
Confederate army. They were allowed to remain undis-
turbed in their ordinary occupations. The general leniency
with which they were treated is shown by the fact that Mr.
Brownlow was allowed to continue the publication of the
Knoxville Whig, although every issue contained editorials
denouncing the action of Governor Harris and the Legisla-
LOYALTY OF EAST TENNESSEE 21
ture as treason and rebellion. This peaceful policy was
rudely disturbed by an act of the Union men themselves.
On the night of the eighth of November, an organized con-
spiracy was partially carried out by the bands of Union
men, to burn the bridges of the East Tennessee, Virginia,
and Georgia Railway. The bridges over the Hiwassee
River, Lick Creek, and three other streams were destroyed.
That one over the Holston River at Strawberry Plains was
saved by the bravery of the watchmen.
This attempt at bridge-burning created the utmost alarm
and excitement. The East Tennessee, Virginia, and Georgia
Railway was the main artery which connected Richmond
with the southwest. Thousand of troops were being hurried
over it daily in order to reach Richmond in time to defend
it from McClellan's advances. The road traversed the whole
eastern part of the State, and on account of its extent could
not be properly patrolled. Extraordinary measures must
thereupon be resorted to, in order to keep open this im-
portant line of communication, and protect the lives of the
soldiers from the terrible disaster which would have resulted
from the secret destruction of the bridges.
On the 25th of November, the Confederate Secretary of
War, Mr. Benjamin, sent the following orders to Colonel
Wood, who was in command of the troops at Knoxville:
" All such as can be identified in having been engaged in
bridge-burning are to be tried summarily by drum-head
court-martial, and if found guilty, executed on the spot by
hanging. It would be well to leave their bodies hanging in
the vicinity of the burned bridges."
This order was vigorously executed. A number of per-
sons suspected of complicity in the bridge-burning were
seized, and after a summary trial were executed in the man-
ner suggested by the Secretary of War. Martial law was
proclaimed, and the meetings of Union men forcibly
dispersed.
22 DISUNION AND RES TOE A TION
As a result of these measures there now began a general
exodus of the able-bodied Union men. In small bands
they crossed over the mountains into Kentucky. Many of
them joined the Federal army, and rendered valuable
service. Others formed camps safely within the Union
lines, and quietly awaited the termination of the war.
Their most prominent leaders made tours of the Northern
cities, and raised funds for their support. Boston alone
contributed over one hundred thousand dollars to this
purpose.' Vast crowds listened to the eloquent appeals
of these exiled loyalists, and the impression became general
in the North that the Southern authorities were treating
the loyal mountaineers of East Tennessee with the most
savage cruelty. Edward Everett, in a brilliant oration,
compared them with followers of William Tell and the
slaughtered saints of Piedmont.
The sacrifices and sufferings of the loyal inhabitants of
East Tennessee were indeed very great, but there is no
evidence that they were treated by the Confederacy in any
manner not necessary and justified by the usages of war.
After the failure of its conciliatory policy, the Confederacy
either had to permit the erection of a hostile State within
the heart of its territorj^ or coerce the loyalists into submis-
sion. It naturally adopted the latter alternative. It is
frequently stated that in thus adopting coercive methods it
acted inconsistently with the principles under which it with-
drew from the Union. Mr. Everett, in the same speech
quoted above, said : " One would suppose that under the
usurped rule of men who profess to go to war for self-
government and State rights, the people of East Tennessee,
if for any reason they saw fit to do so, had a right to burn
their own bridges."
The absurdity of such statements lies in the fact that they
confuse the denial of coercive powers to federal government,
' See Everett's "Account of the Fund for the Relief of East Tennessee."
LOYALTY OF EAST TENNESSEE 23
with the denial of coercive powers to all government. The
first is State rights, but the second is anarchy. It was in
perfect harmony with the Southern theory of State
sovereignty, that Tennessee should use any means it saw fit,
to force its citizens into obedience to its laws. The Con-
federate army acted as the agent of the State in quelling
insurrection and rebellion in East Tennessee.
After the intense excitement created by the bridge-
burning had somewhat subsided, the Confederate and State
authorities again manifested a desire to win over, or at least
conciliate, the Union element. The commander at Knoxville
issued a proclamation to the " Disaffected People of East
Tennessee," and assured " all those interested who have fled
to the enemy's lines, and who are actually in their army,
that he will welcome their return to their homes and their
friends ; they are offered amnesty and protection, if they
come to lay down their arms, and act as loyal citizens."
But these conciliatory measures again met with failure, as it
soon became necessary to enforce the military drafts, which
aroused the greatest opposition. In the summer of 1863,
East Tennessee became the theatre of active war. Its
history for the next three years is to be found in the
military annals of the State.
CHAPTER IV
THE RESTORATION OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT
While Tennessee escaped both executive and congres-
sional reconstruction, it did not follow in the restoration of its
civil government the plan laid down by President Lincoln.
The most distinctive feature of Lincoln's reconstruction
policy lay in the fact that it made the old political people
in each of the Southern States self-acting nuclei, which were
to bring order out of chaos. According to this theory,
neither the President nor Congress had the power to recon-
struct a State government. The people within a State alone
had the right to initiate and carry into effect measures for
the rehabilitation of the deranged governmental machinery.
It was the duty of the President under Article IV, Section 4,
of the Constitution, to see that their efforts in this direction
did not prove abortive by reason of domestic violence.
The germs of this policy may be seen in the instructions
sent to the military governors. It was more fully developed
in the amnesty proclamation of Dec. 8, 1863. By the terms
of this proclamation, a general pardon was granted to all
" who directly or by implication had participated in the re-
bellion, with certain exceptions specified, upon their taking
an oath to henceforth support the Constitution of the
United States, and abide by the proclamations of the Presi-
dent and the acts of Congress in relation to slavery." It was
further promised, " that whenever a number of persons in
any of the rebel States, equal to not less than one tenth of the
votes cast in such State in the presidential election of the
year i860, each having taken the oath aforesaid, and not
having violated it, and being a qualified voter by the elec-
24
THE RESTORATION OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT 2$
tion law of the State existing immediately before the so-
called act of secession, and excluding all others, shall estab-
lish a State government which shall be republican in form,
and in nowise contravening said oath, such shall be recog-
nized as the true government of the State."
This was, substantially, Lincoln's plan for reconstruction.
It was not carried out in any of the Southern States. In all,
except Tennessee, it was succeeded by executive reconstruc-
tion under Johnson, which was in turn supplanted by con-
gressional reconstruction. In Tennessee an entirely original
plan was adopted. This plan shut out from participation
in the work of organizing civil government, all those who
had taken part in secession. An oath of past loyalty was
made the test of political capacity. In short, the restored
civil government in Tennessee was based solely on that por-
tion of its inhabitants that had remained loyal to the Union.
These Union men, or Radicals as they chose to call them-
selves, composed about one third of the population of the
State, and represented about one fifth of the taxpayers. It
will be the object of this chapter to trace the steps by which
this small minority seized the reins of government and ex-
ercised for three years absolute control of the State.
After the fall of Fort Donelson, on February 15, 1862,
the greater part of Tennessee soon came into the posses-
sion of the Union army, president Lincoln immediately
appointed Andrew Johnson military governor. Athough
vested with almost unlimited powers, Governor Johnson
had at first little opportunity for their exercise, as the Union
army did not remain in peaceful possession of the State.
Along the southern border raged the bloody battles of
Shiloh, Chickamauga, and Missionary Ridge.
By the fall of 1863, the tide of battle had rolled so far
southward that the soil of Tennessee was at last free from
contending armies. The time had now arrived for the res-
toration of civil government. But Governor Johnson felt
26 DISUNION AND RESTORATION
secure in the exercise of his power only so long as it rested
upon a military basis. He therefore seemed in no hurry to
reorganize the State government. He contented himself
with filling the vacant offices, most of which under the laws
were elective, by the appointment of his political friends
thereto.
The leaders of the Union men in the State, the majority of
whom were never in sympathy with Johnson, began to grow
restive under his military dictatorship.
In May, 1864, occurred Johnson's nomination for the Vice-
Presidency. He naturally desired to obtain the electoral vote
of his own State. A Convention was therefore called to
meet in Nashville for the purpose of nominating an electoral
ticket. The Union leaders seized the opportunity which the
Convention presented for perfecting an organization of the
Union party. A committee was appointed by the Conven-
tion, and empowered to issue a call for a second Convention.
The second Convention was called to meet in Nashville,
Dec. 19, 1864. It failed to convene on the day appointed,
as Nashville was at that time threatened by Hood's army.
The defeat of the Confederate forces in the battle of Nash-
ville removed the danger, and the Convention came together
on the third day of January, 1865,
The work of the Convention was summed up in the pass-
age of one resolution.' The first section contained this
statement of the authority under which it claimed to act :
" Whereas the first article and the first section of the
Declaration of Rights in the Constitution of the State
of Tennessee declares, 'That all power is inherent in the
people, and all free governments are founded on their au-
thority, and instituted for their peace, safety, and happiness ;
and that for the advancement of these ends they have at all
times an inahenable and indefeasable right to alter, reform,
or amend the governments as they may think proper,' We,
' Laws of Tennessee, 1865, Introductory Documents, p. 3.
THE RESTORATION OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT 2/
the people of Tennessee, in Convention assembled, do pro-
pose the following alterations and amendments to the Con-
stitution, which, when ratified by the sovereign loyal people
shall be and constitute a permanent part of the Constitution
of Tennessee." This assertion of constituent powers by the
Convention was purely a revolutionary act. The Constitu-
tion could be legally changed only in the manner prescribed
by the Constitution itself. In the third section of the eleventh
article, it provided that all amendments must originate with
the State Legislature. In no sense could the Convention be
held to represent the Legislature. It was therefore in the
eyes of the law a body of private citizens.
The second section of the resolution passed by the Con-
vention contained the proposed amendments. The most
important were : the abolition of slavery, the declaration of
the invalidity of the secession acts, and an article giving
the Legislature the power to determine the suffrage. It was
further provided that these amendments should be submitted
to a vote of the people, and if ratified by the majority of
those voting, the military governor was ordered to hold
an election for Governor and Legislature. All voters should
be required to take the following oath : " I solemnly swear
that I will henceforth support the Constitution of the
United States, and defend it against the assaults of all its
enemies ; that I am an active friend of the government of
the United States, and the enemy of the so-called Confede-
rate States ; that I ardently desire the suppression of the
present rebellion against the United States; that I rejoice
in the triumph of the armies and navies of the United States,
and in the defeat of the armies, navies, and all other armed
combinations of the so-called Confederate States; that I will
cordially oppose all armistices or negotiations for peace with
rebels in arms until the Constitution of the United States
and all laws and proclamations made in pursuance thereof,
shall be established over all the people of every State and
28 DISUNION AND RESTORA TION
territory embraced within the national Union; and that I
will heartily aid and assist the loyal people in whatever
measures may be adopted for the attainment of these ends •
and further, that I take this oath freely and voluntarily and
without mental reservation, so help me God."
This test oath marks the first grave departure from Presi-
dent Lincoln's plan. He had suggested a simple oath " to
henceforth " support the Constitution on the principle, as he
expressed in his message to Congress, that " that test is a
sufificient one which accepts as sound whoever will make a
sworn recantation of his former unsoundness." This test
oath, framed by the Convention, went much further and
virtually disfranchised all who had served in the Confederate
army.
The Convention completed its labors by nominating a
candidate for Governor, and a general ticket for the Legisla-
ture. It thus combined the functions of a political and
constitutional convention.
Governor Johnson now had no motive for delaying the
reorganization of the State government, as it was only a
month until his inauguration as Vice-President. He there-
upon gave force to the action of the Convention by a proc-
lam.ation ordering a vote of the people to be taken in the
mode prescribed by the Convention. The election was held
on February 22d, and resulted in 25,293 for, 48 against.
On February 25th, Johnson issued a second proclamation
declaring the amendment ratified, and ordering an election
for Governor and Legislature. The second election occurred
on the 4th of March. W. G. Brownlow, the candidate
for Governor, received 23,352 votes against 35 scattering.
The legislative candidates received the same number of
votes as the election was by general ticket.
In the presidential election of i860 the vote of the State
was 145,000. Johnson therefore held that Tennessee had
fulfilled the 10 per cent, requirement of Lincoln's amnesty
THE RESTORATION OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT 29
proclamation. He issued a final proclamation in which he
attempted to set the stamp of legality upon the newly
elected Governor and Legislature.
The energies of the new State government were immedi-
ately directed toward securing the continued ascendancy of
the Union party. This was at first an easy matter, as one
of the new amendments to the Constitution had given the
Legislature the power of determining the suffrage qualifica-
tions.
The Legislature convened on the 2d of April. On the
7th Brownlow was inaugurated. His message contained the
following brief reference to the all-important question of
the franchise : " While I would not recommend you to give
way to the impulse of vengeance any more than to the ap-
peals of sympathy and pity, I would urge you to guard the
ballot-box faithfully and effectually against the approach of
treason, no matter in what character it may come." '
Most of the Union leaders in the Legislature desired the
absolute disfranchisement of the " rebels," but it was feared
so extreme a measure would arouse hostility in Congress to
seating the Representatives from Tennessee. A compromise
bill, known as the Arnell BilV was finally passed. By its
provisions the right to vote was restricted to the following
persons : " White men over twenty-one years old, who were
publicly known to have entertained unconditional Union
sentiment from the outbreak of the Rebellion, or who ar-
rived at age since March 4, 1866, and who had not been
engaged in armed rebellion against the United States Gov-
ernment, also those who had served in the Federal army,
and been honorably discharged, those who had been con-
scripted by force in the Confederate army, and were known
to be Union men^ and all those who had voted at the elec-
tion in March and February, 1865." All other persons were
disfranchised. For all persons who had held civil or diplo-
' Laws of Tennessee, 1865, 1-15. "^ Ibid., p. 32.
30 DISUNION AND RESTORATION
matic office under the Confederate Government, or who had
held military offices above the ranks of captain in the Con-
federate army, or lieutenant in the Confederate navy, also
for those who had resigned from the Congress of the United
States, or the army or navy of the United States, the
term of disfranchisement was for fifteen years. For all
other persons from whom the suffrage was withheld the
disfranchisement was to last only four years.
The first election to occur after the passage of the Arnell
Franchise Law, was the congressional election of August 3,
1865. All the candidates were Union men, but one set repre-
sented the conservative element which opposed disfranchise-
ment and tests oaths. The Radicals felt perfectly confident
of defeating the Conservatives, if the provisions of the new
law were carried out. But it soon became evident that the
Radicals had much to fear both from open violation of the
law, and secret intimidation of the voter. Governor Brown-
low, on the loth of July, issued a proclamation declaring
" that all who had banded together to defeat the franchise
law would be dealt with as rebels."
The election passed off without violence. On the loth
of August, before all the returns were in, Governor Brown-
low requested the clerks and sheriffs to give him information
as to illegal voting. On the information thus received, he
cast out the vote of twenty-five counties. Notwithstanding
this action of the Governor, four of the Conservatives were
elected.
The August election demonstrated to the Union party the
necessity of enacting a more efficient machinery for executing
the election laws. On January 19, 1866, a new franchise bill
was introduced in the Legislature.' It made the disfranchise-
ment of the ex-Confederates perpetual. It also established
the office of the Commissioner of Registration in each
county, and required that certificates of registration issued
' Acts of Tennessee, 1866-67, P- 26.
THE RESTORATION OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT 3 1
by these commissioners should be presented by every voter
in all elections, municipal, county, and State. The power of
appointing and removing these commissioners was given to
the Governor. He was also authorized to cast out any regis-
tration he considered illegal. This made him absolute judge
of elections. The bill was passed May 3, 1866. It was
amended in November so as to give the suffrage to the
negro. The ascendancy of the Union party in Tennessee
was now secured, so far as State statute could accomplish
this result.
CHAPTER V
RECOGNITION BY CONGRESS
The Radical leaders in Tennessee naturally expected that
the readmission of the Representatives to their seats in Con-
gress would immediately follow the restoration of the State
government. Therefore, upon the assembling of the first
session of the Thirty-ninth Congress, the full delegation from
Tennessee was present on the floor, ready to answer to their
names. When Mr. Edward McPherson, the clerk of the
House, omitted the name of Tennessee along with the other
Southern States from the preliminary roll-call, Mr. Horace
Maynard created a dramatic scene by waving aloft his cer-
tificate of election, and demanding recognition. In the
discussion which followed the roll-call, the cause of Mr.
Maynard was championed by Mr. Brooks, the leader of the
Democratic minority. "If Mr. Maynard," he said, "is not
a loyal man, and is not from a State in this Union, what man,
then, is loyal? In the darkest and most doubtful period of
the war, when an exile from his own State, I heard his elo-
quent voice on the banks of the St. Lawrence rousing the
people of my State to discharge their duties to their country."
The action of Mr. McPherson was upheld by a vote of the
House.
This refusal to seat the Tennessee Representatives arose,
partly on account of the failure to distinguish between the
loyal government in Tennessee, and the so-called Johnson
governments, but chiefly because the Republican leaders
wished to delay action until a complete reconstruction policy
could be mapped out. The Representatives continued,
however, to press the claims of the State for recognition
32
RECOGNITION BY CONGRESS 33
before the "Joint Committee of Fifteen," to which was
referred all measures affecting the status of the Southern
States.
This Committee was just on the point of yielding, when
the veto of the Freedman Bureau Bill occurred. The day
after the veto, Mr. Stevens brought before the House, from
the Committee of Fifteen, a "concurrent resolution con-
cerning the insurrectionary States," as follows : " Be it
resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate con-
curring), that in order to close agitation upon a question
which seems likely to disturb the action of the Government,
as well as to quiet the uncertainty which is agitating the
minds of the people of the eleven States which have been
declared to be in insurrection, no Senator or Representative
shall be admitted to either branch of Congress, from any of
the said States until Congress shall have declared such State
entitled to such representation," A strong effort was made
to exempt Tennessee from the provisions of the Resolution.
Mr. Grider, a member of the Committee of Fifteen, offered,
to that effect, a minority report as follows: "The minority
of the Committee on Reconstruction, on the part of the
House, beg leave to report that said committee have caused
an inquiry to be made as to the condition and loyalty of
Tennessee. There has been a large amount of evidence
taken, a part of it conducing to show that at some localities
occasionally there have been some irregularities and disaf-
fection, yet the main direction and weight of the testimony
are ample and conclusive to show that a great body of the
people in said State are not only loyal and willing, but
anxious to have and maintain amicable, sincere, and patri-
otic relations with the General Government. Such being
the state of facts, we offer the following resolution, to wit:
''Resolved, That the State of Tennessee is entitled to
representation in the Thirty-ninth Congress, and the repre-
sentatives elected from and by said State are hereby ad-
34 DISUNION AND RESTORA TION
mitted to take their seats therein upon being qualified by-
oath according to law."
In speaking in opposition to this minority resolution, Mr.
Stevens said : " I think I may say without impropriety,
that until yesterday there was an investigation into the con-
dition of Tennessee, to see whether by act of Congress we
could admit that State to a condition of representation here,
and admit its members to seats here, but since yesterday
there has arisen a state of things which the committee deem
puts it out of their power to proceed further without surren-
dering a great principle, without the loss of all their dignity,
without surrendering the rights of this body to the usurpation
of another power." The " Concurrent Resolution," intro-
duced by Mr. Stevens, was carried without amendment, so the
readmission of Tennessee was again postponed indefinitely.
Two months later, however, its readmission was fore-
shadowed in a speech by Mr. Bingham on the Fourteenth
Amendment. " I trust," he said, " that this amendment will
pass this House, that the day will soon come when Tennes-
see— loyal Tennessee — loyal in the very heart of the rebel-
lion, her mountains and plains blasted by the very ravagers
of war and stained with blood of her faithful children fallen
in the great struggle for the maintenance of the Union,
having already conformed her constitution and laws to every
provision of this amendment, will at once, upon its sub-
mission by Congress, irrevocably ratify it, and be, with-
out further delay, represented in Congress by her loyal
Representatives and Senators. Let that great example be
set by Tennessee, and it will be worth a hundred thousand
votes to the loyal people in the free North."
The suggestion contained in this speech was promptly
acted upon by the Radical government in Tennessee. On
the 19th of June, the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified
by the Legislature. Mr. Brownlow immediately sent the
following telegram to Washington :
RECOGNITION BY CONGRESS 35
"Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, July i8.
To Hon. E. M. Stanton, Sec. of War,
Washington, D. C.
" My compliments to the President. We have carried the
Constitutional Amendment in the House. Vote 43 to 18;
two of his tools refusing to vote.
" W. G. Brownlow."
On the same day the news of this ratification was re-
ceived, Mr. Bingham introduced into the House the
following resolution :
" Joint resolution declaring Tennessee again entitled to
Senators and Representatives in Congress.
''Whereas, The State of Tennessee has in good faith rati-
fied the article of amendment to the Constitution of the
United States proposed by the Thirty-ninth Congress to the
Legislatures of the several States, and has also shown, to
the satisfaction of Congress, by the proper spirti of obedi-
ence in the body of her people, her return to her due
allegiance to the Government, laws, and authority of the
United States; therefore,
Be it resolved by the Senate and the House of Represen-
tatives of the United States of America in Congress assem-
bled, That the State of Tennessee is hereby restored to her
former proper practical relation in the Union, and again en-
titled to be represented by Senators and Representatives in
Congress, duly elected and qualified, upon their taking the
oaths of ofifice required by existing laws."
In urging the immediate adoption of the resolution, Mr.
Bingham declared that : " Inasmuch as Tennessee has con-
formed to all our requirements ; inasmuch as she has, by a
majority of her whole Legislature in each House, ratified the
amendment in good faith ; inasmuch as she has of her own
voluntary will conformed her constitution and laws to the
Constitution and Laws of the United States ; inasmuch as
36 DISUNION AND RESTORA TION
she has by her fundamental law forever prohibited the
assumption or payment of the rebel debt, or the enslave-
ment of men ; inasmuch as she has by her own constitution
declared that rebels shall not exercise any of the political
power of the State or vote at elections ; and thereby giving
the American people assurance of her determination to
stand by this great measure of security for the future of the
Republic, Tennessee is as much entitled to be represented
here as any other State of the Union."
The resolution was opposed by a few members on the
ground that Tennessee had not, as yet, conferred the suffrage
upon the negro. Mr. Boutwell offered an amendment pro-
viding that Tennessee should not be readmitted until it had
established an " equal and just system of suffrage."
On June 20th the resolution passed the House, one hun-
dred and twenty-five voting in the affirmative, and twelve in
the negative. On the succeeding day, it came up for con-
sideration in the Senate. Mr. Trumbull proposed, in the
place of the preamble which had been framed by Mr.
Bingham and passed by the House, the following substitute:
" Whereas, In the year 1861, the government of the
State of Tennessee was seized upon and taken possession of
by persons in hostility to the United States, and the inhabi-
tants of said State in pursuance of an act of Congress were de-
clared to be in a state of insurrection against the United
States, and whereas said State government can be restored
to its former political relations in the Union only by the
consent of the law-making power of the United States ; and
whereas the people of said State did on the 22d of February,
1865, by a large and popular vote adopt and ratify a consti-
tution of government whereby slavery was abolished, and all
ordinances and laws of secession and debts contracted under
the same were declared void ; and whereas a State govern-
ment has been organized under said Constitution, which has
ratified the amendment to the Constitution of the United
RECOGNITION BY CONGRESS 37
States abolishing slavery, also the amendment proposed by
the Thirty-ninth Congress, and has done other acts
proclaiming and denoting loyalty ; Therefore, etc."
Mr. Sherman opposed the substitution of this preamble on
the ground that it would probably cause the President to
veto the resolution. "These political dogmas," he said,
" cannot receive the sanction of the President, and to insert
them will only create delay, and postpone the admission of
Tennessee."
After a considerable discussion, the question being taken
on the passage of the preamble as substituted by the Senate,
together with the resolution of the House, resulted in
twenty-eight votes in the afifirmative, and four in the nega-
tive. The House promptly agreed to the amendment of
the Senate, and the joint resolution was sent to the
President for his approval.
The President approved the joint resolution, but sent a
message to the House which was in the nature of a protest
against the opinions expressed in the preamble. After
giving at length his objections to the preamble, the
President said :
" Earnestly desiring to remove every cause of further
delay, whether real or imaginary, on the part of Congress to
the admission to their seats of loyal Senators and Represen-
tatives from the State of Tennessee, I have, notwithstanding
the anomalous character of this proceeding, affixed my sig-
nature to the resolution. My approval, however, is not to
be construed as an acknowledgment of the right of Congress
to pass laws, preliminary to the admission of duly qualified
representatives from any of the States. Neither is it to be
construed as committing me to all the statements made in
t;he preamble, some of which are, in my opinion, without
foundation in fact, especially the assertion that the State of
Tennessee has ratified the amendment to the Constitution
of the United States proposed by the Thirty-ninth Congress.
38 DISUNION AND RESTORATION
No official notice of such ratification has been received by
the Executive, or filed in the Department of State ; on the
contrary, unofficial information from most reliable sources,
induces the belief that the amendment has not yet been
constitutionally sanctioned by the Legislature of Tennessee.
The right of each House, under the Constitution, to judge
of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its own mem-
bers is undoubted, and my approval or disapproval of the
resolution could not in the slightest degree increase or
diminish the authority in this respect conferred upon the
two branches of Congress."
CHAPTER VI
TENNESSEE AND THE NEW AMENDMENTS
The deed of cession of Tennessee to the United States
by North Carolina contained the provision " that no regula-
tion made or to be made by Congress shall tend to emanci-
pate slaves." The constitution under which Tennessee was
admitted into the Union also recognized slavery by the
use of the term " freeman " throughout the bill of rights.
It was, however, exceedingly liberal in regard to the suffrage,
conferring it upon every " freeman of the age of twenty-one
years, and upwards." Under this provision, free negroes
were allowed to vote.
About 1830, there developed a strong movement in favor
of emancipation. At Jonesborough was established the
first abolition newspaper ever published in America. But
this emancipation sentiment had entirely disappeared by
i860. Even in East Tennessee, the most extreme opponents
of secession were firm believers in slavery.
The Emancipation Proclamation of January i, 1863, did
not include Tennessee within its provisions. Slavery, there-
fore continued to exist as a legal institution until abolished
by an amendment to the State constitution. This amend-
ment, as we have seen, was framed by the Radical Conven-
tion of 1865. In April, of the same year, Gov. Brownlow
laid before the Legislature a joint resolution of Congress
containing the proposed Thirteenth Amendment. It was
promptly ratified.
In his initial message. Gov. Brownlow discussed, at con-
siderable length, the race problem. He sought to impress
upon the Legislature, " that some legislation was neces-
39
40 DISUNION AND RESTORA TION
sary for the protection, government, and control of the
emancipated slave." The Legislature did not enter upon
this work immediately. It was not till May ii, 1866, that
a bill was passed entitled, "An act to define the term, * A
Person of Color,' and to declare the rights of such persons."
The first section of this act provided that under the term
" Person of Color " should be included all " negroes,
mulatoes, meztigsoes, and their descendants having African
blood," The second section declared : " That persons of
color have the right to make and enforce contracts, to sue
and be sued, to be parties and give evidence, and have full
and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security
of person and estate, and shall not be subject to any other
or different punishment, pains, or penalty for the commission
of any act or offence than such as are prescribed for white
persons committing like acts or offences." By the fifth sec-
tion, slave marriages were legalized. The last section declared
that nothing in the act should be so construed as to admit
persons of color to serve on the jury, or to require the
education of colored and white children in the same school.
Soon after the passage of this act occurred the great
struggle over the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment.
At the time of its submission by Congress to the State the
Legislature was not in session. Gov. Brownlow, therefore,
issued a call for an extra session to convene on July 4th.
The members were very slow in assembling. It became
apparent that the opponents of the amendment in the
Lower House would seek to defeat its ratification by pre-
venting a quorum, which was fixed by the constitution at
two thirds of all the members. Upon the first roll-call only
forty-two members answered to their names. At the third
meeting this list was increased to fifty-four, but it still fell
short two votes of the necessary two thirds. The Sergeant-
at-arms was, therefore, instructed to arrest the absentees, and
bring them by force to the floor of the House. He did not
TENNESSEE AND THE NEW AMENDMENTS 4 1
find this an easy task, as the refractory members sought by
every means possible to elude his search.
The following extract from his report gives a glimpse of
the ludicrous game of hide-and-seek enacted in different
parts of the State :
" I have the honor to report that in compliance with in-
struction that I should proceed to Hamilton County, and
arrest George B. Foster, member of the House of Repre-
sentatives, I proceeded to Chattanooga on Friday the 13th,
1866, arriving on the morning of the fourteenth, at 2 o'clock ;
communicated with the Sergeant of the Metropolitan Police,
procured a wagon, and, in company with Sergeant Bently,
proceeded to the summit of Lookout Mountain, to the resi-
dence of Mr. Foster, and was there informed by his family
that he had ridden out in the country ; carefully watched
the premises without result until evening; was informed
that he would be home that night ; lay up on the mountain
all night, awaiting his return. Mr. Foster did not return.
I am satisfied that his family on the mountain, at the time
of my leaving them, did not positively know of his where-
abouts, although there was a manifest intention on their
part to mislead as to his locality. I found it impossible to
conceal my business, and destination, — the resolution of the
House and order for the arrest of the absentees having
been published and otherwise communicated." '
Several of the members attempted to resign, but Governor
Brownlow refused to accept their resignations. He sent
the following response to Mr. Dunnaway, representative
from Bedford County: "Sir, — As it is evident the design of
your resignation is to reduce the House below a quorum and
to break up the Legislature, the same is not accepted."
Exasperated at the repeated failure of the Sergeant-at-
arms to arrest the hiding members, Governor Brownlow, on
the 14th of July, applied to General Thomas for military
' Acts of Tennessee, Extra Session, 1866.
42 DISUNION AND RESTORA TION
assistance. This request was referred to the Secretary of
War, Mr. Stanton, who replied :" That the duty of the
United States forces is not to interfere in any way in the
controversies between the political authorities of the State,
and Gen. Thomas will strictly refrain from any interfer-
ence between them."
The deadlock was finally broken on the 19th of July, in a
somewhat extraordinary manner. Two members, arrested
by the Sergeant-at-arms, were brought to the Capitol, and
placed in a committee-room communicating with the hall
of the House. A motion was then passed that they " be
invited and required to take their seats within the bar of
the House." The two members refused to come out of the
committee and continued to remain silent when their names
were called. The Speaker thereupon declared that no
quorum was present. An appeal was taken from this ruling,
and it was reversed. The House then proceeded to a vote
upon the amendment ; and it was declared duly ratified,
forty-three votes having been cast in the af^rmative, and
eleven in the negative.
In the meantime, Mr. Williams, one of the arrested mem-
bers, applied for and obtained a writ of habeas corpus. It
was made returnable to Thomas N, Frazier, Judge of the
Criminal Court of Davidson County, who, upon the hearing
of the case, discharged Mr. Williams from the custody of
the Sergeant-at-arms. On account of this decision, the
House of Representatives preferred articles of impeach,
ment against Judge Frazier. He was tried by the Senate,
sitting as a Court of Impeachment. It sustained the ar-
ticles of impeachment, and deposed Judge Frazier from
office. He was also forever disqualified from holding any
office of profit or trust in the State. His disqualifications
were however removed by the Constitutional Convention
of 1870, and he was afterward re-elected Criminal Judge.
The Fifteenth Amendment was submitted to Tennessee in
TENNESSEE AND THE NEW AMENDMENTS 43
1869, just before the close of the radical era. The suffrage
had been conferred upon the negro by an act of the Legis-
lature of the previous year, but it was known that the whole
question would be reopened by the Constitutional Conven-
tion which had just been called. The; Legislature, there-
fore, refused to take final action on the amendment. It was
referred to the Committee on Federal Relations, from which
it was never reported.
CHAPTER VII
FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION OF THE RADICAL
GOVERNMENT
The joint resolution of July 24, 1866, completed, so far
as Congress was concerned, the restoration of civil govern-
ment in Tennessee. Her Senators and Representatives were
admitted to their seats, and the State, to all intents and pur-
poses, was restored to the same position it had occupied
prior to the attempted withdrawal in 1861.
The political basis of the restored government was, as we
have pointed out, the loyal people of the State. They
consisted mainly of four elements, namely, the inhabitants
of the small towns and the upland farms of East Tennessee,
and poor whites, or " white trash," as they were commonly
called, scattered throughout the State, a few " old-line "
Whigs in West and Middle Tennessee, and lastly the negro
and the carpetbagger. This ruling minority was, therefore,
neither an aristocracy of wealth, intelligence, nor social posi-
tion. It could not be expected that the management of
public affairs by such hands would be just and conservative.
From the beginning it showed a tendency toward reckless
expenditures and an entire disregard of property rights. Mr.
Brownlow, in his first message to the Legislature, advised a
general increase in the salaries of State officials. This ad-
vice came at a time when the finances were at a low ebb,
and the whole industrial and agricultural interests of the
community were thoroughly demoralized. Nevertheless, the
Legislature was only too ready to carry these suggestions
of Governor Brownlow into execution. They passed a bill
increasing the salaries of the supreme judges from $2000 to
44
RADICAL FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION 45
$5CX)0 a year. This was followed by other bills increasing
the salaries of the various State officials. This resulted
in an enormous increase in the current expenditures of the
State.
The whole expenses of the State government for the
years 185 1 to 1861, inclusive, had been about $6,500,000.
The entire expenses during the Brownlow administration,
which lasted only three years and a half, were $7,301,352.
The taxes in 1868 were fourfold greater than in 1861,
yet on the former date, the Comptroller announced in his
report to the Legislature that the State was on the verge of
bankruptcy.
But the most troublesome legacy Mr. Brownlow left the
people of Tennessee was an increase in the State debt of
$21,647,000.
By an Act of the Legislature in 1852, known as the Gen-
eral Internal Improvement Law, the Governor had been
empowered to issue State bonds to the amount of $8000
per mile in aid of railroad companies, upon the following
conditions: '' i. That the company shall first secure bona-
fide subscriptions to its capital stock to an amount sufficient
to grade, bridge, and prepare for the inner rails the whole
extent of the main trunk line proposed to be constructed ;
2. That it be shown by the company to the Governor that
the said subscriptions are good and solvent ; 3. That the
company shall have graded, bridged, and made ready to put
down the necessary timbers, for the reception of rails, and
fully completed a specified number of miles at either ter-
minus in a good and substantial manner, with good material
for putting the iron rails and equipments in place, and that
the State shall be given a first-mortgage lien on their
property ; 4. That the Governor shall be notified of these
facts by the written affidavits of the Chief Engineers and
President of the Company, together with the written affi-
davit of a competent engineer appointed by the Governor to
46 DISUNION AND RESTORATION
examine the specified section ; and shall be furnished with
an affidavit of the President of the Company, and a resolu-
tion of a majority of its Board of Directors for the time
being, pledging that the bonds issued to it shall not be
used for any other purpose than that of procuring the iron
rails, chairs, spikes, and equipments, and for putting down
the iron rails on the specified section for which they are
issued ; and that the President shall deposit in the office of
the Secretary of State a full and accurate list of all the
stockholders, with the sum subscribed by each and every
stockholder."
Under the provisions of this act, there had been issued,
prior to the war, bonds amounting to $14,841,000. In the
main, the conditions enumerated in the act, were fairly com-
plied with, and the State protected from all loss.
The close of the war left the railroads, like every other in-
dustrial interest in the State, in a thoroughly demoralized
condition. Upon the first arrival of the Federal troops, they
had been seized by the Government and used for military
purposes. A great part of the rolling stock had been de-
stroyed, and many of the bridges and buildings burnt.
As soon as the restored government was in working
order, the railroad interests turned to the State treasury for
relief. This was obtained through the passage of a number
of bills, which professed to be based upon the Act of 1852.
They were known as Omnibus bills, and under their pro-
visions bonds to the amount of $14,393,000 were issued.
The means resorted to to secure the passage of the
Omnibus bills furnished the greatest scandals of the restor-
ation period. They are vividly set forth in the following
extract from the Report of the Committee of Investigation
appointed by the Legislature of 1879:
" Many corporate presidents, agents, and representatives
came to Nashville to attend the sittings of the Legislature.
All known influences were used upon the supposed repre-
RADICAL FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION 47
sentatives of the people. From the pulpit to the bagnio,
recruits were gathered for the assault on the treasury of the
State. Fine brandy by the barrel was on hand to fire thirst
and muddle the brain, and first-class suits of clothing to
capture the vanity or avarice of the gay or needy. Money,
the proceeds of the bonds issued by the State, for specific
purpose to these men, was here in abundance, and it was
used. Take one example : A man came to the State. He
was appointed Receiver of two short insolvent railroads at
a salary of $5000. He was appointed Commissioner of
Registration for Franklin County. He sent his Superin-
tendent to the Legislature of 1867 as a member. That
member, in conjunction with a certain Senator, was active
in procuring ' State aid.' The Commissioner and Receiver
let out contracts on his road, and was a silent member. The
proof shows that this Receiver, this member, and this Senator
formed a conspiracy to defraud the State. About a million
dollars of bonds issued under the Act of 1867 went into the
hands of the Receiver. Take another: A president of a
railroad would sell bonds and apply a portion of the pro-
ceeds in corrupt efforts to get more bonds. They got bonds
for roads that had never been surveyed and located. One
railroad president says that he had great influence with the
Governor, that another railroad president wanted bonds and
desired his services with said Governor, that he got them,
that, in addition to pay directly for his services and influences
with the Governor, he was to have control of a portion of
the bonds obtained to use as margin in stock speculations in
New York. They got 885 bonds in New York. This man
of influence with the Governor further says that he and
the other president were partners in stock speculation,
and used the bonds obtained from the State in these
speculations."
When the Democrats regained control of the State, the
settlement of the State debt, which had been so greatly
48 DISUNION AND RESTORATION
increased by the Brownlow Administration, proved a most
perplexing question. It became an apple of political discord,
and retarded the industrial and commercial regeneration of
the State. It disrupted the Democratic party into three
factions. A few of the most prominent leaders desired to
see the State's credit preserved by paying the bonds in full.
A still larger number, while recognizing the validity of the
bonds, conscientiously believed that the State, on account of
the amount of the debt, and the demoralized business condi-
tions resulting from the war, would be unable to meet its just
obligations. They therefore favored some agreement with
the bondholders, whereby the debt could be scaled without
inflicting dishonor upon the State. A third faction was
for open repudiation. They contended that the bonds were
illegal on two grounds, first, they had been issued in direct
violation of the conditions precedent laid down in the
Internal Improvement Act of 1852, and its amendments;
secondly, the Brownlow Administration, which had issued
the bonds, did not represent the State, it was a mere interim
of usurpation and revolutionary government. While for
purposes of convenience its acts, which affected merely
private rights, should not be disturbed, nevertheless it
could not pledge the credit of the State.
In 1873 a Funding Act was passed by the Legislature. It
provided that all past due coupons and bonds might be
funded into new bonds bearing interest at six per cent., re-
deemable after July i, 1884, and payable July i, 1914.
Coupons on the new bonds were payable on January and
July of each year, beginning with July, 1874. The question
as to the validity of the Brownlow bonds was avoided by
inserting a provision that only " bonds legally issued should
be funded." But the State ofificials ignored this provision
by funding all the bonds that were presented.
This Funding Act of 1873 proved a failure. The State
was unable to meet its interest on the new bonds. A series
RADICAL FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION 49
of bad crops increased the difficulty. The assessment
returns for 1874, as compared with those of 1873, exhibited
a decrease of $18,556,173.
On January i, 1877, the arrears of interest amounted to
$1,570,646. It now became apparent to the bondholders
that they must either effect some compromise with the
State, or run the risk of losing the entire debt. They,
therefore, entered into personal communications with the
Governor, and signified to him their willingness to com-
promise. Their communications were laid before the Legis-
lature, and it adopted on January 26, 1877, the following
resolution :
" Whereas, The General Assembly has with pleasure
received, through the message of his Excellency the Gov-
ernor, the communications of certain gentlemen, holders of
bonds of the State, and representatives of holders of bonds,
asking for a conference looking to a permanent and equita-
ble adjustment and compromise of the claims held by them
against the State ; therefore, be it
" Resolved, By the General Assembly, that the Governor
be requested to communicate by telegram, or by letter,
with the gentlemen holding securities of the State, men-
tioned in his message, and request them to submit, on the
earliest day possible, through him, to the General Assembly
any proposition of adjustment and compromise, which they
may desire."
As the result of this resolution, a committee of the Legis-
lature and a committee of the bondholders met and agreed
to the following proposition : " That arrearages of interest
to July I, 1877, be added to the bonds, and that new ones
for sixty per cent, of the total amount be issued, made to
bear interest at six per cent., and to fall due in thirty years."
It was naturally expected that the Legislature would
ratify the action of its committee. Much to the surprise of
every one concerned, it not only rejected the proposition,
50 DISUNION AND RESTORATION
but decreased the tax rate from forty to ten cents per hun-
dred dollars, and thus made the payment of interest abso-
lutely impossible.
Later in the year the bondholders presented a second
proposition, in which they agreed to a scaling of the debt
fifty per cent., but this was also rejected by the Legislature.
In 1879 3- committee was appointed by both Houses of
the Legislature to investigate and report upon the State debt.
This committee, after taking a great amount of evidence,
presented an elaborate report. Acting upon this report the
Legislature passed a second bill, March 31st. It provided
for the issue of bonds bearing four per cent, interest to be
exchanged for outstanding bonds with the interest accrued
thereon, at the rate of fifty per cent, on the dollar. It was
not to become a law until approved by a vote of the people,
and two thirds of the bondholders. The consent of the
bondholders was readily obtained, but the measure was de-
feated at the polls.
A settlement of the debt now seemed hopeless. It was
the chief issue in the gubernatorial campaign of 1880. The
divisions of the Democratic party resulted in the election of
the Republican candidate, Alvin Hawkins. The newly
elected Legislature was also favorable to the bondholders.
A bill was passed which provided for the funding of the
outstanding debt at par, the new bonds to bear interest at
three per cent., and the coupons to be receivable for taxes.
The bill was signed by the Governor, and went into effect
in April. It was regarded as a great triumph for the bond-
holders, but their rejoicing was short-lived. In a test case
the courts decided the law unconstitutional, on the ground
that the Legislature could not make a valid contract in which
the coupons should be receivable for taxes for ninety-nine
years. This decision reopened the whole question.
The defeat which the Democrats had suffered in 1880
served to unite them in 1882. Their candidate, W. B.
RADICAL FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION 51
Bate, was elected Governor. In his message to the Legis-
lature, Governor Bate marked out a plan for the settlement
of the debt which was finally adopted, by an act passed
March 15, 1883. This act declares: "That the State will
pay in full the bonds held by Mrs. James K. Polk, and
all bonds held by educational, literary, and charitable in-
stitutions in the State ; that it will pay in discharge of
its just obligations, what is known as the State debt proper
in full, less war interest ; and that in compromise of the re-
mainder of the debt, known as the railroad debt, it will pay
one half of the principal and accrued interest by issuing
therefor bonds of the State bearing interest at the rate of
three per cent, per annum."
CHAPTER VIII
RADICAL MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATION
The "carnival of crime and corruption" described in the
preceding chapter was not confined to the Legislature.
Similar scenes were enacted in almost every county and
city in the State. As the suffrage limitations placed upon
the ex-Confederates applied to all elections, the Radicals
were in complete control of these local governments. The
large municipalities, such as Memphis, Nashville, Chat-
tanooga, and Knoxville were the greatest sufferers from the
rule of irresponsible and corrupt officials.
In 1867, a carpetbagger, by the name of Alden, had suc-
ceeded in being elected Mayor of Nashville. Having filled
the city council with his political followers, most of whom
were non-property-holders, he entered upon a course of
open and systematic public plunder, which made even the
State administration stand aghast. The city treasury was
soon drained. The tax rate was enormously increased ;
but as this did not suffice, checks, warrants, and due
bills, made out in the name of the city, and payable to
bearer, were sold to street shavers of notes at any price
they could bring. Bonds were also issued. As these evi-
dences of indebtedness multiplied, the market quotations
for them declined.
In the face of this wholesale corruption, Alden and his
associates were re-elected. It now became evident that,
unless some heroic measure was resorted to, the entire
property of the city would be confiscated by their rapacity.
A tax-payers association was formed, which began a cam-
paign of public agitation. Public meetings were held in
52
RADICAL MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATION 53
various parts of the city, and resolutions were adopted de-
nouncing the " Alden ring " in the most scathing terms.
It was finally decided to seek relief through the courts.
All the judges throughout the State were Radical, but in
striking contrast with all the other officials of the Radical
regime, they were men of unquestioned integrity, and, for
the most part, lawyers of high standing. They had dis-
played great independence in interpreting the franchise laws,
and in curtailing, as far as possible, the excessive use of the
military power. Mr. Thornburg, the defeated candidate for
mayor, filed a bill in the Chancery Court of Davidson
County, in which he alleged that the city administration was
inefficient, that its members were guilty of fraud and cor-
ruption, and that of right their offices were vacant because
they were not owners of real estate, as required by law. He
therefore prayed that the city officials be enjoined from the
further issuance of checks and notes, and that they be
declared usurpers and turned out of office, and that a
receiver be appointed to take charge of the affairs of the cor-
poration. Pending the coming in of the answer of the de-
fendants, and the final decision of the case. Chancellor
Shackelford granted a temporary injunction restraining the
mayor and the city council from receiving any salary or per-
quisites of office. On December 7th, final decision was
rendered, the Chancellor using the following language: "I
am of the opinion that the complainants are not entitled to
the injunction or the receiver prayed for, and the application
is therefore refused."
In May, 1869, Col. A. S. Colyar, editor of the Unio7i and
American, and one of the most distinguished lawyers in the
South, made a thorough examination of the city's books and
records. At a mass-meeting of the citizens, he made the
most startling disclosure in regard to the extravagance and
corruption uncovered by that investigation. He declared
that the city was in the hands of thieves, and expressed the
54 DISUNION AND RES TOR A TION
opinion that there was not a judge on the bench of Tennes-
see who would refuse to grant relief. On June ist, he filed
a bill at Gallatin, Tenn., before Charles Smith, Chancellor
of the Seventh Chancery Division,
The bill was brought " in the name of the State in the
relation of 466 citizens in behalf of themselves and others
against the mayor, and the city council, the city treasurer,
revenue collector, and others." It prayed " that further
speculation in checks be enjoined ; that no more checks be
issued and no more received until, on the one hand, the
right of the city to issue them should be accurately defined,^
and until, on the other, the validity of outstanding checks
should be determined ; that the corporation officers wha
were defendants in the case, be compelled to account for
money made by speculation in the means and credit of the
city ; and lastly, that a receiver of known financial ability,
with good credit and good reputation, be appointed with
full power to control the finances of the city and make con-
tracts so as to save the city from ruin,"
The terrible condition of the city was set forth at length
in the bill. It was alleged, among other things, that
$1,323,668 in checks had been issued, $759,000 of which
were without authority of law, while much of the remainder
was for illegal purposes. The most exorbitant rates of
interest were paid, in some cases as much as 100^. Failing
to meet its maturing obligations, the creditors of the city
were resorting to the courts, and the city's property was
being sold to satisfy them.
After an elaborate [argument of the case, in which the
defendants were represented by eminent lawyers, Chancellor
Smith granted the prayer of the petitioners. Mr. John M.
Bass was appointed receiver. After furnishing a bond of
$500,000, he entered upon the receivership, June 28th, On
the following month, a motion was made by the deposed
officials, in the Nashville Chancery Division, to have the
RADICAL MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATION 55
receivership dissolved. The motion came up for hearing
before Judge Edwin H. East, the successor of Chancellor
Shackelford. Judge East had been the private secretary
of President Johnson, and had taken a leading part in the
reorganization of the State.
In arguing against the motion to dissolve, Col. Colyar
took the ground that a municipal corporation was not
a political body, but simply a business corporation whose
officers were amenable to the courts for the proper dis-
charge of their functions. Judge East concurred in this
view, and upheld the receivership. In his opinion, he used
the following language : " The functions of a municipality
are twofold : first, political, discretionary, legislative ;
secondly, ministerial. While acting within the sphere of
the former, they are exempt from liability inasmuch as the
corporation is a part of the government, to that extent, and
its ofificers are to the same extent public ofificers, and as
such entitled to the protection of this principle ; but within
the sphere of the latter (ministerial duties), they drop the
badge of governmental ofificers, and become, as it were, the
representatives of a private corporation in the exercise of
private functions. The distinction between these legislative
powers which it holds for public purposes as a part of the
government of the country, and those public franchises
which belong to it as creation of law, is well taken."
The receivership was of short duration. In August the
regular city election occurred. Mr. Morris, a wealthy
citizen, was elected mayor. Immediately after the election,
the affairs of the city were again placed in the hands of its
ordinary officials.
Several years after the occurrence of these extraordinary
proceedings, Col. Colyar, in a speech delivered at Buffalo,
N. Y., explained the legal theory on which he placed the
application for the receivership. " I took the ground," he
said, " that, while in England, cities were in a sense political,
$6 DISUNION AND RESTORATION
because in the creation of the House of Commons, the cities
and boroughs had in part organized it, in the time of
Edward I., and to this day, as cities and boroughs, they
elect members to the House of Commons ; but that in this
country, our cities have no such political status, and that in
nowise are they separate from the balance of the com-
munity in politics, and therefore our cities are not political
bodies, and that the delegation of a part of a State's sov-
ereignty is a fiction, and the management of a city is a mere
trust."
CHAPTER IX
KU-KLUX OUTRAGES
It does not fall within the limits of our subject to go into
the general history of Ku-Klux Klan. This mysterious or-
ganization originated in Tennessee, but it soon spread be-
yond the borders of the State, and became the organ of all
those who believed in resorting to violent measures to
secure the emancipation of the Southern States from negro
and carpetbag domination. Its history, therefore, belongs
under the general history of Reconstruction. Nevertheless,
the study of the civil disturbances in Tennessee resulting
from the war would indeed be incomplete without some
account of the operation of the Ku-Klux within the borders
of the State. It formed the chief occasion for interferences
with civil liberty, as well as for congressional legislation,
which rendered the Radical goverr^^ent so hateful in the
eyes of the ex-Confederates.
The first of^cial reference to disturbances of an extraordi-
nary character is found in Governor Brownlow's first message
to the Legislature. In this, he calls the attention of the
Legislature to " the roving bands of guerrillas and squads of
robbers and murderers who frequent those counties remote
from the military forces. " He recommended that the
criminal law of the State be so revised as to make house-
stealing, and house-breaking, and highway robbery punish-
able with death. Acting upon his recommendations, the
Legislature, in May, 1865, passed a bill to punish "all armed
Prowlers, Guerrillas, Brigands, and Highway Robbers." But
as yet there were no indications, either in the message of
the Governor or the action of the Legislature, that these
early disturbances were of a political character.
57
58 DISUNION AND RESTORATION
The Ku-Klux Klan did not come into existence until the
following year. The little town of Pulaski, in Giles County,
claims the doubtful honor of being its birthplace. It seems
to have originated with a coterie of young men, who banded
together for the purpose of obtaining amusement by playing
upon the superstitious fancies of the negroes. They organ-
ized themselves into a lodge, and adopted a fantastic cere-
mony and ritual. Their meetings were held at night, and
they usually came together mounted on horseback, and
wearing hideous disguises. They frightened the negroes by
telling them horrible ghost stories.
It was quickly seen that the measures adopted purely for
amusement could be turned into practical use in controlling
the negro. The conditions were ripe all over the South for
such an organization, so it spread like wildfire. Lodges
sprang up in all parts of the Southern States, with the pos-
sible exception of Virginia. A loose bond of union was
formed between them, but in different localities they as-
sumed various names, such as " The Pale Faces," " The
Invisible Empire," " The Brotherhood." They were all
finally denominated "The Ku-Klux Klan,"
Somewhat antedating the Ku-Klux Klan, and almost
equally rapid in growth, were the Union secret societies.
They also bore various names, the most popular being
** The Loyal League " and " The Union League of Amer-
ica." They were devoid of any fantastic features, and did
not, as a rule, resort to violent measures, but their object was
the same as the rival organization, namely, to secure political
control of the negro.
In the spring of 1867, the Radical newspapers of Knox-
ville, Nashville, and Memphis commenced to be filled with
reports of outrages committed upon negroes and Union men.
Upon investigation, these reports oftentimes turned out
to be either wholly untrue or greatly exaggerated, but they
served to throw the Radical party into a state of intense
KU-KLUX OUTRAGES 59
excitement. Their leaders believed, or professed to believe,
that another general insurrection was threatened. Acting
under this conviction, the Legislature passed a bill on the
twentieth of February, 1867, to equip and call into active ser-
vice, under the absolute command of the Governor, a State
Guard to be composed solely of Union men. It also passed
a joint resolution requesting the Governor to " apply to
General Thomas, the commander of the department, for a
sufificient force of United States soldiers to keep the peace
and restore order and quiet in our State. " ' In response to
this application several regiments were furnished by General
Thomas, but he cautioned that they should be used only in
aid of the civil authority.
These Ku-Klux outrages followed closely upon the pass-
age of the Arnell Franchise Law. This bill, as we have
pointed out, made the political disabilities of the ex-Con-
federate absolute and perpetual. It destroyed the last hope
of regaining political control of the State, through legal and
constitutional means. As a natural result, public opinion
commenced to tolerate acts of violence which till then had
been strongly condemned. The best men of the com-
munities, while they did not take active part in the Ku-
Klux movement, gave it their approval by a policy of
acquiescence. Juries refused to commit, even upon the
clearest evidence, persons accused of offences against negroes
or Union men.
A crisis was reached in the spring of 1868. Mr. S. M.
Arnell, the framer of the election law and Congressman
from the Eighth District, was made the object of a Ku-Klux
raid. Having narrowly escaped hanging through flight and
concealment, he sent the following dispatch to the Gover-
nor: " The Ku-Klux searched the train for me last night,
pistols and rope in hand. Empower me to call upon the
military here, if necessary in your name, to suppress all
' Acts of Tennessee, 1867-68, p. 22.
6o DISUNION AND RESTORATION
armed and masked parties in this vicinity. I propose to
fight it out."
Upon the receipt of this dispatch, Governor Brownlow
made a second request for federal troops. This time he re-
ceived an unfavorable response. General Thomas informed
him that " the State of Tennessee, being in full exercise of
the civil functions of a State, the military authority of the
United States cannot legally interfere except in aid and sup-
port of the civil authority. For these purposes troops have
been sent to various locations. These details, together with
the present demand for troops to assist the United States
of^cers in collecting revenue, have so exhausted the forces at
my command as to prevent the complying with your
request to send companies to the counties named."
Governor Brownlow now had recourse to an extra session
of the Legislature. His message was couched in the most
violent language. " The rebel element of the State," he
said, " were secretly arming themselves, and perfecting a
military organization, known as the Ku-Klux Klan, com-
posed of ex-rebel soldiers, and those in sympathy with
them, thus violating their paroles at the time of their sur-
render, and violating the laws of the State, and plotting and
planning mischief in every respect.
" These men have been arming and organizing for a year
past, with an eye to the overthrow of the State government,
and, ultimately, to carrying the State in the presidential
election. Organized upon the same basis, and having the
same dark designs in view that found a fit culmination in
Booth's assassination of Abraham Lincoln, it works in secret
with signs, symbols, and pass-words, hatching plans to scatter
anarchyand permanent disorder wherever it may have an exist-
ence. I recommend, most emphatically, that these organized
bands of assassins and robbers be declared outlaws by special
Legislature, and punished with death wherever found." '
' Acts of Tennessee, Extra Session, 1868;
KU-KLUX OUTRAGES 6 1
The violent language of the message aroused the greatest
alarm among the Democratic leaders of the State. They
feared that if the measures recommended by the Governor
were adopted, civil war would indeed result. A meeting
was held at Nashville in August, and a memorial to the
Legislature was framed, by the following men, all of whom
had been generals in the Confederate army: N. B. Forrest,
B. F. Cheatham, W. B. Bate, J. C. Brown, Bushrod John-
son, Gideon J. Pillow, W. A. Quarles, S. R. Anderson, G. G.
Dibrell, and George Maney.
In this memorial they expressed a deep solicitude for the
peace and quiet of the State, protested against the charge
of hostility to the State government, or of a desire for its
overthrow by revolutionary or lawless means, as well as
against the charge that those who had been associated with
them in the past days contemplated any such rashness or
folly; nor did they believe that there was in Tennessee
any organization, public or secret, which had such a pur-
pose, and that, if there was, they had neither sympathy
nor affiliation therewith. They further declared, that the
peace of the State did not require a military organization ;
that such a measure might bring about and promote col-
lisions rather than conserve the harmony and good order of
society ; and finally that they would pledge themselves to
maintain the order and peace of the State with whatever
influence they possessed, and would uphold and support the
laws and aid the constituted authorities in their execution,
trusting that a reciprocation of those sentiments would pro-
duce the enactment of such laws as would remove all causes
disturbing society.
" For," they continued, " when it is remembered that
the large mass of white men in Tennessee are denied the
right to vote or to hold ofifice, it is not wonderful or unnatural
there should exist more or less dissatisfaction among them.
And we beg leave respectfully to submit to your considera-
62 DISUNION AND RESTORATION
tion that prompt and efficient action on the part of the
proper authorities, for the removal of the political disabili-
ties resting upon so many of our people, would heal all the
wounds of our State, and make us once more a prosperous,
contented, and united people." '
This memorial came too late to allay the excited minds of
the Radicals. On the loth of September, the Legislature
passed a bill "to preserve the public peace." This bill im-
poses "a fine of not less than five hundred dollars, and im-
prisonment in the penitentiary for not less than five years,
and renders infamous any person who shall unite with,
associate with, promote or encourage any organization of
persons who shall prowl through the counties and towns of
this State, by day or night, for the purpose of disturbing the
peace or alarming the peaceful citizens of any part of the
State. In order to secure the proper execution of this act,
the same punishment is to be meted out to any person
summoned as a witness, who shall fail or refuse to obey
the summons, or who shall appear and refuse to testify ; the
same to any prosecuting attorney who shall be informed
of the violation of the act, and fail or refuse to prosecute
the person informed on; the same to any officer or other
person who shall inform any other person that he was to be
summoned as a witness, with the intent of defeating any of
the provisions of the act ; the same to any one who shall
feed, lodge, or entertain or conceal in the woods, or else-
where, any one known to such person to be charged with
an offence under the act."
The act further provides, that " no indictment shall be
required for prosecution, and no indictments held insuf-
ficient for want of form ; that where any sheriff or other
officer shall return process issued under the act, unexecuted,
an alias shall issue, and the officer shall give notice to the
inhabitants of the county of such alias by posting a notice
' See Why the Solid South, by Hilary Herbert, and others.
KU-KLUX OUTRAGES 63
at the court-house door, and if the inhabitants shall permit
the defendant to be or live in the county without arrest,
they shall be subject to an assessment of not less than five
hundred dollars and not more than five thousand dollars;
that all the inhabitants of the State shall be authorized
to arrest offenders under the act, without process ; that
every public officer shall swear that he has never been a
member of the Ku-Klux Klan." The measure of damages
was as follows : For entering the house or place of residence
of any officer at night, in a hostile manner, or against his
will, ten thousand dollars ; and for the killing of any peace-
able individual at night, twenty thousand dollars. All other
damages were to be assessed in proportion.'
Even the passage of this extraordinary law did not satisfy
Governor Brownlow. Under his guidance, the Legislature
re-enacted the military laws, and conferred upon him the
power to declare martial law whenever and wherever he saw
fit. He did not suffer this prerogative to remain idle. On
the 20th of January, 1868, he called the State Guards into
active service. Several days later he issued the following
proclamation :
" Whereas, There are now sixteen hundred State Guards
at Nashville armed and equipped under the command of
Joseph Cooper ; and Whereas, These troops are intended
to preserve peace and enforce the laws in counties here-
tofore in partial rebelion.
" Now, therefore, I, W. G. Brownlow, Governor of Ten-
nessee, do hereby proclaim martial law in and over the
following named counties, to wit : Overton, Jackson,
Maury, Giles, Marshall, Lawrence, Gibson, Madison, and
Haywood.
"And I further direct that General Cooper distribute
these troops at once and continue them in service until
'Acts of Tennessee, Extra Session, 1868, p. 18.
64 DISUNION AND RESTORATION
unmistakable evidence is given by all parties of a disposi-
tion to keep the peace.
"W. G. Brownlow,
*' Governor of Tennessee''
The counties named in the proclamation were among the
richest and most populous in the State. Their prominent
citizens were unanimous in condemning what they con-
ceived to be the tyrannical and arbitrary action of the
Governor. The following is a fair sample of the numerous
protests made through the public press' :
"Nashville, February 21, 1869. I see that martial law
is declared over the county of Lawrence, the county I have
the honor to represent, which I must acknowledge greatly
astonished me, for I know of no person or persons who
complained of any depredations in the county, or that
there was any difficulty at all in enforcing the law in
said county ; but on the contrary, the people of the said
county are at this time, and have been for some months
past, more peaceable, quiet, and law-abiding than they have
been for the past ten years ; and only a few days ago James
H. MacKay, sheriff, Ira J. Brown, clerk of the Circuit
Court, and other officials of said county in a written com-
munication to the Governor, stated that there was no
difficulty in enforcing the civil law in said county, and
consequently no necessity for the militia or other troops to
enforce law, all of whom are men of respectability and
worthy of credit, and the persons specially named above
were soldiers of the Federal army during the late Rebellion,
and are all now, and always have been, members of the
Radical Republican party.
" I am at a loss to know why troops should have been
quartered upon the people of my county without consult-
' Union and American, February 2i, 1869.
KU-KLUX OUTRAGES 65
ing their immediate Representative. I think surely some
person or persons have made misrepresentations to the
Governor, and sincerely hope that the order will be revoked
and save my people the mortification and expense of having
troops quartered amongst them in times of profound peace.
' Let us have peace.'
"W. P. H.Turner,
" Representative, Lawrence County''
Governor Brownlow answered these protests by declaring
his intention to further extend the sway of martial law.
But fortunately for the peace of the State, only a few days
of his term as Governor remained. Under his successor the
troops were withdrawn and the military laws were repealed.
A state of tranquillity quickly ensued.
CHAPTER X
CLOSE OF THE RADICAL DOMINATION
After the recognition of the loyal government by Congress,
the only hope of the disfranchised ex-Confederates of re-
gaining political control of the State lay in a division in the
ranks of the Union party. So long as Governor Brownlow
remained at the head of affairs, no such division occurred.
He served as Governor the full term of two years, and was
re-elected. Before the expiration of his second term, he
was chosen by the Legislature to represent Tennessee in the
United States Senate. According to a provision of the
State constitution, the vacant governorship descended to
De Witt Senter, Speaker of the State Senate. Mr. Senter
was inducted into ofifice on the 29th of February, 1868.
Three years had now passed since the close of the war,
and the restoration of civil government, but the majority
of the white citizens still remained disfranchised, and no
steps had been taken to remove their disqualifications. In
speaking of this aspect of the situation, Mr. Fletcher, Sec-
retary of the State, said : " Our mistake was that we made
the franchise law sweeping and perpetual, offering no hope
or inducement to the ex-rebel to become loyal. The man
who is disfranchised in a republic is not apt to feel that it
is his government, or to take pride or interest in it, nor apt
to make a useful or even law-abiding citizen of it. I do not
feel comfortable in a State where half of the people and
two thirds of the tax-payers are publicly degraded by law,
without motive to be proud of the State and government."
Upon the day of Governor Senter's inauguration, the air
was filled with rumors and signs of coming changes. Whether
66
CLOSE OF THE RADICAL DOMINATION 67
it would be a violent eruption or a peaceful change through
constitutional means, no one could foresee. In the great
crowd which gathered at the Capitol to hear the inaugural
address, there was noticed by the press reporters a number
of distinguished Southern leaders. This in itself was con-
sidered a harbinger of the coming storm. The address
proved disappointing to all. It was expected that the
Governor would give some intimation of the policy he
intended to pursue, but he simply expressed his apprecia-
tion of the ofifice to which he had been elevated, and his
•desire to see peace and prosperity restored to the State.
There was little of interest in the character or career of
the new Governor. He was born in Granger County in
1833. His father, William F. Senter, had represented
the Second Congressional District in the Twenty-eighth
Congress. Although Governor Senter had been chosen
Speaker of the Radical Senate he had never shown himself
an extreme partisan. He had even been a member of the
secession Legislature of 1861 ; but Congress had relieved him
of his political disabilities on the 22d of December, 1868. It
was therefore with a hopeful expectancy that the people of
Tennessee hailed his advent into the ofifice of Governor.
But before Governor Senter could make any change in the
administration, the State was plunged into a heated campaign
to elect his successor. He was entitled by the Constitution
to serve out Brownlow's unexpired term, but only a few
months remained of that. His aspirations naturally went
beyond his brief /r^ teni. term, and he, therefore, announced
his intention of becoming a candidate subject to the ap-
proval of the Union party.
A new candidate soon appeared in the person of W. B.
Stokes. Mr. Stokes was the Representative of the Third
District in Congress. His record had been somewhat
similar to that of Governor Senter. At the beginning of
the war he had identified himself with the secession move-
68 DISUNION AND RESTORATION
ment, but had quickly deserted what he saw to be a
sinking ship. After the war, as if to make amends for
his past conduct, he became one of the most extreme and
bitter Radicals.
At first, the canvass was a mere personal contest, having
little significance to any one except the Radical leaders. A
Convention of the Union party was called to meet in Nash-
ville on May 22d. Both candidates pledged themselves to
abide by the decision of this Convention.
Ex-President Johnson's return to Tennessee at this time
added to the uncertainty of the contest. He was still a
power in Tennessee politics, and it was rumored that he
might enter the race as a Conservative Democrat. The
Radical Convention assembled in Nashville on the day
appointed. It was called to order by Thos. Cates, chairman
of the Central Committee, who was a Stokes man. After the
reading of the call, Judge Houck moved that Mr. Pearne,
a friend of Governor Senter, be made temporary chairman of
the Convention. His motion having failed to be recognized
by Mr. Cates, he put it to the House himself and declared
Mr. Pearne elected. Mr. Pearne attempted to reach the
chair, but was forcibly prevented. This resulted in a hand-
to-hand contest between the delegates. Failing to perfect
a temporary organization, the Convention adjourned until
the following day. But at the second meeting the disgrace-
ful scenes of the first were repeated. It finally dissolved
amid the utmost confusion.
The Union and American, a daily newspaper, published in
Nashville, contained the following report of the Convention's
proceedings.
"The so-called Radical State Convention, the most dis-
graceful, profane, and vulgar assemblage of nnen ever con-
gregated in the State to consider public affairs, came to an
abrupt termination yesterday, after an ineffectual attempt
of two days to organize. It simply dissolved. It could not
CLOSE OF THE RADICAL DOMINATION 6g
even adjourn. It had no chairman, no secretary, and could
not even transact any business. It met as if by chance, and
dispersed from necessity. It was an agglomerate discord,
an inflamed mob filled with mean whiskey and meaner
passions. It was a meeting of mortal enemies under the
guise of friendship to decide the spoils of misdeeds and
crimes. They quarrelled and fought, and called each other
liars and thieves, and all manner of epithets. Such a con-
gregation of vulgar elements, so fierce, so bitter, and so
reckless, was never seen before in this section of the Union.
" This assemblage of Radicals was called together to coun-
sel for the good of the State, and present to the people a
person of such fair name and true patriotism as to be worthy
of them and the State for their chief executive ! "
The above description was written by a " rebel " editor,
but the following account, taken from the Knoxville Whig,
is scarcely less severe : " We share in the regret of all good
Republicans that the late Convention was so divided, bois-
terous, disrupted. We have attended many conventions,
national and State. We never attended one in which such
injustice, violence, and fraud were practised."
These two pictures of the Convention, drawn from differ-
ent standpoints, give us some idea of the kind of men that had
ruled Tennessee for four years. At last the household was
divided against itself ; it was only a matter of a few weeks
until it should fall.
The Senter faction attempted to throw the blame for the
disrupted Convention upon Mr. Stokes and his friends.
They denied the charge, and asserted that at least sixty-
four counties had been instructed for Mr. Stokes, which
would have insured him the nomination. The result of
the discussion was that Governor Senter and Mr. Stokes
declared their intentions to " fight it to a finish at the polls."
They began at Nashville, January 5th, a joint canvass of the
State. A direct issue was soon made between them on the
70 DISUNION AND RESTORATION
franchise question. Governor Senter declared " that the
time has come, and is now, when the limitations and dis-
abilities which have found their way into our statute-books,,
as the result of the war, should be abolished and removed^
and the privilege of the elective franchise be restored, and
extended so far as to embrace the mass of the adult popu-
lation of the State."
Mr. Stokes thus defined his position: " When the killing
of Union men ceases, the hellish organization of Ku-Klux
is abandoned, and the laws are observed, then I am willing
to entertain a proposition to amend the State constitution
so far as to allow the disfranchised to come in gradually, by
providing that the Legislature may by a two thirds vote
remove the disabilities for those who petition, and come well
recommended by their loyal neighbors."
After these declarations of principles the struggle became
one of paramount importance to the whole people of the
State.
As the time for the election approached, and the official reg-
istration began, signs of uneasiness appeared among the sup-
porters of Mr. Stokes. They felt confident that the majority
of the Radical votes were for their candidate, but they real-
ized that Governor Senter was " master of the situation. "^
He had control of the same machinery Governor Brownlow
had employed so successfully in changing the results of
Congressional and State elections. Would Governor Senter
use this in his own behalf, thus destroying the Radical party
with an instrument of their making? This question was
asked and discussed both upon the stump and in the news-
papers.
The election occurred on the 5th day of August. At
the same time the election for the State Legislature was
held. The issue was the same as in the gubernatorial con-
test— that is, universal suffrage or continued disfranchise-
ment. Contrary to expectations, the election passed without
CLOSE OF THE RADICAL DOMINATION "J I
any serious conflicts or disturbances of the peace. The
result was not long in doubt. It could be seen on the fol-
lowing day from the partial returns that Governor Senter
had been elected by an enormous majority.
The ofificial returns were as follows:
Senter. Stokes.
East Tennesssee 23,877 22,471
Middle " 58,646 19,149
West " 37,681 13,209
120,204 54,874
54,874
Senter's majority 65,330
The Conservative candidates to the Legislature, who stood
upon the same platform as Governor Senter, were elected
almost to a man.
Immediately after election, Mr. Stokes and his friends
raised the cry of fraud. They lost no time in hurrying to
Washington in order to bring pressure to bear upon Presi-
dent Grant to declare the election void. Mr. Stokes set
forth his claims in a lengthy interview. He said in part :
*' Governor Senter being governor or acting-governor had the
appointment of the registrars of the election. He put in
such men as he thought would do his bidding. They at
once opened the flood-gates and let everybody in, the dis-
franchising clauses of the Constitution were trodden under
foot and entirely disregarded, certificates of qualification as
voters were issued to disfranchised rebels, and even boys of
sixteen and seventeen were allowed to vote. Besides this
there was a course of intimidation pursued under the in-
struction of Senter which prevented hundreds of Republi-
cans from voting. You see Senter was governor. He had
militia and intended to use them, if necessary, to elect him-
^2 DISUNION AND RESTORATION
self. In many cases where the rebels had the upper hand
the Republicans, especially the negroes, could not vote in
their precincts for fear of violence. What defeated me was
the rebels who were disfranchised under the constitution.
I got 56,000, which was Grant's vote last fall. Seymour's
was 33,000 last fall, but Senter's vote was this time 119,000.
The 86,000 additional which Senter got were rebels and
minors."
These charges made by Mr. Stokes were replied to in the
daily press by Governor Senter. He claimed that it was un-
fair to compare the vote in the recent election with the
presidential election of the previous fall. In the presiden-
tial election the Republicans were sure of the result in the
State, so they had made no effort to bring out a full vote. It
would be much fairer to take the vote cast in the gubernato-
rial election of 1867 as the standard by which to measure
the result of the recent election. In 1867, Governor Brown-
low's vote was 19,900 more than Mr. Stokes had received,
yet the registration of 1867 exceeded the vote cast by over
20,000. The old registration law was still in force, but had
been modified by a decision of the Supreme Court which
admitted at least 40,000 votes which had been kept out in
1867. In other words, Mr. Senter claimed he could have
received a majority of 20,000 had there been no new regis-
tration. The newly appointed registrars, referred to in Mr.
Stokes's interview, were, with the exception of three tenths,
regularly discharged Federal soldiers.
Mr. Stokes in his efTorts to secure Federal intervention
was supported by all the Radical leaders. Many of those
who had supported Governor Senter in the election were
now most active in the attempt to prevent his induction
into ofifice. Among the first to change front was Mr.
Brownlow. Early in the contest he had favored the nomi-
nation of Governor Senter. After the disruption of the
Radical Convention, he still continued to support Governor
CLOSE OF THE RADICAL DOMINATION 73
Senter. It was not until after election that he seemed
to realize that Governor Senter's victory meant the return
to power of the ex-Confederate and consequently the down-
fall of Radical domination.
President Grant turned a deaf ear to the entreaties of the
Radical leaders. They sought Congressional action, but
met defeat here also, as Congress passed a resolution thank-
ing President Grant for his refusal to interfere with affairs in
Tennessee.
CHAPTER XI
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1 8/0
While the Radical leaders were engaged in their futile
efforts at Washington to obtain Federal intervention, the
Legislature convened at Nashville, and Governor Senter was
inaugurated with the usual ceremony. Both the Governor
and the Legislature manifested a desire to fulfill their elec-
tion pledges, by restoring the franchise to the ex-Confeder-
ates, but the manner in which this should be accomplished
was not at first very apparent.
In the Constitution, as it was prior to the war, the suffrage
qualifications had been clearly stated and no power had
been vested in the Legislature to alter them. It was in vir-
tue of the amendments adopted by the Radical Convention
of 1865, that the Legislature had passed the disfranchising
acts of 1866 and 1867,
The simple repeal of these acts would have re-enfranchised
the ex-Confederates, but it would have left unsettled a num-
ber of perplexing problems resulting from the war. It was
felt that the solution of these questions should not be left to
the Legislature, as its members were all Union men, and
therefore did not represent the whole political body. It
was also recognized that the questions to be settled were of
a constitutional character, and could be properly dealt with
only by a constitutional Convention.
These considerations led to the passage of an act which
authorized the Governor to put to a vote of the people the
question of holding a constitutional Convention. At the
same election delegates were to be chosen. Every male
person not convicted of infamous crime, of the age of
74
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1870 75
twenty-one, and a citizen of the United States, and a citizen
of the State of Tennessee was allowed to vote. The elec-
tion was held on the 3d of December and resulted in a large
majority in favor of the Convention.
The first constitutional Convention in the history of the
State was the one which had met in Knoxville, and framed
the Constitution under which Tennessee had been admitted
into the Union.' Conspicuous among the members of the
first Convention were John Sevier and Andrew Jackson.
The constitution they adopted was modelled after that of
the mother State, North Carolina. In 1834, a second Con-
vention met at Nashville, and modified the old Constitution,
so as to bring it into harmony with the industrial changes of
the first quarter of a century. The next assertion of con-
stituent powers was in 1861, when the Legislature passed
the Declaration of Independence, and the Ordinance of
Union with the Confederacy. In 1865, the Radical Conven-
tion, as we have seen, framed a number of constitutional
amendments.
The newly elected convention assembled at Nashville on
the loth day of January. The character of its members was
a guaranty that its action would be Conservative. It has
been pronounced the most intelligent body ever elected in
Tennessee for any purpose. John C. Brown, an ex-major-
general of the Confederate army, was elected to preside
over its deliberations. As the Authorization Act did not
limit the power of the Convention, it was at liberty to enter
into a thorough-going provision of the constitution, but it
manifested from the start the intention to confine itself to
the task of settling the question growing out of the war.
Chief among these was negro suffrage.
The Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the
United States had not yet been adopted, so it was still
in the power of the State to withhold the franchise from
' Caldwell's " Studies in the Constitutional History of Tennessee."
']^ DISUNION AND RESTORA TION
the negro. In the discussion of this suffrage question, the
Convention was divided into three factions. The Union
delegates, who were greatly in the minority, favored uni-
versal suffrage. The extreme opposite opinion was ex-
pressed in the minority report of the Suffrage Committee :
" We hold that the negro race is the lowest order of human
beings, incapable in themselves of a virtuous intelligence, or
free government ; and for the truth, we appeal to history,
and challenge the world to show a single exception. We
hold that the inferiority of the negro to the white man, in
race, color, and capacity for permanent, well-ordered govern-
ment has been fixed by Him who ' doeth all things well,'
and whose natural or revealed law has never been violated
by any human government without disaster and confusion."
In the abstract, the above statement undoubtedly repre-
sented the view of a majority of the delegates. But the
conservative men of the Convention recognized that the re-
jection of negro suffrage would strengthen the Radicals in
their efforts to obtain Federal intervention. Considerations
of political expediency led, therefore, to the adoption of the
following provision in regard to suffrage : " Every male
person of the age of twenty-one years, being a citizen of the
United States, and a resident of this State for twelve
months, and of the county wherein he may offer his vote,
for six months next preceding the day of election, shall be
entitled to vote for members of the General Assembly, and
all civil officers of the county or district in which he resides,
and there shall be no qualification attached to the right
of suffrage, except that each voter shall give to the judge of
the election, where he offers to vote, satisfactory evidence
that he has paid the poll taxes assessed against him for such
preceding period as the Legislature shall prescribe, and at
such time as may be prescribed by law, without which his
vote cannot be received." ^
' yournal of the Constitutional Convention of i8jo.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF iSjO JJ
After fixing the suffrage qualifications, all the important
changes in the constitution proposed by the Convention,
were directed, with possibly two exceptions, towards the
prevention of the recurrence of the political abuses, from
which the State had suffered under the Radical adminis-
tration. Fresh in the minds of all were the arbitrary acts of
Governor Brownlow in suspending the writ of habeas corpus,
and proclaiming martial law. A number of limitations were,
therefore, placed upon the military power of the Governor.
It was provided that " the militia shall not be called into
service except in case of rebellion or invasion, and then only
when the General Assembly shall declare by law that the
public safety requires it." The Bill of Rights was so
amended that " the writ of habeas corpus shall not be
suspended, unless when, in case of rebellion or invasion,
the General Assembly shall declare the public safety re-
quires it."
Another flagrant abuse under Radical rules had been the
too frequent meeting of the Legislature. During the four
years of Governor Brownlow's administration, it had been
in almost continuous session. To remedy this, regular ses-
sions were made biennial, and it was provided that no
member " shall be paid for more than seventy days of the
regular session, or for more than twenty days of an extra
or called session."
The two important changes in the constitution, which
had no relation to the disturbed political conditions result-
ing from the war, were the creation of a homestead
exemption, and the delegation to the Legislature of the
power to pass general laws for the organization of private
corporations.
Having completed its labors, the Convention proceeded
to the Capitol, and, in the presence of both Houses of the
Legislature, it placed the revised constitution in the hands
of the Governor. By him it was submitted to a vote of the
78 DISUNION AND RESTORA TION
people, and ratified by a vote of 98,128 for, to 33,872
against.
At the first State election that occurred under the pro-
visions of the new Constitution, the Democrats regained
political control of the State. This ended the Reconstruc-
tion Period in Tennessee.
AUTHORITIES.
Acts of Tennessee: Extra Session, 1861 ; 2d Extra Session, 1861 ; 1861-
62 ; 1865 ; 1865-66 ; Extra Session, 1866 ; 1868 ; 1869 ; 1869-70 ; 1870 ; 1870-
71 ; 1871 ; 1872 ; 1S73 ; 1875 ; 1877 ; 1879 ; 1881. Extra Session, 1881 ;
1882; 1883.
Barnes, W. H. " History of the Thirty-ninth Congress."
Bate, W. B. Messages to the General Assembly.
Blaine, James G. " Twenty Years of Congress."
Brown, John C. Messages to the General Assembly.
Brownlow, W. G. " Sketches of the Rise, Progress, and Decline of Seces-
sion, with a Narrative of Personal Experiences among the Rebels."
Philadelphia, 1862.
Caldwell, Joshua W. "Studies in the Constitutional History of
Tennessee." Cincinnati, 1895.
Cox, S. S. " Three Decades of Federal Legislation."
Dunning, W. A. " Essays on the Civil War and Reconstruction." New-
York, 1898,
Everett, Edward. " Account of the Fund for the Relief of East
Tennessee." Boston, 1864.
Harris, Isham G. Messages to the General Assembly.
Hawkins, Alvin. Messages to the General Assembly.
House Journals for 1865, 1865-66, 1866. Extra Session, 1866, 1867-68.
Extra Session, 186S, 1868-69, 1869-70.
Humes, Thomas William. "The Loyal Mountaineers of Tennessee."
Knoxville, 1888.
Journal oj the Constitutional Convention of 1870.
Knoxville Whig, Knoxville, Tennessee.
Mark, Albert. Messages to the General Assembly.
MacPherson, Edward. " History of the Rebellion."
MacPherson, Edward. " History of the Reconstruction."
Miller, Chas. A. "-The Official and Political Manual of the State of
Tennessee." Nashville, 1890.
Report of the Committee Appointed to Investigate the State Debt. Appendix
to the Senate Journal ior 1879.
Scott, W. A. " The Repudiation of State Debts." New York, 1893.
Senate Journal lov 1865, 1866, 1867-68, 1868-69. Extra Session, 1868.
Senter, De Witt. Message to the General Assembly.
Townsend's Records of the Great Rebellion.
The Union and American, Nashville.
" Why the Solid South ?" Hilary Herbert, Baltimore, 1890.
Wilson, Henry. " History of the Rise and Fall of the Slave Power."
79
MAR 13 19H
O
VITA
The author of this dissertation, John Randolph Neal, was
born September, i6, 1874, at Rhea Springs, Tennessee. His
early education was received at the public schools in Ten-
nessee and Washington, D. C. In 1890, he entered the Uni-
versity of Tennessee and was graduated in 1893 with the
degree of A.B. During the years 1893-96, he pursued
graduate work in Vanderbilt University, taking courses in
History, Economics, Literature, and Philosophy. In 1894,
he received the degree of A.M. ; and in 1896, the degree of
LL.B.
Since 1896, Mr. Neal has been a graduate student at
Columbia University. He has had Constitutional and
Administrative Law as a major subject, and Roman Law, and
Political Economy and Finance as minor subjects. He has
attended courses given by Professors Burgess, Goodnow,
Munroe Smith, Mayo-Smith, Moore, and Seligman.
While at Vanderbilt, Mr. Neal held university scholar-
ships in Economics and History. At Columbia, he has been
University Scholar in Political Science and Public Law.
80
I
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11