Civil War and Reconstruction in Alabama

by Walter L. Fleming

The result of the voting was: for the constitution, 70,812 votes; against it, 1005. The 18,000 white votes for the convention had dwindled down to 5000 for the constitution. For ratification, 13,550 more votes were necessary, and the ratification had failed. So General Meade reported. The reasons for the falling off of the white vote have already been indicated. The black vote fell off also. One cause of this was the chilling of the negro’s faith in his political leaders, who had made so many promises about farms, etc., and had broken them all. Many of the old aristocratic negroes would have nothing to do with such leaders as the carpet-baggers and scalawags, and this class and many others also were influenced by the whites to stay away from the polls. The general absence of respectable whites at the elections made it easier to convince the old Conservative negroes.[1505] In two white counties—Dale and Henry—no elections were held because there were not enough reconstructionists to act as election officials.[1506] Some whites, probably not many, were kept away by threats of social and business ostracism. Most of the reconstructionists cared nothing for such threats, as they could not be injured.[1507]

The Radicals explained the result of the election by asserting that many whites were registered illegally, foreigners, minors, etc., that the voters were intimidated by threats of violence, social ostracism, and discharge from employment; that the voting places were too few and the time too short in many of the counties; that there was a great storm and the rivers were flooded, preventing access to the polls in some places;[1508] that the Conservatives interfered with the votes, and tore off that part of the ballot that contained the vote on the constitution; that many election officials were hostile to reconstruction, and had turned off 10,000 voters because of slight defects in the registration; that there were not 170,000 voters in the state but only 160,000, as several thousand had removed from the state; that in spite of all obstructions the vote for the constitution, if properly counted, was 81,000 instead of 70,000, and that there were 120,000 “loyal” voters in the state; that the ballot-boxes in Lowndes County were stolen, and that the returns from Baine, Colbert, and Jones counties had been fraudulently thrown out;[1509] that General Hayden had especially desired the defeat of Reconstruction, and that he had managed the election in such a way as to enable the “rebels” to gain an apparent victory; and that practically all the army officers were opposed to the Radical programme, which was now true; and finally, that the attendance of Conservatives as challengers at the polls in some places was “a means of preventing the full and free expression of opinion by the ballot.”[1510]

After a thorough investigation General Meade reported that the election had been quiet, and that there had been no disorder of any kind; that there had been no frauds in mutilating negroes’ tickets by tearing off the vote for the constitution, and that the other charges of fraud would prove as illusive; that the vote for the governor and other officials was less than that for the constitution; and that a more liberal constitution would have commanded a majority of votes. He said, “I am satisfied that the constitution was lost on its merits;” that the constitution was fairly rejected by the people, under the law requiring a majority of the registered voters to cast their ballots for or against, and that this rejection was based on the merits of the constitution itself was proved by the fact that out of 19,000 white voters for the convention, there were only 5000 for the constitution; it might also be partially explained by the fact that the constitutional convention had made nominations to all the state offices, which ticket was “not acceptable in all respects to the party favoring reconstruction.”[1511] He recommended that Congress reassemble the convention, which should revise the constitution, eliminating the objectionable features, and again submit it to the people. However, as he afterwards stated, “my advice was not followed.” The tone of Meade’s report showed that he did not expect Congress to refuse to admit the state. Indeed, at times the staid general seemed almost to approach something like disrespect toward that highly honorable body.

When the Radicals began to make an outcry about fraud, Meade complained that they were not specific in their charges, and told the leaders to get their proofs ready. The state Radical Executive Committee issued instructions for all Radicals to collect affidavits concerning high water, storms, obstruction, fraud, violence, intimidation, and discharge, and send them to the Radical agents at Washington, who were urging the admission of the state, notwithstanding the rejection of the constitution. They refused to send these reports to Meade, who was not in sympathy with the Radical programme. Many of what purported to be affidavits of men discharged from employment for voting were printed for the use of Congress. Most of them were signed by marks and gave no particulars. The usual statement was “for the reason of voting at recent election.”[1512]

The Nationalist gave fifteen flippant reasons why the constitution had failed, and then asserted that the state was sure to be admitted in spite of the failure of ratification. Agents were sent to Washington to urge the acceptance by Congress of the constitution and Radical ticket. At first all, however, were not hopeful. There was a general exodus of the less influential carpet-baggers from the state, such a marked movement that the negroes afterwards complained of it. Some returned North; others went to assist in the reconstruction of other states.[1513]

C. C. Sheets, a native Radical, speaking of the failure of the ratification, declared that a year earlier the state might have been reconstructed according to the plan of Congress, but a horde of army officers sent South, followed by a train of office-seekers, went into politics, and these “with the help of a class here at home even less fit and less honest,” if possible, had disgusted every one.[1514]

While waiting for Congress to act, the so-called legislature met, February 17, 1868, at the office of the Sentinel in Montgomery. Applegate, the candidate for lieutenant-governor, called the “Senate” to order, and harangued them as follows: Congress would recognize whatever they might do; it was absolutely necessary for the assembly to act before Congress, as the life of the nation was in danger and there was a pressing “necessity for two Senators from Alabama to sit upon the trial of that renegade and traitor, Andrew Johnson”; he stated that General Meade was in consultation with them and would sustain them;[1515] if protection were necessary, Major-General Dustan[1516] could, at short notice, surround them with several regiments of loyal militia.[1517] They attempted to transact some business, but the unfriendly attitude of Meade and Hayden discouraged them; and they disbanded, to await the action of Congress.

The Alabama Question in Congress

February 17, 1868, a few days after the election, Bingham of Ohio introduced a joint resolution in the House to admit Alabama with its new constitution.[1518] The Radicals of Alabama assumed that it was only a question of a short time before they would be in power. On March 10, Stevens, from the Committee on Reconstruction, reported a bill for the admission of Alabama. During the lengthy debate which followed, the Radical leaders undertook to show that when Congress passed the law of March 23, it did not know what it was doing, and that therefore the law could not now be considered binding. The carpet-bag stories about frauds in the election, icy rivers, etc., were again told. During the debates it developed that Beck of Kentucky and Brooks of New York, the minority members of the Committee on Reconstruction, had not been notified of the meeting of the committee, which was called to meet at the house of Stevens, and hence knew nothing of the report until it was printed. They made strong speeches against the bill and introduced the protests of the delegates to the convention, the reports of Meade, and the petition of the whites of the state against the proposed measure, and on March 17 introduced the minority report, which had to be read as part of a speech in order to get it printed. It was a summary of the Conservative objections to the constitution. For the moment Thaddeus Stevens seemed to be convinced that it was not desirable to admit Alabama. “After a full examination,” he said, “of the final returns from Alabama, which we had not got when this bill was drawn, I am satisfied, for one, that to force a vote on this bill and admit the state against our own law, when there is a majority of twenty odd thousand against the constitution, would not be doing such justice in legislation as will be expected by the people.” So the measure was withdrawn.[1519] But the next day Farnsworth of Illinois reported a new bill providing for the admission of Alabama. He argued that 7000 whites had voted for the constitution, and that 20,000 whites belonged to the Union Leagues in the state,[1520] and that only by fraud had the constitution been defeated. Kelly of Pennsylvania, of “Mobile riot” fame, said that “the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.” He was convinced that typographical and clerical errors in the voting lists had turned thousands away.[1521] Spalding of Ohio proposed a substitute, which was adopted, making the new constitution the fundamental law for a provisional government, and placing in office the candidates who were voted for. The legislature was to be convened to adopt amendments to the constitution and resubmit the latter to the people. The bill passed the House, but was not taken up in the Senate.[1522] In the debates on this bill Paine of Wisconsin said: “These men [the whites] during the war were traitors. They have no right to vote or to hold office, and for the present this dangerous power is most rightfully withheld.” Williams, a Republican of Pennsylvania, objected to accepting a negro minority government. Stevens closed the debate, saying that Congress had passed an act “authorizing Alabama and other waste territories of the United States to form constitutions so as, if possible, to make them fit to associate with civilized communities”; the House had foreseen difficulties about requiring a majority to vote, and had passed an act to remedy it, but the Senate had let it lie for two months; he knew that he was outside the constitution, which did not provide for such a case; he wanted to shackle the whites in order to protect the blacks.[1523]

The effect of establishing a new provisional government on the basis of the constitution just rejected would be to require a new registration and disfranchisement according to that instrument. The proposal pleased the local Radicals very much. This plan was probably preferred by all the would-be officers except those who had been candidates for Congress and who could not sit until the state was admitted. The Nationalist[1524] said: “If we can get the offices, we, and not a ‘military saphead’ [Meade], can conduct the next election; we can by the Spalding bill get the government, rule the state as long as we please provisionally, and, when satisfied we can hold our own against the rebels, submit the constitution to a vote. We must wait until sure of a Republican majority if we have to wait five years.”[1525] The carpet-baggers were in high hope. A girl applied to one of the managers of the Montgomery “soup house” for a ticket for ten days, saying that she would not need it longer, as her father by the end of that time would be a judge.[1526]