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[Read more letters about this article: Here]The 1866 Civil Rights Act
The 1866 Civil Rights Act was at the time not nearly as high minded as we now think. It was put forth by Radical Republicans, and can be broken into two parts, the populist egalitarian goal sold under false pretenses, and the fringe hidden-goal of looting the South. The populist goal (egalitarianism) was offered while downplaying the costs of attaining it and glossing over the means. Had the costs and the means been realistically appraised, it wouldn’t have been popular. And in fact, didn’t actually happen for the most part. The rest of the Civil rights Act was just the Wade-Davis Bill again, which was designed to enable Northern industrialists to war profiteer and loot the carcass of the South, which would of course cause massive economic woe to the South, also effecting blacks.
The earlier Radical Republican proposal, the Wade-Davis Bill, was vetoed by Lincoln with popular support. It was incredibly punitive of the South, and can basically be described as war looting. It said nothing about civil rights for blacks. It would increase Federal power which was already amassing under the control of Northern Industrialists, seize property in the South, and disenfranchise tens of thousands of Southerners, which would basically make the South a colony of the North.
Lincoln’s veto of Wade-Davis was sustained because he held a majority/centrist position. The moderates and general electorate saw the folly of looting of the South and heavy handed putative measures. They realized correctly they’d not see the benefits of doing so, only the Elite Northern Industrialists would benefit. Also, that the costs of such an occupation and blowback would be borne by ordinary Northerners serving in the military and such. The moderates correctly predicted it would be ethically corrupting for the North, exacerbate the rift between North and South, and promote the uprise of guerrilla militia tactics in the South. Additionally, any centrist politician was acutely aware of the deep racism across America, Lincoln certainly was, and real equality and desegregation of society was a non-starter in practical application.
None the less, the Radical Republicans came back with a new proposal, The 1866 Civil Rights Act, which was sweetened with a grand name, and populist notion of modernizing the south, which was just Wade-Davis with some populism bolted on. They managed to pass it, and to impeach but not remove Johnson from office who opposed it. As a result, tens of thousands of Southerners were disenfranchised, and the Carpetbaggers and Scallywags looted the hell out of the South. Little to no benefit accrued to blacks, in the North or South. It gave voting rights to ex-slaves, but not-ex confederates. Which sounds ethical, until you realize the Radical Republicans used it disenfranchise much of the property holders of the South, which they were then able to simply sweep up into the pockets of Northern industrialists, and while blacks were technically given voting rights, they were regularly suppressed or disenfranchised by other means across the USA, North and South to be insignificant except where it served the interests of Northern Industrialists.
By 1868, still riding the momentum of 1866, the Radical Republicans had managed to elect Grant. But it’s important to note the core Radical Republicans were simply pursuing a plan to loot the South, and were picking up populist votes with window dressing policy. (again, contemporary analogies abound)
However, across the country, moderates had always supported 1) restoring the vote to nearly all Southerners, 2) were relatively more egalitarian and pro-civil rights, though by today’s standards still rather racist and segregationist, so they would be considered incrementalists. Also, they were tired of occupying the South and of Reconstruction, realized it was unethical, costly, and of no benefit to the general populace. So, that was the centrist position and majority waiting to be tapped.
By 1870, Democrats and Republican centrists, across the country, were getting wise to the RR sham. News began to leak about the South about the rampant corruption and legal looting, and that Grant himself was notoriously corrupt. The “Redeemer Movement” began, led primarily by Southern Democrats, though they also appealed to many disillusioned Republicans.
By 1872, the Republican Party, led by the Radical Republicans, began to fracture. Though Grant was reelected, Liberal Republicans were done with Reconstruction and many moderates agreed. Southern Republicans and Democrats across the country were going in doves into the Redeemer movement. Many Republicans were disillusioned with the Radical Republican agenda having seen the actual outcome so different than was promised.
Over the next several years, the Redeemer Movement took state after state, and asserted itself basically in opposition to the Radical Republican agenda of: Federal power, taxes, debt, black civil rights. All of which were highly associated with the post Civil War corruption, Northern Radical Republican industrialists, and the exploitation of one region by another. Since the Redeemer movement also was also religiously motivated, it began to legislate morality. We still see those in the South today. It also has much in common with any occupied countries tendency to reject the values associated with the occupier.
By the election of 1876 the Republicans eked out a slim win, though it was contested, and there was a possibility of second Civil War, as Lincoln had feared, if a compromise was not found.
In the Compromise of 1877 the Redeemers attained their goals and completed the rollback of the Radical Republicans. Troops were withdrawn from the South, voting rights removed from blacks, and the plans were made to help the South industrialize.
Aside from accomplishing the initial goals of Wade-Davis, i.e. the short-term looting of the South to enrich an elite of Radial Republican Northern Industrialists, all of their more noble stated agenda had failed and been rolled back at enormous cost. Race relations had been exacerbated with the KKK seen not merely as racists, but also as militias who had opposed Northern Radical rule.
Which was exactly why centrists like Lincoln had opposed the over-reach of the Radical Republicans.