The Fort Pillow Massacre by Bruce Tap

Author:Bruce Tap [Tap, Bruce]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780415808644
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2013-10-28T00:00:00+00:00

Figure 3.1 This August 5, 1865 drawing by Thomas Nast presents sympathetic support for African-American suffrage by contrasting the sacrifices of a wounded black veteran with the pleas of former rebels who had been in rebellion against the United States government. Harper's Weekly.

And not this man?

One could see the change in attitude exemplified in some of the editorial cartoons of the era. Two, in particular, present a contrast in the attitude and opinions of Americans. The first consists of two drawings where the United States, represented by the female Columbia, considers two types of persons for citizenship. In the first drawing, one sees Columbia sitting on a throne and a host of former Confederate generals and political leaders bowing before the female, apparently seeking pardons and a full restoration of their former rights. The second drawing shows Columbia with a wounded black veteran. The soldier has lost a limb and stands besides Columbia on crutches. The original caption below the drawings demon -strates a paradox that is supposed to sway the reader towards the acceptance of black political rights. Under the first drawing are the words, “shall I trust these men?” Under the second drawing, the message is, “And not this man?” The point is obvious. African-Americans have, through military sacrifice, earned the right of citizenship and, in many respects, are more deserving and more reliable than former Confederate military officers and office holders. A second drawing, a scant nine years later, demonstrate a profound change in the editorial attitude of the newspaper with respect to black political participation. Entitled “Colored Rule in a Reconstructed (?) State,” the drawing takes an almost antithetical approach to the question of black political participation. Depicting a legislative session in a southern state, the drawing shows black politicians wildly gesticulating and engaged in a savage and unruly debate. The cartoon sends an obvious message: Blacks are making a mess of government in the South and perhaps it was premature to have entrusted them with political rights.

The emergence of white supremacist organizations such as the Klu Klux Klan made the job of protecting black rights even more difficult. Formed in Pulaski, Tennessee, in 1866, the initial Klan was led by none other than Nathan Bedford Forrest, the controversial cavalry commander who had presided over the Fort Pillow Massacre. Dedicated to preserving white supremacy, the Klan devoted itself to terrorizing blacks and preventing them from voting. The Republican Congress passed Enforcement Acts to give the president the power to declare martial law and use federal power to counteract the work of the Klan. President Grant, elected in 1868 and re-elected in 1872, did not initially hesitate to use Federal forces to implement the Enforcement laws; however, by the early 1870s, the determination to enforce Republican reconstruction policy was fast fading. In 1872, a number of prominent Republicans including Charles Sumner and Horace Greeley defected from the party, fused with the Democratic Party, and nominated Greeley to oppose Grant. For many disaffected Republicans, the political corruption that

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