The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1868-11-25
what "a Shall the South Do s

-, hoSreat c0nQltlOn OI Ihe OouCh 10 NV
sappreciated by tho Democrats nor under
stood by the Republicans OF the North.
/. Even in Kentucy, which occupies middle
: s,1rr.oiu1lnd between the sections and oughtto
90 able to interpret either with equal ia
rility and justices there is 2 great deal OF
misconceptions in regard to Southern at
Haifa. The friends OF the South are too
5.iastir,ious in one direction, and the enc
lnies:of athe South too exacting IN another
yIirectiou. Not enough latitude is allow
{ ed by. the one or the other. In tins way
the. Southern rlind is mislcd by alternate
: assaults from without. Do what they
will the Southern people feel that they
sre sure to De construed unfairly. II
they declare for universal suffrage, as
Fhey did in Tennessee and Mississippi,
they stand; at risk of conflict with the
Democrats Of. kentucky, Indiana and
ohio. IF they declare against negro sui
s1itr.aee3. and act by their decarationas TREY
did in Georgia, they are denounced By the
Radicals as insurrectionists, and stand in
danger of another dose of-reconstructlon
( It is their misfortune, and not their fault,
s4, be in perpetual state OF uncertainty.
Looking back over the history OF the
last three years, We cannot see how.the
peo,prieiok the South could have managed
Shnir affairs so as to escape the evils of
I which they now complain so justly. They
came out.of the war almcstbeart-broken.
I ..Tnst what Andrew Johnson told them to
do they did. He was, for six or eight
months the only official they had to look
( -fo. Congress was not in session; and 1t
was. very natural for: them to imagine
that it would be unsafe to dlsobey the
President: They did not set up any poll
cy, of. their. own. Mr.: Johnson laid down
"a policy, and they accepted it. dc told
them. to repeal their ordinances of scccs-5
sion. Theyadid so. He told them to
.ratify the constitutional amendment abol-
fishing slavery. They did so. Hc told
them TO repudiate their war debts. They
did SO. With as much cherrfulness as
could be expected under the circnmstan-
:ces,s and with perfect submission and
salacrity, the people met inFtheir several
State capitals in answer to the summons
sof the power which required them to act,
sand tliev acted as that power dictated.
Having done so, they looked for liberal
ittretttment:at tho, hands OF the President;
san,i~tlrey received it: THUS they were com.
United to Mr.. johnson when Congress
met seven months after the surrender of.
!. General Lee. .:They@had no forecast Of
The confict which !ensaed. Thcy had
seone On doing what they supposed was,
REQUIRED 6vsthe people of, the NORTH as.
expressed through the President Of the
.sUnitcd States They wo:s4a have done
tho same if sit2had been the Congress, in
stead of the Executive, that commanded
4,hem; and, by . reversion of the actual
conditions existing at the time, might
have. al.rayed themselves with the legis-
Iativc department of the Government as
:ssgainst the Chief Magistrate, and pre-
tIi;srell the way for an assumption oflmpe-
rial authority on his part. and commend
ED themselves -as victims OF his dcspotic.
rage.
sfs:Suppose Congress had been in session
during the Spring of 1865. Suppose its
controversy with the President had al
ready. begun; Suppose the South had
,sided.with Congress and not with the
President. What guarantee had the
Southern pccpletha the President might
mot prove another Cromwell, quash Con-
.gress and become their oppressor? None
'at all. They were adrift ct sea. They
had no chart whatever to go by. John
tsonsthrew them plank and they took it
without asking or caring whether it was
'sonnd or not. They would have seized
upon the same, .or.any other plank, from
Congress with equalreadiness; for at that
time they disliked and distrusted John
son more than they dsliked and distrust-
sod Congress. They were simply in no
mood and in no condition to consultt'Icir
feelings, They were nearly ruined and
quite dispirited. They took the frstlinc
that. was tossed them, and. though it
,boand them hand and foot. they were
willing to take it for the sake OF peace.
Radicalsm, let us remember, developed
slowly. Misrepresentation, artfnlly con-
trived by few original Radical leaders
and presses, did the work for it. Moth
ing occurred in tho South that was not
falsiGed by the report of it which appear
ed in.the North. The country was inva-
dod by an army of newspaper correspon-
dents; who were paid to be sensational.
They founded the system OF carpet-bag-
gerry which followed; and, as the success
of the carpet-bagger depends upon the
energy with which lie strs up strife and
the accuracy with which lie misreports it,
the Radicals nevcr want for political cap.
ftal.
The Southern people were committed
to the johnson policy, first, because they
knew not what to do, and had no one to
look to but the President, who laid down
line for them, and second, because, as
Congress and tho President came to
blows Johnson was friendly and Con.
gress was not. They went into the Phil
adeiphia Convention to try and organize