Produced by Distributed ProofreadersREPORT ON THE CONDITION OF THE SOUTHCarl SchurzFirst published 186539TH CONGRESS    SENATE    Ex Doc1st Session                 No 2MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATESCOMMUNICATING_In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 12th instantinformation in relation to the States of the Union lately in rebellionaccompanied by a report of Carl Schurz on the States of South CarolinaGeorgia Alabama Mississippi and Louisiana also a report of LieutenantGeneral Grant on the same subject_DECEMBER 19 1865Read and ordered to be printed with the reports ofCarl Schurz and Lieutenant General Grant_To the Senate of the United States_In reply to the resolution adopted by the Senate on the 12th instant Ihave the honor to state that the rebellion waged by a portion of thepeople against the properly constituted authorities of the governmentof the United States has been suppressed that the United States arein possession of every State in which the insurrection existed andthat as far as could be done the courts of the United States havebeen restored post offices reestablished and steps taken to putinto effective operation the revenue laws of the countryAs the result of the measures instituted by the Executive with theview of inducing a resumption of the functions of the Statescomprehended in the inquiry of the Senate the people in NorthCarolina South Carolina Georgia Alabama Mississippi LouisianaArkansas and Tennessee have reorganized their respective Stategovernments and are yielding obedience to the laws and government ofthe United States with more willingness and greater promptitude thanunder the circumstances could reasonably have been anticipated Theproposed amendment to the Constitution providing for the abolition ofslavery forever within the limits of the country has been ratified byeach one of those States with the exception of Mississippi from whichno official information has yet been received and in nearly all ofthem measures have been adopted or are now pending to confer uponfreedmen rights and privileges which are essential to their comfortprotection and security In Florida and Texas the people are makingcommendable progress in restoring their State governments and no doubtis entertained that they will at an early period be in a condition toresume all of their practical relations with the federal governmentIn that portion of the Union lately in rebellion the aspect of affairsis more promising than in view of all the circumstances could well havebeen expected The people throughout the entire south evince a laudabledesire to renew their allegiance to the government and to repair thedevastations of war by a prompt and cheerful return to peaceful pursuitsAn abiding faith is entertained that their actions will conform to theirprofessions and that in acknowledging the supremacy of the Constitutionand the laws of the United States their loyalty will be unreservedlygiven to the government whose leniency they cannot fail to appreciateand whose fostering care will soon restore them to a condition ofprosperity It is true that in some of the States the demoralizingeffects of war are to be seen in occasional disorders but these are localin character not frequent in occurrence and are rapidly disappearing asthe authority of civil law is extended and sustained Perplexing questionswere naturally to be expected from the great and sudden change in therelations between the two races but systems are gradually developingthemselves under which the freedman will receive the protection to whichhe is justly entitled and by means of his labor make himself a usefuland independent member of the community in which he has his home From allthe information in my possession and from that which I have recentlyderived from the most reliable authority I am induced to cherish thebelief that sectional animosity is surely and rapidly merging itselfinto a spirit of nationality and that representation connected witha properly adjusted system of taxation will result in a harmoniousrestoration of the relations of the States to the national UnionThe report of Carl Schurz is herewith transmitted as requested by theSenate No reports from the honorable John Covode have been received bythe President The attention of the Senate is invited to the accompanyingreport of Lieutenant General Grant who recently made a tour of inspectionthrough several of the States whose inhabitants participated in therebellionANDREW JOHNSONWashington DC _December_ 18 1865REPORT OF CARL SCHURZ ON THE STATES OF SOUTH CAROLINA GEORGIA ALABAMAMISSISSIPPI AND LOUISIANASir When you did me the honor of selecting me for a mission to the Stateslately in rebellion for the purpose of inquiring into the existingcondition of things of laying before you whatever information ofimportance I might gather and of suggesting to you such measures as myobservations would lead me to believe advisable I accepted the trust witha profound sense of the responsibility connected with the performance ofthe task The views I entertained at the time I had communicated to youin frequent letters and conversations I would not have accepted themission had I not felt that whatever preconceived opinions I might carrywith me to the south I should be ready to abandon or modify as myperception of facts and circumstances might command their abandonment ormodification You informed me that your policy of reconstruction wasmerely experimental and that you would change it if the experiment didnot lead to satisfactory results To aid you in forming your conclusionsupon this point I understood to be the object of my mission and thisunderstanding was in perfect accordance with the written instructions Ireceived through the Secretary of WarThese instructions confined my mission to the States of South CarolinaGeorgia Alabama Mississippi and the department of the Gulf I informedyou before leaving the north that I could not well devote more thanthree months to the duties imposed upon me and that space of time provedsufficient for me to visit all the States above enumerated except TexasI landed at Hilton Head South Carolina on July 15 visited BeaufortCharleston Orangeburg and Columbia returned to Charleston and HiltonHead thence I went to Savannah traversed the State of Georgia visitingAugusta Atlanta Macon Milledgeville and Columbus went throughAlabama by way of Opelika Montgomery Selma and