A Letter of Concern

The document I will be using as a reference for this blog post is a letter that was written by Robert W. Flournoy on November 20^th 1865 and was sent to Thaddeus Stevens, the leader of the radical republican faction of the Republican Party. First Flournoy is sure to acknowledge his southern upbringing, admitting that he was also consumed with the common prejudices like the majority of southern people. Although he stated that the only reason he kept a large number of slaves was because of his finical obligations. Flourney shows his support to the Republican Party in the emancipation of slaves.

It seems as though Flournoy is trying to put himself in the best light possible to Stevens. This may have even been an attempt to make himself appear to be an acceptable candidate for the political positions that were vacant now after the war had ended and the southern states were forced to rebuild their political ranks but not without approval from the Republican Party in the north. Flourney advises that the Republicans send the applicants for seats in congress home instead of placing the same people who had attempted to destroy the very government that they were attempting to take part in. He tries to convey that allowing these rebellious confederate minded southerners to take political authority would only be rewarding their treason against the United States.  The people of the south have already generalized the idea that slavery would be reestablished under a similar set of circumstances with a different name. This meant that given the opportunity the southern political leaders would not hesitate to return those peoples who had just recently been declared free back into slavery.  It would also put the government in a very vulnerable position as many southerners had learned nothing from the previous five years and would rejoice at the chance to see the United States fall to the hands of any foreign governments.

Flourney also contests the idea of pulling the troops stationed in the southern states out, stating that the idea is “simply suicidal”. The removal of the northern military forces in the southern territories would save a large sum of money instantly while sacrificing thousands of lives and leading to eventually spending even more than what the original cost would have been. At that point violence had already begun in his area. Flourney describes one event in his letter: “A negro man was accused of stealing cotton. There was no proof to convict him[;] at the dead hour of the night he was taken out of his bed from his wife, and this morning I hear his body has been found suspended by the neck to a tree[;] the murder occured [sic three or four nights ago. This would not have taken place had the company of troops stationed at Pontotoc remained. There will be no attempts made to investigate this horrible act by the authorities or people here. It would cost a man his life to do so….” This almost seemed to be a foreshadowing of things to come in the south.

The extent of the protection provided to the newly freed black population at that time had ended with the withdrawal of troops. Without the federal enforcement of the new laws that went in the blacks favor and in the absence of their protection the possibility of equal opportunity for the black population faltered.    

 

 http://www.sewanee.edu/faculty/Willis/Civil_War/documents/FlournoyStevens.html