The
occupation efforts of the Union troops in southern states after the Civil War
cannot be overlooked as a significant step in U.S. history. The military
presence disbanded voter intimidation towards the newly freed blacks in the
south. The newly freed African Americans found it possible to not only
participate in the U.S. political system at the polls but for some to achieve
highly regarded political status during the 1860’s and early 1870’s. The number
of African Americans who played such roles is astounding. After the
Reconstruction Acts of 1867 there were 1,500 blacks who served in Congress,
State Legislatures, sheriffs, tax assessors, or other local offices. The short
amount of time that these actions to hold is also surprising, only a few years
before these same individuals were not only denied political participation but
many were enslaved. The success of freed blacks in the south was a direct
result of the military intervention at voting polls and also a general overseer
of peace in southern communities.
However,
the public opinion of military presence in the southern states and with some
northern republicans began to diminish. Many saw the military intervention in
the southern political events as being an opposition to the democratic system
of government that the U.S. was founded on, which in turn resulted in a strong
feeling of resentment towards the African Americans who had been elected to
political office. This was the cry of the White Redeemers of the south, who
claimed that military intervention in the political process violated the
foundation of the federal government. “By 1876, it was not unusual for even
moderate Republicans to question whether state governments deserved to exist if
they could not be maintained without military force…rule by the ballot instead
of rule by the bayonet.” The overwhelming public opinion and declaration of
faulty elections, economic dilemmas, and availability of troops pushed President
Rutherford B. Hayes to withdraw the troops in 1877. The removal of the troops
satisfied the general public opinion, but placed the necessity of black
suffrage aside for a hundred years.
The
economic dilemmas during the years of reconstruction were factors that affected
the opinion towards maintaining military occupation in the south. The economic “panics”
or recessions in 1873 and 1877 promoted the ideas of the public that military
presence in the south was not a high priority any longer and funding these
efforts were seen as unnecessary. In the closing years of Reconstruction the need
for troops in the south was also viewed by government officials and military
generals as being less important. Their views favored the idea that more troops
were needed in the western plains fighting the Native Americans. The need for
western expansion and settlement of new territories trumped the troop’s
occupancy in the southern states.
The
military forces in the southern states did have success in maintaining order at
political events especially in the presidential election of 1876, in which
President Grant sent troops to Petersburg, Virginia to provide blacks the
chance to vote. However, the number of troops needed to oversee all areas of
the south was impractical, especially with the beginning of the Plains Wars.
The lack of troops allowed for mass killings of blacks in the south some by
ex-confederates and the majority of the violence coming from Klu Klux Klan. To
keep the peace throughout the south entirely was impossible for the number of
troops available, and in order to do so the number of troops had to double the
amount of troops present.
The
military occupation of the southern states during Reconstruction allowed newly
freed blacks to live as American Citizens. The military occupation provided a
reassurance of two things, the union was once again united and slavery was
ended forever in the U.S. Yet, the efforts of the Union troops, turned policing
forces, were short lived and the removal of troops in 1877 would allow the
blacks rights to fade for a century. The overwhelming dismissal of the troop’s occupation
in the south and economic problems forced the removal of the troops, and a relapse
of black rights.
Blair, William. " The Use of Military Force to Protect the Gains of Reconstruction." Civil War History 2005: 388-402
This is a very interesting topic. I think the United States was forced to use military power in order to keep order in the South on many different occasions during the Reconstruction era. It is my personal opinion that if more military force followed by stricter laws dealing with civil rights at the time there would have been used then there would have been less violence later on in our nation's history. By this I mean had the United States not allowed segregation of facilities to occur i.e. schools, restaurants, bathrooms, etc. then we would not have had acts of violent events such as the riot at Little Rock when the schools were finally integrated in the 1950's and 1960's. Rights after the Civil War there was a policy window that was open for Republicans to create a society that was equal for all people, but they allowed that policy window to be slammed shut with the Election of Rutherford B. Hayes. Yes, creating an equal society would have taken some military force, but in the long-run it would have stopped many acts of violence that occurred based on race that occurred later on in history.
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