CHAPTER XXIII

CONDITIONS AT THE CLOSE OF THE WAR

The South at the Close of the War. The conditions in the South at the close of the war were deplorable. For the most part all the fighting had been done on southern soil. The damage due to bombardments and to invasions of soldiers was enormous. Public buildings and private homes, churches and schools, had been destroyed. Railroads and their equipment had been wrecked. Steamboat transportation was crippled by the worn condition of boats which the owners were too poor to repair. Gins and warehouses were out of commission, and merchants in towns and cities failed, while business was in a state of collapse. There was no capital, no money to revive the old lines of trade nor to put new plans in operation. Land was reduced to one half its value, and the wealthy southerners were rendered poor by the worthlessness of Confederate money.

In the same proportion, the entire population suffered from the financial depression. In many instances, homes and plantations were sold for taxes, the owners being unable to pay the sums. The entire white population of army age had been enlisted in the fighting ranks, and at the close of the conflict more than one third of these had been killed or incapacitated.

While the loss of life on both sides was nearly equal, the proportionate loss was far greater in the South because its population was much smaller. The most highly educated

and representative men of the South had gone forth and laid down their lives in the struggle. This sacrifice had an effect of far-reaching influence. The emancipation of the negroes caused a complete upheaval in all the agricultural districts. The old plantation system, that had been the most lucrative of all of the southern industries, was rendered useless until labor conditions could be readjusted.

The Lincoln Appropriation. President Lincoln had foreseen these conditions, and he realized the great distress upon the southern states in the matter of poverty. He saw how this poverty would be increased by the large numbers of recently emancipated slaves who had nothing but their meager knowledge of labor to stand between them and the vicissitudes of life.

As early as February, 1865, Lincoln proposed to help the South by asking Congress to appropriate four hundred million dollars to be paid the southern states, provided war should cease by April 1, 1865. Congress refused to take up this plan and the matter was dropped. The attitude of Congress was a great disappointment to the President. In his last public address he said: "It may be my duty to make some new announcement to the people of the South. I am considering and shall not fail to act when action will be proper."

Beginning of Reconstruction. Before Lee made his surrender, President Lincoln began the plan for restoring the Union. Throughout his administration he had steadfastly considered his office of President of the United States to cover the entire country, North and South. He had refused to acknowledge the Confederate government. Although he worked toward the end of restoring the Union, he held aloof from all sectional feelings.

Lincoln's Plan. - Lincoln's idea of reconstruction was to establish provisional governments in the seceded states until the states would lay down their arms and accept the

oath of allegiance to the United States government. Where the Federal troops were in control, President Lincoln had taken steps to readjust the political relations with these states by issuing a proclamation of amnesty by which he pledged himself to pardon all persons (with a few exceptions) who would take an oath "to support, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and all acts of Congress, including the Emancipation Proclamation.” He further promised that when the voters in any state taking this oath were not less than one tenth of the number who had voted in the presidential election of 1860, they might set up a state government and elect members of Congress.

Congress's Attitude. The states of Tennessee, Louisiana, and Arkansas accepted these terms and held elections and prepared to reënter the Union; but Congress refused to accept their electors. This brought about a disagreement between the President and that body on the ground that Lincoln refused to accept the reconstruction plan of Congress, which was to consider the southern states as conquered territory to be divided and governed as Congress should define.

Division of the Republicans. - The question brought out very bitter sectional feelings on the part of the National Republic Party, and before it could be settled there was a division in its ranks, and those members supporting the President's policy became known as the Liberal Republicans, while those favoring the Congressional plan were called the Radicals. But an unfortunate event occurred which rendered the situation even more serious than before.

The Assassination of President Lincoln. While peace was being restored and the return of soldiers to their homes brought a sense of thankfulness into the hearts of the people, North and South, a great calamity fell upon the country that caused profound sorrow throughout the land. This was the assassination of President Lincoln by a fanatic

named John Wilkes Booth. When the President was attending a performance in Ford's Theater in Washington, about ten o'clock in the evening Booth, who was an actor, slipped into the box where the President was seated and shot him. It was a most cowardly act and shocked the entire nation. The President died the next morning. Booth was shot twelve days later in a barn near Fredericksburg, while trying to make his escape.

On the same evening that the President was shot, an attempt was made on the life of Secretary Seward, but this was not effective. The accomplices in the assassination of the President were brought to trial and convicted.

The death of the President was a distinct loss to all of the people. His ideas were so just, his aims so direct, and his sympathy so sure that the entire country lost a great guide and counselor.

FOREIGN NEGOTIATIONS.

Trent Affair. In the early part of the war, the Confederate government sent James M. Mason, of Virginia, and John Slidell, of Louisiana, as Commissioners to England to treat with that government concerning neutrality. They managed to get through the blockade and reached Havana, where they took passage on the English steamer Trent. The vessel was stopped between Cuba and the island of St. Thomas by the United States cruiser San Jacinto. The captain of the latter ordered the surrender of Mason and Slidell as prisoners of war, and took them to Fort Warren in Boston harbor. The matter was reported. to the English government and a feeling of hot indignation arose over the incident. England demanded their release, and for a little while it looked as if a breach might occur between Great Britain and the United States. The United States agreed then that Mason and Slidell were passengers

on the Trent and as such had the protection of the English government and accordingly released them.

Settlement of Claims. Shortly after the war a number of issues between England and the United States required settlement, but the United States was not willing to take up these questions until Great Britain should make some reparation for the damages done to Federal commerce by the Confederate cruiser Alabama, which had been built and equipped in England. After some delay, commissioners of both countries met in Washington in 1871 to settle the controversies then pending. The boundary between British America and Washington territory was in dispute, and this was satisfactorily settled.

The right of American fishermen in Canadian waters was also adjusted, and the Alabama claims were opened, with the result that the question was referred to a Board of Arbitration which met in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1872. At this tribunal, the United States was awarded damages amounting to fifteen million five hundred thousand dollars, which England later paid.

Reassertion of the Monroe Doctrine. While the war between the states was going on, a revolution took place in Mexico, and in the midst of the political turmoil, France came forward and assisted Maximilian, the Arch Duke of Austria, to secure control of the government in Mexico. The Mexican government was heavily in debt to France, so there was little resistance to the French army that came into Mexico to secure the claim of Maximilian.

President Lincoln had observed the situation with grave concern, but was so occupied with the affairs in the United States that he was unable to give his attention to the Mexican question. It was a violation of the Monroe Doctrine. Before President Lincoln could remonstrate with the contending powers, he was assassinated. President Johnson took up the matter and requested France to