Sunday, March 12, 2023

Senator John Sherman to Major General William T. Sherman, April 23, 1866

[April 23, 1866]

Dear Brother: So little attention is paid to Wade Hampton's gasconade, that I do not think it worth while to give it importance by an answer. Indeed, I do not find it printed in any Northern paper, and having sent you the only copy I have seen, I find it impossible to get another. The materials of a reply are on hand, and are entirely satisfactory, but I will let it rest until the charge is taken up by some one else.

As for the Civil Rights Bill, I felt it so clearly right that I was prepared for the very general acquiescence in its provisions both North and South.

To have refused the negroes the simplest right granted to every other inhabitant, native or foreigner, would be outrageous; and to confess that our Government is strong enough to compel their military services, and yet not strong enough to secure them the right to acquire and hold property would involve a gross inconsistency. I hope this bill will be made the basis of a compromise. If fairly enforced in the South, the public mind will be satisfied for the negro to take his chances for political privileges.

Affectionately,
JOHN SHERMAN.

SOURCE: Rachel Sherman Thorndike, Editor, The Sherman Letters: Correspondence Between General and Senator Sherman from 1837 to 1891, p. 270

No comments: