te
of this was true, that the Republican party in that section was under
the domination of northern "carpet baggers," a few worthless southern
whites and a number of dishonest and incompetent colored men. This, no
doubt, is the false, deceptive and misleading picture which had been
painted from the vividness of his partial, mistaken, prejudiced and
diseased imagination.

That many mistakes were made during the progress of Reconstruction
cannot and will not be denied. No friend and supporter of the
congressional plan of Reconstruction will maintain that every thing
was perfect. On the contrary, it is frankly admitted that quite a
number of grave blunders were made; but they were not confined to any
one party. Neither Republicans nor Democrats can justly lay claim to
all that was good or truthfully charge the other with all that was
bad. Of those who were selected as representatives of the two parties,
the Democrats had, in point of experience and intelligence, a slight
advantage over the Republicans; but in point of honesty and integrity
the impartial historian will record the fact that the advantage was
with the Republicans. How could either escape error? The Civil War had
just come to a close; sectional animosity was bitter and intense. The
Republican party was looked upon as the party of the North and,
therefore, the bitter enemy of the South. The southern white men who
joined the Republican party were accused of being traitors to their
section and false to their own race and blood; they were called
Scalawags. Through a process of intimidation, chiefly by means of
social ostracism, independent thought and action on the part of
southern whites, during the early period of Reconstruction, were
pretty effectually prevented. Through such methods, they were quite
successfully held under the subjection and control of those whose
leadership they had been accustomed to follow.

Under such circumstances, the reader may ask the question, why was it
and how was it that so many of the best white men of that section
joined the Republican party? The answer is that, prior to the election
of General Grant to the presidency in 1868, very few of them did so.
It was never a question of men. It was always a question of party.
Under such circumstances, thousands of white men were obliged to vote
for certain Democratic candidates who were otherwise objectionable as
against certain Republicans who were otherwise acceptable. In like
manner