years of preparation for
the war and during the war itself the Negro showed himself to be an
uncompromising friend to the Union. In fact, of all the charges
brought against him, there is scarcely a single instance where one has
been charged with being a traitor to his country. This has been true
whether he has been in a state of slavery or in a state of freedom.

From 1865 to 1876 constituted what perhaps may be termed the days of
Reconstruction. This was the period when the Southern States which had
withdrawn from the Union were making an effort to reinstate themselves
and to establish a permanent system of State government. At the close
of the war both the Southern white man and the Negro found themselves
in the midst of poverty. The ex-master returned from the war to find
his slave property gone, his farms and other industries in a state of
collapse, and the whole industrial or economic system upon which he
had depended for years entirely disorganised. As we review calmly and
dispassionately the period of reconstruction, we must use a great deal
of sympathy and generosity. The weak point, to my mind, in the
reconstruction era was that no strong force was brought to bear in
the direction of preparing the Negro to become an intelligent,
reliable citizen and voter. The main effort seems to have been in the
direction of controlling his vote for the time being, regardless of
future interests. I hardly believe that any race of people with
similar preparation and similar surroundings would have acted more
wisely or very differently from the way the Negro acted during the
period of reconstruction.

Without experience, without preparation, and in most cases without
ordinary intelligence, he was encouraged to leave the field and shop
and enter politics. That under such circumstances he should have made
mistakes is very natural. I do not believe that the Negro was so much
at fault for entering so largely into politics, and for the mistakes
that were made in too many cases, as were the unscrupulous white
leaders who got the Negro's confidence and controlled his vote to
further their own ends, regardless, in many cases, of the permanent
welfare of the Negro. I have always considered it unfortunate that the
Southern white man did not make more of an effort during the period of
reconstruction to get the confidence and sympathy of the Negro, and
thus have been able to keep him in close touch and sympathy in
politics. It was also