Forty acres and Mule

Epilogue: Land for the Freedman? (May also be read in conjunction with Chapter 7) In the closing days of the Civil War, Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton held a conference with a number of black leaders- Stanton asked ‘How could the former slave best be helped?’ The black spokesmen had a quick reply, ‘Give us land- That way we can take care of ourselves-' The Confiscation Act, passed in 1862, gave the national government the right and the power to take farms and plantations away from Southerners who fought against their country. Similar laws had been passed by various states during the American Revolution- Then, lands seized by state governments from Tories fighting for the British were sold at public auction to loyal Americans- Likewise, lands seized during the Civil War could have been distributed among slaves who had previously worked on them- Although President Lincoln made little use of the Confiscation Act; during the last few months of the War, General Sherman ordered certain areas of land set aside for use by freed slaves- Plantations in Mississippi, once owned by Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his brother Joseph were divided among 1800 black people- In one year the new owners earned $159,000 from these properties- Abandoned plantations on the Sea Islands, off the coast of Georgia and South Carolina, were seized by the US- government and sold to enterprising freed slaves for small sums- Blacks successfully worked these plantations without white supervision- A dedicated band of white leaders saw these two successful experiments as a hopeful forerunner for widespread black ownership of the soil that they had toiled on for centuries- This portion of the chapter explores the question as to whether land in the South should have been given to the freedman immediately after the Civil War. Forty Acres and a Mule The Freedman's most dedicated friend in Congress was Thaddeus Stevens from Pennsylvania- As an abolitionist before the War, Stevens often defended fugitive slaves without a fee- After the War, Stevens led Congress in demands for black political rights- Stevens was also convinced that black people would never really be free until they owned their own land: In my judgment, justice demands that we give every adult freedman a farm on the land that he was born, toiled and suffered- Forty acres and a mule would be more valuable to him than the right to vote- Unless we give this land, we shall receive the curse of heaven- 6 Lincoln's successor, President Andrew Johnson disagreed vehemently: Congress never has had the power to buy homes for the millions of the white race that work from day to day without land- The authors of the Constitution never intended that Congress should support the people- There is no reason for supporting black people, when the government has never supported whites- The argument over distributing lands did not end with these two speeches- Stevens informed the President that the ruler of Russia had freed 22 million serfs much as Lincoln had freed the slaves- But, the Russians had required the serfs' owners to give them farms on the soil that they had plowed and planted for years- Why then could not the President of the United States do the same for American slaves? The President replied that this would not be fair to the people who owned the land- Not only were they losing their slaves, but they would also be losing the land that their families had owned for generation- The President believed that a man does not appreciate the value of anything that is given to him and that charity discourages people from working for themselves- He thought that the freedmen should earn the money to buy a farm like everybody else in the country. Because they are now free, can get a job, and save Page 2 Thomas Ladenburg, copyright, 1974, 1998, 2001, 2007 t-ladenburg@verizon-net money, he was confident that these former slaves could take advantage of the Homestead Act and start a farm in the west, and he was determined that they should not be given land that belongs to others- To these arguments, Stevens would have responded by asking what value is the gift of freedom, if a man has no way of earning a living? He believed that to deny the freedman the plot of ground he has already worked enough to own ten times over, will force him to work for the white man and end up no better than a slave- Expecting Negroes without money, experience, friends or relatives in the area to start a homestead 1,000 miles away from where they had lived all their lives, he argued, was completely unrealistic-* “Taking land from one group and giving it to another is no better than robbery,” Johnson rebuffed- “What would happen to property rights once this government consents to denying this right to some? If we start taking people's lands away from them, no one will work hard to increase his own earnings- They will be afraid that land and their savings would be taken away just to satisfy the claims of someone else who does not have as much-" Thaddeus Stevens made a very specific proposal- He suggested that one southern family out of twenty, about 70,000 families, surrender 394 million acres of land- This would be more than enough to give every slave family forty acres of land and leave some 350 million acres to be sold- By selling the rest of the land at public auction, the government would earn enough money to give each black family some tools and a mule- The rest of the The Congressional Globe, 1866- * Remainder of dialogue based on views of disputants and are not their actual words 1- Do you think that every black family in the South should have been given enough land to start life as an independent farmer? In answering this question, consider some of the issues stated below: a- What do you think is the real basis for the right to own and keep property? b- Are the plantation owners' rights to the land any greater than the rights of people who worked the land for no pay at all, for a period of up to 240 years? c- Is the fact that poor whites were not given land in the South by the national government a good argument for denying it to the freedman?    

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