Civil War History - Secession and PoliticsWas it Slavery, or was it States Rights? Perhaps it was the election of Lincoln? What were the real reasons for Southern Secession and what were the political issues in this time of war? Find your answers here in the Secession and Politics Disussion.
Way back on page 23 of this thread, Dawna and I debated the closing & censorship of Northern newspapers and the arrests of Northern citizens.
Dawna brought this subject up beginning in her post#214 where she stated that she had read that 300 Northern newspapers had been shut down by the Lincoln administration because of their political views against the administration and the war. I challenged Dawna to name the 300 newspapers, but due to a riding accident and this thread moving on to other topics, we discovered, with the research and materials then available, to find only the following Northern newspapers that had been closed or shut down for the various reasons given below.
Nine newspapers were shut down by angry Union soldiers home on leave who proceeded to destroy the presses and offices of the following newspapers. This was done by individual soldiers who took matters into their own hands and NOT by direction of the Federal Government. They were:
Two newspapers were shut down for two days for printing false information concerning draft levies and by doing so, tried to manipulate the gold market. They were:
New York World The Journal of Commerce
Three newspapers were shut down and their editors arrested for interfering with enlistments, a crime at that time, especially if they were encouraging men to desert or not report for duty. They were:
Marion Ohio Mirror Paris Democratic Standard Fairfield Constitution & Union
One paper was shut down and the editor arrested for "a few days" but then he wrote an apology and was released. I do not know what he was arrested for or what he apologized for, as I have not been able to discover either. This paper was:
Evening Journal
Five newspapers I have since discovered on the subjects of newspaper suppressions and closures at the following web site provided by Dawna:
The site lists the following; On August 16, 1861 - In United States Circuit Court of New York the grand jury presented that the following newspapers as "aiders and abettors of treason." As a result the finding of the Court, the Postmaster General ordered that none of the following newspapers would be permitted to be forwarded in the mails. They were:
Journal of Commerce New York Daily News Day Book Freemen's Journal Brooklyn Eagle
A further note, the Marshal in Philadelphia seized copies of the New York Daily News and suppressed totally the sale of it in that city.
One newspaper had its office seized in the same city because of a late violent article on the "unholy war." It was the:
Christian Observer
Three newspapers listed by Dawna were also shut down, but I could not discover the reasons for that closure, until now. They were:
Cincinnati Enquirer Chicago Times Davenport Daily Gazetta
Out of 300 newspapers claimed shut down by the Federal government and the Lincoln Administration, I could only verify twenty-four. That meant there were 276 unaccounted for. And remember, there were over 1, 500 Northern newspapers that were up and running during the Civil War.
And there the matter ended with a promise from Dawna and myself that we would continue to research this matter of newspaper closings and get back to one another on what we found. Hence this post.
I recently came across a book, Lincoln's Wrath, by Jeffrey Manber and Neil Dahlstrom. The book caught my eye because of it's subtitle; Fierce Mobs, Brilliant Scoundrels and a President's Mission to Destroy the Press. A review of it can be found at the following link on Amazon.com:
Now, before anyone thinks I am about to recant on my position that Lincoln did NOT go out of his way to suppress and close Northern newspapers not towing the administraition's line, I wish to point out that the authors of the book are not in agreement with one another over the prospect that Lincoln was deliberately trying to suppress freedom of speech and newspapers.
But the book does give a lot of detail on the atmosphere of the times and how newspapers were operated and close their ties were to political parties and agendas. It also gives information on other newspaper closings I could not find elsewhere and gives clues and hints where more information on the subject might be found.
I am honoring my promise to Dawna to share with her and others on this board what I have found.
First, I would direct your attention to the following item on the Congressional Globe web site. Here you will find a bill, S.25., "An Act to Confiscate Property Used for Insurrectionary Purposes" or the first Confiscation Act passed by Congress and signed into law by President Lincoln.
This bill could be construed as a Civil War version of the present-day Patriot Act and could be used to seize papers who actively encouraged treason and other acts hurtful to the Northern war effort.
I would also like to direct your attention to an article that appeared in the New York Herald, dated August 28, 1861:
An Accounting
Northern papers destroyed by mob Jeffersonian, West Chester, PA Sentinel, Easton, PA Farmer, Bridgeport, CT Democrat, Canton, OH Standard, Concord, NH Democrat, Bangor, ME Clinton Journal, KS
Northern secession papers suppressed by civil authority
Catholic Herald, Philadelphia, PA Christian Observer, Philadelphia, PA
Northern secession papers died
Herald, Leavenworth, NJ American, Trenton, NJ
Northern secession papers denied transportation in the mails
Journal of Commerce, NY News, NY Day Book, NY Freeman's Journal, NY
Secession papers changed to Union
Eagle, Brooklyn, NY Republican, St. Louis, MO Democrat, Haverhill, MA
Secession papers yet in existence in the North
New York Argus, Albany News, NY Journal of Commerce, NY Day Book, NY Republican, Saratoga Democrat, Ithaca Gazette, Hudson Union, Watertown Freeman's Journal, NY Gazette, Geneva Prattsville News, Prattsville American Union, Ellicotville Budget, Troy Herald, Yonkers Observer, Utica Franklin Gazette Watchman, Greenport, LI Democrat, Niagara Courier, Syracuse Democrat, Schenectady Advertiser, Lockport Gazette, Malone Union, Troy Sentinel, Mayville Herald, Sandy Hill
New Jersey Register, Patterson Democrat, Hunterdon Journal, Newark Herald, Newton Republican, Farmer Gazette, Plainfield Journal, Belvidere
Pennsylvania Valley Spirit, Chambersburg Democrat, Coshocton Patriot, Harrisburg Republican, Pittsburgh Catholic Herald, Philadelphia Union, Wilkesbarre Examiner, Washington Herald, Honesdale Star, Easton Republikaner (german), Allentown Democrat, Allentown Christian Observer, Philadelphia
Illinois Union, Cass county Times, Bloomington Democrat, Alton Signal, Joliet
Indiana Gazette, Evansville Sentinel, Indianapolis Journal, Terre Haute
Vermont Spirit of the Age, Woodstock
Kansas Bulletin, Atchison
It should also be noted that on August 12, 1861, the New York Daily News printed a list of 154 "peace" papers. Three more newspapers (the New York Ledger, the New York Day Book, and the Brooklyn Eagle) picked up the list in the next few days before spilling into papers across the North.
The book's main thrust is to the idea that mob action against Northern newspapers sympathetic to the South was inspired and encouraged by Lincoln and his cabinet. The book goes on to list many accounts of mob actions closing down Northern newspapers that were against the war, the administration or were in sympathy with the South.
My main purpose in reading the book is to discover how many papers were shut down either by government or mob action or other causes to see if I can bring the number of papers shut down close to the 300 number mentioned by Dawna and others.
After much examination of the book, Lincoln's Wrath, I now have the following results.
Sixteen newspapers shut down or destroyed by mob actions. Two newspapers shut down by the government for printing false information. Three newspapers shut down for interfering with enlistments. One newspaper shut down when editor was arrested, no reason discovered. Nine newspapers denied use of the mails.
(I discovered the Baltimore, MD, Daily Exchange along with the Baltimore, MD Republican and South newspapers were denied use of the mails by Montgomery Blair.) One newspaper office seized by marshalls. Two newspapers closed due to lack of patronage/went out of business.
This leaves me with a present total of 34 Northern newspapers shut down, put I rush to point out, only 16 of these newspapers were shut down because of government orders and 2 of these were only closed for two days.
16 papers were shut down by 'mob' action that included angry Union soldiers home on leave after the first battle of Bull Run and by civilian mobs whipped up by Republican editors encouraging mob action against 'disloyal' newspapers. While the number of closed papers has risen from our earlier research from 24 to 34, it still does not come close to the 300 number of newspapers claimed by Dawna and others that were shut down by Lincoln. I continue the search for more evidence to prove or disprove that number.
I invite comments and observations.
Sincerely,
Unionblue
PS Dawna, I would invite you to get a copy of the book, Lincoln's Wrath, as I believe you would find it very interesting reading and lend support to your view that this campaign of intimitation was waged with Lincoln's knowledge by several of his cabinet members (Seward, Blair, Stanton and Cameron).
__________________ "The American people and the Government at Washington may refuse to recognize it for a time but the inexorable logic of events will force it upon them in the end; that the war now being waged in this land is a war for and against slavery." Frederick Douglass
"Loyalty to our ancestors does not include loyalty to their mistakes." George Santayana
For all those who continue to state that Lincoln did NOT offer compensation to slave owners during the war, I give you an essay on the Hampton Roads Peace Conference.
__________________ "The American people and the Government at Washington may refuse to recognize it for a time but the inexorable logic of events will force it upon them in the end; that the war now being waged in this land is a war for and against slavery." Frederick Douglass
"Loyalty to our ancestors does not include loyalty to their mistakes." George Santayana
The key phrase that I noted is"No attempt at negotiation with the insurgent leader could result in any good." Then Lincoln's humor concerning the freed slaves: "Root hog."
Like the "forty acres and a mule", Lincoln's $400,000,000 sounded good, but like the forty acres and a mule, it would have been very unlikely to have materialized. Lincoln may have been able to bully an already overreached congress into a fraction of that amount. At the close of the war the national debt was $2,700,000,000. This meeting was not long prior to that.
Whatever the good intentions were, all the South recieved was "Root Hog!"
The key phrase that I noted is"No attempt at negotiation with the insurgent leader could result in any good." Then Lincoln's humor concerning the freed slaves: "Root hog."
Like the "forty acres and a mule", Lincoln's $400,000,000 sounded good, but like the forty acres and a mule, it would have been very unlikely to have materialized. Lincoln may have been able to bully an already overreached congress into a fraction of that amount. At the close of the war the national debt was $2,700,000,000. This meeting was not long prior to that.
Whatever the good intentions were, all the South recieved was "Root Hog!"
If secession and war were truly about slavery, just think for a moment about that 2,700,000,000 debt. Half that much would have compensated Southern slave owners about 1,000.00 for each slave.
__________________ "Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names".--J.F.K.
The War Between the States established... This principle that the Federal Government is, through its courts, this final judge of its own powers.
-- Woodrow Wilson
And yet there were other attempts to compensate slaveowners, prior to the war and at the beginning of the war. The biggest objection I have heard is that there wasn't enough money offered for the slaves.
Unionblue
__________________ "The American people and the Government at Washington may refuse to recognize it for a time but the inexorable logic of events will force it upon them in the end; that the war now being waged in this land is a war for and against slavery." Frederick Douglass
"Loyalty to our ancestors does not include loyalty to their mistakes." George Santayana
As I understand it, there was a surplus of revenue in 1857. I suppose that would naturally encourage votes for lower tariffs.
If politics in the North were dominated by industrial protectionists, who wouldn't have given one whit about surpluses, then they would have continued to oppose a reduction in any tariff that reduced their protection. Instead, the 1857 act pretty well gave a 20% across the board cut in rates.
Quote:
Toombs was a Whig in 1846 voting his party line. Once he became a Democrat he changed several of his tunes, including the one regarding tariffs.
If the tariff debate were truly only a "cotton grower/exporter vs industrialist" struggle, then that would make the votes of Whigs like Toombs and Stephens pro-industrialist and anti-cotton grower/exporter. That seems a rather odd way to be elected to represent Georgia in the US Congress.
If the tariff debate over the reductions contained in the 1846 act was duked out by southern cotton growers vs northern industrialists, then why were 43% of the yea votes in the Senate cast by northern senators? Why were the 51 yea votes cast in the House by northern congressmen and 21 nea votes cast by southern congressmen? Doesn't this indicate that there were other political constituencies in the North besides industrialists and in the South besides cotton growers?
Thanks for the very thorough post (1101) on newspapers and alleged arrests and closings.
Cash had before stated that a reason for some closings or restrictions were due to newspaper's reporting of fairly sensitive information such as troop strength or troop movements. Did this book address any other reasons for government interference with the press besides seditious publishing?
I am wondering if anyone is familiar with any existence of present laws that would, during time of war, land an editor in jail for publishing such things as encouraging desertion in the military or aiding the enemy.
The key phrase that I noted is"No attempt at negotiation with the insurgent leader could result in any good."
Did you read on to see why he said this or did you skip through that? The reason it could do no good was Davis wasn't interested in anything except recognition of confederate independence, which meant claiming the Constitution didn't mean what it said when it said that it remains supreme, anything in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding. As Thomas Jefferson told us, if any state could just leave the Union anytime they didn't like the results of an election, no republican government would ever be possible.
Quote:
Originally Posted by olerebel
Then Lincoln's humor concerning the freed slaves: "Root hog."
It wasn't humor. It was a parable. The southern representatives, in their racist viewpoint, thought blacks were like children who couldn't take care of themselves. In telling this story, Lincoln affirmed that he believed they could take care of themselves.
Quote:
Originally Posted by olerebel
Like the "forty acres and a mule", Lincoln's $400,000,000 sounded good, but like the forty acres and a mule, it would have been very unlikely to have materialized.
"Forty acres and a mule" was never a promise given to all the freed slaves. It was a temporary measure for a specific group. As part of a negotiated peace, the $400 million was very much likely to have materialized.
"Well, this is a war to perpetuate and extend human slavery. It is a war not to defend slavery as it was left by their ancestors--I mean, a thing to be retained and to be apologised for,--it is a war to establish a slave empire,--a war in which slavery shall be made the cornerstone of the social system,--a war which shall be defended and justified on scriptural and on ethnological grounds. Well, I say, God pardon the men, who, in this year of grace 1863, should think that such a project as that could be crowned with success."
Richard Coden, M.P., in a speech to his constituents, Nov. 24, 1863.
"I cannot understand how any man witnessing what is enacting on the American continent, can indulge in small cavils against the free people of the North, and close his eyes entirely to the enormity of the purposes of the South. I cannot understand how any Englishman, who in past years has been accustomed to say that 'ther was one foul blot upon the fair fame of the American Republic,' can now express any sympathy for those who would perpetuate and extend that blot."
Mr. Bright, M.P., 1863, in a speech in Parliament.
Even Confederate government officials said so.
"We dissolved the Union and went to war because we feared the Republicans would free our slaves; now our own Government proposes to free them itself."
Virginia Senator Robert M.T. Hunter upon hearing Jefferson Davis's proposal to free slaves who served in the Army for the South.
Sincerely,
Unionblue
__________________ "The American people and the Government at Washington may refuse to recognize it for a time but the inexorable logic of events will force it upon them in the end; that the war now being waged in this land is a war for and against slavery." Frederick Douglass
"Loyalty to our ancestors does not include loyalty to their mistakes." George Santayana
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