THE RESTORATION OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT
While Tennessee escaped both executive and congressional
reconstruction, it did not follow in the restoration of its civil
government the plan laid down by President Lincoln. The most
distinctive feature of Lincoln’s reconstruction policy lay in the fact
that it made the old political people in each of the Southern States
self-acting nuclei, which were to bring order out of chaos. According
to this theory, neither the President nor Congress had the power to
reconstruct a State government. The people within a State alone had
the right to initiate and carry into effect measures for the
rehabilitation of the deranged governmental machinery. It was the duty
of the President under Article IV, Section 4, of the Constitution, to
see that their efforts in this direction did not prove abortive by
reason of domestic violence.
The germs of this policy may be seen in the instructions sent to the
military governors. It was more fully developed in the amnesty
proclamation of Dec. 8, 1863. By the terms of this proclamation, a
general pardon was granted to all “who directly or by implication had
participated in the rebellion, with certain exceptions specified, upon
their taking an oath to henceforth support the Constitution of the
United States, and abide by the proclamations of the President and the
acts of Congress in relation to slavery.” It was further promised,
“that whenever a number of persons in any of the rebel States, equal
to not less than one tenth of the votes cast in such State in the
presidential election of the year 1860, each having taken the oath
aforesaid, and not having violated it, and being a qualified voter by
the election law of the State existing immediately before the
so-called act of secession, and excluding all others, shall establish
a State government which shall be republican in form, and in nowise
contravening said oath, such shall be recognized as the true
government of the State.”
This was, substantially, Lincoln’s plan for reconstruction. It was not
carried out in any of the Southern States. In all, except Tennessee,
it was succeeded by executive reconstruction under Johnson, which was
in turn supplanted by congressional reconstruction. In Tennessee an
entirely original plan was adopted. This plan shut out from
participation in the work of organizing civil government, all those
who had taken part in secession. An oath of past loyalty was made the
test of political capacity. In short, the restored civil government in
Tennessee was based solely on that portion of its inhabitants that had
remained loyal to the Union. These Union men, or Radicals as they
chose to call themselves, composed about one third of the population
of the State, and represented about one fifth of the taxpayers. It
will be the object of this chapter to trace the steps by which this
small minority seized the reins of government and exercised for three
years absolute control of the State.
After the fall of Fort Donelson, on February 15, 1862, the greater
part of Tennessee soon came into the possession of the Union army,
president Lincoln immediately appointed Andrew Johnson military
governor. Athough vested with almost unlimited powers, Governor
Johnson had at first little opportunity for their exercise, as the
Union army did not remain in peaceful possession of the State. Along
the southern border raged the bloody battles of Shiloh, Chickamauga,
and Missionary Ridge.
By the fall of 1863, the tide of battle had rolled so far southward
that the soil of Tennessee was at last free from contending armies.
The time had now arrived for the restoration of civil government. But
Governor Johnson felt secure in the exercise of his power only so long
as it rested upon a military basis. He therefore seemed in no hurry to
reorganize the State government. He contented himself with filling the
vacant offices, most of which under the laws were elective, by the
appointment of his political friends thereto.
The leaders of the Union men in the State, the majority of whom were
never in sympathy with Johnson, began to grow restive under his
military dictatorship.
In May, 1864, occurred Johnson’s nomination for the Vice-Presidency.
He naturally desired to obtain the electoral vote of his own State. A
Convention was therefore called to meet in Nashville for the purpose
of nominating an electoral ticket. The Union leaders seized the
opportunity which the Convention presented for perfecting an
organization of the Union party. A committee was appointed by the
Convention, and empowered to issue a call for a second Convention.
The second Convention was called to meet in Nashville, Dec. 19, 1864.
It failed to convene on the day appointed, as Nashville was at that
time threatened by Hood’s army. The defeat of the Confederate forces
in the battle of Nashville removed the danger, and the Convention came
together on the third day of January, 1865.
The work of the Convention was summed up in the passage of one
resolution.[9] The first section contained this statement of the
authority under which it claimed to act: “Whereas the first article
and the first section of the Declaration of Rights in the Constitution
of the State of Tennessee declares, ‘That all power is inherent in the
people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and
instituted for their peace, safety, and happiness; and that for the
advancement of these ends they have at all times an inalienable and
indefeasable right to alter, reform, or amend the governments as they
may think proper,’ We, the people of Tennessee, in Convention
assembled, do propose the following alterations and amendments to the
Constitution, which, when ratified by the sovereign loyal people shall
be and constitute a permanent part of the Constitution of Tennessee.“
This assertion of constituent powers by the Convention was purely a
revolutionary act. The Constitution could be legally changed only in
the manner prescribed by the Constitution itself. In the third section
of the eleventh article, it provided that all amendments must
originate with the State Legislature. In no sense could the Convention
be held to represent the Legislature. It was therefore in the eyes of
the law a body of private citizens.
The second section of the resolution passed by the Convention
contained the proposed amendments. The most important were: the
abolition of slavery, the declaration of the invalidity of the
secession acts, and an article giving the Legislature the power to
determine the suffrage. It was further provided that these amendments
should be submitted to a vote of the people, and if ratified by the
majority of those voting, the military governor was ordered to hold an
election for Governor and Legislature. All voters should be required
to take the following oath: “I solemnly swear that I will henceforth
support the Constitution of the United States, and defend it against
the assaults of all its enemies; that I am an active friend of the
government of the United States, and the enemy of the so-called
Confederate States; that I ardently desire the suppression of the
present rebellion against the United States; that I rejoice in the
triumph of the armies and navies of the United States, and in the
defeat of the armies, navies, and all other armed combinations of the
so-called Confederate States; that I will cordially oppose all
armistices or negotiations for peace with rebels in arms until the
Constitution of the United States and all laws and proclamations made
in pursuance thereof, shall be established over all the people of
every State and territory embraced within the national Union; and that
I will heartily aid and assist the loyal people in whatever measures
may be adopted for the attainment of these ends; and further, that I
take this oath freely and voluntarily and without mental reservation,
so help me God.”
This test oath marks the first grave departure from President
Lincoln’s plan. He had suggested a simple oath “to henceforth” support
the Constitution on the principle, as he expressed in his message to
Congress, that “that test is a sufficient one which accepts as sound
whoever will make a sworn recantation of his former unsoundness.” This
test oath, framed by the Convention, went much further and virtually
disfranchised all who had served in the Confederate army.
The Convention completed its labors by nominating a candidate for
Governor, and a general ticket for the Legislature. It thus combined
the functions of a political and constitutional convention.
Governor Johnson now had no motive for delaying the reorganization of
the State government, as it was only a month until his inauguration as
Vice-President. He thereupon gave force to the action of the
Convention by a proclamation ordering a vote of the people to be taken
in the mode prescribed by the Convention. The election was held on
February 22d, and resulted in 25,293 for, 48 against. On February
25th, Johnson issued a second proclamation declaring the amendment
ratified, and ordering an election for Governor and Legislature. The
second election occurred on the 4th of March. W. G. Brownlow, the
candidate for Governor, received 23,352 votes against 35 scattering.
The legislative candidates received the same number of votes as the
election was by general ticket.
In the presidential election of 1860 the vote of the State was
145,000. Johnson therefore held that Tennessee had fulfilled the 10
per cent. requirement of Lincoln’s amnesty proclamation. He issued a
final proclamation in which he attempted to set the stamp of legality
upon the newly elected Governor and Legislature.
The energies of the new State government were immediately directed
toward securing the continued ascendancy of the Union party. This was
at first an easy matter, as one of the new amendments to the
Constitution had given the Legislature the power of determining the
suffrage qualifications.
The Legislature convened on the 2d of April. On the 7th Brownlow was
inaugurated. His message contained the following brief reference to
the all-important question of the franchise: “While I would not
recommend you to give way to the impulse of vengeance any more than to
the appeals of sympathy and pity, I would urge you to guard the
ballot-box faithfully and effectually against the approach of treason,
no matter in what character it may come.”[10]
Most of the Union leaders in the Legislature desired the absolute
disfranchisement of the “rebels,” but it was feared so extreme a
measure would arouse hostility in Congress to seating the
Representatives from Tennessee. A compromise bill, known as the Arnell
Bill,[11] was finally passed. By its provisions the right to vote was
restricted to the following persons: “White men over twenty-one years
old, who were publicly known to have entertained unconditional Union
sentiment from the outbreak of the Rebellion, or who arrived at age
since March 4, 1866, and who had not been engaged in armed rebellion
against the United States Government, also those who had served in the
Federal army, and been honorably discharged, those who had been
conscripted by force in the Confederate army, and were known to be
Union men, and all those who had voted at the election in March and
February, 1865.” All other persons were disfranchised. For all persons
who had held civil or diplomatic office under the Confederate
Government, or who had held military offices above the ranks of
captain in the Confederate army, or lieutenant in the Confederate
navy, also for those who had resigned from the Congress of the United
States, or the army or navy of the United States, the term of
disfranchisement was for fifteen years. For all other persons from
whom the suffrage was withheld the disfranchisement was to last only
four years.
The first election to occur after the passage of the Arnell Franchise
Law, was the congressional election of August 3, 1865. All the
candidates were Union men, but one set represented the conservative
element which opposed disfranchisement and tests oaths. The Radicals
felt perfectly confident of defeating the Conservatives, if the
provisions of the new law were carried out. But it soon became evident
that the Radicals had much to fear both from open violation of the
law, and secret intimidation of the voter. Governor Brownlow, on the
10th of July, issued a proclamation declaring “that all who had banded
together to defeat the franchise law would be dealt with as rebels.”
The election passed off without violence. On the 10th of August,
before all the returns were in, Governor Brownlow requested the clerks
and sheriffs to give him information as to illegal voting. On the
information thus received, he cast out the vote of twenty-five
counties. Notwithstanding this action of the Governor, four of the
Conservatives were elected.
The August election demonstrated to the Union party the necessity of
enacting a more efficient machinery for executing the election laws.
On January 19, 1866, a new franchise bill was introduced in the
Legislature.[12] It made the disfranchisement of the ex-Confederates
perpetual. It also established the office of the Commissioner of
Registration in each county, and required that certificates of
registration issued by these commissioners should be presented by
every voter in all elections, municipal, county, and State. The power
of appointing and removing these commissioners was given to the
Governor. He was also authorized to cast out any registration he
considered illegal. This made him absolute judge of elections. The
bill was passed May 3, 1866. It was amended in November so as to give
the suffrage to the negro. The ascendancy of the Union party in
Tennessee was now secured, so far as State statute could accomplish
this result.
[9] Laws of Tennessee, 1865, Introductory Documents, p. 3.
[10] Laws of Tennessee, 1865, 1-15.
[11] _Ibid._, p. 32.
[12] Acts of Tennessee, 1866-67, p. 26.