History of the United States . t;^a1Bureau encouraged the negroes to look to it for support ^^^^^^rather than to develop habits of industry and thrift under newconditions. Subsequently, the Bureau was directed by design-ing and corrupt politicians with the purpose of deluding andcontrolling the negro vote. Many of the negroes were initiatedinto an organization known as the Loyal League, which was in-tended to aid this corrupt and ignorant combination of whitesand blacks in maintaining control of the government. Crimes ofevery kind were committed with impunity, and law-abiding whitepeople, toge
History of the United States . t;^a1Bureau encouraged the negroes to look to it for support ^^^^^^rather than to develop habits of industry and thrift under newconditions. Subsequently, the Bureau was directed by design-ing and corrupt politicians with the purpose of deluding andcontrolling the negro vote. Many of the negroes were initiatedinto an organization known as the Loyal League, which was in-tended to aid this corrupt and ignorant combination of whitesand blacks in maintaining control of the government. Crimes ofevery kind were committed with impunity, and law-abiding whitepeople, together with the better class of negroes, could get noredress from courts, judges, or jurors; since these were usuallythe creatures of vicious elements in possession of the machineryof the State governments. After the close of the war, thousands of negroes had left thefarms and crowded into the villages and cities, or about the en-campments of the Federal troops. Many of them were given 331 332 ADMINISTRATIONS OF ULYSSES S. GRANT. portions of abandoned or confiscated lands. Others were sup-plied with provisions and clothing, while the majority were ledto believe that the United States government would Vagrancy laws passed furnish each negro family with ^forty acres and a under the ^ ^ *^ Lincoln- mule. The farms in those sections of the South Johnson state gov- where armies had operated during emmentsthe war were almost destitute of buildings,fences, and agricultural iniplements. A severedrought in the summer of 1865 added tothe general distress. Subsequently, the legis-latures convened under the Lincoln-Johnsonplan of reconstruction, in order to preventidleness, begging, and consequent crime,passed laws to compel the negroes to laws declared that negroes who wouldnot support themselves should be fined, or,in default of payment, be forced to vagrancy laws, as they were known,alarmed many good people in the North,who thought that they were designed toreduce the
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookpublisherphila, bookyear1914
