Good evening, [inaudible] [applause] to introduce our speaker for this evening who will tell you, Leeanna Keith teaches history at the Collegiate School for boys in new york city. She is the author of the colfax massacre. [inaudible] [inaudible] please join me in welcoming Leeanna Keith. [applause] thank you everybody. Forgive me for remaining seated. Im going to tell you what happened to me. I know you want to know how i broke my legs. They sideswiped me. I feel very lucky to be here at all. Now im going to tell you a story about the civil war and afterwards all i can remember is on the lady who a [laughter] what can i say, thats my story. Ive been traveling and one thing about my book is theres a lot of local history and their s, stories that happen in different places. This is not where much of the action takes place. Seeing how about how to organize this talk make me recognize a certain pattern to the geography of the civil war and the whole radical movement. Which in my story get started in the 1850s. And continues through the end of the war. It begins in the north, moves to the west and finds its way into the southwest United States. There is no story about georgia until i get to the very end of the war and i was intimidated by how to work georgia into the story. I was thinking about it. Georgia is in a way, the state that has the widest and least impact of the radical republican movement. I just want to tell you a little bit about what is the radical republicans and before i get into the georgia part of the story and what of the radical republic athe radicals are people, clerks who believe that kansas should be a free state and theyre willing to organize themselves as immigrants. They were willing to take up arms as necessary to defend the idea. And and the radical movement meant to exist in the operations of the north and the west. To organize the committees to assault courthouses sometimes with battering rams to rescue fugitives caught up in unjust rendition systems. Could be radical meant to be john brown is. Its not only the secret six that become famous. Also a lot of rankandfile republicans who made their nations to argue in favor of grants. Once they had been stage and browns had been executed as a traitor. Being radical meant to lean into that idea and when shortly after harpers ship period taken on the war arose to write matter quote radical republican meant to be in favor of hard work to be in favor of a war that would not and and be resolved quickly but would demand so much of the nation that people became willing to confront slavery and terminate it. For the radical republicans in the words of emerson who was a radical good is a good doctor data sometimes better. And the agony of the nation and the civil war was the only way we were going to address these fundamental issues. As the work is underway being radical also means to support the idea of military emancipation. First to the policies they call the contraband policy which recognized property place and yet said that people brought into the facility military operations being used for military purposes. Therefore, they were contraband of war and could legitimately be seen and protected. Sheltered from being repatriated to their owners and confederate in the name of the military necessity. And similarly radical supported the idea of military emancipation as its realized in the emancipation proclamation. In late 1862 early 1863. To be radical meant to support the idea of black military service and advocate for and organize black awhich happens during the war to be radical meant that on the foundation of their military Service Black men had earned Citizenship Rights that should be recognized and even while the war was still going on before the 14th amendment before the 15th amendment there was a movement to assure black men and women that they had full rights of citizens to recognize them in court and also to extend Voting Rights and other Citizenship Rights to brought black men at least. So thats not the last step in the radical program. But one of the most important and enduring steps. The last step that was only embraced by the radicals was the idea of confiscating and redistributing property. The idea that treason must be made odious and that the seizure of rebel states and the redistribution of that property to deserving africanamericans would not only the just deserve that rebel traders had earned but also the foundation of the new social order in which africanamericans would be elevated beyond their status and could take their place. As property builders and people deserving of respect in a way that most radical of all radical prints. And as it happens, thats the one that makes its mark most felt here in georgia but its not really until its last pieces of radical agenda that georgia comes into play and many of you know that even though step 127 about to be a radical republican dont make an impact here, georgia is home to the field order of the kings which designated 30 miles from the coast that could only be authorized by black people starting in january 1855 in each black family that establishes that self informally rebel held property would get 40 acres and in practice part of the order itself access to equipment such as meals and other Farm Equipment that the army had access to. And this is a problematic thing to present as my example of radical republicanism. Because of general sherman who was going to come to sherman. He certainly not a republican. In fact, he really hated politicians. And hes definitely not a radical on the subject of racialist. Next to politicians, black people he also hated and escorted many times making extremely racist statements. So hes not our man. When resetting the radical republicans. Yet i want to argue tonight that this order 15 on the policy of confiscating and redistributing rebel states which happens on shermans watch is the work of radicals and in the critical moment when decisions are made that culminate athe radical republicans are present, at least two are present. One the reverend James D Lynch who i will tell you about an African American missionary and republican activist traveling with the arms happen to be in savannah at the time its captured by trumans horses and presented as a Christmas Gift christmas of 1864. And also president is edwin stanton. Lincoln secretary of war who becomes he would becomes one of the leading radicals and so much so so important to the movement that his service of secretary of war becomes the fundamental issue during the administration of Andrew Johnson his effort to fire stanton and secretary forrest what culminates him johnsons impeachment in 1863. Mike to remove him by only one vote. So say the radicals are present and they are present behind the scenes of sherman still burger of 15 and that was a typical place to find not so much lynch but a typical place to find edwin stanton. Who gained a reputation during the war as a manipulator, as a back room opportunists. And a sneaky radical to put this mark without letting his face be seen. He is of course one of the more famous members of the Lincoln Administration and many of you might be familiar with lincolns famous statement about how important stanton was his block and without him he was not the kind of character who commanded a lot of loyalty and enthusiastic. In fact, stanton has two problems he comes from being to keep people from perceiving him as a humanitarian activist. One of those is his energy to operate behind the scene and no give you examples of that to keep his name out of the papers. But the other is his incredible aggressive rudeness. The thing about stanton was that he was incredibly intolerant of other peoples opinions and the warriors. He was incredibly impatient. He did not hesitate to speak out and say things that were not complementary. [laughter] in fact, he was described by one observer as someone whos rudeness was incredible whose unpopularity was amazing. Amazing unpopularity. The same critics described him as different from lincoln as any person could be. Where lincoln was kindly, stanton was imperative and where lincoln was funny, stanton was rude and humorless in fact, he hated lincolns stories and you can see it depicted in the movie. I cant hear another story thats very true to his real persona. Did stanton say im a abthen i guess it must be true. [laughter] because hes usually right. [laughter] he describes his incredible unpopularity also said that this was also part of his strength. His aggregation his total abnegation of himself in the war of urgency, his willingness to offend, to be unpopular. To never engage in courtesy to the boat every moment every interaction to the grand purpose of winning war and preserving the union it was a source of greatness as well as his flaw. Statins behind the scene operations from his reputation as a backdoor operator is also welldeserved but i do want to say i want to say operating on the down low in his own way stanton did so much to advance the idea, especially that black men should serve in the United States army and that service entitles them to the full rights of citizens he is very much an engine behind that idea and im going to give you some examples of how that works. Not only had this idea before he came secretary that black men should serve but he had ideas once he became secretary of how best they should serve. How the companies should be formed and how they should dress. In this particular he showed himself to be pragmatic as well as fun and advocating that black men wear red pantaloons. The practical part of this idea is that the army was well supplied with red pantaloons. Those of you who are civil war buffs, i caliber before you, im ready. But those of you who know about the war know that in the early weeks the craze for the rich style of uniform was a thing and that as they seek to the north they had shorts jackets with friends and red pantaloons and other distinctive options but they proved in military context to be kind of a liability. [laughter] and within some weeks, no white soldier is willing to step these depositions to notify. We can get the black troops to wear them. Grateful to the opportunity to have some nice pants were to put them in these uniforms, this is his idea. Not just to say that its has a very unplanning element as well but it points finger at stanton when hes abi wanted to say there are two places that come early into the fear of Union Control. In most places the United States would lose in the first year of the civil war. But the two places that are within axis of our making easy for the union can to control because the Confederate Navy cant resist the bulk of the union naval power. And its easy to claim. Adjacent to georgia, South Carolina and florida and also newark which saw the union in spring of 62 coming into Union Control in november 1961. These places are the first to really experiment with whats going to happen after slavery. What does it look like. To create a new social order. It happens also both locations will be home to the experiment for some of the first experiments with enlisting black men in the arms of the United States. Some of you have a sense that the abwere not in new orleans but were perhaps in kansas or North Carolina and in my book i tell the story of how its actually at the same time for experimental black regiments are assembled but the hand of stantons most visible in these two and i want to tell you a little bit about this. Two islands, places many of you georges are quite familiar with places like beaufort South Carolina, places like hilton head, these places fall early into union command and they early become home to social experiments. In the sea islands was a Great Northern michigan a missionaries who came down. To assess the labor situation to slavery and find ways to make money and make the world a better place. At the same time, it becomes home to not the first but the second order of general emancipation issued by a union general. I tell the story in my book about the commander in st. Louis the addition of the west where fremont in summer of 1861 issues and emancipation proclamation and its immediately and specifically shot down by the Lincoln Administration saying thats not in the authority of the general thats only within the authority of the president and fremont is forced to rescind to the emancipation. But much more lowprofile emancipation takes place in the sea islands theater where general david hunter, who was a friend of lincoln and radical of republicans, took command and even before he arrived he advertised to president lincoln himself his intentions to break slavery and experiment with a new social order. He pleaded in a letter to lincoln, please let me have my way at your guard slavery in such a way that i can leave a mark and i promise none of the responsibility will fall on you. I will take it all on me. A lot of the commanders in chief wouldnt want to but lincoln was ready to share that. Lincoln was eager to expand. Also very eager to moderate and control the public discussion of preslavery. Lincoln would call him arms to aid but if you look at politics in action he was very careful to use deception to use silence, to build Public Opinion in favor of things that were important to him but controversial. David hunters intention to make trouble in the sea island zone, welcomed to lincoln so long as hunter is in his position to keep it quiet. If he can keep quiet, it creates a great opportunity to see just what happens when you issue an emancipation order. And thats what happened. He issued an order and said all the obvious apeople in the department are declared forever free. In the next day he follows up with another proclamation all men of military age in the district are subject to constriction and we will begin the process of forming black regiments so he senses Junior Officers on the plantation, they find the healthy and ablebodied men and they encourage them to join the union army they appoint officers and he creates a regiment calls itself the first cerro afirst South Carolina volunteers. They participate in military operations in jacksonville florida. A letter surface where lincoln said, thats really interesting whats happening in jacksonville and buried interested in that. He tries to keep going, try to keep quiet. We want dont want people talking about this. This is where stanton gets involved but he plays the role in helping to encourage general hunter and also to encourage general hunter to be quiet. Yet the news gets out. Something like this cant be kept under wraps especially when theyre beginning to engage with confederates in military operations it soon becomes the subject of a scandal and next thing you know congress is involved in the asked questions. This is bad news for stanton. He doesnt want to hear. Charles sumner many of you know is the leading of the radicals and he said he had been allowed to free slaves without talking about it. He was recorded saying, stan why did you do it and say nothing about it . It becomes a controversy that lincoln has to weigh in and lincoln writes a letter where he says to slaveholders he cannot be blind to signs of the times. Look at whats happening. So even though he doesnt permit moving forward and he requires congress to issue counter order nullifying emancipation and disbanding South Carolina volunteers hes waiting for the idea on the inside as Congress Gets involved they want to know, how did hunter get the idea . Whats the connection between hunters aand the War Department in stanton. I couldnt do that. That would be betraying information only served between myself and the president. He doesnt testify in the name of executive privilege but general contour is another matter because hes all the way down in South Carolina he has to answer written queries from congress and the written queries are read out loud in congress and to be honest, it makes people laugh. I just have to read you a part about that. He created a regiment of fugitive slaves . That harrison said no i did its a regiment of fugitive slaves but is fine regiment person whose former masters are fugitive rebels. [laughter] men who everywhere before the appearance of the National Flag so far indeed are the loyal persons composing this regiment that they are now one in all working with the markable institute to place themselves in position to go in full and effective pursuit of their judicious entry torres what were the observations to this . How did you supply that . Did you have direct authorization from the board . He said, no, they didnt tell me i could use these guns that i have to create a black mayor regiment but neither did they say use the use to make ahes making the tool that he sees as being at his disposal. And as a commentary thread allows the radical republicans are laughing. And in fact, the smoking gun is not present we want to know if the War Department has supplied them with pants yet they cant use the presence of 50,000 pairs of pants as evidence that hunter was authorized they mightve talked to him in that particular. But the hunters emancipation failed. At least initially. The first remains in an informal congregation the officers stay with them they participated in later will be formalized once the United States troops are made legitimate and official. The other place this happens is which fell through the union and is occupied by one of the great colorful characters radical republicans of the civil war era a guy named Benjamin Butler of massachusetts. I would love to tell you about the story but im not going to am going to say instead that one of butlers subordinates general from vermont whos a real Bernie Sanders style grouchy vermonter but very passionate abolitionist