"Radicals" and Economic Policies: The House of Representatives, 1861-1873

"RADICALS" AND ECONOMIC POLICIES: The House of Representatives, 1861-1873 Glenn M. Linden In a recently published volume entided The Politics of Reconstruction , Professor David Donald urges the use of new approaches to the persistent and complex problems of the reconstruction period. Recognizing die virtual exhaustion of conventional sources—newspapers , documents, manuscripts—he points the way toward a new mediodology. The present litde book is intended to suggest an approach which may bypass these road blocks which have done so much to retard the rewriting of Reconstruction history. It consists of three exercises in applying techniques more frequendy used in the behavioral sciences to the history of the Republican party during the years from 1863 to 1867, years during which dus organization controlled the national government and set forth die conditions on which reunion could occur.1 He proceeds to examine die voting records of individual Republican representatives in relation to die relative security or insecurity of tiieir congressional seats. In this way he has sought to find a criterion for analyzing die groupings witiiin die Republican party. The need for a fresh approach to reconstruction is nowhere more obvious dian in die continuing controversy among historians over "Radicals" and "Radicalism." In recent years increasing attention has been devoted to tins area and yet no real agreement as to the identity of die Radicals or die nature and extent of dieir programs has been reached.2 This can be seen by examining die published views of four prominent Civil War and reconstruction historians—Howard K. Beale, T. Harry Williams, David Donald, and Eric McKitrick. Beale, in The Critical Year: A Study of Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction (1930), pictured a band of men widi fanatical purposes, a minority of the Republican party determined to win dieir objectives 1 David Donald, The Politics of Reconstruction, 1863-1867 ( Baton Rouge, 1965), xiii. See the review of this volume by Thomas J. Pressly, Civil War History, ?? (1966), 267-270. 3 Howard K. Beale, The Critical Year: A Study of Andrew Johnson and Re51 52CIVIL WAR HISTORY whatever die cost. By the end of die war, "a few earnest men widi fanatical perseverance had conquered a nation. Witii success die objectives broadened, but Thad Stevens and Ben Wade led die same movement in 1867 diat Lovejoy and Garrison had served diirty years earlier."3 Williams, in Lincoln and the Radicals (1941), wrote diat die Radicals were die driving force in Congress during die Civil War years: "The radicals stood for instant emancipation, die confiscation of rebel property, die use of colored soldiers, civil and, when it should become expedient, political equality for die Negro,"4 however little diey cared for die Negro except as an instrument to fasten Republican political and economic control upon die Soudi. By the end of die war, "They had conquered Lincoln, they would conquer Johnson."5 Donald, in Lincoln Reconsidered (1956), questioned die validity of diis view of the Radicals and stated that they ". . . were not united upon any positive social and economic program," but "they more nearly agreed about die tilings diey opposed."6 Along with millions of otiier Americans they disliked slavery, fumbling military leadership , and Lincoln's slowness. McKitrick's study, Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction (1960), also challenged die traditional concept of "radicalism," arguing diat as late as 1865, diere was no '"hard core' of plotters waiting to throw off die mask and take over the country."7 He carefully analyzed the meaning of "radicalism" and stated diat die Radical legend was largely die result of Democratic efforts to brand die entire Republican party as fanatical and dominated by a hard core of Radical plotters. It can readily be seen diat diere is substantial disagreement as to construction (New York, 1930); T. Harry Williams, Lincoln and the Radicals (Madison, 1941); T. Harry Williams, "Lincoln and the Radicals; an Essay in Civil War History and Historiography," in Grady McWhiney, Grant, Lee, Lincoln and the Radicala (Evanston, 1964); David Donald, Lincoln Reconsidered: Essays on the CMl War Era (New York, 1956); David Donald, "Devils Facing Zionward," in McWhiney, Grant, Lee, Lincoln and the Radicals; Eric McKitrick, Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction (Chicago, I960); Robert P. Sharkey, Money, Class and Party...