Bluecoats and Tar Heels: Soldiers and Civilians in Reconstruction North Carolina

8. North Carolina Rejoins the Union

189 Chapter Eight NORTH cAROLINA rEJOINS THE uNION In February 1868, as the first year of Congressional Reconstruction drew to a close, the Republicans sought to gain firm control of political affairs in Raleigh and Washington, D.C. As North Carolina’s Republicandominated constitutional convention laid the foundation for a biracial democracy, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach President Andrew Johnson. Congressional Republicans had come to believe their Reconstruction policy remained in doubt as long as Johnson occupied the White House.The case against the president hinged on his violation of the Tenure of Office Act in his removal of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton without the Senate’s approval. The impeachment trial before the Senate began in March 1868. The Republicans’ anxiety over Johnson meanwhile dissipated as North Carolina and several other southern states ratified new constitutions and elected Republican governments. Other factors further reduced the likelihood of Johnson’s ouster, including the assurance of the president’s chief counsel that his client, if acquitted, would cease to obstruct Congressional Reconstruction.The Senate voted on Johnson’s fate in May 1868. Seven Republican senators broke party ranks and voted against removal. The conviction vote thus fell one short of the necessary two-thirds majority . Although the president was spared the humiliation of expulsion, he served out the remainder of his term as a political pariah, exerting no further influence on Reconstruction.1 190 Bluecoats and Tar Heels While the Senate determined Johnson’s fate, General Canby discovered that at least one more obstacle to the Reconstruction process loomed before him as commander of the Second Military District. He learned that many of the newly elected state officials in the district could not be sworn in until Congress removed their disabilities. In a letter to General Grant, Canby explained that in North Carolina, the governor, lieutenant governor, and many judges and legislators were disqualified under the Fourteenth Amendment, and still more incoming officials could not take the Ironclad Oath. Canby noted that the state could not be restored to the Union until the new legislature ratified the Fourteenth Amendment. He therefore recommended that Congress permit the men elected under the new state constitution to take the oath of office.2 At Grant’s request, Stanton (who was back as secretary of war) sent Canby’s letter to Congress. Canby’s advice reinforced the congressional Republicans’ determination to smooth the way for their allies in the South. On June 25, 1868, Congress removed the disabilities of seven hundred North Carolina Republicans, including Governor-elect Holden, and it declared that the congressional delegations of North Carolina and five other southern states would be admitted when their legislatures ratified the Fourteenth Amendment. Congress also approved North Carolina ’s new constitution and authorized Holden to convene the General Assembly, which the governor-elect had already announced for July 1.3 On June 30, Governor Worth received a copy of Canby’s General Orders No. 120, indicating that Holden would replace him on July 1. Worth relinquished the governorship under protest, challenging the legality of the election and claiming that he was compelled to surrender his office under “military duress.”As a parting gesture,Worth made some last-minute appointments, but Canby annulled them to enable Holden to name his own appointees. On July 3, Governor Holden informed Canby that the General Assembly had ratified the state constitution. In turn, Canby notified the new governor that he was ordering the post commanders to cease exercising their authority under the Reconstruction Acts and to intervene only if an attempt was made to obstruct the inauguration of the new state government. Much to Canby’s satisfaction, no such crisis occurred. On the Fourth of July, Holden was inaugurated as governor of North Carolina. Two days later, Congress admitted three members of the state’s congressional delegation. North Carolina had rejoined the Union.4 Ten days after Holden’s inauguration, Raleigh became the scene of North Carolina Rejoins the Union 191 a violent confrontation when the new governor attempted to replace the Conservative mayor and town commissioners with Republican appointees . Refusing to surrender his office, incumbent Mayor William D. Haywood posted a cordon of police around city hall, resulting in several fights between Conservatives and Republicans. During the mêlée, a policeman fired on a freedman, and the police chief himself bludgeoned a Holden appointee. State attorney general William M. Coleman...