The Souls of Black Folk - Dr. Earl Wright II

More documents

Recommendations

Info

The Souls of Black Folknificance in the grim front of the destroyer, and some in the bittersufferers of the Lost Cause. But to me neither soldier nor fugitivespeaks with so deep a meaning as that dark human cloud that clunglike remorse on the rear of those swift columns, swelling at times tohalf their size, almost engulfing and choking them. In vain werethey ordered back, in vain were bridges hewn from beneath theirfeet; on they trudged and writhed and surged, until they rolled intoSavannah, a starved and naked horde of tens of thousands. Theretoo came the characteristic military remedy: “The islands fromCharleston south, the abandoned rice-fields along the rivers for thirtymiles back from the sea, and the country bordering the St. John’sRiver, Florida, are reserved and set apart for the settlement of Negroesnow made free by act of war.” So read the celebrated “FieldorderNumber Fifteen.”All these experiments, orders, and systems were bound to attractand perplex the government and the nation. Directly after the EmancipationProclamation, Representative Eliot had introduced a bill creatinga Bureau of Emancipation; but it was never reported. The followingJune a committee of inquiry, appointed by the Secretary ofWar, reported in favor of a temporary bureau for the “improvement,protection, and employment of refugee freedmen,” on much the samelines as were afterwards followed. Petitions came in to President Lincolnfrom distinguished citizens and organizations, strongly urging acomprehensive and unified plan of dealing with the freedmen, undera bureau which should be “charged with the study of plans and executionof measures for easily guiding, and in every way judiciouslyand humanely aiding, the passage of our emancipated and yet to beemancipated blacks from the old condition of forced labor to theirnew state of voluntary industry.”Some half-hearted steps were taken to accomplish this, in part,by putting the whole matter again in charge of the special Treasuryagents. Laws of 1863 and 1864 directed them to take charge of andlease abandoned lands for periods not exceeding twelve months,and to “provide in such leases, or otherwise, for the employmentand general welfare” of the freedmen. Most of the army officersgreeted this as a welcome relief from perplexing “Negro affairs,”and Secretary Fessenden, July 29, 1864, issued an excellent system20
W. E. B. Du Boisof regulations, which were afterward closely followed by GeneralHoward. Under Treasury agents, large quantities of land were leasedin the Mississippi Valley, and many Negroes were employed; but inAugust, 1864, the new regulations were suspended for reasons of“public policy,” and the army was again in control.Meanwhile Congress had turned its attention to the subject; andin March the House passed a bill by a majority of two establishinga Bureau for Freedmen in the War Department. Charles Sumner,who had charge of the bill in the Senate, argued that freedmen andabandoned lands ought to be under the same department, and reporteda substitute for the House bill attaching the Bureau to theTreasury Department. This bill passed, but too late for action bythe House. The debates wandered over the whole policy of the administrationand the general question of slavery, without touchingvery closely the specific merits of the measure in hand. Then thenational election took place; and the administration, with a vote ofrenewed confidence from the country, addressed itself to the mattermore seriously. A conference between the two branches of Congressagreed upon a carefully drawn measure which contained thechief provisions of Sumner’s bill, but made the proposed organizationa department independent of both the War and the Treasuryofficials. The bill was conservative, giving the new department “generalsuperintendence of all freedmen.” Its purpose was to “establishregulations” for them, protect them, lease them lands, adjust theirwages, and appear in civil and military courts as their “next friend.”There were many limitations attached to the powers thus granted,and the organization was made permanent. Nevertheless, the Senatedefeated the bill, and a new conference committee was appointed.This committee reported a new bill, February 28, which was whirledthrough just as the session closed, and became the act of 1865 establishingin the War Department a “Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen,and Abandoned Lands.”This last compromise was a hasty bit of legislation, vague anduncertain in outline. A Bureau was created, “to continue during thepresent War of Rebellion, and for one year thereafter,” to whichwas given “the supervision and management of all abandoned landsand the control of all subjects relating to refugees and freedmen,”21
Page 1 and 2: The Souls ofBlack FolkbyW. E. B. Du
Page 3 and 4: W. E. B. Du BoisContentsThe Foretho
Page 5 and 6: W. E. B. Du BoisThe Souls of BlackF
Page 7 and 8: W. E. B. Du BoisIOf Our Spiritual S
Page 9 and 10: W. E. B. Du Boisand Mongolian, the
Page 11 and 12: W. E. B. Du Boisswarthy spectre sit
Page 13 and 14: W. E. B. Du Boistards and his prost
Page 15 and 16: W. E. B. Du Boisand in the name of
Page 17 and 18: W. E. B. Du Boisway and that, could
Page 19: W. E. B. Du Boisfreedmen was often
Page 23 and 24: W. E. B. Du BoisOn May 12, 1865, Ho
Page 25 and 26: W. E. B. Du Boisthe bill argued tha
Page 27 and 28: W. E. B. Du Boiswith half-articulat
Page 29: W. E. B. Du Boishindsight who are t
Page 34 and 35: The Souls of Black Folkand proteges
Page 36 and 37: The Souls of Black Folksought a way
Page 38 and 39: The Souls of Black Folkto bitternes
Page 40 and 41: The Souls of Black Folkslavery seem
Page 42 and 43: The Souls of Black FolkThird, highe
Page 44 and 45: The Souls of Black Folkever has res
Page 46 and 47: The Souls of Black Folkblack man. T
Page 48 and 49: The Souls of Black Folk48IVOf the M
Page 50 and 51: The Souls of Black Folkinclined to
Page 52 and 53: The Souls of Black Folksometimes to
Page 54 and 55: The Souls of Black FolkThe ten year
Page 56 and 57: The Souls of Black FolkCarlon’s c
Page 58 and 59: The Souls of Black Folk58VOf the Wi
Page 60 and 61: The Souls of Black Folkalmost fear
Page 62 and 63: The Souls of Black FolkIn the Black
Page 64 and 65: The Souls of Black FolkCambridge, t
Page 66 and 67: The Souls of Black Folkish to ask w
Page 68 and 69: The Souls of Black Folkto walk with
Page 70 and 71:
The Souls of Black Folkof the war u
Page 72 and 73:
The Souls of Black FolkThat a syste
Page 74 and 75:
The Souls of Black Folk“The exper
Page 76 and 77:
The Souls of Black Folkcult to prov
Page 78 and 79:
The Souls of Black Folkhuman intima
Page 80 and 81:
The Souls of Black Folkbuild a soli
Page 82 and 83:
The Souls of Black Folk82VIIOf the
Page 84 and 85:
The Souls of Black Folkdiscomfort l
Page 86 and 87:
The Souls of Black Folkcountry, and
Page 88 and 89:
The Souls of Black FolkThere is a s
Page 90 and 91:
The Souls of Black Folkmen once cal
Page 92 and 93:
The Souls of Black Folkfamilies, we
Page 94 and 95:
The Souls of Black FolkNo wonder th
Page 96 and 97:
The Souls of Black Folkhouse now, b
Page 98 and 99:
The Souls of Black Folkpreacher’s
Page 100 and 101:
The Souls of Black Folkinto the sha
Page 102 and 103:
The Souls of Black FolkThe size and
Page 104 and 105:
The Souls of Black Folkhouse invest
Page 106 and 107:
The Souls of Black Folka home, no o
Page 108 and 109:
The Souls of Black Folkwhole the me
Page 110 and 111:
The Souls of Black FolkNigger hardl
Page 112 and 113:
The Souls of Black Folkthe adult po
Page 114 and 115:
The Souls of Black Folkhalf of the
Page 116 and 117:
The Souls of Black Folkholders. If
Page 118 and 119:
The Souls of Black Folk118IXOf the
Page 120 and 121:
The Souls of Black Folkhouse gather
Page 122 and 123:
The Souls of Black Folkmen were not
Page 124 and 125:
The Souls of Black Folkprocedure. W
Page 126 and 127:
The Souls of Black Folkand educated
Page 128 and 129:
The Souls of Black Folkthat the pol
Page 130 and 131:
The Souls of Black Folkgovernment m
Page 132 and 133:
The Souls of Black Folkthen has nat
Page 134 and 135:
The Souls of Black Folkcaste-levell
Page 136 and 137:
The Souls of Black Folk136XOf the F
Page 138 and 139:
The Souls of Black Folkuntil, under
Page 140 and 141:
The Souls of Black Folklaws; subdiv
Page 142 and 143:
The Souls of Black Folkalways been
Page 144 and 145:
The Souls of Black Folkof his numbe
Page 146 and 147:
The Souls of Black Folkof the anti-
Page 148 and 149:
The Souls of Black FolkBetween the
Page 150 and 151:
The Souls of Black Folkit curiously
Page 152 and 153:
The Souls of Black FolkI shirk not.
Page 154 and 155:
The Souls of Black Folkthere so man
Page 156 and 157:
The Souls of Black Folkbows before
Page 158 and 159:
The Souls of Black Folklem of the w
Page 160 and 161:
The Souls of Black Folklocked the d
Page 162 and 163:
The Souls of Black FolkUniversity h
Page 164 and 165:
The Souls of Black Folk164XIIIOf th
Page 166 and 167:
The Souls of Black Folkwhen John co
Page 168 and 169:
The Souls of Black FolkThus he grew
Page 170 and 171:
The Souls of Black Folkhad no touch
Page 172 and 173:
The Souls of Black Folkranged his t
Page 174 and 175:
The Souls of Black Folkchurch, and
Page 176 and 177:
The Souls of Black Folkdren irregul
Page 178 and 179:
The Souls of Black Folkmerry eyes.
Page 180 and 181:
The Souls of Black Folkdeur God him
Page 182 and 183:
The Souls of Black Folkthe Hudson a
Page 184 and 185:
The Souls of Black FolkMyo,” whic
Page 186 and 187:
The Souls of Black Folk“Jetz Geh
Page 188 and 189:
The Souls of Black Folktion flouris
Page 190:
To return to the Electronic Classic
show all

The Souls of Black Folk - Dr. Earl Wright II

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?