In July 1868 Virginia was considering ratification of a new Constitution in line with the requirements imposed for its Reconstruction as a state and for the readmission of its delegation to Congress. This editorial from a prominent conservative newspaper makes the case against the constitution’s vision of a more racially integrated society.
A point about the word choice of the author that I would like to spotlight is his reference to the opponents of Reconstruction as “Virginia Conservatives.”
Last week, I was called out for using the term “conservative” to refer to the opposition to Reconstruction. One commenter said that it was anachronistic and another said it was a 21st Century characterization. However, opponents of Reconstruction routinely referred to themselves as conservatives in 1868. This phrase was apparently used by a movement that was largely made up of Democrats to allow for old Whigs opposed to Black suffrage and civil rights to feel comfortable within the movement to reestablish white supremacy. One did not have to be a Democrat to be a “conservative.”
Carpet-Baggery And Reconstruction
Richmond Whig
Tuesday, Jul 21, 1868
Richmond, VA
Vol: 47
Issue: 58
Page: 4
A few more notes on the words used here. The term “carpetbagger” seems to have only appeared in the newspapers in 1867. It was the derogative term used for Northerners who went South after the Civil War. Here it is in mid-1868 and “carpetbagger” is used in the article without any need for explanation, implying that by then it was in common usage, at least in Virginia. Also note the apparent neologism “carpet-baggery”.
Another word that I think merits examination is “Mongrel.” The editorial refers to the “mongrel party” and the “mongrel constitution.” Opposition to Reconstruction most often was couched in terms of severe racial exclusion. The greatest fear, for many publicists, was of “mongrelization”, “racial amalgamation”, etc. Calling the Republican Party the “Mongrel Party” identified it as the agent of civil rights, integration, and sexual amalgamation.
Identifying the racially neutral proposed constitution as “mongrel” implied the ultimate threat of equal rights regardless of color.
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