The Radical Mega Republicans = Freed People

Unit Ten: Freed people and the Republican Party introduced the alliances and tensions between freed people and the Republican Party after emancipation. The Unit Ten educational documents listed on the left feature excerpts of various primary source documents and firsthand accounts that clarify these shifting political alliances in North and South Carolina.

The Radical Republicans were a group of politicians who formed a faction within the Republican party that lasted from the Civil War into the era of Reconstruction. They were led by Thaddeus Stevens in the House of Representatives and Charles Sumner in the Senate. 

The Radicals were known for their opposition to slavery, their efforts to ensure emancipation and civil rights for Blacks and their strong opinions on post-war Reconstruction. They were also critical of many policies of both President Abraham Lincoln and his successor, Andrew Johnson. Throughout the lifespan of the Radical Republican faction, they made enemies with Democrats, many former slave owners, the Ku Klux Klan, and often even found opposition from the moderate Republicans.

James M. Ashley, a Republican congressman from Ohio, made it clear to the crowd at Montpelier that he had violated the Fugitive Slave Law more times than he could count. He had actually begun helping slaves flee bondage in 1839 when he was just fifteen years old, and he had continued doing so after the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made the penalties much stiffer. To avoid prosecution, he and his wife fled southern Ohio in 1851. Would he now mend his ways? “Never!” he told his audience. The law was a gross violation of the teachings of Christ, and for that reason, he had never obeyed it and with “God’s help . . . never shall.”

in December 1863, Ashley thought it was indeed “necessary” to strike a deathblow against slavery. He also thought getting a few pieces of his 1861 package into law was possible. So, just after the House opened for its winter session, he introduced two measures. One was a reconstruction bill that followed, at least at first glance, what Lincoln had called for in his annual message. Like Lincoln, Ashley proposed that a seceded state be let back into the Union when only 10 percent of its 1860 voters took an oath of loyalty.

The Senate Judiciary Committee then took charge. They ignored Sumner’s cry for racial justice and worked out the bill’s final language. The wording was clear and simple: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

On April 8, 1864, the committee’s wording came before the Senate for a final vote. Although a few empty seats could be found in the men’s gallery, the women’s gallery was packed, mainly by church women who had organized a massive petition drive calling on Congress to abolish slavery. Congress for the most part had ignored their hard work. But to the women’s delight, thirty-eight senators now voted for the amendment, six against, giving the proposed amendment eight votes more than needed to meet the two-thirds requirement.

All thirty Republicans in attendance voted aye. The no votes came from two free state Democrats, Thomas A. Hendricks of Indiana and James McDougall of California, and four slave state senators: Garrett Davis and Lazarus W. Powell of Kentucky and George R. Riddle and Willard Saulsbury of Delaware. Especially irate was Saulsbury. A strong proponent of re-enslavement, he made sure that the women knew that he regarded them with contempt. In a booming voice, he told them on leaving the Senate floor that all was lost and that there was no longer any chance of ever restoring the eleven Confederate states to the Union.

Now, nine weeks later, the measure was before the House. The outcome was even worse than Ashley had anticipated. “Educated in the political school of Jefferson,” he later recalled, “I was absolutely amazed at the solid Democratic vote against the amendment on the 15th of June. To me, it looked as if the golden hour had come, when the Democratic party could, without apology, and without regret, emancipate itself from the fatal dogmas of Calhoun, and reaffirm the doctrines of Jefferson. It had always seemed to me that the great men in the Democratic party had shown a broader spirit in favour of human liberty than their political opponents. Until the domination of Mr. Calhoun and his States-rights disciples, this was undoubtedly true.”

James M. Ashley a Republican Ohio Congressman (1859-1869) and the prime sponsor of the 13th Amendment outlawing slavery. He was more radical than President Lincoln but cooperated with him to round up the House votes for the amendment's approval in January 1865.

All thanks to Ashley and the Republican congressional leadership, the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution—which banned slavery in the United States—passed the Senate in 1864 and the House in 1865; it was ratified in December 1865.

Overview and Analysis

The Republican Party’s Unit Ten (Today's Maga Party in many ways) explored the complex relationships and evolving political dynamics between freed people; the Republican Party after emancipation and the solid Democratic Party position against the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. It highlights the roles of key figures, such as Radical Republicans, in shaping post-Civil War America, particularly in North and South Carolina.

Radical Republicans

The Radical Republicans were a powerful faction within the Republican Party during and after the Civil War. Led by Thaddeus Stevens in the House of Representatives and Charles Sumner in the Senate, they were staunch opponents of slavery and champions of civil rights for freed people. They played a crucial role in Reconstruction, often clashing with both Democratic opponents and more moderate Republicans, as well as Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. The Radical Republicans, were pivotal in the fight against slavery and the pursuit of civil rights for freed people. This faction within the Republican Party was instrumental during the Civil War and Reconstruction, finding themselves at odds with Democrats, former slaveholders, the Ku Klux Klan, and even moderate Republicans.

James M. Ashley's Advocacy

James M. Ashley, an ardent abolitionist and Republican congressman from Ohio, exemplified the Republican Party’s Radical Republicans' (Mega Today) commitment to ending slavery was unwavering.  He openly defied the Fugitive Slave Law and helped slaves escape bondage from a young age and was unwavering in his belief that such laws were morally wrong. In December 1863, he introduced significant measures in Congress aimed at Reconstruction and abolition mirroring President Lincoln's vision.

Legislative Efforts and Challenges

In December 1863, Ashley pushed for decisive action against slavery, aligning his proposals with President Lincoln's vision for Reconstruction. However, the path to legislative success was fraught with challenges. The Senate Judiciary Committee, disregarding Charles Sumner's appeals for racial justice, simplified the wording of the proposed abolition amendment.

Senate and House Votes

On April 8, 1864, the Senate passed the amendment with a significant majority, thanks to the efforts of church women who had rallied for its support. However, the House vote was less favourable. Ashley expressed his disappointment at the solid Democratic opposition, which he felt contradicted the party's historical stance on human liberty.

Triumph of Passage of the Thirteenth Amendment

Despite the obstacles, Ashley and the Republican leadership persevered. Their relentless advocacy led to the eventual passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery in the United States. The Senate approved it in 1864, followed by the House in January 1865, and it was ratified in December 1865.

Foot Note:

On May 22, 1856, the "world's greatest deliberative body" became a combat zone.  In one of the most dramatic and deeply ominous moments in the Senate's entire history, Democratic Representative Preston Smith Brooks, an American slaveholder, politician and Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina and a strong advocate of slavery and states' rights to enforce slavery nationally entered the Senate Chamber and savagely beat Republican Senator Charles Sumner, a Massachusetts antislavery Republican senator into unconsciousness.

Representative Preston Brooks was Butler's South Carolina kinsman.  If he had believed Sumner to be a gentleman, he might have challenged him to a duel.  Instead, he chose a light cane of the type used to discipline unruly dogs.  Shortly after the Senate had adjourned for the day, Brooks entered the old chamber, where he found Sumner busily attaching his postal frank to copies of his "Crime Against Kansas" speech.

Moving quickly, Brooks slammed his metal-topped cane onto the unsuspecting Sumner's head.  As Brooks struck again and again, Sumner rose and lurched blindly about the chamber, futilely attempting to protect himself.  After a very long minute, it ended.

Bleeding profusely, Sumner was carried away.  Brooks walked calmly out of the chamber without being detained by the stunned onlookers.  Overnight, both men became heroes in their respective regions.

The inspiration for this clash came three days earlier when Senator Charles Sumner, a Massachusetts antislavery Republican, addressed the Senate on the explosive issue of whether Kansas should be admitted to the Union as a slave state or a free state.  In his "Crime Against Kansas" speech, Sumner identified two Democratic senators as the principal culprits in this crime—Stephen Douglas of Illinois and Andrew Butler of South Carolina.  He characterized Douglas to his face as a "noise-some, squat, and nameless animal . . . not a proper model for an American senator."  Andrew Butler, who was not present, received more elaborate treatment.  Mocking the South Carolina senator's stance as a man of chivalry, the Massachusetts senator charged him with taking "a mistress . . . who, though ugly to others, is always lovely to him; though polluted in the sight of the world, is chaste in his sight—I mean," added Sumner, "the harlot, Slavery." 

Surviving a House censure resolution, Brooks resigned, was immediately re-elected, and soon died at age 37.  Sumner recovered slowly and returned to the Senate, where he remained for another 18 years.  The nation, suffering from the breakdown of reasoned discourse that this event symbolized, tumbled onward toward the catastrophe of civil war.

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