Note 57 — Chapter XXXVII · Selma—Government Armories—Talks among the Negroes.
Reading edition
Carl Shurz gave an instance in point:
One of our military commanders was recently visited by a doctor living in one of the south-eastern counties of Georgia. The doctor looked very much disturbed.
“General,” says he, “the negroes in my county are in a terrible state of insubordination, and we may look for an outbreak every moment. I come to implore your aid.”
The General, already accustomed to such alarming reports, takes the matter with great coolness. “Doctor, I have heard of such things before. Is not your imagination a little excited? What reason should the negroes have to resort to violence?”
“General, you do not appreciate the dangers of the situation we are placed in. Our lives are not safe. It is impossible to put up with the demonstrations of insubordination on the part of the negroes. If they do not cease, I shall have to remove my family into the city. If we are not protected, we can not stay in the country. I would rather give up my crop to the negroes than the lives of my wife and children.”
“Now, Doctor, please go into particulars, and tell me what has happened.”
“Well, General, formerly the slaves were obliged to retire to their cabins before nine o’clock in the evening. After that hour nobody was permitted outside. Now, when their work is done, they roam about just as they please, and when I tell them to go to their quarters, they do not mind me. Negroes from neighboring plantations will sometimes come to visit them, and they have a sort of meeting, and then they are cutting up sometimes until ten or eleven. You see, General, this is alarming, and you must acknowledge that we are not safe.”
“Well, Doctor, what are they doing when they have that sort of a meeting? Tell me all you know.”
“Why, General, they are talking together, sometimes in whispers and sometimes loudly. They are having their conspiracies, I suppose. And then they are going on to sing and dance, and make a noise.”
“Ah, now, Doctor,” says the imperturbable General, “you see this is their year of jubilee. They must celebrate their freedom in some way. What harm is there in singing or dancing? Our Northern laborers sing and dance when they please, and nobody thinks anything of it; we rather enjoy it with them.”
“Yes, that, is all well enough, General; but these are negroes, who ought to be subordinate, and when I tell them to go to their quarters, and they don’t do it, we can’t put up with it.”
“By the way, Doctor, have you made a contract with the negroes on your plantation?”
“Yes.”
“Do they work well?”
“Pretty well, so far. My crops are in pretty good condition.”
“Do they steal much?”
“They steal some, but not very much.”
“Well, then, Doctor, what have you to complain about?”
“O, General,” says the Doctor, dolefully, “you do not appreciate the dangers of our situation.”
“Now, Doctor, to cut the matter short, has a single act of violence been perpetrated in your neighborhood by a negro against a white man?”
“Yes, sir; and I will tell you of one that has happened right in my family. I have a negro girl, eighteen years old, whom I raised. For ten years she has been waiting upon my old mother-in-law, who lives with me. A few days ago the old lady was dissatisfied about something, and told the girl that she felt like giving her a whipping? Now, what do you think? The negro girl actually informed my old mother-in-law that she would not submit to a whipping, but would resist. My old father-in-law then got mad, and threatened her; and she told him the same thing. Now, this is an intolerable state of things.”