1872
Congress began imposing Radical Reconstruction upon the South in 1867. Mississippi became part of the Fourth Military District, and U.S. Army supervision protected the rights of freedmen to vote and hold office while excluding a number of former white Confederates. Republicans easily gained control of the state’s political machinery; However, by the 1872 election the party exhibited strains between a conservative faction headed by Southern white scalawags and a radical wing led by northern carpetbaggers.
The publication Letter from J.S. Morris, Esq., Attorney-General of Mississippi, on the Presidential Campaign of 1872 illustrates these divisions. Originally written in May and addressed to W.E. Gibbs in Columbus, the Republican attorney general condemns the Democrats for ignoring African Americans and bleeding the white merchant and labor class with excessive taxes. However, Morris also berates the radicals in his own party for serving the interests of northern vagrants: “The one is as much like the other, as small-pox is like the yellow-fever, or as lice are like the itch; and both equally dangerous to the public tranquility.” While acknowledging corruption in the president’s administration, Morris supports Ulysses S. Grant’s reelection as means of elevating Mississippi’s influence:
Suffice it to say that the motto, “Anything to beat Grant,” does not meet my approbation. Let it rather be, “Anything to help Mississippi!” We are not in a condition to beat “anybody or anything.” Let us get into the prevailing sentiment of this great nation, make ourselves a part of it, secure its confidence and friendship, obtain a voice in its councils, and assist in guiding it. Then, and not till then, we may talk about “beating” somebody for President.”Published in Jackson, the volume Campaign Documents contains reprints of newspapers articles and editorials on the candidates, issues, and the election with the intention of swaying support toward the Grant and Wilson ticket. Mississippi’s electoral votes would contribute to Grant’s landslide victory.
Letter from J.S. Morris, Esq., Attorney-General of Mississippi, on the Presidential Campaign of 1872
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Kimball, Raymond & Co. Campaign Documents for President, Ulysses S. Grant and Vice-President, Henry Wilson
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