The Radical Republicans

The Radical Republicans: Lincoln’s Vanguard for Racial Justice. By Hans Trefousse. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1969.

Hans Trefousse’s The Radical Republicans contends that the radical faction of the Civil War era Republican Party engaged in progressivism and reform before these ideals became generally popular in America. He hails them as supporters of racial equality, agents of democracy, and crusaders against special interests. His work is one of the first to consider the entire movement of the Radical Republicans and attempt a scholarly study of the men who belonged to this group. His central aim is to discover what these men had in common, how they differed from one another, their motivations, and to evaluate their record. H finds them to be “an amorphous group of determined opponents of slavery, who often held progressive views.”

Trefousse asserts that the term “Radical Republican” is problematic in itself. No organized group used this moniker during the Civil War era and few used it consistently during Reconstruction. In general, he assigns this designation to individuals who held long-standing anti-slavery beliefs, advocated complete emancipation after the start of the war, supported the war enthusiastically, and advocated at least minimal civil rights for freedmen after the war, but he cautions that to fully distinguish all members is impossible. To study the radicals, he concerns himself primarily with the core of their leadership, which includes Charles Sumner, William H. Seward, Benjamin F. Wade, John P. Hale, and Henry Wilson.

Many groups in opposition to slavery found themselves labeled as “radicals,” but the Radical Republicans found common ground on a number of other issues. In general, they opposed the death penalty, supported women’s suffrage and pacifism, and campaigned for cheap postage. They failed to find consensus on financial questions, homestead bills, and government regulation of industry. Perhaps their most interesting disagreements concern the question of race relations. Though radicals unanimously supported emancipation, questions of racial equality stirred debate. Sumner and Hale believed in racial equality, which caused them ridicule as many other Radical Republicans supported colonization.

During the war, Radical Republicans often found themselves working somewhat uneasily with President Lincoln. Most of the radicals regarded Lincoln as too conservative, though most historians believe him to be a moderate. His war aims matched those the radicals, both proved determined to continue the war as vigorously as possible. Though his disagreements with the radicals are well known, Trefousse emphasizes their continual cooperation in the face of the war. Lincoln entered a voluntary relationship with the radicals, though he held the upper hand and moved more slowly than the radicals desired. Following Lincoln’s death, the radicals faced opposition from President Andrew Johnson. Their break with him brought many complications to the Reconstruction plans for the South; Johnson supported a much more sympathetic Reconstruction than the radicals.

The radicals were able to impeach Johnson after he violated the Tenure of Office Act, but shortly after they became divided about their future policy. Radicals lost seats in Congress, and faced hostility over the continued support of racial equality by some of their members. Their most blatant failure came with their failure to remove Johnson from office. Some historians believe that the failure of radicals to remove Johnson announced the death knell of the radicals and their control of Congress, but Trefousee disagrees. He contends that the Fourteenth Amendment, the Fifteenth Amendment, the restoration of universal suffrage in the South, and the Force Act are all indications of the radical’s continued success. He agrees that the failure to remove Johnson hurt the radicals, but it did not kill them. He believes that the election of 1876 provided the final blow for the radicals. Republican President Rutherford B. Hayes abandoned the radicals in favor of a much more moderate approach; his election signaled the end of Reconstruction in South and the decline of the radicals.

Trefousse is sympathetic of the radicals. He credits them with being in the forefront of the political struggle for human rights, the liberation of slaves, the enlargement of the national government, and political racial equality. He does not comment extensively on their failures to protect blacks in the South, nor does he critically evaluate their influence on Congress following Lincoln’s death. This work is necessary for scholars interested in the radicals, but other works should be used to provide a balanced perspective.

Misty Mehrtens

Texas Christian University.

The Radical Republicans: Lincoln’s Vanguard for Racial Justice. By Hans Trefousse. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1969.

In his work, Trefousse seeks to reevaluate and revitalize the role of Radical Republicans during the Civil War and the postwar Reconstruction period. These men—Sumner, Seward, Chase, Wade, Chandler, Wilson, Hamlin, Trumbull, Giddings, Julian, Stevens, Ashley, and Lovejoy—and their issues differed as much as they came together. Trefousse maintains the radicals were the propellants of social and humanitarian reform. Without them, the author asserts Lincoln might have not won the war, destroyed slavery, and Andrew Johnson might have prevented the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment. For their political achievements and their vision of equality, the author posits they deserve much credit.

These “radicals” consisted of an amorphous group opposed to slavery long before the construction of a party structure and, according to author, underlie the story of American progress and social betterment. Oppositional forces considered these men as outsiders, “self-seeking firebrands,” and fanatics, but Trefousse frames this group as reasonable and sincere in their efforts to unapologetically destroy the institution of slavery.(60-63)

Many historians have criticized the radicals for their aggressive stance of “No Compromise” and subsequently blamed them for the outbreak of the Civil War. Trefousse maintains the radicals merely responded to Southern attacks, viewing them as unjustifiable and morally reprehensible. The author admits sometimes the radicals spoke unwisely and underestimated the threat of war, but believes they “nevertheless performed a great service for their country.” (167) “Given the uselessness of all compromise until 1860, the ultras’ adamant opposition to a renewed compromise was perfectly justified.”(166)

The relationship between Lincoln and the radicals proved to be mutual. Trefousse argues they pursued the similar goals of victory, emancipation of slaves, army efficiency, and pushed for the acceptance of black troops in the army. Cautiously, Lincoln aligned himself with radical goals and, in return, the radicals “supported for vital measures, constituted the shock troops of the Republican party, and provided a spur for laggard generals and politicians.”(265)

According to Trefousse, the radicals provided immense public pressure necessary to bring about the emancipation of slaves. Contrary to the general assumption, the author posits Lincoln’s view on slavery differed only slightly from the radicals. Lincoln’s approach balanced the interests of conservative caution and radical urgency.(222) Without the prodding by the ultras, the author questions whether Lincoln could have committed himself to emancipation.(229)

Radical Republicans played a large role in the Reconstruction effort. They continually prodded Lincoln to pursue more radical aims, such as the enfranchisement of blacks. Lincoln moved cautiously, but he slowly acceded to many of their demands until his untimely death. Whereas Lincoln was willingly to actively work with the radicals to further progress, Andrew Johnson refused.

Despite many complications, the radicals kept together enough votes to check the new president, passed the Fourteenth Amendment, and imposed universal suffrage in the South—for a time. Unfortunately, they were unable to muster the votes to grant land for freedmen. Trefousse points out this failure had far reaching consequences for African-Americans in the South. The unsuccessful impeachment of Johnson proved to be a serious blunder for the movement. Radicals sought to galvanize popular opinion against the president and the changing momentum in the South, but lacked the sufficient number of votes. Trefousse claims this incident and electoral losses in the 1867 election rendered radical Reconstruction “a stillborn experiment.”(404)

From 1869 to 1872, radicals continued to play an active part in progressive legislation despite their declining influence. Trefousse points to the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, the restoration of universal suffrage in the South, the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment, and the implementation of the Force Acts as accomplishments for which the radicals deserve credit. The last substantial act passed by the radicals was the Ku Klux Act, killing the original organization. Radicals pushed for the passage of a fairly comprehensive Civil Right’s bill authored by Sumner before his death, but it was largely unenforceable and declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

Trefousse describes many reasons for the downfall of the radicals: the belief the Fifteenth Amendment rendered the radical cause superfluous, the push for political reorganization, the gradual change of popular interest, the reverting of Southern states to conservative rule, the disunity of radicals on other issues (economic, diplomatic, labor), the rise of the Liberal Republicanism in 1872, the scandals of the Grant Administration, the deaths of many leading radical leaders, and finally the election of 1876.

The work provides the reader a straight-forward narrative history of the radical movement. The tone of the work seems highly sympathetic to the radicals and somewhat presentist in perspective, but it also introduces some interesting points of argument such as the level of camaraderie and accommodation between the Lincoln and the radicals.