W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 1974 Virginia's funding legislation, 1869-1875 : its background, principal features, related measures, and effects Robert Maurice Ours College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Ours, Robert Maurice, "Virginia's funding legislation, 1869-1875 : its background, principal features, related measures, and effects" (1974). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539623670. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-7n1c-g410 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 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XeroxUniversity Microfilm* 900 N orth Z M b Road Aim Aitor, MtoNgan 48108 74-20,671 OURS, Robert Maurice, 1936- VIRGINIA'S FUNDING LEGISLATION, 1869-1875: ITS BACKGROUND, PRINCIPAL FEATURES, RELATED MEASURES, AND EFFECTS. The College of William and Mary 1n Virginia, Ph.D., 1974 History, modem University Microfilms, A XEROX Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan VIRGINIA'S FUNDING LEGISLATION, 1069-1875: ITS BACKGROUND, PRINCIPAL FEATURES, RELATED MEASURES, AND EFFECTS A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Department of History The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Robert Maurice Ours 1974 APPROVAL SHEET This dissertation is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy X u k 'TO., O m a * Author Approved, May 1974 udwell H^Johnson, Chairman John/E/ Selby j Ricward B. Sherman W. Warner Moss, Jr. f ii TO MY THREE FATHERS Henry M. Ours Ludwell L. Montague R. Douglas Griggs TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................ v ABSTRACT............................................................vi INTRODUCTION.................................................... 2 CHAPTER I. POLITICAL RECONSTRUCTION IN VIRGINIA, 1865-1869 ........................................ 5 CHAPTER II. VIRGINIA REDEEMED! . ........................... 33 CHAPTER III. THE PUBLIC DEBT AND DISPOSAL OF VIRGINIA'S RAILROAD STOCK.................................... 50 CHAPTER IV. FUNDING VIRGINIA'SPUBLIC DEBT ................ 92 CHAPTER V. RESULTS OF THE FUNDING ACT....................... 142 CHAPTER VI. SUMMARY............................................. 106 APPENDIX A. GEOGRAPHICAL SECTIONS OFVIRGINIA ............... 199 APPENDIX B. ROSTER OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEMBERS, 1869-187* 200 APPENDIX C. VOTING RECORDS .................................. 222 FOOTNOTES........................................................ 226 BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................................271 iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The writer wishes to acknowledge the aid of a number of persons and organizations. He is indebted to Dr. Edward Younger of the University of Virginia for suggesting this general topic and for supervising his master's thesis on the 1869-71 General Assembly. Dr. Ludwell H. Johnson, III, the supervisor of this dissertation at the College of William and Mary, showed uncommon understanding of both personal and practical problems, for which the author is deeply grateful. Dr. M. Boyd Coyner of William and Mary contributed many helpful criticisms and suggestions. Also most helpful were the staffs at Alderman Library, University of Virginia; Earl Gregg Swem Library, College of William and Mary; the Virginia Historical Society; and the Virginia State Library. While at William and Mary, the writer was fortunate to have the financial assistance of a DuPont Graduate Scholarship, a Seay Fund Fellowship, and a J. 5. Bryan Fund Fellowship, as well as assistance from the Lee Society. A special acknow­ ledgment must be made to the author's father-in-law, the late Dr. Ludwell Lee Montague of Lowland Cottage, Gloucester, whose assistance and encouragement made his graduate study possible. Last, but not least, the writer wishes to thank his wife, Ann, who was a constant source of encouragement. ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to explore the circumstences surrounding the passage of Virginia's Funding Act of 1071, including the manner in which it was passed and the type of men who made up the General Assembly at the time. Also considered are the background of the public debt, other funding and related legislation of the 1670s, and both the short-range and long-range effects of such legislation. Radical Republican congressional policies restricting the political activities of ex-Confederates were largely responsible for the election of the young and inexperienced legislators who made up the 1869-71 General Assembly. Such policies also allowed former Whigs, more urban and business minded than most prewar Virginia political leaders, to gain a disproportionate share of leadership in the Conservative party. These men were especially important in pushing through the Funding Act in 1871 and in supporting it in later battles against the Readjusters. While dissimilar. from antebellum legislatures, the 1869-71 General Assembly was fairly representative of the Virginia of 1870. It was made up primarily of middle and upper class Virginians, mostly native born, and contained very few carpetbaggers. Blacks served in the General Assembly for the first time in Virginia history, but held only about sixteen per cent of the legislative seats while making up about forty-three per cent of the Old Dominion's population. Some corruption probably was involved in the passage of the Funding Bill, but most of the favorable votes reflected an intense pride in upholding Virginia's honor by paying the public debt. This was combined with an overly optimistic faith in Virginia's ability to bounce back financially from a devastating war. Virginia's inability to meet its interest payments led to various attempts to modify the Funding Act's provisions in subsequent years, including major substitute measures in 1879, 1882, and 1892. It also led to the bitter Funder- Readjuster battles of the late 1870s and early 1880s, with their racial undsrtones, and ultimately to the Old Dominion's fiscally conservative "pay-as-you-go” policies of the first half of the twentieth century. vi VIRGINIA'S FUNDING LEGISLATION, 1869-1875} ITS BACKGROUND, PRINCIPAL FEATURES, RELATED MEASURES, AND EFFECTS INTRODUCTION Radical Reconatruction did not touch Virginia as directly or obviously as it did most Southern states in the ten years or so following the Civil War, yet it bore some bitter and lasting fruit in the Old Dominion. Radical policies were largely responsible for the election of the young and inexperienced General Assembly that passed the Funding Act of 1871 under the sponsorship of a carpetbag governor. The funding legislation led to the virtual bankruptcy of Virginia and to the bitter Funder-Readjuster battles of the late 1870s and 1880s with their racial undertones. Those, in turn, contributed heavily to the racially restrictive voting clauses of the 1902 Virginia constitution and to the fiscal conservatism best illustrated in Virginia's "pay-as-you-go" economic policies of the greater part of the 20th century. It is ironic that the fiscal and social conservatism of the Byrd machine in 20th century Virginia, deplored by liberals, had at least some of its roots in the policies of the 19th century Radicals. The