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Southern Heretics: the Republican Party in the Border South During the Civil War Era

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Southern Heretics: the Republican Party in the Border South During the Civil War Era Southern Heretics: The Republican Party in the Border South During the Civil War Era by James Allan Stuart MacKay A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History with Specialization in Political Economy Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario © 2019, James Allan Stuart MacKay Abstract This dissertation examines the emergence and establishment of the Republican Party in the Border South slave states of Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri during the Civil War era. As regional and national tensions over slavery began to consume American political life, Frank Blair and other likeminded antislavery leaders attempted to build a Republican organization within the Border South. This dissertation argues that to become a viable political alternative, Republicans in the Border South developed a particular ideology of liberal political antislavery. This ideology promoted a message of white supremacy and free white labor, and reinforced a desire to see the economic progress of their states untrammeled by slavery. As a result, this ideology attracted enough antislavery men to form the only viable contingent of Republicans in the southern slave states. This dissertation also argues for the political importance of Border South Republicans during the Civil War era. Despite being small in number, they played an outsized role in the political and strategic direction of the Republican Party. Border South Republican leaders took an active role in party formation, and influenced major political decisions made during the war. Furthermore, Republican policy concerning black civil and political rights during Reconstruction were often made with Border South Republican concerns in mind. Taking a chronological approach to tell the story of the Republican Party in the Border South, this dissertation examines how the liberal political antislavery consensus was shattered by the Civil War. As emancipation, black civil rights, and disenfranchisement emerged as political issues during Reconstruction, Border South Republicans would find themselves struggling to reconcile their ideological goals with political reality. ii Acknowledgments Constructing a doctoral dissertation is often a solitary effort, involving hours upon hours of research, writing, and editing. But completing a dissertation is another matter. It requires a vast support network of friends and family who encourage you, push you in new directions, and tolerate your musings on nineteenth century Republican politics. I am forever grateful to my supervisor James Miller for his guidance and wisdom on this project. James is a tremendous historian, mentor, and friend. He has constantly challenged me to be a better historian and writer, and above all, to treat the historical subjects whom we study with care and empathy. The Department of History at Carleton University has been supportive and encouraging of this project from its inception. Special thanks must go to Joan White, whose assistance in solving administrative and funding issues has been invaluable. I am also indebted to faculty members throughout the department, from whom I have learned so much. Jennifer Evans, David Dean, James Opp, John Walsh, Michel Hogue, Marc Saurette, Shawn Graham, Susanne Klausen, Andrew M. Johnston, and Norman Hillmer have all been wonderfully supportive, whether by introducing me to new theories and methodologies, or asking me questions about my research. I was extraordinarily fortunate to have been in the same PhD cohort as Meghan Lundrigan and Melissa Armstrong. Our conversations, critiques, and complaints as we ventured through the hills and valleys of courses and comps are amongst some of my most treasured memories as a graduate student. Meghan and Melissa are two of the most brilliant people that I know, and have become wonderful friends. Our entire graduate student group in the department was a model of collegiality and comradeship, and a heck of a lot of fun. Ian Wereley, Sandy Barron, Nick Hrynyk, Christine Chisolm, Jane Freeland, and Rick Duthie were all sources of iii inspiration and laughter, and I eagerly look forward to seeing what this incredible group of scholars has in store for the future. This project relied heavily on archives throughout the United States, and the archival staff at the Library of Congress, Princeton University, Maryland Historical Society, Filson Historical Society, Missouri History Museum, State Historical Society of Missouri, and the Missouri State Archives have all greatly contributed to this project. These institutions provide an essential service to historians, and should be supported. Finally, I could not have finished this dissertation without the love and support from my family. My brother Fraser and my sister Leslie-Ann have been constant boosters of my academic career, even when I rambled on at the dinner table about some obscure politician from Missouri. Words cannot express how much I owe to my mom and dad, Al MacKay and Ann McCorquodale. They have been unflagging throughout this entire process, supporting me both emotionally and financially. This dissertation is dedicated to them. iv Table of Contents Abstract ii Acknowledgments iii Table of Contents v List of Maps vi List of Abbreviations vii Introduction 1 Chapter One “Slavery, Then, Forms One Remarkable Feature of Distinction”: Slavery and the Development of the Border South 14 Chapter Two “To Get at the Ear of the People”: The Challenge of Antislavery Politics in the Border South 43 Chapter Three “We Are Few; The Foe Is Many!”: The Origins of the Republican Party in the Border South 84 Chapter Four “To Make a Vigorous Canvass and Lay the Matter Fairly And Squarely Before the People”: Border South Republicans and the Election of 1860 125 Chapter Five “Let Us Have a Country First, and Then Can We Talk About Parties”: Border South Republicans and the Politics of Unionism 167 Chapter Six “The Prejudices of a Lifetime Are Riven by the Experience of an Hour”: Border South Republicans and the Politics of Emancipation 205 Chapter Seven “The War Has Revolutionized Everything”: Border South Republicans and the Meaning of Reconstruction 253 Chapter Eight “Revolutions Never Go Backward”: Border South Republicans and the Limits of Radicalism 291 Conclusion 339 Bibliography 351 v List of Maps 1. Slavery in Maryland, 1850 20 2. Slavery in Kentucky, 1850 26 3. Slavery in Missouri, 1850 36 4. 1864 Presidential Election in Maryland 241 5. 1864 Presidential Election in Kentucky 246 6. 1864 Presidential Election in Missouri 249 7. 1865 Kentucky Congressional Election (by District) 258 8. 1866 Maryland Congressional Election (by District) 279 9. 1866 Missouri Congressional Election (by District) 288 vi List of Abbreviations The following list identifies those elements that appear frequently in the footnotes. CW Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln CWH Civil War History FBP Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865-1872, Record Group 105, National Archives, Washington D.C. FCQ Filson Club History Quarterly FHS Filson Historical Society, Louisville, Kentucky FSSP Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation IL Intimate Letters of Carl Schurz JAH Journal of American History JSH Journal of Southern History LOC Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. MDHS Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, Maryland MHM Maryland Historical Magazine MHR Missouri Historical Review MHS Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis, Missouri MSA Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City, Missouri OR The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies OVH Ohio Valley History PG The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant PJ The Papers of Andrew Johnson PUL Princeton University Library, Princeton, New Jersey RKHS Register of the Kentucky Historical Society SC Speeches and Correspondence of Carl Schurz SHSM State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri vii Introduction Frank Blair was dying. A lifetime of alcohol abuse and a thirty- to forty-a-day cigar habit had so damaged his health that it had caused a massive stroke, leaving his right arm and right leg paralyzed. Seeking treatment for his paralysis, in 1873 Blair and his family travelled to the Clifton Springs Sanitarium in upstate New York. There, Blair hoped the sulphur waters from the mineral springs would cure his paralysis and allow him to return to active political life. Furthermore, the time at Clifton Springs would allow him to reflect on his latest struggles. A recent defeat for re-election to the United States Senate had left him depressed and demoralized. Perpetually short of money throughout his life, Blair had come to rely on friends and family for financial assistance. With his brother Montgomery and his brother-in-law Samuel Philip Lee covering the costs of his stay at the sanitarium, Blair spent the majority of the summer attempting to recuperate. By the end of October, Missouri Governor Silas Woodson offered Blair the position of state commissioner of insurance, which paid an annual salary of five thousand dollars. Blair surely must have viewed the post as beneath him. He had been the first Republican congressman from the Border South, a Senator from Missouri, a Major-General in the Union Army under William T. Sherman, and the vice-presidential nominee of the Democratic Party during the 1868 election. Nonetheless, he gratefully accepted the post and the salary that it provided. However, the position demanded that he return to St.
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