New Orleans, LA., June 3, 1867.
J.M.G. Parker, Esq.:
Dear Sir,--Your esteemed favor of the 15th ultimo was duly received.
I was much pleased to have the opportunity to hear Senator Wilson, and was agreeably surprised to meet such fairness and frankness from a politician whom I had been taught to believe harsh in his feelings towards the people of the South.
I have considered your suggestion to wisely unite in efforts to restore Louisiana to her former position in the Union, "through the party now in power." My letter of the 6th of April, to which you refer, clearly indicates a desire for practical reconstruction and reconciliation. There is only one route left open, which practical men cannot fail to see.
The serious difficulty arises from want of that wisdom so important for the great work in hand. Still, I will be happy to work in any harness that promises relief to our discomfited people and harmony to the nation, whether bearing the mantle of Mr. Davis or Mr. Sumner.
It is fair to assume that the strongest laws are those established by the sword. The ideas that divided political parties before the war--upon the rights of the States--were thoroughly discussed by our wisest statesmen, and eventually appealed to the arbitrament of the sword. The decision was in favor of the North, so that her construction becomes the law, and should be so accepted.
The military bill and amendments are the only peace-offerings they have for us, and should be accepted as the starting point for future issues.
Like others of the South not previously connected with politics, I naturally acquiesced in the ways of Democracy, but, so far as I can judge, there is nothing tangible in them, beyond the issues that were put to the test in the war and there lost. As there is nothing left to take hold of except prejudice, which cannot be worked for good for any one, it seems proper and right that we should seek some standing which may encourage hope for the future.
If I appreciate the issues of Democracy at this moment, they are the enfranchisement of the negro and the rights of Congress in the premises, but the acts have been passed, are parts of the law of the land, and no power but Congress can remove them.
Besides, if we now accept the doctrine that the States only can legislate on suffrage, we will fix the negro vote upon us, for he is now a suffragan, and his vote, with the vote that will go with him, will hold to his rights, while, by recognizing the acts of Congress, we may, after a fair trial, if negro suffrage proves a mistake, appeal and have Congress correct the error. It will accord better with wise policy to insist that the negro shall vote in the Northern as well as the Southern States.
If every one will meet the crisis with proper appreciation of our condition and obligations, the sun will rise to-morrow on a happy people. Our fields will again begin to yield their increase, our railways and water will teem with abundant commerce, our towns and cities will resound with the tumult of trade, and we will be reinvigorated by the blessings of Almighty God.
Very respectfully yours,
James Longstreet
Source: From Manassas to Appomattox
Again, from his memoirs, Longstreet adds, "I might have added that not less forceful than the grounds I gave were the obligations under which we were placed by the terms of our paroles,--'To respect the laws of Congress,'--but the letter was enough.
Upon receipt of the letter, the paper refused to publish a single line of the letter itself, but ran an editorial calling Longstreet a traitor to the Southern people. Soon other papers throughout the South took up the cry against Longstreet, accusing him of deserting his friends and joining the enemy. Before long friends Longstreet had known for years were passing him on the street without speaking, and his business began to fail. John Bell Hood, one of Longstreet's loyal and true friends, tried to help him save the business and took over, leaving Longstreet to pursue other avenues of enterprise, although not necessarily ones of his choosing. By 1869, Longstreet found himself holding a position within the government against which he had fought those four long years.
Commentary
The emergence of Reconstruction and a policy which required the implementation of Negro Suffrage by the states, without which the state governments would be removed in favor of a military governor, Southern emotions were again raised to a peak. Many fomer Confederates were asked by Southern papers to give their views on the subject, and for the most part, the message was resoundingly uniform. Certain notables, however, differed from the general consensus and allowed logic and good sense to rule over passion. James Longstreet proved to be one of those.
Longstreet wrote in his memoirs, "Under the severe ordeal one of the city papers of New Orleans called upon the generals of Confederate service to advise people of the course they should pursue,--naming the officers. I thought it better policy to hold the States, as they were organized, under the President's policy, shape their constitutions as directed by Congress, and have the States not yet reorganized follow the same course. My letter upon the subject is as follows: