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Nov. 27, 2004 Turner Classic was showing Gone with the Wind the other night again. It's a good movie, but Margaret Mitchell's version of the post-Civil War south is a twisted myth. Post Civil War historians were--for the most part- sympathizers for the south. I have old history books in hand. They blame the problems of the reconstruction on "yankee agitators" and the poor Negroes who fell under their influence. They were nothing more than apologists for the continuing subjagation of black people. Anyone who would actually believe these history books would have to be an illogical and ignorant person. Today there are history books that view the time with more accuracy. A good one to read is from the In Their Own Words Series entitled "Robber Barons and Radicals." One of the posthumous contributors to this book is Charles Morgan who tells the experiences that he and his brother Albert went through. In Margaret Mitchell's world, they would have been looked at as carpetbaggers, but this is very far from the truth. This is their true story. They were farmers from Wisconsin, and they had money to invest, so they moved to Yazoo, Mississippi in 1865. Colonel White was a Southern planter who couldn't get ex-slaves to work for him. (This would only be natural. If you were a freed slave, would you want to work for someone who used to be your master?) Without willing free labor, he was facing financial problems. So, he rented his land out to the Morgan brothers. The Morgan brothers invested their money, and built a lumber yard and mill. They faced difficulties immediately. The Southern planters including Colonel White resented them. TheMorgan brothers were able to get the newly freed slaves to work for them (when they wouldn't work for their old masters), and not only that, they treated the ex-slaves with dignity. This is what Colonel White told Albert Morgan about blacks and how he should treat them. "In your treatment of him therefore, yo' must allow me to say yo' ought to govern yo'r conduct by the opinions and wishes of we all who do know him. The nigro is an animal, by God, and by God sir, he must be kept in his place; and who knows better how to manage a horse or a steer than one who is familiar with his raising?" So the Morgan's were in trouble right away for treating black people with respect. But that was just the beginning. Although they preferred not to do it, they gave lumber to ex-confederate businessmen on credit. When they went to collect they faced problems. Albert Morgan went to collect on a debt, and as soon as he got to town all he heard from groups of people on the street were groans. The guy he went to collect from beat him up, and accused him of not thinking he was a gentleman because he owed him money. Colonel White then stole their business. Long before the rent was due, he had the local sheriff sieze the lumber yard and shut it down. Of course, with the lumber yard shut down, they couldn't pay the rent when it was due, and they lost everything. Colonel White had himself a free mill. Later Albert Morgan ran for local political office, and because the white racist democrats boycotted the election, he won. He nearly was hanged for defending himself, and ended up moving back North. This story is a true example of the post-Civil War South. As early as 1865 President Andrew Johnson started letting white racist southerners regain control of everything. In Mississippi and South Carolina, laws were passed that were known as Black Codes. Blacks were required to show proof of employment during the year--a contract to work for their former masters. If they left their job early, they forfeited their wages, and could be arrested by any white citizen. Anyone offering alternative employment to blacks employed by their ex-masters was subjected to a heavy fine. Laws were passed preventing blacks from renting urban lands. Orphan blacks were bound to work for former masters without pay. Within ten years of the end of the Civil War, white supremacists had regained control of every state legislature in the south, frequently at the point of a gun, and blacks were put back into virtual bondage for another one hundred years. This is the true story of the Old South. Don't shed a tear for Margaret Mitchell's idealistic and fictional version of it. ------------ About the author Mark Gelbart: My book, Talk Radio, is a black comedy about a radio talk show host who gets kidnapped and psychologically tortured by a loser. It will be published by Publish America within the next year. Email: agelbart@aol.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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