Saturday, October 12, 2019

Thomas F. Bayard and the Defense of the South, 1866-1876

tf bayard


The war was fought for the Union. Whatever may have been the hopes or desires of some of the leaders, the people of the North contended for the Union alone. No other motive would have brought them to bear patiently the burdens of such a strife, and to pour out their blood on a hundred fields of battle, but that devotion to the Union which was intensified by the fear of its destruction until love almost became idolatry. And, when they conquered at last, they had a right to the prize they had so dearly won. Not merely justice and consistency, but good policy pointed to the same course. The war had swept a great part of the land with devastation, had wasted the population, paralysed many industries, made bankrupt eleven States, and loaded the rest with debt. The only road to renewed prosperity, north and south, lay in healing the wounds of the past; in such a course of action as would encourage industry, protect thrift, restore confidence, and bring back peace over all the land.

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