World History: Britain in India

The last time that we looked at India Britain had managed to edge out its European competitors thanks to victory in the Seven Years' War. This post will look at British rule in India from the end of the Seven Years' War in 1765 until the start of the twentieth century - a period marked by reform, repression, power, and rebellion. Many of the policies implemented in British India were later adapted for Africa, so when we look specifically at imperialism these two posts should be read together. However, that is a post for a later date, and first we have to understand how the British rose in India.

The Rise of the Raj

'Robert Clive and Mir Jafar after the Battle of Plassey'

British rule started with a company - the East India Company (EIC) - which had arrived initially to trade. When Britain started becoming a power in India the power of the old empire, the Mughals, was waning. The rise of a new empire, the Marathas, broke Mughal hegemony over the subcontinent, and the system of 'tax-farming' - allowing individuals to collect tax for the state - caused economic issues when those tasked with collecting tax opted to keep it for themselves. Merchants, particularly on the coast, started funding opponents - one of the reasons why Britain won the 1757 Battle of Plassey so easily was that disgruntled merchants paid a Mughal general to aid the British. Following the Seven Years' War the EIC under Robert Clive was granted the diwani, right to collect tax revenues, in Bengal which the EIC used to both purchase goods, and finance the conquest of the rest of India. Historian C.A. Bayly has highlighted the importance of British nationalism thanks to the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars influenced aggressive expansion - especially under governor-general Richard Wellesley (1798-1805). Before Wellesley the EIC offered 'protection' in return for payment, but this led smaller allies to become indebted to the EIC - private British creditors were used to keep nawabs independent but in debt. Wellesley wanted direct rule instead - in 1800 the Nawab of Awadh was forced to cede all his western territories and Arcot was entirely annexed. He also resorted to direct conflict - the Second Anglo-Maratha War happened under his rule, and saw the EIC capture Delhi in 1803. Direct conquest was very expensive, so the EIC used conquest to fund conquest. Under the Marquess of Dalhousie (1848-1856) the EIC annexed subsidiary states by declaring that if a state lacked a male heir it would be annexed - Satara (1848), Jhansi (1853), Nagpur (1854), and Awadh (1856) brought in 10 million pounds. The EIC often ruled through local leaders, and this would continue under the Raj, including the remaining Mughal sultans. 'Divide-and-rule' was essential to EIC rule, and how they conquered - Indian troops, 'sepoys', and states were used to fight enemies on behalf of the British.

India's first railway in 1853

It is important to note that the EIC was a corporatocracy - a company that controlled a political system. A mixture of free market capitalism and British nationalism influenced how the company operated. Using nawabs and sepoys to fight wars of conquest was a practical and cost effective way of expanding company rule. The British were always the head of the EIC - Indians were barred from positions of power - but they relied on local elites to aid and implement their rule. High-caste Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs made up the majority of sepoy recruits; zamindars (landlords) under Charles Cornwallis (1786-1820) were given greater control of taxation; and in 1802 Wellesley oversaw the opening of Fort William College in Calcutta (modern Kolkata) to train Indian elites to help the EIC. Early EIC reforms were done to allow profit and an end to 'despotic' rule. The 1793 Permanent Settlement Act taxed zamindars based on the value of land as it was believed to allow profit maximisation and protect ryots (tenants) from exploitation. The third largest railroad in the world, from Calcutta to Madras, was constructed to allow ease of movement, and literacy increased thanks to the creation of schools. However, they were not entirely altruistic. As already discussed education was done to create a class of allies to implement EIC rule, and ordinary Indians were often barred from using railways, it was done to allow the easy movement of the army. Furthermore, poorer Indians often did not benefit from EIC rule - from 1793 zamindars could exploit ryots more, and education and employment was for the wealthy. The EIC was a company so profit was its primary goal. Although stories of EIC officials breaking Bengali weavers's thumbs are inaccurate, the EIC did see the 'deindustrialising' of Bengal so it could not compete with British textiles. Many of India's worst famines occurred under company rule - in 1770 a famine in Bengal saw a third of the population starve. Fearful that stocks would plummet thanks to the famine the EIC rose land taxes by 10% instead of issuing famine relief. This trend would continue, not only in British India, throughout the colonial world.

Khair-un-Nissa

Moreover, India was where 'white respectability' was reborn. William Dalrymple's White Mughals (2002) shows this very well, and of all the sources which I have used for this post I would recommend it the most. Originally, the Indian-British divide was not so rigid, and it was common for EIC agents to wear Indian clothing; learn local languages; and partake in local cultural activities. Dalrymple's book looks at how British lieutenant-colonel James Kirkpatrick, a 'cocky young imperialist intending to conquer India', arrived at Hyderabad where he and Khair-un-Nissa, a young noblewoman, married. Kirkpatrick converted to Islam, learned Persian and Hindustani, and was adopted by the Nizam of Hyderabad. He was not alone - many Hyderabadi officials had monogamous relations with educated women, including Colonel James Dalrymple who married Mooti Begum, daughter of the Nawab of Masulipatam. However, by this time the EIC had started to turn against those who partook in Indian cultural practices or married Indians. When David Hare, the founder of the Hindu College in Calcutta, died he was barred from a Christian burial, and in 1786 Lord Cornwallis banned Anglo-Indians from EIC employment or travelling to Britain. Meanwhile, EIC employees were also viewed with suspicion. One could become very rich very quickly through EIC employment. There was a fear that nouveau riche would disrupt British sensibility thanks to ill-gotten gains in India - governor-general Warren Hastings, originally of old money, bought his family's historic manor in Gloucestershire (sold in 1715) and told his agent to 'give as much for it as it is worth and if you give something more for it I shall not be sorry' which was seen as flaunting wealth. The 1773 play The Nabob by Samuel Foote exemplifies the established fears: brash vulgarian Sir Matthew Mite (a caricature of Clive) where he lost what little morals he had in India, and 'imported the worst of its vices' to corrupt parliament. Corruption saw Warren Hastings impeached in 1788 (he was later acquitted, Clive having to defend himself in parliament, and in 1784 the India Act was passed partially putting the EIC under the rule of Britain.

Orientalism, and the Creation of Caste and Faith

I want to briefly discuss Edward Said's Orientalist theory, and I would also recommend reading this post about Gayatri Spivak who expanded on Said. Looking at the Middle East, Said argued that colonial powers viewed their own culture as the 'correct' culture, so, with little knowledge of the 'Orient', applied their own knowledge to the colonised world. This view of the Orient was formed as 'not only because it was discovered to be “Oriental” …but also because it could be – that is, submitted to being – made Oriental'. There are flaws in Said's theory - he only looks at high culture (like Shakespeare) and accidentally takes agency away from the colonised. Orientalist views are forcibly applied to the colonised independent. Colonial elites helped construct ideas and narratives to fit themselves which Spivak later discussed. Caste and faith were constructed in this way. Hinduism and caste predated colonial rule, but how they exist in modern forms were created thanks to colonialism. First, we shall discuss faith. Ronald Indens' Imagining India discusses this well, although he does place too much emphasis on British actions in the construction of modern Hinduism. Early-eighteenth century sources use the term 'Hindoo' to describe all Indians, regardless of faith, and overtime it evolved to mean a specific faith. Many Hindu stories exist - especially about the creation of the world - and a variety of seemingly paradoxical beliefs co-exist, these range from atheism to polytheism. Hinduism was a wide variety of spiritual beliefs, but British missionaries and officials did not understand this. Instead, they applied a Western notion of a rigid belief system onto Hinduism creating the current notion of Hinduism we have in the West. Hindu elites aided in this creation - the 1776 Gentoo Laws helped bring in separate rule for Islam, Hinduism, and Sikhism. In order to secure some form of self-rule a unified faith was needed, however, at the grassroots level Indian Hinduism continued.

Like Hinduism, caste existed before British rule. Nicholas Dirks believed that caste may have originally came about millennia ago due to attempts to legitimise kinship. Both Dirks and Indens acknowledge that caste in practice differed from theoretical caste. In theory, a broad category called Brahmans (priests) were at the top and below them were the Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (artisans, merchants, and farmers), and Sudras (labourers), and the 'untouchable' Dalits excluded entirely. In practice these categories were in constant flux and a very basic understanding of caste - in reality Kshatriyas held actual power and Brahmans had to rely on them for protection. Like with Hinduism, Britain viewed caste as a rigid and timeless institution - missionary Abbe J.A. Dubois in 1816 saw it as being essential to civilisation that 'preserve[s] priceless heritage...[so as] not lapse into a state of barbarism'. Brahmans in particularly emphasised the rigidity of caste to the British - the British could place them firmly at the top of society. Escaping heavy-handed British reforms also came through the caste system. Hook-swinging was seen by missionaries as insulting Christ's crucifixion, so Brahmans emphasised that it was a practice by 'untouchables' so they themselves would not be linked to the practice.

Reform: Altruistic or Invasive?

A group of supposed 'Thuggee' in 1894

The EIC and Raj aimed to pass various social reforms, especially after 1784, through the influence of the British back home. Many of these reforms would later be adopted by the forebearers of Indian nationalism - especially Ram Mohan Roy. However, very little of this had to do with genuine altruism - in the words of Lawrence James Britain displayed 'racial arrogance' towards India. Reformers aimed to 'uplift' India from perceived 'despotism'. Quite ironically this 'uplift' issued in a new despotism. As we have already seen, apparently benevolent or altruistic actions were done largely for pragmatism, or as a way to control the population. Bans on female infanticide are a good example of this. Especially in poor, rural India this was common so Britain issued a ban, but to ensure that the ban was in place it meant widescale censuses and state intervention happened. To better control farm land, and in line with 'divide-and-rule', forests were clearly demarcated, and the ensuing deforestation caused small-scale climate change and displaced tribal peoples. A major figure in British demonology was the so-called 'Thugs' - this was a supposed group a highway robbers worshipping the 'demon' cult of Kali. Orientalism influenced how Kali was viewed - a goddess of creation and destruction was recast as Satanic - so the subjugation of 'Thuggee' by William Sleeman was used by Britain as a form of self-congratulation. Gayatri Spivak described justification for colonialism as 'white men protecting brown women from brown men' which can be seen across Britain's reforms. Bans on infanticide, child marriage, polygamy, and sati (widow-burning) were ostensibly altruistic, but for them to happen, as colonialists argued, Britain needed to remain in India. Sati is an interesting case. In 1829 sati was, unsuccessfully, banned with British, and Indian, reformers argued they were saving women - conservative Brahmans argued it was an integral part of Hindu culture despite it largely being limited to the upper castes. During a peak from 1812 to 1819 there were around 800 widow burnings - considering India's population this was a fairly small number - so it was an attempt by upper castes to help forge images of India.

The 1857 Rebellion

'The Sepoy Revolt at Meerut' from the Illustrated London News

1857 was a turning point in Indian history, and has been subjected to a wide series of debates: was it simply a mutiny? A mutiny that turned into a popular uprising? A jihad? Rebellion and mutiny were not uncommon, but the scale of 1857 was. Long-term and short-term factors came together influencing rebellion. British rule was not popular: Christian missions and reforms changing religious practices upset many Indians; the British, now abandoning any pretence of respect to India, were considered aloof and rude; European juries gave harsher punishments to Indians; restriction on peasant mobility left many impoverished; and weavers had lost their industry. Religious millenarianism had made religious slights worsen: in 1856 Islamic preachers in Lucknow had been foretelling a quick end to British, and Christian, rule. A disastrous attempt to invade Afghanistan in 1842 caused Britain to expand its military ranks from which they recruited in Bengal - this was disliked by Rajputs and Bhumihar Brahmans who had monopolised the Bengal army. Furthermore, Indian rulers had recently become infuriated by the EIC. Dalhouise had prevented Lakshmibai, the Rhani of Jhansi, from adopting a son leading to Jhansi's annexation, and he did not have the Board of Directors' permission to annex Awadh. The EIC had also declared that the title of Mughal would end after the death of the elderly Bahadur Shah II. The spark for rebellion would come from something as simple as grease. Rumours emerged that the new Lee Enfield rifle cartridges had to be bitten to release the powder, but the cartridges were covered in grease from beef and pork - offensive to both Hindus and Muslims. Another rumour emerged in the Dum Dum barracks that a low caste soldier mocked a high caste soldier for tasting cow which made him lose his caste. This is commonly cited as the origin of the rebellion, but in reality a different event would do this. Several soldiers were court imprisoned for refusing to use the rifles and their public humiliation is what caused the XI Native Cavalry in Meerut, in the north, to mutiny on 10 May 1857. The soldiers were joined by disgruntled masses, and the next day marched into Delhi, killed European and Christian shopkeepers, and proclaimed a very reluctant 86-year-old Bahadur Shah emperor.

The Rhani of Jhansi

In the words of R.C. Majumdar, 'The people came to believe that the British Raj was at an end and merely took advantage of the political vacuum thus created to serve their own material interests'. Ayesha Jalal and Sugata Bose also described it as, 'a series of regional patriotisms...based on an emotional affinity with the homeland and a rational commitment to principles of good governance'. A second revolt erupted in Awadh which quickly gained popular support where the British garrison were imprisoned in Lucknow. The Rhani of Jhansi personally led her people to siege her old country, while a former Maratha leader, Nana Sahib, inflicted a serious defeat on the British garrison at Kanpur. Reasons why those revolted differed: in Jhansi the people did so through patriotic feeling and mass unemployment, the Rhani to regain her power, and apparently Rana Sahib had been denied a pension from the EIC despite being the son of an important Maratha official. Muslim pastoralists rose up in the far west of the Punjab as soldiers mutinied in the towns, and Afghan soldiers joined urban groups revolting in Hyderabad. Both Hindus and Muslims sensed a loss of country, and the famous Proclamation of Azimgarh of 25 August 1857 stated that, 'both Hindus and Muslims [were] being ruined under the tyranny and oppression of the infidel and treacherous English'. This explains why rebels were so eager to kill Europeans, Christian Indians, and sepoys who remained loyal during the rebellion - to the horror of Bahadur Shah soldiers killed Christians and Europeans before his eyes. The most famous massacre is that at Kanpur - with the British arriving on 15 July over 200 women and children were brutally murdered. 

The hanging of two sepoys in 1857

Massacres by Indians were met with even more brutal massacres by the British. The press exaggerated stories of atrocities, as an example The Times published a story stating that 48 girls as young as ten had been raped. While Charles Dickens wrote that 'I wish I were commander-in-chief in India. I should do my utmost to exterminate the Race upon whom the stain of the late cruelties rested' ,Karl Marx pointed out that the story was fake and had no evidence to back up what was stated. Lieutenant Colonel James Neill, in retaliation for Kanpur, ordered every village they past destroyed and their inhabitants all to be hung. One of the most famous images of the retaliation was Indian rebels being strapped to cannons and blown apart; in a sadistic, and ironic considering why the revolt broke out, punishment Muslims were forced to eat pork and Hindus beef. The Rhani of Jhansi was killed in battle, Bahadur Shah fled Delhi after it was captured in September, and Nana Sahib fled into exile. By November 1858 the revolt had been crushed, 6,000 Europeans had been killed to around 800,000 Indians. There are many reasons why the rebellion was defeated. A key reason was that each section of the rebellion revolted independently and for their own reasons - with no united leadership it was easier for the British to fight back. Divide-and-rule policies had weakened the revolt before it could happen. The proclamation of a new Mughal Empire put off many as the Bengali elite saw it as feudal, whereas Hindus and Sikhs saw it as issuing in a new Islamic empire. Hyderabad had long mistrusted the Marathas saw as there were so many Maratha leaders they saw it as an attempt to rebuild the Maratha Empire. The revolt was located just in the north, so Indian troops from the south were used to crush the revolt - if all of India had revolted British rule would have collapsed. Sikhs especially were used to crush the revolt - the Sikh Empire had been conquered using sepoys from the north, so they had no sympathy with those who revolted.

Reorganisation 

The Mumbai Victoria Station - purposefully built to resemble a British station

The revolt ended company rule. The 1858 Government of India Act dissolved the EIC, reorganised British rule in India, amnestied remaining mutineers, dissolved the Mughal monarchy, and would pave the way for Queen Victoria to be crowned 'Empress of India'. Parliament would reign supreme, followed by a viceroy, and then the local rulers. 'Princely States' were established to rule through in areas that Britain had weak authority. Meanwhile, the army recruited from new communities - by 1875 almost half the army were either Punjabi or Nepalese Gurkhas as they had put down the revolt. Indian troops would now go across the globe - Sikh troops regularly patrolled British sections of Canton - and were deployed in wars ranging from the Mahdi Uprising in Sudan to the Boxer Rebellion in China. During the First World War 60,000 Indian troops died fighting for Britain. Despite company rule coming to an end, free market capitalism dominated economic thinking in India. Private contractors were placed in charge of irrigation networks; new ports were made in Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta to facilitate trade; railways connected these cities to allow movement of goods; and India became a place for British goods. Like other colonies, India was structured as an exporter of raw goods. Tea, oil, cotton, and jute were taken from India across the Empire, and British manufactured goods were imported. This made the Indian economy subservient to, and reliant on, the metropole. Wealthy Indians were, however, allowed into education and some could be educated across the empire. In 1888 Mohandas Gandhi went to London to study law, as an example. 1892 saw Britain gain its first Asian MP - Dadabhai Naoriji became the Liberal Party's MP for Finsbury Central. Not all educated Indians were keen on empire. Naoriiji and Romesh Chandra Dutt, in 1902 he would write Economic History of India under British Rule, both criticised Britain on the basis of the 'drain theory'. India's economy could never develop as it was being drained by Britain, economic exploitation and deindustrialisation stagnated the economy. 

Religious Revivalism and the Rise of Nationalism

The First meeting of the Indian National Congress in 1885

The seeds of nationalism lay with religious revivalism, a long time before 1857 in fact. We have already mentioned the figure of Ram Mohan Roy. Roy, sometimes given the title of 'Father of Indian Renaissance', was born around 1770 to a high caste family, and had campaigned against EIC misrule. In 1828 he co-founded the Brahmo Samaj which aimed to reform Hinduism by rejecting caste; campaign to bring an end to polygamy, sati, and child marriage; widow remarriage; and bringing about education for women and lower castes. The 'Bengal Renaissance' came from the Hindu reformism and revivalism seeing an outpouring of Bengali literature, education, and, later, even cinema. Bengali science-fiction emerged as a genre thanks to the Bengal Renaissance thanks to the writings of Jagadish Chandra Bose. Dutt was not the only Bengali to emerge critical of British rule; Bankin Chandra Chattopadhyay of the Brahmo Samaj critiqued British rule and combined Hinduism with European liberalism. It is from these movements that the Indian National Congress (INC) came into being in 1885. The INC started as a primarily Hindu and high-caste reformist party, but after the First World War would transform into a mass movement that would bring independence under Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. Not all Hindu revival movements were so eager for such drastic reform. Arya Samaj, founded in 1875 by Dayananda Saraswati in Punjab, wanted reform, like the abolishing of sati, but also promoted shuddi (re-conversion), cow protection, and upper caste practices like vegetarianism. Meanwhile, Vishnubhuwa Brahmachari defended caste, believing it created social equilibrium, and had to return to the 'Golden Age of Vedas' after denigration from Christian missionaries. Hindu nationalist, Swami Vivekannada, would found the Rama Krishna Mission in Calcutta in 1897 in order to reveal the supreme form of living to help the entire community.

The Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College in 1877

High-caste Hindus were not the only early nationalists and revivalists. Jyotirao Phule was from a lower-caste and the west entirely rejected caste, and helped found the Sathyashodhak Samaj to uplift women, Sudras, and Dalits. The Singh Sabha Movement emerged in the 1870s to promote Sikh revivalism. Wealthy Muslims also engaged in revivalism and nationalism. The Aligarh Movement was founded in 1835 in response to English being made the main language, so wealthy Muslims came together to prevent 'moral loss'. A key figure in this movement was Syed Ahmed Khan who advocated that Muslims learn science, learn Urdu, and embrace British rule to show their loyalty. Like with the Brahmo Samaj, Syed Khan advocated female education, although he believed only wealthy women should be educated. In 1875 the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College was founded to allow Muslims to get an education in order to create a class of bureaucrats to aid British rule. In 1906 the Muslim League would be founded to advocate for reform and Muslim rights. Whether it was Hindu, Sikh, or Muslim early movements aimed at reform, and were for the elite. They would set the stage, however, for popular nationalist movements. As they originated as religious revival movements, it would also set the stage for religious strife during the nationalist movement, and later independence. Hindutva, Hindu nationalism, found its origins with groups like the Arya Samaj, and the Cow Protection Societies of the 1890s are the direct ancestors of today's far-right equivalents. As the Aligarh Movement, and Hindu equivalent, modernised Sanskrit two new languages emerged: Hindi and Urdu. Spoken they are very similar, written they are very different, but Hindi became synonymous with Hindus and Urdu with Muslims. These divides reverberate today with Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh.

Conclusion

India set the stage for colonial rule elsewhere. What had happened in India was replicated in Africa. British rule in India set the stage for modern India: the subordination of India's economy to Europe's continue, divide-and-rule placed communities against one another, and modern caste and faith emerged thanks to Britain. However, we also see how Indians adapted and resisted this. If you go to India the local idea of Hinduism differs from what you might hear elsewhere - grassroots belief allowed a synthesis of pre-colonial and colonial belief. 1857 remains a key focal point in Indian national identity, and the ruptures caused by Indians themselves paved the way for the emergence of nationalism. Figures like Gandhi, Nehru, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah had a long history behind them.

The sources I have used are as follows:

-Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal, Modern South Asia, Second Edition, (New York, NY: 1998)

-Hermann Kulke and Dietmar Rothermund, A History of India, (London: 1986)

-Lawrence James, Raj: The Making and Unmaking of British India, (London: 1997)

-Biswamoy Pati, (ed.), The 1857 Rebellion, (Oxford: 2007)

-Ronald Indens, Imagining India, (Oxford: 1990)

-Nicholas Dirks, Castes of the Mind, (Princeton: 2001)

-William Dalrymple, White Mughals: Love and Betrayal in Eighteenth-Century India, (London: 2002)

-H.H. Dodwell, (ed.), The Cambridge History of India. Vol. V: British India, 1497-1858, (Cambridge: 1929)

-Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, 'Can the Subaltern Speak?', in Cary Nelson and Lawrence Grossberg, (eds.), Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture, (London: 1988), 271-314

-Edward Said, Orientalism, (London: 1978)

Thank you for reading and I hope you found it interesting; feel free to recommend any changes or comments. Next time we will be looking at the Zulu Empire in southern Africa. For other World History posts we have a list here. For future blog updates, please see our Facebook or catch me on Twitter @LewisTwiby.

Left-Wing and the 'Other' History: The Easter Rising

During 1916's Easter Week, 24-29 April, armed Irish republicans rose up in Dublin taking over several key buildings, most importantly the General Post Office (GPO). Since 1916 the Easter Rising has remained an important historical event in Irish history, and whose memory has evolved over the last decade. Guided by principals of socialism and republicanism the Easter Rising has deeply influenced the Irish Left, in particular.

Ireland before 1916 - A Quick History

An Irish family being evicted during the Land War

For centuries Ireland had been dominated by England, and later Scotland (to an extent) and Britain. During the 1600s Protestants were encouraged to settle in Ireland, particularly the north and an area around Dublin called the 'Pale', and received greater rights than their Catholic neighbours. In 1800 the Act of Union came into effect formally uniting Britain and Ireland forming the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, however, Catholics remained in subordinated positions. It took until 1829 for restrictive laws on Catholics, but it did not stem the tide of Irish agitation. Almost three decades of protest against inequality seamlessly moved into discontent over the Act of Union. This protest manifested itself in two ways: parliamentary politics and radical movements. Often they worked together. In 1858 the Irish Republican Brotherhood, (IRB), popularly known as the Fenians, were formed as a revolutionary organisation. An abortive uprising in 1867 led to the imprisonment of many Fenians, so the Amnesty Association was formed. Led by a Protestant lawyer - Isaac Butt - who had become anti-Union after seeing the horrific consequences of British rule during the Irish Potato Famine. After defending nationalists Butt helped form the Home Government Association - a mostly Protestant Dublin-based pressure group - with the intention of bringing in 'Home Rule'. Home Rule was a policy of allowing Ireland to rule itself in everything bar defence and foreign policy. Butt's party evolved in the 1870s to the Irish Home Rule Party which saw the rise of two key nationalist figures - Joseph Biggar and Charles Stewart Parnell. In the 1870s bad harvests and an influx of cheap grain from the US saw the decimation of Irish agriculture; consequently landlords kept rent high, stopped credit, and evicted tenant farmers who could not pay. The 'Land War' superseded the need for Home Rule, and Parnell became a key figure in the Irish Land League calling for the 'three fs' - free sale, fair rent, and fixity of tenure. For his involvement Parnell was even briefly imprisoned in Kilmainham Jail. The Land War saw clashes between land lords and tenant farmers, as well as the development of the boycott. Named after Charles Boycott, the land agent supporting a land lord, who faced social ostracism for supporting the land lords. A series of Land Acts from the 1870s diffused the Land War, but not support for the Irish Parliamentary Party which became the third largest party in the UK.

Meanwhile, there was a growing radical movement in Ireland - both opposing and supporting Home Rule. English, both culture and language, had been attempted to be implemented in Ireland although it was not complete. In 1884 the Gaelic Athletic Association was formed to codify and regulate Gaelic sports, in 1893 the Gaelic League was formed to revive Irish as a language, and in 1892 the Celtic Literary Society to promote Irish literature. As they were not ostensibly political these groups gave Irish nationalists an ability to discuss their ideas and formulate plans. The Athletic Association became a front for the IRB, nationalist poet W.B. Yeats was a major figure in the Literary Society, and one of the leaders of the Easter Rising, Patrick Pearse, joined the Gaelic League. In 1905 a group of nationalist and republican groups came together to form Sinn Fein under journalist Arthur Griffith. Griffith was a nationalist, but not as hostile to republicanism as some of his colleagues. In The Sinn Fein Policy (1906) he set out the party's policies - take over local government bodies, contest elections while abstaining from Westminster, and assert Irish autonomy. However, in Ulster, the majority Protestant north, nationalism and republicanism were opposed. Not all Protestants and the 'Ulster Scots' (Protestants in Ulster) opposed this - one of the groups which formed Sinn Fein was the Dungannon Clubs from Ulster. Loyalty to the Union and a fear of Catholic domination made unionists oppose Home Rule. Since 1886 they had managed to block Home Rule, but in 1911 Herbert Asquith's Liberal Party made an alliance with the Irish Party, led by John Redmond since Parnell's death, bringing a Third Home Rule Bill to parliament. Unionists under Sir Edward Carson in 1912 joined Belfast stockbroker James Craig in signing the Ulster Solemn League and Covenant with a further 250,000 men. The next January a paramilitary group of unionists formed the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and prepared to violently secede from a Home Rule Ireland. 'If Protestant Georgie won't, Protestant Willie will' - a reference to possibly getting aid from the German kaiser Wilhelm II. In response, republicans formed this Irish Volunteers. Before violence broke out the First World War did - Home Rule was scheduled for after the war.

Socialism in Ireland

James Connolly

Socialism had a longer history in Ireland and nationalism before the Easter Rising. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels had created links with the Fenians, and trade unions in both Britain and the US supported self-government. A common name to crop up, mostly due to his influence on Irish labour in the 1920s and 1930s, is that of James Connolly. Born in Cowgate, Edinburgh, hence why Connolly has further deeply inspired the Scottish left, in 1868 where he managed to get involved with the Land War. A Marxist and nationalist he was deeply involved with socialist movements, and his move to Dublin in the 1890s led him to help form the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP). As expected for socialist groups, the IRSP had its own publication, The Workers' Republic, of which Connolly was a major contributor. Connolly also criticised fellow nationalists, in an 1908 article for The Harp he wrote that 'How long it will be until the Socialists realize the folly and inconsistency of preaching to the Workers that the emancipation of the Working Class must be the act of the workers themselves, and yet presenting to those workers the sight of every important position in the party occupied by men not of the Working Class.' There were other key movements in Irish labour and socialism other than those directly overseen by Connolly. As early as 1871 a Fenian, Joseph McDonnell, was unanimously elected to the general council of the International Workingman's Association. In Belfast Liverpudlian Irish socialist Jim Larkin in 1907 organised dock workers and a strike crippled Belfast harbour. Strangely, a countess became a key, but unfortunately forgotten, figure in the labour movement. Countess Constance Markievicz had developed a strong desire to help the poor after seeing her father give out relief during a famine in her childhood, and growing up she became friends with Yeats. In 1903 she moved to Dublin and became involved in socialist, suffragist, and nationalist movements. In 1908, she joined both Sinn Fein and Inghinidhe na hÉireann (Daughters of Ireland), and later even took part in a Manchester by-election which prevented the election of virulently anti-suffrage Winston Churchill. Her position in society was helpful for socialist and republican movements, such as in August 1914 hiding Jim Larkin in her house in Rathmines, Dublin when a warrant for his arrest was issued.

Constance Markievicz

There was also the further intersection between republicanism and socialism. The rise of labour militancy influenced the IRB newspaper, Irish Freedom, to start commenting on the potency of a radicalise working class. Partially this had something to do with Thomas Clarke who, in the words of Adrian Grant, 'dragged the IRB away from devising conspiracies over a few pints in the local to engaging with mass political movements, albeit in a covert manner'. In 1910 the Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU) became increasingly involved with republicanism - so much so that Connolly, in charge of the ITGWU, was co-opted onto the military council of the Irish Volunteers in January 1916. The ITGWU actively encouraged counter-cultural activities seeing it as a way to enrich the lives of the working-class. Liberty Hall was used for language classes, dances, and songs; Croydon Park was used for sporting events; and a day before the Dublin lock-out in August 1913 playwright Patrick Wilson described a family day out in the park. The lock-out itself was important in the pre-war Irish labour movement. On August 16 20,000 workers went on strike about living conditions, the ability to unionise, and workers' rights so most employers responded with a lock-out - except for Guinness. British unions sent aid to their Irish counterparts to support the families of striking workers, but the Catholic Church blocked local aid seeing it as an avenue to spread Protestant and atheist ideas. It would last until January and Larkin fled to the US following a brief stint hiding at Markievicz's home. During the lock-out Connolly had formed the Irish Citizen Army (ICA) to protect workers - this would become very important during the Rising.

Ireland, the First World War, and Preparations

Like in the rest of Europe war was greeted with applause except from the left. Connolly opposed the war seeing it as an imperialist war sending the working-class to their deaths. However, sections of Irish society supported the war. John Redmond of the Irish Party encouraged people to volunteer for the war seeing it as a way to ensure that Home Rule would be passed after peace had come. A Dublin Volunteer recalled that 'The effect in Ireland was immediate. People who were what one would have thought rebels on Sunday were completely pro-British the following Sunday'. Protestants and Catholics both enlisted, but Protestants were disproportionately represented in the ranks of the British army - 40% of Irish soldiers were Protestant, despite making up 26% of the population. With the rise of the UVF and unionism Protestants saw themselves closer to Protestant Britain than their Catholic Irish neighbours. The council of the IRB - mainly Patrick Pearse and Sean MacDermott - planned an uprising to separate themselves from Britain. This small clique expanded to include other figures, such as Thomas Clarke. Due to a long history of infiltration, and a fear of rejection, the clique kept their movements a secret from even the IRB's President of the Supreme Council, Denis McCullough. With the collapse of the Dublin lock-out, and the war brutally crushing the labour movement, Connolly had started becoming interested in separatism. Connolly brought organisation to the planning, but he was not fully included in the plans in case the ICA took over. Seven individuals were brought together to plan the Rising: James Connolly, Patrick Pearse, Tom Clarke, Sean MacDermott, Thomas MacDonagh, Joseph Plunkett, and Eamonn Ceanntt. 

In order to ensure an uprising took place they needed arms and possibly support. The IRB's American wing - Clan na Gael - sent Roger Casement, and later Plunkett, to Berlin to get German support for a rising. 'Protestant Georgie and Willie' now became a republican as well as a unionist phrasing. Casement hoped that 12,000 soldiers and 40,000 rifles could be landed in Limerick sparking a nationwide revolt - something the German General Staff and Foreign Office rejected. When Fenian Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa in New York in 1915 when his body was brought to Ireland for burial the funeral generated massive crowds, and saw a speech by Pearse ending with the words, 'Ireland unfree shall never be free'. All that was needed was the assurance that the Irish Volunteers would join an uprising but their leader, Eoin MacNeill, was fairly moderate and was reluctant to do so. However, a document, possibly forged by Plunkett, was produced stating that the British aimed to arrest key republicans which got MacNeill on board. Some arms had been secured from Germany, but just before the rising was to take place the ship was discovered by the British. Consequently, the Rising was postponed to Easter Monday and MacNeill, as well as other leading Volunteers, told others not to join the Rising. Despite this, the military council decided to press on regardless leading several historians, including Fearghal McGarry, to suggest that the council knew it was to fail. Instead of fighting to liberate Ireland they intended to become a blood sacrifice to inspire a future movement to liberate Ireland, 'action was preferable to inaction'.

The Rising

Monday 24 April, 1916 1,200 people from the ICA, Volunteers, and Cumann na Mban (the women's branch of the Volunteers) rose up in Dublin. For a good play-by-play of the Rising itself I would highly recommend Dublin 1916: The Siege of the GPO by Clair Wills (2009). Due to contradictory orders from Pearse and MacNeill not all Volunteers took part - in Galway, where the Volunteers was particularly strong, only a quarter turned out to fight. Regardless, by noon they had captured all the sites which they planned to occupy. The main command under Pearse and Connolly took the GPO; another took the Four Courts; 130 men under future Irish president Eamon de Valera took Boland's Mill and Westland railway station; Ceanntt's battalion took the 50-acre South Dublin Union site; and MacDonagh remained around the city centre. The sections taken were intended to give the rebels a vantage point over the main army barracks, and failures to capture main railway stations and telegraph offices were more due to a lack of manpower than improper planning. Dublin Castle, the heart of British rule in Ireland, could have fell, but as it was expected to be well defended the ICA soon abandoned their plans. Instead, the garrison under Sean Connolly captured City Hall but were ejected easily the next day. Outside Dublin, Volunteers tried to encourage rebellion in Wexford, Galway, Cork, and Meath, however, due to MacNeill's orders and a general fear of rising there was little turnout. In Galway, Volunteers managed to attack and besiege the Royal Irish Constabulary allowing them greater success. 

Women were present in the Dublin Rising. 200 members of Cumann na Mban took part in Dublin and the ICA had women in its leadership. However, with the exception of Markievicz who commanded at St Stephen's Green Garrison, women were barred from leadership from sexist colleagues. De Valera is infamous for directly ignoring Connolly and barring women from being near his garrison, although he did relent by making women couriers. Generally, women were expected to act as couriers, and many leaders barred female relatives from fighting - the only one to justifiably do this was Tom Clarke who barred his wife Kathleen from fighting as she was pregnant. No female rebels were killed, but Margaret Skinnider of the ICA was badly wounded by a British sniper. Furthermore, children even took part with the Fianna Eireann - republican boy scouts - including Connolly's 15-year-old son Roddy. Ironic considering his commitment to women's equality, Connolly barred his daughter Nora, who was in her twenties, for taking part. Fianna Eireann members did try and raid the Magazine Fort at Phoenix Park.

The aftermath of British shelling

On 29 April the Rising came to an end. British shelling, even in the countryside, had devastated rebel lines at the expense of Dublin. Around 54% of the 450 people killed during the rebellion were civilians - the youngest was a two-year-old called John Francis Foster who was killed in cross-fire. Intense street fighting led to between 2,000 and 3,000 people, (civilian, rebel, and soldier), to be injured. The army became well known for its brutal actions during the Rising - something which would continue during the Irish War of Independence. Fifteen civilians were killed by the army on North King Street, and on Easter Tuesday pacifist, a pro-suffrage journalist Francis Sheehy-Skeffington was arrested and shot on the orders of Captain John Bowen-Colthurst. Bowen-Colthurst was later court-martialled but deemed insane.

The Proclamation

This is perhaps the most important aspect of the Rising - if the rebels were to be martyred then they had to leave something to inspire future rebels. After taking the GPO on Easter Monday Pearse read the Proclamation to confused passers-by - the Rising had taken everyone by surprise. Written primarily by Pearse the influence of Connolly can be found across the document. One such notable example is the reference to 'Irishmen and Irishwomen', equal citizenship, equal rights, and firmly blaming 'an alien government' for dividing the 'minority from the majority'. In spite of Pearse's support for the Gaelic League, and Connolly criticising republicans for speaking English, only contained three Gaelic words, possibly to make it more accessible, which were 'Poblacht na j Eireann' - 'peopledom'. Two hundred thousand five hundred copies were printed of the Proclamation to be distributed by the ICA, but only 50 copies remain a century later. One is framed in Trinity College, and in 2008 one was bought for 360,000 Euros. Since then the Proclamation has become integral in influencing the policies of the Irish left.

Reaction

Unfortunately for the rebels, the Rising was not well received by all across Ireland. The ravaging of Dublin and the deaths of 200 civilians by the British was blamed on the rebels, especially as they had taken over the GPO. Families of soldiers received money to support them from the GPO - something cut off by the Rising. Class influenced reaction. Most of the ICA came from working class backgrounds, and military shelling destroyed significant sections of Dublin angering propertied classes. Furthermore, as most rebels were Catholic - despite calls for ending sectarianism by the Proclamation - it was seen as a Catholic rebellion. Hardly two months later the Battle of the Somme claimed the lives of many Irish Protestants creating a Protestant story of woe compared to the Easter Rising. Britain could have used the Rising to its advantage, but two factors ruined it for them. The first, the introduction of conscription was seen as British overrule. The second, was harsh British reaction to the rebels turning them into martyrs. Over 3,500 were arrested often on flimsy grounds of suspected Sinn Fein sympathies - 27 were arrested in Roscommon town despite having no involvement at all. 1,800 were interned in prison and their letters revealed to the Irish public the harsh treatment of the rebels. Sir John Maxwell, effectively the military governor, ensured that those who signed the document to rebel were to be executed. Between 3 and 12 May the seven signers were executed at Kilmainham Jail - in the end others followed so by August 16 were executed. De Valera escaped the noose based on his American citizenship and as his trial happened a while after the initial executions, so by then public opinion had soured. Markievicz was sentenced to hang but due to her sex she was spared. The way individuals were executed angered the public - Connolly had to be propped up to be shot by firing squad. By late-May Dublin stores were already selling memorobillia honouring the martyrs.

Legacy

Irish republicans in the War of Independence

In the short-term the Easter Rising had propelled Irish republicanism to the forefront. A mixture between the war, conscription, the Rising, and failure to implement Home Rule allowed Sinn Fein to replace the Irish Party as the major party. The 1917 by-election in Clare East swept de Valera in with 70% of the vote, and he would be followed by other Sinn Fein MPs. As to sit in the Westminster parliament MPs had to swear on oath of fealty Sinn Fein opted to abstain. In the 1918 election several Sinn Fein candidates won, including Markievicz becoming the UK's first elected female MP. In January 1919 Sinn Fein, inspired by the Proclamation, formed their own assembly as opposed to Westminster called the Dail Eireann. The Irish War of Independence began and when fighting finally ended in 1923, when the Irish Civil War ended, the independent Ireland that emerged lived in the shadow of Easter 1916. Many of those who fought in the new Irish Republican Army (IRA) had been members of Fianna Eireann so opposed the treaty leaving Ulster under British control. Eamon de Valera was a conservative giving Catholicism a 'special place' in Ireland - although he did resist urges to make Catholicism the state religion. Women were subordinated in Ireland where divorce, contraception, and abortion were made illegal - until 2018 abortion was illegal in the constitution. 

Since 1916 the Rising has gone through many shifting perceptions. It has regularly been evoked in Irish politics - most have claimed the legacy of 1916. Socialists emphasised Connolly's importance, nationalists have emphasised the calls of independence, and the Irish state has tried to support aspects of it. De Valera had anniversaries celebrated and for school children to re-enact it annually, however, the calls for liberating the working class and women were forgotten in favour of portraying it as a Catholic, nationalist rebellion. In Northern Ireland, republicans regularly celebrate the Rising, but different republicans remember different sections of the Rising. Sectarian republicans were keen to forget the egalitarian nature of the Rising. During the violence of the Troubles Ireland silently celebrated the Rising to avoid condoning sectarian violence in the North. Since the end of the Troubles debates continue about what aspects of the Rebellion should be remembered. During the centenary in 2016 Dublin council placed commemorations to the Rising everywhere they could - I visited during this time and saw the wide variety of ways in which it had been remembered. Local socialists and feminists emphasised the emancipatory nature of the Proclamation; a tour gave a watered-down history of the Rising; and the GPO produced a movie about the Rising playing in the basement. Although many will debate the Easter Rising it is clear that those who fought wanted a freer, fairer Ireland.

The sources I have used are as follows:

-Marie Coleman, The Irish Revolution, 1916-1923, (New York, NY: Routledge, 2014)

-Fearghal McGarry, The Rising, Ireland: Easter 1916, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010)

-Clair Wills, Dublin 1916: The Siege of the GPO, (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009)

-Adrian Grant, Irish Socialist Republicanism, 1909-36, (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2012)

-Desmond Ryan, (ed.), The Workers' Republic: A Selection from the Writings of James Connolly, (Dublin: Sign of the Three Candles, 1951)

-James Connolly, 'Sinn Fein and Socialism', The Harp, (April 1908)

Thank you for reading and I hope you found it interesting. Please leave any comments and for other Left-Wing and the 'Other' history please see our list. For future blog updates please our Facebook or catch me on Twitter @LewisTwiby.

Comics Explained: The Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense

The BPRD logo

The Hellboy comics, published by Dark Horse, have such a deep lore and interesting universe that it is a shame that it is not as widely known. A large part of why Hellboy has such a good universe it due to the actions of its creator: Mark Mignola. Just as Kevin Feige overlooks the Marvel movies so does Mignola look over the Hellboy comics. A recurring feature is the organisation The Bureau for Paranoral Research and Defense (BPRD). The BPRD offered a backdrop for the interconnected world of Hellboy and since 2002 has had its own comic series. As this is being written the new Hellboy movie has just been released so there is no better time to discuss the BPRD.

Origins

The founding of the BPRD

The BPRD debuted with Hellboy in a story called Seed of Destruction. On December 23, 1944 a group of US soldiers, the superhero Torch of Liberty, and the British Paranormal Society arrived at the quiet village of East Bromwich in England to prevent Project Ragna Rok. The Nazis had recruited the mystic Rasputin who had survived his assassination, and lived in secret for years, due to the worship of demonic celestial beings known as the Ogdru Jahad. Rasputin had been hired by the Nazis who wanted him to use magic, and the Ogdru Jahad, to win the war - instead Rasputin was using the Nazis to summon the Ogdru Jahad to destroy the world. In reality, the Nazis and Rasputin were really on a Scottish island in the North Sea where Rasputin was attempting to awaken his masters. However, Rasputin's summoning went wrong - instead of summoning his masters he instead summoned a demon baby in the church of East Bromwich.

One of the members of the British Paranormal Society - Trevor Bruttenholm - adopted the baby demon, and as the soldiers named it 'Hellboy' that became his name. Bruttenholm realised that something was needed to combat paranormal forces with the British Paranormal Society being reliant on the aid of others. In 1945 he formed the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, the BPRD for short, with it operating from Fairfield, Connecticut. Unlike in the movies by Guillermo del Toro, the BPRD are not a branch of the US government comparable to the FBI, in fact the BPRD and CIA loathe one another - instead they are a private organisation. The BPRD receives funding primarily from the US and UK, (although Japan, Italy, Canada, and France are also regularly fund them), and in 1952 the UN granted Hellboy 'Honorary Human' status. In the 1950s Bruttenholm resigned as director in order to focus more on fieldwork allowing Tom Manning to become the BPRD's director.

Key Members

Many individuals make up the BPRD, of whom many happened to be 'enhanced' - someone who has mystical powers. Here are just a few.

Hellboy

Naturally, Hellboy is the best known BPRD agent. As we've already done an entire blog post about Hellboy we won't discuss him much here - especially as at times Hellboy had left the BPRD. Hellboy was the son of a witch and a Hell-lord whose right hand was replaced with that of the 'Right Hand of Doom'. This hand was once that of the creator of the Ogdru Jahad and is the key to the awakening of the celestial beings. Since being summoned to Earth in 1944 he has become the BPRD's key agent fighting against hidden Nazis, a vampiric Napoleonic officer, ghost werewolves, and warlocks. With a gruff but kind attitude, and a dry sense of humour, he was a well loved agent.

Liz Sherman

Liz grew up in a devout Catholic family who treated her pyrokinesis (manipulation of fire) as a sign of sin so managed to control it through faith. That is until the age of eleven when at a birthday party a boy pulled on her ponytails surprising her and unleashing her powers - an entire city block, including her parents and brother, were incinerated. The BPRD kept Liz isolated in a flame-proof cell driving her into depression, until Hellboy, immune to her fire, offered her a lollypop to break the ice. This brought her out of her shell and began seeing Hellboy as an older brother. When Abe Sapien was introduced to the BPRD she grew to him due to their shared 'outsider' status. However, she has become over-reliant on the BPRD - she has left and returned repeatedly due to her being unable to cope with the 'outside' world. Liz's powers are not just typical pyrokinesis. When she lost her powers she started to die, Rasputin in Seed of Destruction described it as 'living' and capable of awakening the Ogdru Jahad, and wiped out an entire army of frog creatures.

Abe Sapien

Abe Sapien is the third agent best known. Abe is a half-fish person discovered in a tube in a hospital. On the tube was a note reading 'Ichtyo sapien' and the date of Lincoln's assassination, so he was named 'Abe Sapien'. BPRD scientists experimented on him until Hellboy stepped in, as they could never see when 'enough was enough', and took him out for a sandwich. Due to his treatment by the BPRD, and looking very much as an outsider, he became close friends with both Liz and Hellboy. During a near-death experience he managed to see his own creation. In the 1860s an egg was removed from undersea ruins by a man named Langdon Everett Caul. Caul took the end to a hospital where he and members of a secret society performed a ritual which caused Abe's future spirit to be absorbed into Caul, and the egg to turn to dust. The man then slowly began turning to fish before being locked in the tube and forgotten as he went into hibernation, and the society became involved in the assassination of Lincoln.

Johann Kraus

Born in Stuttgart at a young age Kraus realised that he was a psychic and could communicate with ghosts. With some training under a medium he was able to send his ectoplasmic form out of his body and into the etheric plane allowing him to properly talk with the dead. During a seance for a wealthy family a thief in Chengdou, China broke a jade figurine wiping out parts of the city with psychic energy. The spirit of a boy reached out through the etheric plane to Kraus, but the energy from doing so reverberated all the way to Germany killing the family and destroying Kraus's body. Regardless, his ectoplasm survived and managed to make contact with the BPRD who made him a containment suit so he could survive outside the etheric plane. As described by fellow agent Kate Corrigan: He's not dead. He just doesn't have a body anymore.

Ben Daimo

As Ben is in the new movie we should discuss him. He was sent on a mission to see who was killing tribes in the Bolivian rainforest where his unit came across a hidden cult worshipping a jaguar spirit who was killing locals as sacrifice. The cult wiped out his troops and as he was killed a spirit told him that his 'new life' would begin. He woke up in a body bag and was hired by the BPRD. Despite holding no powers his skills as a soldier made him an essential ally, but he was not liked. His brash and aggressive attitude made other agents, especially Liz, dislike him. However, one day the jaguar spirit started possessing him turning him into a powerful 'were-jaguar'.

Kate Corrigan

Kate is not an 'enhanced' agent, but she is perhaps one of the most important agents. An expert on folklore and the occult she was originally hired as a consultant, but she became increasingly involved with the BPRD. Eventually, she was made an official agent and was involved with all levels of running the organisation. Due to her open and friendly nature Hellboy took to her quickly - he considered her one of his closest friends consequently.

Enemies

Throughout the years the BPRD has encountered many enemies. Here are a few notable examples.

Rasputin

A monk and a mystic Rasputin followed the life of his real-world counterpart. He came to the Russian court earning the hatred of the nobility who assassinated him in 1916. The Ogdru Jahad found him, and preserved his dying body allowing him to flee to Italy where he regained his health in order to act as their mortal tool. Head of the SS Heinrich Himmler found him and hired Rasputin for Project Ragna Rok. After the war he vanished until 1994 with the events of Seed of Destruction. Taking root in Cavendish Manor he hoped to use Hellboy's right hand to awaken his masters, but was defeated and seemingly killed. His ghost survived to continue the work of the Ogdru Jahad.

Frog Monsters and the Black Flame

The Ogdru Jahad intended to create another race, a 'final race', to replace humanity known as the 'frogmen'. Powerful psychics they could transform to resemble humans and in their frog forms had immense psychical strength. CEO of Zinco Corporation, Landis Pope, learnt of Rasputin and wanted to harness powers of celestial beings, and he discovered the frogmen. Using the persona of the Nazi supervillain the Black Flame he hoped to use the frogmen and the power of one of the offspring of the Ogdru Jahad, Katha-Hem. The frogmen started attacking and raised Katha-Hem in the United States. However, it turned out that the Black Flame was actually being used by the frogmen in order to summon Katha-Hem - it was he who was the pawn. Liz used an artefact to increase her powers and incinerate the celestial being - with it destroyed the frogmen turned on the Black Flame and dragged him down into their subterranean lair.

Nimue

First mentioned in Darkness Calls #3 Nimue was the famous 'Lady in the Lake' of Arthurian legend. An ally of Merlin the wizard told her all of his secrets - she used it to imprison Merlin and rule over the world. However, unable to control her power she grew mad and started worshipping the Ogdru Jahad. In response the world's witches killed her, dismembered her body, and scattered the pieces around the world. Centuries later, Britain's witches were leaderless so reluctantly decided to resurrect Nimue. It took until The Wild Hunt #3 for her to be resurrected when the blood of an entire village was poured over her body - after all she is the 'Queen of Blood'. As the revived Nimue still loathed Britain's witches most decided to drown themselves in order to avoid her vengeance. Nimue's reign of terror was deadly - she even killed the queen of the fairies. 

Reading Recommendations

If you are interested in the BPRD here are some stories which I would recommend reading:

-Hellboy: Seed of Destruction

-BPRD: Hollow Earth

-BPRD: The Soul of Venice

-BPRD: Plague of Frogs

-Hellboy: Wake the Devil

Thanky you for reading and I hope you found it interesting. For future blog updates please see our Facebook or catch me on Twitter @LewisTwiby.

World History: The American Civil War and Reconstruction

When we looked at the end of slavery we briefly discussed the American Civil War. The Civil War has been regularly referred to as the 'Second American Revolution' for the immense cultural and political changes that came with the war. We also have to discuss the end of the war - a particular part of American history called 'Reconstruction'. When we have discussed wars previously on World History we have looked very little about the extensive period after the war has ended. Reconstruction was just as important as the Civil War itself, and has been described by Eric Foner as the 'unfinished revolution'. Today we will look at the Civil War, abolition, slavery, and how Reconstruction was used to try and repair the nation as well as emancipate newly freed slaves.

Slavery in the United States

A plantation 

Slavery was the divisive issue in the USA until it was abolished in 1865. While slavery was coming to an end in the Caribbean and the newly independent Latin American states it was thriving in the American South. For some time after the American Revolution slavery had been defended on the basis that it was a 'necessary evil' until after 1793. The invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney allowed cotton to be grown on a widescale which saved the institution, and helped expand it. The plantation economy came to dominate the South - a small elite where only a quarter of white southerners owned slaves. With the rise of abolitionism discussions of slavery being a 'necessary evil' were replaced by statements that it was a 'positive good' - owners presented themselves as parents protecting their 'children' from economic poverty of the North or Africa, and that the Bible, particularly Leviticus, justified slavery. This patriarchal nature of slavery extended to the family - women belonged to their husband, divorce was rigidly prohibited, and husbands could legally beat their wives unless the diameter of the stick was larger than a thumb. Plantation owners at times resembled feudal lords in Europe - non-slave owning whites were economically dominated by the plantations, and even duelling continued long in the South after it was abolished in the North. Abolitionist media was strongly censored and outright burnt, slaveowners in Congress got a gag rule silencing abolitionist petitions. 

By the start of the Civil War there were around 4 million slaves - in Louisiana and Mississippi there were more slaves than free blacks and whites. Slavery was brutal and dehumanising; slaves were barred from owning property and arms, testifying in court, from the 1830s barred from learning to read and write, and regularly saw their families torn apart. Violence was very common despite the laws prohibiting the killing of slaves. The whip remains synonymous with slavery. Women regularly faced sexual violence - in 1855 a slave called Celia in Missouri killed her master as he tried to rape her, normally the court viewed it in terms of self-defence but as she was a slave she was not a 'woman' in the eyes of the law and sentenced to death. However, as she was pregnant her execution was postponed as not to deprive her owner's heirs of their property rights. Families regularly were torn apart - 70% of slaves could be expected to be sold during their life. Most slaves worked on plantations where they were more likely to face brutality through direct violence or the elements. Solomon Northup in 12 Years a Slave describes toiling on a cotton plantation:

In the latter part of August begins the cotton-picking season. At this time each slave is presented with a sack...When a new hand, one unaccustomed to the business, is sent for the first time into the field, he is whipped up smartly, and made for that day to pick as fast as he can possibly. At night it is weighed, so that his capability in cotton picking is known. He must bring in the same weight each night following. If it falls short, it is considered evidence that he has been laggard, and a greater or less number of lashes is the penalty. 

Slavery's oppression had its limits. Despite laws prohibiting it some owners taught slaves, especially house-slaves, how to read - by 1865 10% of slaves were literate. Frederick Douglass in 1845 described how his mistress started teaching him until her master prohibited it, and then in secret he got local children to help him learn. Meanwhile, some slaves were used as overseers and were allowed to use arms. Slaves also resisted, normally through means such as go-slows, breaking ploughs, filling their cotton sacks with rocks etc. Rebellion did happen - such as those led by Denmark Vesey (1822) and Nat Turner (1831) - but unlike their Caribbean counterparts in Haiti and Jamaica they were brutally crushed and resulted in harsh reprisals. Free blacks were massacred by whites following Nat Turner's rebellion as an example, and as he was a preacher sermons were rigidly restricted. Escapes could happen - the Underground Railroad organised by Harriet Tubman helped many slaves escape to the North or Canada. Due to the difficulties, especially following the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law, runaway slaves were mostly fit young men. Most slave narratives, where we get the most information about the conditions of slavery, were written by those with unique circumstances - Henry 'Box' Brown mailed himself to Philadelphia and freedom, Frederick Douglass managed to educate himself, and Solomon Northup was a freeman from the North who was kidnapped. There are also issues of self-editing - Harriet Jacobs had to downplay sexual violence performed on her. Regardless, these accounts were integral to the abolitionist movement - Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman put pressure on Lincoln to fight slavery. In the 1930s the WPA got historians to interview former slaves and many were forced to change their accounts to accommodate white historians. When interviewed by African-Americans they were far more honest - one woman gave an entirely different account to the story she told a white historian.

Frederick Douglass

Slave culture also emerged. Through folk stories and songs which last to this day, and helped inspire later music genres, including the blues. With their families being torn apart (Northup describes vividly the trauma a woman named Eliza goes through as she is separated from her children), violence, and poor living conditions a culture developed to cope with it all. African folklore, music, and crafts merged with American counterparts, and Christianity offered solace to many. Abolitionist movements started becoming strong. Due to restrictions they were largely limited to the North where slavery had long since died out. Frederick Douglass became a icon in the abolitionist movement, and his writings became widespread. Many of the later proponents of women's suffrage, including Susan B. Anthony, made their mark by first engaging in abolition.

The Road to Disunion

Where the origins of the Civil War lie has been hotly debated; William Freehling, whom I took the term 'The Road to Disunion' from, placed the origins all the way back to 1776. The American Revolution had left the question of slavery unanswered and the emphasis on a union of states meant that many in the US identified far more with their state than the nation. Furthermore, everything about the US was geared to a compromise between slavery and non-slavery - Washington D.C. is located where it is due to this compromise. In 1819 Missouri started drafting a constitution to join the Union, however, there were debates about whether it should be a slave-state - in 1820 Senator Jesse Thomas of Illinois proposed that Missouri could be a slave-state if Maine, which had long abolished slavery, was also accepted into the Union, and remaining territory below Missouri's southern boundary would allow slavery. The 'Missouri Compromise' would become a focal point in debates over slavery. Over the next thirty years the North and South would become further polarised. While the South remained rural to preserve slavery the North became industrialised and urban - New York's population rose from 33,131 people in 1800 to 813,669 in 1860. Things again came to ahead in 1846 with the Mexican-American War - seen as one of the major events in causing the Civil War. Abolitionists, including the young Abraham Lincoln, criticised the war for supporting slavery and the annexation of half of Mexico in 1848 raised the issue of slavery once more. Four positions emerged about the newly annexed territory: the first, 'Free Soil' suggested by David Wilmot that slavery should be banned in the West; the second suggested by President James Polk, was extending the Missouri Compromise to the Pacific; the third, was suggested by John Calhoun who argued that slaveowners should be able to take slaves to federal land if they wished; and finally, was the idea of 'Popular Sovereignty' which suggested allowing people in the territories decide. People had hoped that they would have a long time to reach a compromise - the discovery of gold in California in 1848 caused 500,000 to move there in three years. The Compromise of 1850 tried to sort it out: the Texan borders were fixed and admitted as a slave state; California was admitted as a free state; Utah and New Mexico Territories could decide whether to become slave or free; the slave trade, but not slavery, was abolished in D.C.; and a new stringent Fugitive Slave Act was passed bringing the issue of slavery to the doors of Northerners.

A depiction of Harpers Ferry

The Compromise didn't help. Abolitionists and pro-slavers became more intense. In 1852 Uncle Tom's Cabin became widely read in the North as the pro-slavery Democrats came to power in the election of that year when the opposing Whigs fell apart. This brings us to Sectional Crisis of the 1850s. In 1854 Democrats Stephen Douglas proposed the building of a Trans-Continental Railroad through unorganised federal territory, however, the Missouri Compromise meant that Douglas couldn't make it a slave state. Douglas ensured that the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed splitting the territory in two where 'popular will' would determine whether it would be a free or slave state. To try and tip the balance pro and anti-slavery settlers moved to Kansas causing 'Bleeding Kansas'. A sporadic civil war, where Native Americans lost the most as they had their lands taken from them, broke out. However, the passing of the act upset Northern Democrats and some joined with the Whigs to form a new party - originally called the Anti-Nebraska Party it soon became known as the Republican Party. This was a party made of abolitionists, disaffected Democrats, and former Whigs, including Lincoln. The new party soon was caught in the intense politics of the 1850s. Bleeding Kansas even saw violence in Congress: Republican Charles Sumner in 1856 blamed the South for Kansas so was beaten with a cane by South Carolina Senator Preston Brooks. Brooks was dismissed, but shortly after re-elected, and his supporters wore necklaces of broken canes to show their support for him. Meanwhile, militant abolitionist John Brown became enraged by Brooks so continued intense fighting in Kansas. In October 1859, aided by information supplied by Harriet Tubman but opposed by Frederick Douglass, Brown and 21 other men raided Harpers Ferry, Virginia with the intention of seizing the armoury in order to aid an uprising to free the southern slaves. His raid failed and his execution made him a martyr for abolition. The 1857 Supreme Court decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford further enraged abolitionists when the court declared that black Americans were not citizens.

The bombardment of Fort Sumter

The straw that broke the camel's back would be the 1860 election. The previous election had heavily divided the US - especially on North-South lines - and the serving president, James Buchanan, had done little to solve the issue. In 1860 the Republicans had chose Lincoln to be their presidential candidate, he seemed the perfect choice: an ardent supporter of the Union, was from Illinois so could carry 'doubtful states', publicly opposed the anti-immigrant Know-Nothing Party so could attract immigrant votes, and had expressed abolitionist sentiments in the past. However, he was feared in the South despite his moderation. Lincoln openly called for the halt in the expansion of slavery - not its abolition - but he was seen as paving the way for an abolitionist president. Meanwhile, the Democrats became split on regional lines, so during the election Lincoln took both the North and 40% of the popular vote. This caused South Carolina in December 1860 to secede, the next month six other states followed, and Mississippi Senator Jefferson Davis was elected president of the newly declared Confederate States of America (CSA). At his inaugural address Lincoln attempted accommodation stating that 'I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery' but also warned that 'In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war'. As this was happening, since January 1861, CSA forces had surrounded Fort Sumter which was a fort, held by 15 Union soldiers, in Charleston Harbor. Lincoln decided to make the CSA fire first - he sent a ship with food to the fort causing the CSA to fire on Sumter. The major surrendered, more states seceded, but the South had began fighting.

Lincoln

I briefly want to discuss Abraham Lincoln and his involvement. Lincoln came from a humble farming family in Kentucky, protested the war with Mexico, and had a successful career as a lawyer in Illinois where he also got into politics. Depending on what sources you read you can get the idea that he was an abolitionist, in others that he was firmly against abolition. In the 1858 debate with Senator Stephen Douglas he declared that Douglas 'is not in favor of making any difference between slavery and liberty' while in his inaugural address vowed not to 'interfere with the institution of slavery'. Albeit, in the Douglas debate he firmly stated that while an African-American 'is as much entitled to these [rights] as the white man...he is not my equal in many respects'. Lincoln can be described as a 'quasi-abolitionist'. He re-entered politics thanks to Kansas-Nebraska stating that he 'hated slavery as much as any abolitionist' but the key phrase is 'as any abolitionist' - although detesting slavery he was willing to compromise. He saw slavery's expansion as snuffing out American liberty but could accept its continuation. During the Civil War he firmly became an abolitionist thanks to the influence of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, and through political pragmatism. Hence why a year after he famously wrote that if he could preserve the Union without freeing a slave he would, he would issue the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln can, therefore, be described as a quasi or moderate abolitionist.

The War

The First Battle of Bull Run

My speciality is political and socio-cultural history so I am not confident with military history. As a result, I won't go into too much detail about the fighting itself. At first everyone believed that it was meant to be a short war - the Battle of Bull Run/Manassas of 21 July 1861 was originally envisioned as the only battle that would take place. Instead it turned into a bloody mess between two untrained armies and the war would last until 1865 claiming somewhere between 620,000 and 750,000 lives. At first it was unclear who would win. The North had greater manpower, resources, and industry whereas the South had the better generals and cotton. Cotton was very important in the global textile economy and the CSA had hoped to use that to entice Europe into aiding them. Napoleonic France did consider it - Louis Napoleon wanted a free hand in Latin America which a unified US prevented - and these plans were only abandoned when Britain refused to intervene. Secession had created intense patriotism - in the North there was the obvious desire to preserve the Union, but why did Southern whites join? After all, there were Unionists in the South - West Virginia exists today as it chose to secede from Virginia - and not all slaves states joined the CSA. Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware all also chose to remain in the Union. Joseph Glatthaar has explained why average whites joined - $11 a month was a good wage for them, pride in the South, a hope that meeting wealthier soldiers could create post-war contacts, white supremacy (you're not the bottom of society when there are slaves), and a desire that they too could own slaves in the future. 

Aftermath of Antietam

The Union relied on Winfield Scott's 'Anaconda Plan' - Scott was the highest ranking general who planned to encircle and squeeze the Confederates. The navy would blockade the ports, the army would occupy the Mississippi river, and then, as the CSA was losing resources, the cities would be easy pickings. Meanwhile, the CSA, relying on General Robert E. Lee, planned a 'Offensive-Defensive' strategy - they would be primarily defensive and would make a few incursions into Union territory. At first, the CSA saw quick success. Using railways they managed to resupply their army at Bull Run and the disastrous Peninsula Campaign of March-July 1862 allowed Lee to route the flotilla army. The Union had hoped to land troops south of the capital of Richmond and march north but they were intercepted by Lee. In September Lee pushed into the Union hoping that a decisive victory would encourage Europe to recognise the CSA - at Antietam/Sharpsburg the Union won a narrow victory. The decisive turning point, however, were the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg in July 1863. As Lee pushed into Pennsylvania Union General Ulysses Grant was taking city after city along the Mississippi. Gettysburg was one of the most destructive battles - three days of fighting claiming 51,112 casualties and the destruction of Lee's army. Simultaneously, Grant lay siege to the last fort, Vicksburg, and during a lengthy siege, aided by naval bombardment, the fort fell. It was a disaster for the CSA - the Army of Potomac had smashed Lee's forces as Grant captured 30,000 soldiers. The Union got a morale boost thanks to this. Grant was put in charge of the eastern forces as William Tecumseh Sherman was placed in the west. Between the two the CSA began collapsing, even after costly defeats - Grant saw 2,000 casualties in 20 minutes when he attacked Cold Harbor in Virginia. In 1864 there were two campaigns: Overland under Lee and the 'March to the Sea' under Sherman. Grant aimed to pick off Lee's forces in Virginia - at the end of six weeks of fighting Grant lost 60,000 to Lee's 30,000 in intense trench warfare. It aimed to give Lee no breathing room and it succeeded, albeit it earned Grant the title of 'butcher of men'. Sherman aimed to move from Chattanooga to Atlanta destroying local infrastructure in order to break the CSA's economy. It succeeded and in September 1864 Atlanta fell. It would take until April 1865 though for the war to finally end when Lee surrendered at Appomattox.

A Civil War submarine

The Civil War saw incredible changes to warfare. Like the Crimean War it brought the brutal reality of war to the homefront - injured men from trench warfare returned home missing limbs and photos from Antietam became widely distributed. When abolition became a firm part of the North;s aims photos of the freed slave Gordon was also distributed. Telegraphs and railways allowed the quick distribution of supplies and orders - something not seen in many wars before. Trains were perhaps the most important arsenal in fighting the war - troops could quickly be transported across the nation and Atlanta was Sherman's desire as it was the centre of the CSA's railway. Hot air balloons were first used to spy on Confederate lines, and the Confederates tried to use the first submarines to break the Union's naval blockade. Drafting was used to actually get fighters when volunteers started growing thin - the 1863 New York draft riot soon developed into a race riot when whites started attacking African-Americans whom they blamed for the war. In the South drafting exposed divisions in society leading to what African-American historian Charles Wesley in 1937 to describe as 'Rich Man's War, Poor Man's Fight'. Those who owned 20 slaves, later 15, were exempt from the draft which meant poor whites were more likely to be drafted.

African-Americans and Abolition

The photo of Gordon

The Civil War was caused by slavery and ended slavery. The Confederates, and many Unionists, portrayed the war as a fight to end or preserve the Union, but throughout the war it firmly became linked to slavery. Immediately, General Benjamin Butler declared any captured slaves 'contraband of war', they were not free but not slaves either, despite official protests who feared the border states seceding. It soon became a successful policy, aided by the immense numbers of fleeing slaves, and by the end of 1861 became official policy, and led to the formalisation of the Confiscation Acts. African-Americans were very influential in driving policy - the Confiscation Acts were only passed due to the numbers of slaves escaping. Meanwhile, prominent individuals were influencing Lincoln - he changed his plans to send emancipated slaves to Liberia to what would become the Reconstruction policy. After something would happen which would be known as the 'Second Revolution', writing in London Karl Marx wrote that 'Up to now we have witnessed only the first act of the Civil War - the constitutional waging of war. The second act, the revolutionary waging of war, is at hand'. The Battle of Antietam gave Lincoln the opportunity the begin emancipation and issued the Emancipation Proclamation. From January 1 1863 3 million states in unoccupied Confederate land 'henceforth shall be freed'. In reality, very few slaves were directly freed by the Proclamation but it transformed the Union army into a liberating one - as it marched south it would free the slaves. The capture of Atlanta allowed Lincoln to be re-elected allowing the Thirteenth Amendment which abolished slavery. For this reason John Wilkes Booth assassinated Lincoln in 1865.

The 54th Massachusetts regiment

African-Americans fought in the war as well. Douglass had been lobbying Lincoln to allow African-Americans to serve but he was fearful that it would anger the border states. Instead, originally they were used as scouts and spies, (including Harriet Tubman), as well as cooks, cleaners, and builders for fortifications. Lincoln eventually relented, especially as volunteers began becoming thin on the ground, and segregated units led by white officers were formed. In a white supremacist nation they were paid less, given worse assignments, and blamed in draft riots, but when they fought they dispelled the notion of black inferiority created by centuries of dehumanisation. The photo of Gordon became a rallying cry so by 1865 2,000 black soldiers had enlisted. The Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts regiment became one of the most famous African-American regiments, and Lincoln purposefully chose to be surrounded by black guards when he visited Richmond when the Confederates surrendered. However, the Confederates were very unwilling to view African-Americans as legitimate soldiers. Acting as an existential threat to southern slavery the white officer was executed and the soldiers were either taken as slaves or executed. A famous example was the 1864 Fort Pillow Massacre. Future founder of the Ku Klux Klan, Nathan Bedford Forrest, butchered the African-American garrison who had surrendered. 

Women and the War

Women also played a role in the war. As we have seen Harriet Tubman was integral in influencing Lincoln and aiding the Union army. For northern women new opportunities were offered by the war. Setting the stage for the First World War women became nurses and founded the American branch of the Red Cross. Grassroots relief campaigns emerged as part of the newly formed United States Sanitary Commission which gathered money, medical supplies, clothing, and books for both soldiers and freedmen. Women were integral in forming the Sanitary Fairs as New York City's three-week long fair of 1864 raised over $1 million. Clara Barton went out of her way to help injured soldiers personally nursing wounded soldiers and helped organise supply lines. As the war progressed women increasingly engaged in nursing, factory work, and white-collar jobs, however, sexism meant that their actions were ignored or seen as an extension of their 'natural' care-giving role. As suffrage movements placed emphasis on supporting the war this meant that they could not capitalise on their efforts. However, this discrimination meant that feminists emerged after the war to fight for women''s rights - Mary Livermore in Chicago became a noted example. Confederate women served similar roles where Rose Greenhow even ran an espionage service in D.C.! However, only wealthy women managed to take advantage of the opportunities offered by their male relatives going to war. Small farms collapsed with the absence of extra hands, unable to compete with plantations, so flooded Confederate authorities with letters demanding assistance. Independence seemed to be unfeasible in women's letters and led a bread riot in 1863. It was so devastating for the Confederacy that Jefferson Davis literally threw money at women rioting to get them to go away!

Why the North won

Atlanta's devastated railroad

Advantages the South had over the North soon vanished by 1863. The rise of Sherman and Grant gave the North effective generals - especially after one of the South's best generals, Stonewall Jackson, was accidentally shot and killed by his own side. The urbanised North with greater industrial power, production, telegraphs, and railways gave the North a far greater strategic advantage compared to the Confederacy. Sherman's destruction of infrastructure decimated the South's already feeble industry. Slave economies hampered the South, especially following the Emancipation Proclamation. Europe had firmly turned against slavery so defeat at Antietam and Gettysburg, as well as Lincoln proclaiming emancipation, alienated Europe from intervening - Lincoln was proudly declared the 'Great Emancipator', statues of him were built in Edinburgh, and he was made a citizen of San Marino. The CSA had banked on Britain, in particular, supporting them due to cotton; instead Britain increased cotton farming in India, to the expense of Indians, and began buying from Egypt. The Emancipation Proclamation encouraged slaves to flee which deprived the Confederacy of their labour. Hyperinflation hit. Not only was the CSA attempting to fight a war but also trying to create a new nation, they had printed new textbooks to be taught in schools and issued new currencies. To fund this they took out huge loans and printed more money. In 1862 bacon cost 33 cents, it rose to $7.50 in 1865. Wages for soldiers started shrinking leading to desertions from poorer whites, and 1 million refugees were created thanks to the fighting. Through these reasons the North won the war.

Presidential vs. Radical Reconstruction

It is one thing to win a war but another thing to win a peace. As shown by Eric Foner Reconstruction did not begin with the official surrender - Lincoln had planned, and started implementing, Reconstruction as early as 1863. It had two aims: re-admit the seceded states and emancipate the former slaves. However, there were divisions about how this should be done. Of course, Lincoln by this time had pushed for emancipation with the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment, but there were limits. Lincoln drafted the 10% - if 10% of voters pledged loyalty to the Union the state could be readmitted - whereas 'Radical Republicans' in Congress wanted it to be at 50%. In the end, Lincoln vetoed Radical Republican requests. In March 1865 the Freedman's Bureau was formed to help refugees and help freed slaves in their transition from slaves to freedom. We will never know how Lincoln would have overseen post-war Reconstruction thanks to Booth's bullet. His vice-president, Andrew Johnson, was a Democrat, an anti-abolitionist, and only chosen to be Lincoln's vice-president as a way to reconcile the South. Johnson clashed with Radical Republicans, especially Thaddeus Stevens who was a firm abolitionist. Again, if Stevens had not died of old age in 1868 Reconstruction could have been a greater success. In contrast to Republican wishes Johnson reduced Union military presence from 152,000 to 38,000 within a year, and pardoned 7,000 Confederate leaders. He further tried to veto the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments - legal equality before the law and the right to vote based on race - and was almost impeached. 

A cartoon of the Freedmen's Bureau

In 1868 Ulysses Grant was elected president and was more than willing to make Reconstruction work. Oliver Howard was given greater power over the Freedmen's Bureau. The Bureau aimed to educated newly freed slaves and divide former plantation land in order to create independent black farmers. 'Forty acres and a Mule' was promised for newly freed slaves, but education saw successes. By 1870 over 1,000 new schools for African-Americans were formed. Grant was also keen to break opposition to Reconstruction, and groups like the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) began diminishing as Reconstruction went along. As we'll see, initial successes turned to ash.

Failures

It is undeniable that Reconstruction failed - an 'unfinished revolution' in the words of Eric Foner. Despite opposition from Radical Republicans the white planter class soon took control of the South again, and it became worse when key Radicals, like Stevens, were sidelined, retired or died. As early as 1867 the medical systems of the Freedmen's Bureau was dismantled and by 1872 the project was abandoned entirely. Whites soon moved to ensured that newly emancipated slaves lost access to political and economic freedom. Whites from the North were described as 'carpetbaggers' as their white allies in the South were called 'scalawags' - both were subjected to violence. African-Americans and their allies were regularly terrorised by white supremacist militias, most notably the KKK, who were controlled by planters. Unlike later versions the Reconstruction era KKK were less organised and hierarchical; many of the symbolism and actions we associate with the KKK comes from the movie Birth of a Nation. Lynchings, arson attacks, and race riots became endemic in the South. White elites also sought to disenfranchise freed slaves. In 1869 a former slave in Tennessee said that 'I do not see none of my color in office...When a white man kills a black man by having black men on the jury bench we then could defend our rights before the law'. However, the 'Black Codes', the precursors to Jim Crow, stripped free slaves of their rights. In 1870 an Alabama court made a beaten black woman raise $16.45 to take her attackers to court believing she would be unable to; when she did the case was dropped. 1872 saw Kentucky blacks were barred from testifying in court, and 1870 saw the implementation of a poll tax in Tennessee to disenfranchise blacks. 'Grandfather laws' were passed - meaning you could vote only if your grandfather could - and strict literacy tests for eligibility to vote were all implemented. Vagrancy laws forced freedmen back onto their old plantations and sharecropping indebted freedmen permanently tying them to the land. 1877 Reconstruction came to an end. The Republicans lost the popular vote but won the Electoral College - to get the presidency they made a deal with the Democrats. They would build a railroad and abandon Reconstruction for the presidency. 

Black Reconstruction

Hiram Revels

William Du Bois has highlighted how Reconstruction was not an entire failure when looking at it from the bottom up. This view later influenced Eric Foner. For newly freed slaves it offered a brief 'time in the sun'. The passing of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, as well as the 1866 Civil Rights Act, affirming all citizens are equal before the law, allowed African-Americans assert their own civil rights. Furthermore, before the implementation of the Black Codes there were African-American politicians who rose to prominence in the South. Jonathan Gibbs became Secretary of State for Florida, Hiram Revels became Senator for Mississippi, Jefferson Long became Representative for Georgia, and Josiah T. Wells became Representative for Florida to name a few. Even after through disenfranchisement and political intrigue they lost their positions and the vote what began under Reconstruction continued. Black faith and education managed to exist despite white opposition forming a separate and thriving black community. Thanks to this, Eric Foner has argued that the Civil Rights Movement became the 'Second Reconstruction'. Emancipation in the 1860s and 1870s allowed the formation of new communities which could resist oppression, and created the conditions for the generation of Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks to express their rights.

Conclusion

The statue of General Lee, the Confederate army flag, and Nazi imagery at Charlottesville in 2017

It is easy to see why Reconstruction is seen as a 'second' or 'unfinished' revolution. Through war Americans started identifying themselves with their own country instead of their own state. It further destroyed the slave system and gave freedom to 4 million people. Reconstruction showed an attempt to create a new society, and the failure to do so set the stage for the continued oppression of African-Americans. Meanwhile, memories of the Civil War have been insidiously been shifted for political purposes. The 'Lost Cause Myth' has shaped discussions of the Civil War to be about Southern emancipation in the face of Northern aggression, you may see it referred to as the 'War of Northern Aggression', where slavery is downplayed. Many of the statues, or places named after, Confederate leaders were erected around the time when African-American civil rights movements were growing, 1900-20 and 1950-60. Recently the alt-right has used the Civil War to push white supremacy - as seen with the 2017 Charlottesville Protest which saw the alt-right murder a protester. This revising of history has become ingrained in American culture - Gone with the Wind romanticises the Confederacy while the play The Clansman, and its film adaption Birth of a Nation, led to the return of the KKK in 1915 as it portrays the KKK as heroes. Although the parties have shifted Republicans today still claim to be the 'Party of Lincoln' - ironic considering Lincoln saw one of the greatest state interventions in US history - and until the 1930s African-Americans overwhelmingly voted Republican. What is important to remember is the importance of African-Americans in the Civil War and Reconstruction - they ensured that slavery was destroyed and that their rights could survive long after the government lost interest.

The sources I have used are as follows:

-David Herbert Donald, Jean Harvey Baker, and Michael F. Holt, Civil War and Reconstruction, (New York, NY: 2001)

-Eric Foner, Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877, Updated Edition, (New York, NY: 2014)

-Eric Foner, Give Me Liberty! An American History, Fourth Edition, (New York, NY: 2014)

-Solomon Northup, 12 Years a Slave, (London: 1853/2014)

-Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, (Boston, MA: 1861)

-Frederick Douglass, Narrative  of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, (Boston, MA: 1845)

-William Du Bois, Black Reconstruction, (New York, NY: 1935)

-Gore Vidal, (ed.), Selected Speeches and Writings by Abraham Lincoln, (New York, NY: 1992)

-Joseph Glatthaar, 'Everyman's War: A Rich and Poor Man's Fight in Lee's Army', Civil War History, 54:3, (2008), 229-246

-William Freehling, The Road to Disunion: Volume 1, Secessionists at Bay, 1776-1854, (Oxford: 1990)

Thank you for reading. Next time we will be looking at the British Empire in India. For other World History posts we have a list here. For future blog updates please see our Facebook or catch me on Twitter @LewisTwiby.