Scalawag facts for kids

In United States history, the word scalawag described white Southerners who supported Reconstruction policies after the American Civil War.

Just like the word carpetbagger, "scalawag" was often used as an insult in the South. People who were against scalawags after the Civil War said they were disloyal to old traditions and to the idea of white supremacy (the belief that white people are superior). Southern Democrats in the 1860s and 1870s especially hated scalawags. They called them "traitors to their region" because the South was known for widespread slavery. Before the Civil War, most scalawags had been against the Southern states (the Confederacy) leaving the United States.

Today, historians often use the term "scalawag" to describe white Southern Republicans from the Reconstruction Era. However, some historians avoid it because it was originally an insult.

What Does "Scalawag" Mean?

The word "scalawag" is an old term that means a dishonest or worthless person. It might have first been used for low-quality farm animals. But after the Civil War, it became a political insult. People used it to describe white Southerners who joined with Black freedmen (formerly enslaved people) and Northerners (called carpetbaggers) to take control of state and local governments in the South.

One historian, Ted Tunnel, noted that dictionaries from the 1860s defined "scalawag" as "a low worthless fellow." Newspapers in 1868 also said it meant "mean, lean, mangy, hidebound, skiny, worthless cattle." Only later did the word get its political meaning.

A witness in a court case in 1868 described a scalawag as "a Native born Southern white man who says he is no better than a negro and tells the truth when he says it." This shows how the term was used to insult white people who supported equal rights for Black people.

Even though it was an insult, many historians now use "scalawag" to talk about this group of people without meaning it in a bad way.

Reconstruction and Scalawags

After the American Civil War, during the Reconstruction Era (1863-1869), Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson wanted to bring the South back to normal quickly. But Radical Republicans in Congress wanted to make stricter rules and give more rights to the Freedmen. In the South, Black Freedmen and white Southerners who supported the Republican Party teamed up with Northerners who had moved South (the "Carpetbaggers"). Together, they worked to carry out the Republican Party's plans.

Scalawags were a minority, but they gained power because of the Reconstruction laws of 1867. These laws stopped many Southern white voters from participating if they couldn't take the Ironclad Oath. This oath required them to swear they had never helped the Confederate army or government. This meant many former Confederates could not vote or hold office.

This group of Republicans controlled almost every former Confederate state (except Virginia), as well as Kentucky and Missouri, for different periods between 1866 and 1877. Two famous scalawags were General James Longstreet, a top general for Robert E. Lee, and Joseph E. Brown, who was Georgia's governor during the war.

By the 1870s, many scalawags left the Republican Party. They joined the conservative-Democrat group instead. By 1877, conservative Democrats had replaced all Republican governments in the South. This happened after the disputed 1876 United States presidential election, where the remaining Reconstruction governments had supported the Republican candidate, even though the Democratic candidate had won the states.

Historian John Hope Franklin explained that many different Southerners became involved in Reconstruction. Their main goal was to support a party that would build the South on a broader base, not just the wealthy plantation owners. They found it useful to work with Black people and carpetbaggers. But often, they returned to the Democratic Party once it became strong again in Southern politics.

Most scalawags eventually joined the Democratic Redeemer group. A smaller number stayed Republicans. They formed the "Black and Tan" Republican party, which was a small part of the Republican Party in every Southern state after 1877.

Most of the 430 Republican newspapers in the South were run by scalawags. Only about 20% were run by carpetbaggers. White business owners often avoided Republican newspapers, which survived mostly because of government support.

Scalawags in Alabama

In Alabama, scalawags were very important in the Alabama Republican Party. Between 1868 and 1881, 117 Republicans were chosen for important state and federal jobs. This included 76 white Southerners, 35 Northerners, and 6 formerly enslaved people. In state offices during Reconstruction, white Southerners were even more common.

Historian Wiggins noted that white Republicans and Democrats both wanted Black votes. But white Republicans were slow to give Black people nominations for office, and only when necessary. Even then, they kept the best jobs for white people. This meant that neither Black nor white Republicans were fully happy. The main weakness of the Republican Party in Alabama was that it couldn't create a party where both races worked together equally. Also, when they were in power, they failed to protect their members from violence by Democrats.

Scalawags in Mississippi

One of the most well-known scalawags was James L. Alcorn from Mississippi. He was chosen for the U.S. Senate in 1865. But like all Southerners, he couldn't take his seat while Congress was deciding on Reconstruction. He supported voting rights for freedmen and agreed with the Fourteenth Amendment, as Congress demanded.

Alcorn became a leader of the scalawags, who made up about one-third of the Republicans in Mississippi. They worked with carpetbaggers and freedmen. Alcorn was elected governor by Republicans in 1869 and served from 1870 to 1871. He wanted to modernize the state. He appointed many former Whigs who thought like him, even if they were Democrats. He strongly supported education, including public schools for Black students only, and a new college for them, now called Alcorn State University. He helped his friend Hiram Rhodes Revels become its president.

Alcorn resigned as governor to become a U.S. Senator (1871–1877). He replaced his friend Hiram Revels, who was the first African American senator. As a senator, Alcorn pushed for white Southerners to get their political rights back. He disagreed with Radical Republicans who wanted federal laws to force social equality. He also spoke out against a federal tax on cotton and supported separate schools for both races in Mississippi. Even though he used to own slaves, he called slavery "a cancer upon the body of the Nation." He said he and many other Southerners were glad it was gone.

Alcorn had a big political fight with Senator Adelbert Ames, a carpetbagger who led the other group of Republicans in Mississippi. This fight split the party. Most Black people supported Ames, but many, including Revels, supported Alcorn. In 1873, they both ran for governor. Ames won, and Alcorn left state politics.

Newton Knight has become more famous since the 2016 movie Free State of Jones was released.

Mountain Republicans

Mountain areas like Appalachia were often Republican strongholds. People there owned few slaves. They were often poor and had bad transportation. They also disliked the wealthy politicians from the Low Country who controlled the Confederacy and later the conservative Democrats. Areas in West Virginia, eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, western Virginia and North Carolina, and the Ozark region of northern Arkansas became Republican areas. These rural people had a long history of disliking the rich plantation owners. They supported the Union during the war. Andrew Johnson was a leader who came from these areas. They welcomed Reconstruction and many of the ideas of the Radical Republicans in Congress.

Were Scalawags Corrupt?

Some historians, like those from the Dunning School, believed that scalawags were corrupt. They thought scalawags were financially and politically dishonest and supported bad government for their own gain. One historian said that both scalawags and Democrats were eager to get money for projects they had a personal interest in. They didn't care much about how they got laws passed to help them. Also, the record-keeping of both Republicans and Democrats was often messy.

However, historian Eric Foner argues that there isn't enough proof that scalawags were more or less corrupt than politicians at any other time.

Who Were These White Southern Republicans?

White Southern Republicans included people who had secretly been against slavery before the war. They also included former slave owners who later supported equal rights for freedmen. A famous example of the latter was Samuel F. Phillips, who later argued against segregation in the famous Plessy v. Ferguson court case. Some people also became Republicans simply because it offered more chances for a successful political career.

Many historians describe scalawags as being from a less wealthy or famous social class than the elite plantation owners.

As Thomas Alexander showed in 1961, many Southerners continued to support the ideas of the old Whig Party after 1865. Many former Whigs became Republicans who wanted to modernize the South through education and better roads and railroads. However, many also joined the Redeemers. The Redeemers successfully ended the brief period of civil rights for African Americans during Reconstruction. They replaced it with the Jim Crow era of segregation and second-class citizenship, which lasted into the 20th century.

Historian James Alex Baggett studied this group in his book The Scalawags.

See also

In Spanish: Scalawag para niños