Scalawags

Essential Facts

• The term “scalawag” comes from a Scottish word for “rascals.”
• Scalawags were white Southerners who cooperated with the Republican Party during the Reconstruction Era.
• In the early days of Reconstruction, they were part of the Republican Party’s Southern coalition, which included Northerners known as “Carpetbaggers” and African Americans.
• Notable Scalawags were James L. Alcorn and James Longstreet.
• Scalawags sought economic progress and political stability in the South.
• Their efforts were undermined by Southern Democrats (Redeemers) and violent groups like the Ku Klux Klan.
• By 1876, most Scalawags returned to the Democratic Party.

Key Events

• 1865 — James L. Alcorn returned to Mississippi.
• 1866 — The Civil Rights Act (1866) was passed, requiring equal treatment for African Americans.
• 1868 — James Longstreet was pardoned with help from President Ulysses S. Grant and joined the Republican Party.
• 1869 — Alcorn was elected Governor of Mississippi; Longstreet became surveyor of the Port of New Orleans.
• 1876 — Most Scalawags had rejoined the Democratic Party.
• Post-Reconstruction — Sharecropping became the dominant labor system in the South, leading to widespread poverty among poor African Americans and whites.
• 1880 — Longstreet appointed U.S. Minister to Turkey.
• Late 1800s — The Republican Party’s influence in the South diminished, largely due to white Southern resentment and the rise of the Democratic Party.
• 1900 — African-American literacy rates exceed 50 percent in the South due to the public school system.

Significance

Scalawags are important to American History because of their involvement in the South during the Reconstruction Era. At the start of Reconstruction, their support for the Republican Party was essential to the development of a “New South” that integrated freed slaves into society. By 1876, most Scalawags dropped their support and joined the Democratic Party. This played a key role in ending Reconstruction in 1877.

Scalawags History and Overview

Scalawags and Reconstruction

• Scalawags were primarily white Southerners who supported the Whig Party before the Civil War and the Republican Party during Reconstruction.
• The Republican Party needed Scalawags for support in the South after the Civil War.
• Most saw Reconstruction as the path forward for the South.
• They were often viewed as traitors to the South and supporters of the “Lost Cause.”
• Critics believed Scalaways supported Northern Carpetbaggers, Republicans, and Freedmen (former slaves) at the expense of their fellow Southerners.

Common Beliefs of Scalawags

Scalawags varied in social status, economic background, and political beliefs, but they all wanted the South to develop a progressive, prosperous economy built on free labor and industrialization.

• Wealthy Scalawags in New Orleans and Atlanta needed government subsidies for railroads and textile mills.
• Farmers in North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, and Texas wanted debt relief.
• Some Scalawags were upper-class merchants and planters who supported Henry Clay’s American System and its key provisions — a national bank, internal improvements, and protective tariffs.
• Many of them had been Jacksonian Democrats who followed Henry Clay to the National Republican Party and then the Whig Party.

Yeomen Farmers and the Republican Party

• The majority of Scalawag voters were Southern Yeomen Farmers from the Piedmont Region in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.
• They were small farmers who voted for the Republican Party.
• Many had supported the Union during the Civil War and resented mistreatment by Confederates.
• Some of them had deserted the Confederate Army, avoided the draft, or joined Union forces during the war.
• They wanted to create a genuine two-party system in the South.
• Most of these farmers never owned slaves and opposed the power of the slaveholding planter class.
• They wanted to limit the influence of the planter class and needed Republican support, so they could enjoy the economic benefits of the Union.
• They did not support social equality and civil rights for Freedmen (former slaves).
• Racism and party corruption, along with violence from white Southerners, damaged the Republican Party’s future in the South.

James L. Alcorn, a Key Scalawag Leader

• James L. Alcorn was a notable Scalawag from Mississippi.
• Before the Civil War, he was a lawyer and a member of the Whig Party.
• Alcorn served as a Brigadier General in the Confederate Army.
• He returned to Mississippi in 1865 and advocated for moderate views and racial cooperation.
• Republican leaders hoped leaders like Alborn would help establish the party during Reconstruction.
• Alcorn served as both a U.S. Senator and Governor during Reconstruction.
• Alcorn believed strengthening the Republican Party in the South would contribute to stability and prosperity for the “New South.”

Challenges for Alcorn and the Republican Party

• Alcorn faced divisions within Mississippi’s Republican Party.
• White voters threatened to leave if African Americans gained too much political power.
• A majority of Republican voters were Freedmen who sought equality and civil rights.
• Alcorn was elected governor in 1869, succeeding Adelbert Ames, after Mississippi adopted a new state constitution.
• He made significant improvements and helped establish a public school system.
• Alcorn encouraged acceptance of the freedom and political rights of Freedmen.
• Intra-party disagreements and scandals weakened the Republican Party in Mississippi and other Southern states by the early 1870s.

James Longstreet, a Controversial Scalawag

• James Longstreet was a former Confederate General.
• He was one of the best officers who served under Robert E. Lee, and Lee called him his “Old Warhorse.”
• Longstreet joined the Republican Party after being pardoned in 1867.
• He was related by marriage to President Ulysses S. Grant.
• Longstreet renewed his friendship with Grant, which had been strained by the war.
• During Reconstruction, he urged Southerners to accept reconciliation with the North.
• Longstreet held important positions, including Surveyor of the Port of New Orleans in 1869 and U.S. minister to Turkey in 1880.
• Despite his efforts, he became a symbol of white Southern betrayal and was seen as the most notorious Scalawag.

Decline of Scalawags

• Scalawag faced defeat due to the legacy of slavery and racism in the South.
• They were unprepared for violent attacks from groups like the Ku Klux Klan.
• By 1876, most Scalawags had rejoined the Democratic Party and the Redeemers.
• Those who remained in the Republican Party often did so to receive benefits from the Spoils System.

Scalawags APUSH

Scalawags are part of the following units and chapters in the AP US History Curriculum:

• APUSH Unit 5: 1844–1877
  • Topic 5.10 — Reconstruction
  • Topic 5. 11 — Failure of Reconstruction
• The Ordeal of Reconstruction

Scalawags — Related Terms and Definitions

Carpetbaggers — Carpetbaggers were Southern whites who supported Reconstruction and the Republican Party. They were primarily responsible for establishing the public school system throughout the South but failed to improve the infrastructure or make significant advancements in Civil Rights. Carpetbaggers were often accused of corruption and opposed by the Redeemers, Ku Klux Klan, and other groups that opposed Reconstruction.

Ku Klux Klan — The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was a white supremacist organization that was active in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The organization, which was founded in Tennessee in 1865, promoted white supremacy and used violence and intimidation to suppress the rights and freedoms of African Americans and other minority groups. The KKK was active during the Reconstruction era and again in the 1920s, and it has continued to exist in various forms to the present day.

Presidential Reconstruction — Presidential Reconstruction refers to the period of Reconstruction in the United States following the Civil War, which was led by President Andrew Johnson. During this period, Johnson implemented a lenient policy toward the former Confederate states, allowing them to rejoin the Union without significant punishment or reforms. This approach was criticized by many as being too lenient on the former Confederates, and it ultimately led to the failure of Presidential Reconstruction.

Radical Reconstruction — Radical Reconstruction refers to the period of reconstruction in the United States following the Civil War, which was led by the Radical Republicans in Congress. During this period, Congress implemented a more aggressive policy towards the former Confederate states, requiring them to make significant reforms and grant equal rights to African Americans before being allowed to rejoin the Union.

Reconstruction Acts (1867) — The Reconstruction Acts were a series of laws passed by the U.S. Congress in 1867 that established a new system for the reconstruction of the former Confederate states. The acts divided the South into five military districts, each governed by a military governor appointed by the president. The acts also imposed stringent requirements on the former Confederate states for their re-admission to the Union, including the granting of equal rights to African Americans.