Men
were to be sold for the crime of being out of work. Their
old masters were to have the preference in the purchase. So
the whole Republican Party of the North came to be united
in the belief that there could be no security for the liberty
of the freedman without the ballot.
It is said that this reconstruction policy has been a failure.
Undoubtedly it has not gained all that was hoped for it by
its advocates. But looking back now I do not believe that
any other policy would have done as well as that has done,
although a large part of what was designed by the Republican
leaders of the period of reconstruction never was accomplished.
A complete system of education at the National charge was
an essential element of the reconstruction policy. It was
earnestly advocated by Sumner and by Grant and by Edmunds
and by Evarts. But there were other Republicans of great
influence who resisted it from the beginning. Among these
was Senator Eugene Hale of Maine, a very accomplished Senator,
an able debater and a man of large influence with his colleagues.
His public life has been one of great distinction and usefulness.
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