REPORT ON THE CONDITION OF THE SOUTH[1]
Sir:—When you did me the honor of selecting me for a mission to the States lately in rebellion, for the purpose of inquiring into the existing condition of things, of laying before you whatever information of importance I might gather, and of suggesting to you such measures as my observations would lead me to believe advisable, I accepted the trust with a profound sense of the responsibility connected with the performance of the task. The views I entertained at the time, I had communicated to you in frequent letters and conversations. I would not have accepted the mission, had I not felt that whatever preconceived opinions I might carry with me to the South, I should be ready to abandon or modify, as my perception of facts and circumstances might command their abandonment or modification. You informed me that your “policy of reconstruction” was merely experimental, and that you would change it if the experiment did not lead to satisfactory results. To aid you in forming your conclusions upon this point I understood to be the object of my mission, and this understanding was in perfect accordance with the written instructions I received through the Secretary of War.
These instructions confined my mission to the States of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and the department of the Gulf. I informed you, before
- ↑ This report accompanied President Johnson's message of Dec. 18, 1865, and is a part of Executive Document No. 11, House of Representatives, 39th Congress, 1st Session. The extensive and important documents that were printed with this report, and the direct references to those documents, have been omitted because the documents were so voluminous. In a few places the omission of these references has made it necessary for the Editor slightly to change the text, so that it will read smoothly; but, of course, the sense has been in no way altered. Whoever wishes to make a thorough study of this phase of reconstruction should consult the entire document.
