This Week in Reconstruction, June 22-30, 1867

This Week in Reconstruction, June 22-30, 1867

General Patton was set to give speeches focusing on brotherhood between the races in Richmond during his visit. Normally, General Patton lives in Towanda County in Pennsylvania. He briefly spoke from "the monument in the Square" on Saturday of this week, and promised a speech to black people to address some issues. Some black leaders and General Patton scheduled the meeting at the African church for Monday night at the African church. However, the meeting failed to take place. Radical Virginians, such as Judge Underwood, discovered that General Patton planned to speak about the history of slavery and that he would encourage the black people at the meeting not to distrust their former masters. They became angry that he was going to speak against Radical measures and "Underwood himself went to the church a few moments before the General arrived, and announced that there would be no meeting." By the time General Patton got to the meeting place the crowd had dispersed. The Dispatch became angry at this and blame Judge Underwood for dispersing the crowd. They claim that he should not have interfered and called him a partisan judge. They credit General Patton with several years as a clerk in the United States Senate and state that he should have been able to address the crowd at the African church.

June 22-30, 1867

Stacey Dec

Dec-Week-8