to see that the President was likely to lose in
his fight with Congress.

Now began, in the latter half of 1866, with some cooperation in the
North and probably with the approval of the President, a movement in the
South to forestall the radicals by means of a settlement which, although
less severe than the proposed Fourteenth Amendment, might yet be
acceptable to Congress. One feature of the settlement was to be some
form of Negro suffrage, either by local action or by constitutional
amendment. Those behind this scheme were mainly of the former governing
class. Negro suffrage, they thought, would take the wind out of the
radical sails, the Southern whites would soon be able to control the
blacks, representation in Congress would be increased, and the Black
Belt would perhaps regain its former political hegemony. It is hardly
necessary to say that the majority of the whites were solidly opposed to
such a measure. But it was hoped to carry it under pressure through
the legislature or to bring it about indirectly through rulings of the
Freedmen's Bureau.

Coincident with this scheme of partial Negro suffrage an attempt
was made by the conservative leaders in Washington, working with the
Southerners, to propose a revised Fourteenth Amendment which would
give the vote to competent Negroes and not disfranchise the whites. A
conference of Southern governors met in Washington early in 1867 and
drafted such an amendment. But, it was too late.

Meanwhile the Fourteenth Amendment submitted by Congress had been
brought before the Southern legislatures, and during the winter of
1866-67 it was rejected by all of them. There was strong opposition
to it because it disfranchised the leading whites, but perhaps the
principal reason for its rejection was that the Southern people were not
sure that still more severe conditions might not be imposed later.

While the President was "restoring" the states which had seceded and
struggling with Congress, the Border States of the South, including
Tennessee (which was admitted in 1866 by reason of its radical state
government), were also in the throes of reconstruction. Though there was
less military interference in these than in the other states, many of
the problems were similar. All had the Freedmen's Bureau, the Negro
race, the Unionists, and the Confederates; in every state, except
Kentucky, Confederates were persecuted, the minority was in control, and
"ring" rule was the order of the