of Civil War times, with a few old Whigs who could
not yet bring themselves to affiliate with the Democrats. At first it
seemed that a respectable number of whites might be secured for the
radical party, but the rapid organization of the Negroes checked the
accession of whites. In the winter and spring of 1866-67, the Negroes
near the towns were well organized by the Union League and the
Freedmen's Bureau and then, after the passage of the reconstruction
acts, the organizing activities of the radical chieftains shifted to
the rural districts. The Union League was greatly extended; Union League
conventions were held to which local whites were not admitted; and
the formation of a black man's party was well on the way before the
registration of the voters was completed. Visiting statesmen from the
North, among them Henry Wilson of Massachusetts and "Pig Iron" Kelley
of Pennsylvania, toured the South in support of the radical program, and
the registrars and all Federal officials aided in the work.

* See "The Day of the Confederacy", by Nathaniel W.
Stephenson (in "The Chronicles of America"), p. 121,
footnote.

The whites, slow to comprehend the real extent of radicalism, were
finally aroused to the necessity of organizing, if they were to
influence the Negro and have a voice in the conventions. The old party
divisions were still evident. With difficulty a portion of the Whigs was
brought with the Democrats into one conservative party during the summer
and fall of 1867, though many still held aloof. The lack of the old
skilled leadership was severely felt. In places where the white man's
party was given a name, it was called "Democratic and Conservative," to
spare the feelings of former Whigs who were loath to bear the party name
of their quondam opponents.

The first step in the military reconstruction was the registration of
voters. In each State a central board of registrars was appointed by the
district commander and a local board for every county and large town.
Each board consisted of three members--all radicals--who were required
to subscribe to the "ironclad" oath. In several states one Negro was
appointed to each local board. The registrars listed Negro voters during
the day, and at night worked at the organization of a radical Republican
party. The prospective voters were required to take the oath prescribed
in the Reconstruction Act, but the registrars were empowered to
go behind the oath and