was engineered and controlled by men of such high
character as Mr. Lynch records, why should the acts accredited
to them have been of such a low character? It is not enough to
say that there were "mistakes"; the measures were too numerous
and systematic for this. It is to be noticed that Mr. Lynch does
not attempt to controvert statements of events in Mississippi,
with one or two exceptions to be considered below. To attempt to
review the conclusions to which Mr. Lynch takes exception would
involve a review of too great a mass of evidence. The web of
Reconstruction is such a tangled one, that even if one has
carefully considered a large part of the great bulk of primary
material on the subject, generalizations on the period must still
be accepted cautiously. This much may be said: Mr. Rhodes's
conclusions are in harmony with those of the other trained
historical students who have devoted time to a careful study of
this period. Mr. Lynch's racial bias, the fact that he was an
active participant in the events, and finally that his judgments
are based on his own experiences and not on a closer study of a
far wider field of material, make whatever he writes of value as
source material, but at the same time mitigate against its value
as an impartial opinion. This is especially evident from the fact
that he makes no attempt either in the article or in his book to
substantiate his statements by such references to his authorities
as modern historiography demands. His authority is of course,
himself and his recollections, and the recognition of the
treachery of the memory is a first fundamental in historical
work.

Referring to my contention that thousands of white men were identified
with the Republican party during the Reconstruction period he further
says:

A comparison of census and election statistics do not give
support to this fact; and tho such figures are far from exact,
they give a basis for generalizing superior to that of any
personal recollection, or, indeed, of anything short of a general
agreement of contemporary statements to the contrary. No such
agreement exists so far as I have been able to search. In
Tennessee, North Carolina, Arkansas, and to less extent in
Virginia and Texas, there were a considerable number of white
Republicans; bu