On the record
Every effort will be made to prevent negroes from acquiring lands; and even the renting of small tracts to them is held to be unpatriotic and unworthy of a good citizen.
Said by
Whitelaw Reid
Source
gutenberg.orgWhitelaw Reid: “Every effort will be made to prevent negroes from acquiring lands; and even the renting of small tracts to them is held…”
Editor's note · Context
Reid highlights the societal resistance against African Americans acquiring land post-Civil War.
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They should strive for distinction by economy, by industry, by sobriety, by patient perseverance in well-doing, by constant improvement of religious instruction, and by the constant practice of Christian virtues.
And it is both natural and right that colored Americans, entitled to the rights of citizens, should claim their exercise.
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