Whitelaw Reid: “The war, according to these negroes, had, in some respects, made…”

On the record

The war, according to these negroes, had, in some respects, made slavery harder for them than before.

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Whitelaw Reid

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This observation points to the paradox of freedom, where the aftermath of war led to increased hardships for some freed individuals.

More from Whitelaw Reid

We are all washed under, and the most of us only live peaceable lives by the sufferance of our Rebel neighbors.

We must, then, be prepared with a policy for maintaining it ourselves.

I would rather give up my crop to the negroes than the lives of my wife and children.

But, in the main, they are surprisingly orderly, and cases of serious violence among them are quite rare.

Whitelaw Reid: “The war, according to these negroes, had, in some respects, made slavery harder for them than before.”