The Journal of Negro History, Volume 2, 1917

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Many of those who are free, gain a great deal of money; as I
conclude, from a ball given among themselves, at which we were
present, where, though all of a sooty black, the company was well
dressed, came in coaches, and were regaled with a good supper and
variety of refreshments.--Priscilla Wakefield, _Excursions in
North America_, 1806, p. 16 et seq.

BOOK REVIEWS

_Andrew Johnson, Military Governor of Tennessee._ By CLIFTON R. HALL,
Ph.D. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1916. Pp. 234.

This book, according to the author, is an attempt to "trace the
personality of Andrew Johnson through the years 1862-1865 when the
burden of military government and reconstruction in Tennessee rested
principally upon his shoulders." The author has intentionally
neglected to give detailed treatment of the military administration in
West Tennessee by the generals of the regular army and also of the
Federal trade regulations in the State. No effort is here made to
trace the career of Johnson after the close of his services in
Tennessee. The account is largely based on the papers of Johnson found
in the _Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies_ and on
the newspapers of that period, especially the _Nashville Union_. The
author is conscious of his failure adequately to present the
"Confederate side of many controverted points," because of "a most
regrettable dearth of material for this purpose."

Dr. Hall aims to answer certain charges, among which are such as the
assertion that Johnson purposely delayed the work of reconstruction
and that he by rather harsh treatment excluded many unquestionably
loyal men from the work of reconstruction. The purpose of the work is
to show how the lesson learned by Johnson in reconstructing his own
State constituted a training for the higher work to which he was so
suddenly and unexpectedly called. With this end in view the writer
considers first secession, and then gives a sketch of Andrew Johnson
leading up to his inauguration as Military Governor. Then follow such
topics as the defense of Nashville, repression under Rosecrans,
military and political reverses, the progress of reorganization and
the presidential campaign of 1864. Throughout the treatise an
effort is made to show the arduousness of the task of the
Governor-of-all-work had to do and how he summoned to his aid the
constructive element and reestablished order. There is given also an
account not only of the opposition of those who looked upon the
Governor as a traitor but of that of the militant factions that
divided on the question as to how the State should be reconstructed.
Lincoln's plan of reconstruction is presented as a factor which
figured largely in the problems the Governor had to solve.

How the question of slavery was then treated by the men solving the
problem of maintaining the Union is not neglected. Andrew Johnson is
referred to as product of the poor white stock that hoped to see the
evil of slavery exterminated because it was at variance with the
principles of democracy, but on the other hand believed that it was so
deeply rooted in the life of the nation that it should not be molested
so long as it "remained in strict subordination to and in harmony with
the government." The writer shows also how Johnson felt that in case
of secession the Federal Government could not coerce a State, yet
believing that this government, the best and freest on earth, should
be preserved, he undermined his own anti-coercion doctrine by
denouncing the right of secession and urging that although the Federal
Government could not coerce a State, it had a right to guarantee the
loyal citizens representing it a constitutional form of government.
Some space is given to the discussion of the exception of Tennessee
from the Emancipation Proclamation, the growing tendency of Johnson to
ignore slavery to preserve the Union, how the opponents sought to
weaken him by saying that he was opposed to the institution and
finally how he suffered it to be sacrificed to save the Union. Passing
mention is given the working out of the problem of abolition and the
proposition as to what relief and what privileges should be given the
emancipated Negroes.

J. O. BURKE

* * * * *

_The New Negro._ By WILLIAM PICKENS, Dean of Morgan College,
Baltimore. Neale Publishing Company, New York, 1916. Pp. 239.

"The New Negro" is a collection of speeches and essays through which
this well known orator has endeavored to present his views on the race
problem in the United States. Primarily polemic and ex-parte, this
work will hardly attract the attention of the investigator. But when
an author like this one, a man of reputation and influence among his
people, writes on such subjects as the "renaissance" of the Negro, his
constitutional status, and discusses Alexander Hamilton, Frederick
Douglass, and Abraham Lincoln, the serious reader might well pause to
give this work more than ordinary consideration.

The book does not bear the stamp of research; the aim of the work is
to defend the Negro and laud those who have championed his cause. The
bold claims which Negroes have been making from time immemorial are
set forth in brilliant and forceful style. In this respect the book is
a success. It goes over old ground, but it does its work well.
Although not historical, some valuable facts of Negro history are
given from page to page. It contains, however, a few statements which
are not essential to the establishment of the Negro's claim to great
achievement. It is very difficult to demonstrate to a thinking man the
advantage to the Negro of such a contention as the much mooted
connection of Alexander Hamilton and Robert Browning with the black
race when those men spent their lives and passed into history as white
men. Such argument has just about as much bearing on the present as
the efforts now being made by certain enthusiastic race leaders to
prove that Christ was a black man rather than a Jew. Fraught then with
opinions rather than with organized facts adequate to the development
of the subject constituting its title, the book must be classed as
controversial literature.

It may be well to note here, however, exactly what the author means by
the "new Negro." The "new Negro," says he, "is not really new; he is
the same Negro under new conditions. Those who regret the passing of
the 'old Negro' and picture the new as something very different must
remember that there is no sharp line of demarcation between the old
and the new in any growing organism like a germ, a plant or a race."
The "new Negro" then is simply the Negro differently circumstanced. He
is ignored by the white man and, therefore, misunderstood. The "new
Negro" is living under the handicap of isolation by white men who
differ from their former masters who lived in close contact with them.
The result is that the white man of today, choosing not to become
acquainted with the Negro, has constructed within his mind a person
entirely different from what the Negro actually is. The "new Negro" is
not treacherous, indolent and criminal as suspected. He "is a sober,
sensible creature, conscious of his environment, knowing that not all
is right, but trying hard to become adjusted to this civilization in
which he finds himself by no will or choice of his own. He is not the
shallow, vain, showy creature which he is sometimes advertised to be.
He still hopes that the unreasonable opposition to his forward and
upward progress will relent. But, at any rate, he is resolved to
fight, and live or die, on the side of God and the Eternal Verities."

* * * * *

_Cotton as a World Power._ By JAMES A. B. SCHERER, LL.D. Frederick A.
Stokes Company, New York, 1916. Pp. 452.

Here we see cotton again not as king but as a world power. It is the
new Golden Fleece. The Civil War brought home to the public mind that
this vegetable fleece is really golden "and that its golden values are
so interwoven with the solidarity of mankind as to depend to a
peculiar degree for their stability on the maintenance of an unbroken
network of international trade. Cotton is here considered peculiar in
that it is the only crop of importance, all of which is sold by those
who produce it. It, therefore, gives rise to an enormous commerce and
provides a medium of exchange that almost entirely takes the place of
gold in the settlement of interstate and international balances." By
it countries are bound together "in its globe engirdling web; so that
when a modern economist concerns himself with the interdependence of
nations he naturally looks to cotton for his most effective
illustration."

Showing its startling growth in the Orient and the Occident even from
the time of Alexander the Great, cotton is traced as a factor in the
development of ancient nations and in the rise of the modern. It
strikes one as being a little strange to read in this economic
treatise such captions as "The Vegetable Lamb" and "Cotton Mythology."
The author then gives in more detail the earliest history of the
industry, referring to Hindu skill, Alexander's trade routes, Egyptian
mummies, the microscope, the transit from Rome to Spain, cotton and
the Renaissance, Edward III as the weaver king, the entrance of cotton
into England and the transformation of the country.

Taking up the industrial revolution the author develops the subject
more scientifically. The work contains less of mere history and gives
a more economic view of the forces set to work by the culture of
cotton throughout the civilized world. The numerous inventions which
figured so conspicuously in the rise of the industry are discussed. In
this portion of the work, however, the author has hardly said anything
new. He has merely restated well-known facts so as to give them a
somewhat enlarged and original treatment. Here we read more about Kay,
Hargraves, Arkwright, Compton, Cartwright, Watt, Davy and Brindley,
whose inventive genius supplied the mechanical appliance upon which
this industrial progress was based. Mention is also made of the
captains of industry who set this machinery going and directed the
world-wide movement which resulted in multiplying the wealth of some
and bringing comfort and prosperity to many. The references to the
influence of cotton on such writers as Malthus and Darwin and upon
such explorers as Columbus and Cortes show the breadth with which the
author treats the subject.

A large part of this work, of course, is devoted to tracing the
connection of cotton with the early manufacturing in the United
States, its impetus to slavery, its influences upon States' rights,
its effects on manufacturing in New England and on protection, free
trade, secession, the reconstruction of the South and the social
problem. On the whole this is an excellent work and will be received
by students of economic history as a valuable contribution in its
field.

C. B. WALTER

* * * * *

_Centennial Encyclopedia of the African Methodist Episcopal Church._
By RICHARD R. WRIGHT, JR., Ph.D., Editor-in-chief, assisted by JOHN R.
HAWKINS, LL.B. Book Concern of the A. M. E. Church, Philadelphia, Pa.,
1916. Pp. 392.

This is a neatly printed and handsomely bound volume of valuable facts
meeting a long-felt need. It contains an introduction by Bishop L. J.
Coppin, a foreword entitled "One Hundred Years of African Methodism,"
a sketch of "What African Methodism Has to Say for Itself," by Dr. J.
T. Fenifer, the historian of the church, and the Chronology of African
Methodism by Dr. R. R. Wright. In these pages one finds in epitome the
leading facts of the history of this church from the time of its
establishment by Richard Allen to the present time.

Then follows the Centennial Encyclopedia of the African Methodist
Episcopal Church. "The purpose of this work," according to the
editors, "is to present in some literary form the work of the men and
women, both ministers and laymen, who have helped to make the Church
what it is and especially those now living who receive the inheritance
of the fathers and upon whose shoulders rest the responsibility of
passing the work down to a new century." The editors disclaim
pretension to scientific historical treatment. The work is rather
biographical and autobiographical and was prepared under such a
handicap that some of the matter presented could not be verified. Yet
when we consider the fact that the editors had access to the files of
newspapers, church histories, and other church encyclopedias, we must
conclude that they have here compiled information of incalculable
value. The reader must be impressed too by the scientific disposition
of the editors in that they show no inclination to criticize or
eulogize, but endeavor to present facts.

The second part of the book, differing somewhat from the first, is
equally as valuable. It contains an account of the Church in general,
its location, laws, doctrines, statistics and almost every sort of
information bearing on the life of those connected with this Church.
Among these facts, too, the reader finds not only a religious history
but an excellent account of the development of education among these
people. In this respect, therefore, the editors have rendered the
cause of education a service hardly less valuable than that to the
Church.

The volume as a whole shows much progress. It is the best Negro Church
encyclopedia hitherto produced. One may obtain here in succinct form
an excellent ready reference work. The book is modestly given to the
public as a beginning, but it has accomplished much for the race not
only in the information which it contains but in demonstrating what a
store of knowledge may be obtained through an effective organization.
Just as the African Methodist Episcopal Church has gone to the expense
of bringing out this valuable volume to publish to posterity the deeds
of its fathers, so should every Negro organization address itself to
the task of preserving a record of all of their connection, who have
done something for the development of the country and the progress of
their people.

NOTES

FATHER UNCLES OF BALTIMORE

The following from the _Brooklyn Tablet_, January 13, 1917, will
interest students of the Negro Church:

"Rev. Charles Randolph Uncles, of Baltimore, Maryland, received
congratulatory messages from all parts of the country last month,
the occasion being the twenty-fifth anniversary of his
ordination. Father Uncles was the first colored man of the United
States to be raised to the priesthood, and he has had a brilliant
career during the quarter century that has elapsed since Cardinal
Gibbons ordained him in the Baltimore Cathedral on December 19,
1891.

"Father Uncles has done much missionary work and is at present
engaged in teaching Latin and French in Epiphany College,
Walbrook, Maryland, the preparatory school for St. Joseph's
Seminary, where young men are trained to carry on work among the
negroes of the United States.

"Father Uncles was the first negro in this country to be
ordained. He reached his goal after years of preliminary study
which led to his taking a course in St. Joseph's and St. Mary's
Seminaries. He was graduated with honors and went to Epiphany
College as teacher as soon as he left St. Mary's. He has done
much to put the negro missions on a thorough working basis, and
he has the admiration of Cardinal Gibbons. Father Uncles was born
in Baltimore November 6, 1859, and his parents and grandparents
were free negroes. His father was a machinist and worked for
years with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. His mother is still
living.

"He was baptized at St. Francis Xavier's Church, Calvert and
Pleasant streets, Baltimore, and there he recently said his
jubilee Mass. He studied at St. Francis's parish school and in
the public schools. He worked as printer and journalist from 1874
to 1879 and then as printer. In 1880 he began as teacher in the
Baltimore county schools, and in 1883 entered St. Hyacinth's
College, Quebec, to study. He returned to St. Joseph's Seminary
in 1888."

The same paper said on this date in its editorial columns:

"Congratulations to Father Uncles, of Baltimore, a priest, a
gentleman, a scholar--and a negro. He has just celebrated the
twenty-fifth anniversary of his entrance into the Order of Abel,
Abraham and Melchizedek.

"Father Uncles was the first of his race in this country to be
raised to the dignity of the priesthood. His was a unique
position. The eyes of the American world were upon him. Though
one of God's anointed, he was a "colored man," and thus more was
demanded of him than of any of his white brothers. At the end of
twenty-five years, he can, with his gentle good nature, laugh at
the world's scrutiny.

"For Father Uncles is gentle--a gentleman. In conversation with
him, in association with him, one never thought of the color of
his body. The beautiful whiteness of his soul shone so in the
kindly lightning of his eyes, the courtesy of his speech, the
correctness of his manner.

"He was, and is, a scholar--not merely book-learned, for he was
one of the first three in a class of sixty in Saint Mary's
Seminary, but the man of parts that bespeak the student.

"Yet he is a negro--of that long-suffering race that we first
damned into slavery and then freed into servitude. But a man's a
man for a' that, and from time to time the negro is proving that.
Father Uncles was a pioneer in that line. For emancipation's sake
he will not object to this projection of himself upon America's
mental screen."

In connection with the sketch given above the following account of the
work of the Catholics at Van de Vyver College, Richmond, Virginia,
from 1885 to the present time should also be interesting.

Among the many signs of the progress of the colored people in the city
of Richmond is the Van de Vyver College on North First street, which
is equipped with all modern improvements, and has accommodations for
five hundred pupils.

This elegant plant was erected at the sole expense of the Catholics
who, abreast of the times, met at every turn the requirements of an
aspiring class of colored boys and girls.

It was not erected with the idea of drawing the attention or of
eliciting the applause of the people of Richmond; it is an institution
which, by its growth and development, has marked time with the demands
of the younger generation of the colored people, whose endeavor is to
follow the higher ideals as they are set before them.

This grand building, with its large auditorium, now covers the site,
together with additional area, of a former two-roomed schoolhouse,
which thirty years back first gave the Catholic Sisters from Mill
Hill, England, a place and opportunity to show their zeal for, and
their interest in, the future welfare of the colored youth of the
principal city of the Old Dominion.

These Sisters are known as the Sisters of St. Francis of Baltimore.
They have the privilege of being the first of all the white
sisterhoods in this country to take up the work of teaching colored
children exclusively. Today there are many colored citizens who are
not backward in their praise of the successful and unselfish efforts
of these same good sisters, whose energetic endeavors have led many a
colored boy and girl to a happy and prosperous career.

On the college grounds is an excellently equipped kindergarten, in
which many pupils, who later on were graduated from the commercial and
academic courses, made their first start.

Special classes in music, fancy needlework, Latin and French are also
taught to those desiring to pursue such lines.

For the working boys and young men, there is a night session, wherein
is given a theoretical and practical knowledge of the automobile. Many
a young man has gone forth from this class qualified as an expert
mechanician and chauffeur.

The church adjoining the college, attendance at which is of course
optional, affords all the opportunity of gaining a knowledge of the
doctrine of the Catholic Church. Affiliated with this church are four
flourishing societies, one for the men called the Holy Name Society;
one for the women called The Sodality of the Mother of Jesus; one for
men and women called The League of the Sacred Thirst--a Temperance
Society; and one for the boys and girls called the Knights and Ladies
of the Cross. The members of these societies are very faithful in the
duties required of them, and hence give great edification to the
people of both races.

This whole plant, it is needless to say, is an inspiring spectacle to
the very many colored men and women, who pass up and down North First
street. They have reason to point to it with pride. They appreciate
all that it represents to them. It matters not of what denomination
the people may be, Catholic or Non-Catholic, words of the highest
commendation are freely and generously given by all alike.

FATHER TOBIN

MORE ABOUT NEGRO SOLDIERS

The following account of the services of Negroes during the American
Revolution appeared in the _Washington Post_, January 16, 1917:

"The employment of colored men became a subject of much
importance at an early stage of the American war of independence.
The British naturally regarded slavery as an element of weakness
in the condition of the colonies, in which the slaves were
numerous, and laid their plans to gain the colored men and induce
them to take up arms against their masters by promising them
liberty on this condition.

"The situation was looked upon by the public men of the colonies
as alarming, and several of them urged the Congress to adopt the
policy of emancipation. But while the general question of
emancipation was defeated, the exigencies of the contest again
and again brought up the practical one of employment for colored
men, whether bond or free.

"ONLY FREEMEN WANTED IN ARMY

"In May, 1775, Hancock and Warren's committee of safety
introduced the following formal resolution: 'Resolved, That it is
the opinion of this committee, as the contest now between Great
Britain and the colonies respects the liberties and privileges of
the latter, which the colonies are determined to maintain, that
the admission of any person as a soldier into the army now
raising, but only such as are freemen, will be inconsistent with
the principles that are to be supported and reflect dishonor on
these colonies, and that no slaves be admitted into this army
upon any consideration whatever.'

"Washington took command of the army around Boston on July 3,
1775. The instructions for the recruiting officers from his
headquarters at Cambridge prohibited the enlistment of any
'negro.' It may also be noticed that they were forbidden to
enlist 'any person who is not an American born, unless such
person has a wife and family and is a settled person in this
country.'

"MANY COLORED MEN ENROLLED

"Notwithstanding all this, the fact remains, according to
Bancroft, that 'the roll of the army at Cambridge had, from its
first formation, borne the names of men of color.' Free colored
men stood in the ranks by the side of white men. In the beginning
of the war they had entered the provincial army, and the colored
men, like others, were retained in the service after the troops
were adopted by the continent.

"A committee on conference, consisting of Dr. Franklin, Benjamin
Harrison and Thomas Lynch, met at Cambridge, October 18, 1775,
with the deputy governors of Connecticut and Rhode Island and the
committee of the council of Massachusetts Bay, to confer with
Gen. Washington, and advise a method for renovating the army. On
the 23d of October the negro question was presented and disposed
of as follows: 'Ought not negroes to be excluded from the new
enlistment, especially such as are slaves?' All were thought
improper by the council of officers. It was agreed that they be
rejected altogether.

"In general orders, issued November 12, 1775, Washington says:
'Neither negroes, boys unable to bear arms, nor old men unfit to
endure the fatigues of the campaign are to be enlisted.'

"PERMITTED THEIR ENLISTMENT

"Washington, however, in the last days of the year, under
representations to him that the free colored men who had served
in his army were very much dissatisfied at being discarded, and
fearing that they might seek employment in the British army, took
the responsibility to depart from the resolution respecting them
and gave license for their being enlisted.

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