Farewell to the Bloody Shirt

In Stanley P. Hirshson’s book Farewell to the Bloody Shirt, he takes considerable aim at the racial crisis facing the nation from 1877 through 1893. Hirshson focuses on the Republican radicals, the new found freedom of the Negro, as well as the impending equality of the Negro. This book is a fine example of a scholarly study into the political background of these developments. Hirshson is seemingly less concerned with denouncing the system than with understanding how it came to be. He also continues to focus his attention on the social and political forces that are far beyond the Negro’s control that would shape his destiny.

Many of the Negro realized that they could not rely on the Southern white man for assistance in the securing of his basic legal rights. The Negro turned their attention to the Republican Party, the party of the Great Emancipator, Abraham Lincoln, for assistance and protection. Hirshson points out that the Republican attitudes toward the Negro question were moved less by humanitarian concern then by the highly sought after political considerations.

The main problem confronting the Republican strategist was the fact that the Democrats were the party in the permanent majority. The basic problem for the Republican strategist was to break down the Democratic centers of strength, and the Solid South was a natural target. This gave the Republicans two courses to consider. Hirshson illustrates the path of a policy to build a southern Republican party, one based heavily on the Negro vote, a vote that the party could use to break the Democratic stronghold on the American political system. The Negro’s best interest lay in the hopes of this course; however, Federal intervention would be needed to accomplish the policy. The other course was also based on the formation of a southern Republican party, only based as a white-dominated party.

This book also details the rivalry between the two dueling Republican schools of thought. Hirshson uses a large amount of private and unpublished correspondence, along with a smaller amount of contemporary newspapers to document the “see-saw” battle for the Republican banner. This book is an important contribution to the political history of this neglected era.

Hirshson’s book is an impeccable case history of the American political system in action. He realistically portrays the issues that have generally been misunderstood and overrated in the American political history. He successfully illustrates how the Northerner’s basic emotions were aroused by the Negro issue, but politically opportunistic. The Northern voters seemingly advocated Negro rights when it was politically needed and abandoned them when it was no longer relevant.

This book