For most Confederates, any "real reconstructing" was just vengeance and "punishing the South." A large proportion of those who'd fought against the United States were adamantly opposed to racial equality or suffrage for Blacks. 140 years later people can deceive themselves about this to their heart's content, but it doesn't change the facts. Most Northerners were also opposed to racial equality, but it's wrong and a cop-out to assume that the problems with Reconstruction were all the fault of the Republicans. If the ex-Confederates had things their way, it certainly wouldn't have meant that racial equality would have come about any sooner.
I'm not arguing that the ex-Confederates were the champions of civil rights and the Yankee Republicans its opponents; that's farcical. What I am arguing is that the occupying Union troops during Reconstruction were focused on the wrong priorities. They cared more about hurting Southern whites than about helping Southern blacks, and scarcely gave a moment's thought to building a consensus that might survive more than a day after they left.
By way of an analogy, let's look at Iraq. The Sunnis oppressed the Shi'a for decades. Suppose we handed all power to the Shi'a, kicked the s--- out of the Sunnis, and then left abruptly. It's a recipe for chaos. It's why we can't abruptly pull out of Iraq today, and why the Union shouldn't have abruptly pulled out of the South in 1877.
What are we doing in Iraq? Bringing Iraqis in. Cooperating. Building friendships and partnerships. Bringing in local partners who know local concerns. What did the Union do in 1866? None of the above.
Most Northerners were also opposed to racial equality, but it's wrong and a cop-out to assume that the problems with Reconstruction were all the fault of the Republicans. If the ex-Confederates had things their way, it certainly wouldn't have meant that racial equality would have come about any sooner.
Are you so utterly consumed with Democrat-Republican partisanship than you can't see the universe through any other lens? Even when we're talking about a century and a half ago, when the Republicans were the liberals and the Democrats the conservatives?
After the war, Democrats were irrelevant. Disenfranchised. Couldn't vote, had no seats in Congress, might as well talk to the wall. The debate over how to handle Reconstruction was entirely among Republicans, as they were the only party with any real power.
virtually NOBODY (including the abolitionists AND "radical republicans") wanted EQUALITY (or even anything that vaguely resembled equality) for Blacks, Browns, Asians, Jews, AmerIndians or any other "person of colour"!
thus the "pass through but tarry not" laws in virtually every northern state AND the "voter qualification laws" that were INTENDED to DISqualify any "person of colour", who might WANT to settle down in "lily white" areas & VOTE!
in other words, as is usual with DAMNyankee elitists, it was ALL a KNOWING LIE, intended to make "the KNOWING, racist,LIARS" look "better" in the eyes of "the easily deceived". it was nothing more or less than that.
OBVIOUSLY, you are one of the "easily deceived" OR you HOPE your readers are. which is it???
free dixie,sw