Kevin Dougherty
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781628461534
- eISBN:
- 9781626740822
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781628461534.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, American History: Civil War
The victory at Port Royal, South Carolina in November 1861 left the Federal government with the responsibility for some ten thousand now-masterless slaves. Lacking a sufficient policy or plan for ...
More
The victory at Port Royal, South Carolina in November 1861 left the Federal government with the responsibility for some ten thousand now-masterless slaves. Lacking a sufficient policy or plan for this new reality, Secretary of the Treasury Salmon Chase dispatched Edward Pierce to Port Royal to assess the situation. As a result, an eclectic flood of Northern reformers, missionaries, abolitionists, and educators, collectively known as the “Gideonites,” descended upon the Sea Islands, unleashing what became known as the “Port Royal Experiment.” The Port Royal Experiment: A Case Study in Development analyzes this chapter of the Civil War and Reconstruction era in the context of nation-building and development. Each of its ten chapters treats uniquely a particular aspect of the experience such as planning, economic development, and resistance, presents the case study in the context of more recent nation-building efforts in places like Bosnia, Somalia, and Afghanistan, and incorporates recent scholarship in the field. The Port Royal Experiment: A Case Study in Development is designed to appeal to a wide audience with such varied interests as the Civil War, the military, non-governmental organizations, governmental bureaucracies, African-Americans, South Carolina, and nation-building. In addition to these general themes, each case study is written to also be able to be used individually as part of an in-depth examination of a particular aspect of development. Modern readers will no doubt see that the challenges that faced the Port Royal Experiment remain relevant and their solutions remain elusive.Less
The victory at Port Royal, South Carolina in November 1861 left the Federal government with the responsibility for some ten thousand now-masterless slaves. Lacking a sufficient policy or plan for this new reality, Secretary of the Treasury Salmon Chase dispatched Edward Pierce to Port Royal to assess the situation. As a result, an eclectic flood of Northern reformers, missionaries, abolitionists, and educators, collectively known as the “Gideonites,” descended upon the Sea Islands, unleashing what became known as the “Port Royal Experiment.” The Port Royal Experiment: A Case Study in Development analyzes this chapter of the Civil War and Reconstruction era in the context of nation-building and development. Each of its ten chapters treats uniquely a particular aspect of the experience such as planning, economic development, and resistance, presents the case study in the context of more recent nation-building efforts in places like Bosnia, Somalia, and Afghanistan, and incorporates recent scholarship in the field. The Port Royal Experiment: A Case Study in Development is designed to appeal to a wide audience with such varied interests as the Civil War, the military, non-governmental organizations, governmental bureaucracies, African-Americans, South Carolina, and nation-building. In addition to these general themes, each case study is written to also be able to be used individually as part of an in-depth examination of a particular aspect of development. Modern readers will no doubt see that the challenges that faced the Port Royal Experiment remain relevant and their solutions remain elusive.
Kevin Dougherty
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781628461534
- eISBN:
- 9781626740822
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781628461534.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, American History: Civil War
The United States did not have a plan to deal with the post-combat situation it inherited after its victory at Port Royal. Ultimately Edward Pierce developed a system that combined superintendents to ...
More
The United States did not have a plan to deal with the post-combat situation it inherited after its victory at Port Royal. Ultimately Edward Pierce developed a system that combined superintendents to be appointed for the plantations to control the labor force and bring in the valuable cotton crop and missionary-teachers to address the population’s educational and humanitarian needs. These Gideonites filled a dangerous void, but the lack of prior planning resulted in an ad hoc and largely uncoordinated effort. Similar failures to plan subsequent phases to military operations, act quickly, and ensure unity of effort among participants continued to plague recent US efforts in Iraq, Kosovo, and Somalia, and the Port Royal Experiment serves as a cautionary tale for those planning such transitions from combat operations to nation-building activities.Less
The United States did not have a plan to deal with the post-combat situation it inherited after its victory at Port Royal. Ultimately Edward Pierce developed a system that combined superintendents to be appointed for the plantations to control the labor force and bring in the valuable cotton crop and missionary-teachers to address the population’s educational and humanitarian needs. These Gideonites filled a dangerous void, but the lack of prior planning resulted in an ad hoc and largely uncoordinated effort. Similar failures to plan subsequent phases to military operations, act quickly, and ensure unity of effort among participants continued to plague recent US efforts in Iraq, Kosovo, and Somalia, and the Port Royal Experiment serves as a cautionary tale for those planning such transitions from combat operations to nation-building activities.
Kevin Dougherty
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781628461534
- eISBN:
- 9781626740822
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781628461534.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, American History: Civil War
Part of Edward Pierce’s plan was to send missionaries and teachers to assist the development of the Sea Islands blacks. Existing religious and abolitionist organizations took up the cause, and in ...
More
Part of Edward Pierce’s plan was to send missionaries and teachers to assist the development of the Sea Islands blacks. Existing religious and abolitionist organizations took up the cause, and in February and March 1862 three new organizations, the Boston Educational Commission, the National Freedmen's Relief Association, and the Port Royal Relief Commission were formed specifically in response to the situation at Port Royal. In today’s vocabulary, such philanthropies would be called “nongovernmental organizations” (NGOs) which P. J. Simmons boasts “often make the impossible possible by doing what governments cannot or will not.” Certainly these agencies filled this purpose during the Port Royal Experiment, where the U. S. Government had developed only “inadequate and tardy plans.” This is not to say, however, that the private organizations did so without friction, tension, and inefficiency. In fact, the variety of agencies associated with the Port Royal Experiment and the Gideonites is dizzying.Less
Part of Edward Pierce’s plan was to send missionaries and teachers to assist the development of the Sea Islands blacks. Existing religious and abolitionist organizations took up the cause, and in February and March 1862 three new organizations, the Boston Educational Commission, the National Freedmen's Relief Association, and the Port Royal Relief Commission were formed specifically in response to the situation at Port Royal. In today’s vocabulary, such philanthropies would be called “nongovernmental organizations” (NGOs) which P. J. Simmons boasts “often make the impossible possible by doing what governments cannot or will not.” Certainly these agencies filled this purpose during the Port Royal Experiment, where the U. S. Government had developed only “inadequate and tardy plans.” This is not to say, however, that the private organizations did so without friction, tension, and inefficiency. In fact, the variety of agencies associated with the Port Royal Experiment and the Gideonites is dizzying.
Kevin Dougherty
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781628461534
- eISBN:
- 9781626740822
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781628461534.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, American History: Civil War
The varied nature of the Gideonites created a host of different agendas and motivations. What they had in common was that they were white and had been drawn to the Sea Islands by the condition ...
More
The varied nature of the Gideonites created a host of different agendas and motivations. What they had in common was that they were white and had been drawn to the Sea Islands by the condition resulting from the sudden creation of a free black population. Where they differed was in how they responded to the freedmen. These differences manifested themselves in different degrees of commitment to the free labor ideology, self-help, black land ownership, religious denomination and practice, and education. The In contrast to the Gideonites’ approach, a more participatory approach to development often yields better results.Less
The varied nature of the Gideonites created a host of different agendas and motivations. What they had in common was that they were white and had been drawn to the Sea Islands by the condition resulting from the sudden creation of a free black population. Where they differed was in how they responded to the freedmen. These differences manifested themselves in different degrees of commitment to the free labor ideology, self-help, black land ownership, religious denomination and practice, and education. The In contrast to the Gideonites’ approach, a more participatory approach to development often yields better results.
