Dixiecrats



The Dixiecrats' Purpose and Goal: We are ushering in a new age by facilitating the development of the Southern region of the United States.

There are five stages of our reconstruction strategy. However, we acknowledge that reform does not come cheaply, and have decided that to finance our approach to reconstruction, we will be turning to a variety of options. While the Federal Reserve System was not yet in existence in the nineteenth century, we will be relying partially on central banks to supply some of the funds needed, since they had rather plentiful gold reserves. Additionally, we will be encouraging other countries, such as Spain, France, Russia, and Great Britain, to invest in the dollar, much like China does today. We will also start issuing dollars backed by gold immediately after the end of the civil war, to prevent runaway inflation of paper money like Lincoln's greenbacks. However, we will continue to depend on United States Notes and banks created by the National Bank Act. These banks will be advised to buy federal bonds, which will be available for purchase by American citizens as well. If the methods above do not return sufficient revenue, we will temporarily return to fiat currency (which will be capped at a circulation of $300,000,000), and postpone payment for Alaska to Russia. Instead, the 7.2 million will be repaid over a period of fifteen years starting in 1870 with interest.

The first stage: Reforming government. A state will regain representation in Congress when at least 35% of the voting population registered before 1860 has taken an oath of loyalty to the United States of America. All new voters, in both the South and North, will be asked to take the oath as a safety procedure to ensure an uprising like the Civil War would never happen again. Once 35% of the voting population (excluding anyone registered after 1860) has taken the oath, government officials must be elected or re-elected. Persons who have enlisted in a rebel force, have aided or abetted a rebel force, or have otherwise resisted US control are prohibited from holding office for a period of thirty years. For the average ex-Confederate soldier, this will be the only limitation imposed. Every government official, in both the North and South, is required to take an oath of loyalty upon inauguration. To apply for representation in Congress, the state government must ratify the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. However, we recognize the 13th amendment caught some Southerners unprepared, so the amendment won't actually go into effect until January 1st, 1866, which leads us into phase two.

The second stage: Emancipation. The federal government would gradually emancipate those in slavery, by notifying their owners a few months in advance. This Announcement of Total Emancipation would warn Southerners of the passage of the 13th amendment in the new year, and allows compensation for property loss. As two billion dollars had been sunk into slavery, it is only logical that slave-owners should be able to get some return on their investment. We will be creating a governmental organization aptly named the Committee Aimed at Educating Slaves (CAESar). CAESar will be hiring qualified educators (mostly white Northern women) to travel to Southern plantations and teach slaves to read, write, and do basic math. These services will be free, and if owners choose to take advantage of them, they will receive official documentation proving they excused their property for a minimum of fifteen hours over a six week period. Once the 13th amendment goes into effect, former owners will have the opportunity to send the documents to CAESar. Upon receiving proof, CAESar will pay the owners for their efforts to prepare their slaves for life as freedmen. While CAESar is in charge of verification, the delivery of the money will be done exclusively by SASSC, whose purpose is addressed more in-depth in phase three.

The third stage: Industrialization of the South. SASSC, or Society for Southern Social Change, (pronounced SASS-CEE) would be in charge of rebuilding the South. Some southern areas had been devastated by Sherman's march, so SASSC would help out in-need areas and those down on their luck. So-called "carpetbaggers" would find employment building factories under SASSC supervision. This would create a pull factor for immigrants - immigrants who would give the South the power necessary to start converting from cotton to steel. SASSC's main goal, though, would be to help former slave-owners transition into a new industrialized era, by donating supplies and resources, and distributing coin as rewards for educating their slaves. While an economic lull is to be expected, once the factories start rolling and the burnt cities are rebuilt and more Southerners get on their feet, the state of the Southerners should improve considerably over a period of ten years. (In 1875, SASSC's charter will expire and the federal government can re-evaluate Southern need and the necessity of such an organization.)

The fourth stage: Resettlement. Most high-ranking Confederate officials came from the elite planter class. Most men who were at one point enlisted in the rebel forces will be allowed to return to their homes with no repercussions. However, desperate times call for desperate measures, and the North was bent on making the South suffer. We will therefore be setting aside the confinements of capitalism and using socialist methods to ensure a democratic south, with everyone on substantially more equal grounds than they were before the war. Some members of the elite aristocracy will be tried for treason, and then quietly escorted to the borders of the United States, and advised not to make a timely return. The departures of the land-rich will, of course, be well publicized in the North. As the South is not as industrialized it is acceptable that news would not be as reliable or travel as quickly, so the chance that most of the South does not even hear of the evacuations is likely. Since the federal government would never leave a huge plantation to lie fallow, it will pass the Resettlement Plan. The Resettlement Plan provides measures to ensure that the recently vacated land does not go to waste. As the Homestead Act was targeted primarily at landless Northerners, the Resettlement Plan will be aimed at assisting the landless Southerners. Anyone can claim a plot of land on the former plantations, however given the circumstances of the South it can be assumed that the majority of the settlers will be freedmen. The movement of former slaves to these areas can be expected, as they are within the South and still near home. One must reside on a plot of land inside the boundaries of the former plantation and work the land for a period of five years, before the deeds are transferred and the settler becomes the legal owner.

The fifth stage: Building communities. Considering that the former plantations are quite large, it can be assumed that the settlers would want to create communities to assist one another and build churches and schools and such. As the communities would end up being not extremely diverse, it stands to reason that the people who would primarily settle the areas specified would be in need of outside assistance. To achieve this end, the federal government would create an Organization for the Welfare of Newly Emancipated Peoples (OWNED). OWNED would receive funding from the government to help set up self-sufficient communities on the land open for population under the Resettlement Plan. Such areas would become their own districts within the Southern states, and OWNED would provide the infrastructure and foundation necessary to help the settlers get on their feet. Some services provided will include free education and efficient methods of transportation (meaning good roads). A ballot center will be established within these communities, so the settlers could vote within the district away from unwelcome visitors and prying eyes. The Union army would play a minimal role in the South, and would be concentrated in areas where OWNED-assisted communities would be located. Their engagement in the South would be called the Hush-Hush Affair, as the average Southerner would not encounter the army, and most might never even become aware some armed forces were residing in the South. (News is once again so hard to spread in the South. They might never find out.) To the Southerners who had supported the rebel forces, it would be as if both freedmen and Union army had disappeared entirely.

Our plan cannot be all things to all people, but we can try to be most things to most people. This five-part plan, while not perfect, helps reunify the United States, reorient the South towards industrialization, and ensure former slave-owners are not left behind. While we do not claim to eradicate racism, our plan leads to a social policy of the "Separate but Equal" doctrine where the two are truly isolated and almost entirely separated. This is not an ideal solution, but it's the best we can attempt given the cultural differences and biases of the Southern whites and African Americans, and still have a peaceful, unified nation.




 * RESPONSE(S) TO TEAM PLAN:**

“Monster Jam feed-back”

I believe your overall reconstruction plan was fairly good. Your goal was to restore the south as best as possible. The South was in great damage and there is no way to perfectly restore it without any faulty in your work. In your plan you talk about how you are going to finance your plan one way is that you are going to get Spain, Russia, Great Britain and other countries to invest in dollar; however my question is what will they get in return. I do not believe they will give money just because, I think they will probably have to see they will be receiving some profit. In stage 1 it talks about allowing southerners to take office only if a certain amount take oath to remain loyal to the United States, I believe that is a great idea. They should only be able to serve office if they promise to be faithful to the office they are serving. In one part you talk about only allowing ex-confederates to serve office after 30 years of probation- do you really think they will change their views after 30 year? Allowing the thirteenth amendment not to go into affect until 1866 might give southerners time enough to figure out ways to stop in from coming into act at all. In stage 2 I believe CAESAR is a great idea. The education of slave is only fair and I believe it will help the economy also. In stage three you talk about a gradual change of the south to a more industrial region. I believe this is smart because it is going to take a while for some southerners to break their agrarian ways. In stage four I can see what you are trying to accomplish; however the forced departure of elite aristocracy is a little extreme and I believe many southerners will not like this even if it take a while for them to find out. Your organization called OWNED is a great idea I believe it will really help the south get back on their feet. That is what they will need because at that point options for reconstruction were very limited. I do not agree with your separate but equal plan because It will cause great social problems in the future. Overall I believe your plan was great, it was well thought out and I believe it will be very beneficial to the South. With this plan I believe the South will be up and running in no time. //"I do not agree with your separate but equal plan because It will cause great social problems in the future."// ** On the contrary, we are preventing social strife between the two races by separating them and keeping them separate. To put them together means the dawn of the KKK and terrorism. You're thinking of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1900s most likely, but with our plan the struggle will never happen. Think about it.
 * -Emily Dixon**