Week 39: The Mask of Defiance

1870 was a tumultuous year for Virginia and for Shenandoah County.

The Board of Supervisor Minutes before 1870, record six magisterial districts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. The purpose of these districts was to divide the work of commissioners, overseers, and other appointed citizens with the ability to manage taxes, community matters from roads to the poor, conduct relevant business, including the eventual establishment of public schools, and more.

Then, in large florid script, the minutes come to April 13, 1870. In conjunction with the appointment of registrars for the county after Virginia's full entrance into the Union in January 1870, the first mention of these magisterial districts as townships named mostly after Confederate leaders occurs. Shenandoah County had a new system established: townships, with newspapers noting the inclusion of numerical districts within each township over the next few years. These townships are: Lee, Ashby, Madison, Stonewall, Johnston, and Davis (Minutes 1869-1872, p.126). The only exception to being a Confederate leader was Madison, whose key role in writing the Constitution included the Ninth Amendment, which focused on states rights, and the Tenth Amendment, which sought to limit the powers of the federal government. His name, framed with those of Confederate heroes, sent a clear message of defiance to the United States.

After only five years, the Freedmen's Bureau ceased its operations in 1870 and was officially disbanded in 1872. This cessation and Virginia's resentment over five years without full representation in the United States government, as well as the presence of U.S. martial law in southern states, was at the heart of the district name choices.

Tensions between the two races in Virginia had been building for years. In November 1867, a Shenandoah Herald article entitled, "We Can Defeat the Negro Constitution," shares: "The Radical sheets and negro leaders of Virginia, with a reckless disregard for truth, are in the habit of asserting that the recent election for members of a Convention in this State shows a Radical majority of 45,455 votes. Their madness is not without method; the assertion is made for an obvious purpose. They are very eager to impress upon the white people of Virginia that ... it is not worth their while to make any efforts to save the State from negro rule" (Shenandoah Herald, Vol. 3, No. 7, 28 November 1867, p.2). The article continues using phrases like "these negrophilists are guilty" and "their party in the State is a miserable black abortion" to point out that of the 221,754 people that registered to vote in Virginia at that time, the race split was "116,982 whites and 104,772 negroes." The editors point out that this is "a white majority of 12,210 votes" and extrapolate on how that amount can only increase if apathetic white voters register before the next election. "It is a conceded fact that, instead of having increased, the negro population has decreased since 1860. During the war numbers of negroes ran away from the State, and they have been leaving it continually since the war. The decrease too has been mainly among the negro men. We set it down then, at a very low estimate, that there has been a falling off of 5,000 among the negro men of the State since 1860, which... leave(s) the whole number of negroes entitled to be registered under the Reconstruction acts about 107,000. In this calculation no allowance has been made for 'disfranchised niggers' and negro convicts... This estimate is more than confirmed by the reports of the Commissioners of the Revenue of Virginia for 1866, which sum up the whole negro male population of the State, 21 years of age and upwards, considerably less than 100,000... On the other hand, there are 111,982 white Conservatives registered up to this time, and besides there are fully 20,000 white men in Virginia who, altho' entitled to be registered under the Reconstruction acts of Congress, have failed to present themselves before the Boards of Registration at their sittings heretofore. - We can have, therefore, if a proper effort is made, upwards of 130,000 Conservative white registered voters before the election on the adoption of the Constitution takes place. In view of the foregoing facts, how then can any sane man doubt that we have it in our power to defeat the Radical scheme to negroize Virginia. Let every man do his whole duty, and all will be well. In the providence of God, we believe that the day of our deliverance is at hand, and we have reason for the faith that is in us. - This time is rapidly approaching when the 30,000 disfranchised white men of Virginia will be reinvested with their privileges, and the white man's party will be permitted to assert its full strength. When it does come, the old Commonwealth will be thoroughly cleansed of the political vermin that now befoul her, and Conservatism will crush rotten Radicalism to the dust; 'Show its mask off torn, And tramp its bloated head beneath the foot of scorn'" (Shenandoah Herald, Vol. 3, No. 7, 28 November 1867, p.2).

When on January 26, 1870, Virginia's senators and elected officials gained full representation in the United States Congress through an act signed by President Grant, the 1867 article's fear became reality: required inclusion of the African American race in all aspects relative to citizenship. In order for Virginia's admission into the full political life of the Union, the State met several conditions: "First, That the Constitution of Virginia shall never be so amended or changed as to deprive any citizen or class of citizens of the right to vote by the Constitution herein... Second, That it shall never be lawful for the said State to deprive any citizen of the United States, on account of his race, color, or previous condition of servitude, of the right to hold office under the constitution and laws of said State, or upon any such ground to require of him any other qualifications for office than such as are required of all other citizens. Third, That the constitution of Virginia shall never be so amended or changed as to deprive any citizen or class of citizens of the United States of the school rights and privileges secured by the constitution of said State" (George P. Sanger, ed., The Statutes at Large and Proclamations of the United States of America. From December 1869 to March 1871, Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1871, 16:63). 

With the two houses of Virginia's legislature having passed the Registration Act just days before April 13, 1870, guidelines for the general registration of U.S. citizens was released to the courts. Here is an excerpt:
"3. The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall cause to be prepared suitable books and blanks for the registration of voters, and shall forward them to the clerks of the county and hustings courts of the several counties, cities and towns, to be by them distributed to the registrars of their respective townships, wards and voting places. The books aforesaid shall be so arranged as to admit of the alphabetical classification of those registered, and shall be ruled in parallel columns, in which shall be entered the number, name of vote, the fact that he is sworn, his age, occupation, the place of residence at time of registration, the length of time of his residence in the county, city or town... The list of votes, white and colored, shall be kept and arranged in separate books." (Winchester Times, Vol 5, No 32, 13 April 1870, p.1). 

The April 28, 1870 issue of the Shenandoah Herald points out these new registration guidelines in clearer details, especially in terms of Confederate sympathizers: "Many of our citizens are under the impression that as they have registered themselves heretofore, that they are qualified voters now. But it is a mistake - that registration was under Military authority, and the lists mislaid or lost; and the present Registration is under Civil rule, as provided for in the new Constitution, which requires every eligible voter to register anew. No one will be permitted to vote at any election unless he first registers, and no one is excluded from registering and voting for having participated in rebellion" (Vol. 5, No. 34, p. 3). 

While the voters ultimately decide the person that will fill a specific leadership role, as we have learned all too well, the Code of Virginia gives authority over names, whether that is of schools or magisterial districts, to the local leaders. In terms of districts: "County magisterial district boundary lines and names shall be as the governing bodies may establish" (§ 15.2-1211.A). 

Shenandoah Herald's April 28, 1870 issue also gives an overview of these then new townships, which the appointed commissioners created to divide Shenandoah County:
- Davis Township "corresponds with the district formerly know(n) as Magisterial District No. 1, and is divided into two voting districts, the voting places of which are Strasburg and Lebanon Church."
- Stonewall Township "comprises that portion of Shenandoah County known as Magisterial District No. 2, and is divided into two voting districts, the voting places of which are the Court House and Conner's School house."
- Johnston Township "comprises... Magisterial District No. 3, and is divided into three voting districts, the voting places of which are the 'Town Hall' at Woodstock, Dry Run School house and Manoah Harman's Mill."
- Madison Township "embraces the same district which was formerly known as Magisterial District No. 4, and is divided into two voting districts, the voting places of which are Edinburg and the Church above and near Columbia Furnace."
- Ashby Township "corresponds with the District formerly known as Magisterial District No. 5, and is divided into two voting districts, the voting places of which are: Mt Jackson and the School house at Hudson's X Roads."
- Lee Township "corresponds with that portion of Shenandoah County which was formerly known as Magisterial District No. 6, and is divided into two voting districts, the voting places of which are: New Market and Forestville."

Over 150 years have passed since the names of local districts were first established according to the names of Confederate heroes. Following various censuses, the voting districts have been adjusted from time to time. For example, district 6 today refers to Strasburg and is not the number associated with Lee Township, which is a term that is no longer used to describe the magisterial districts in the 21st century. In 2023, Shenandoah County is divided into 12 precincts that represent 6 districts, none of which refers to Confederate leaders, but to the names of communities that aim to be spaces of inclusion for all its citizens:
- 1: Orkney Springs and New Market
- 2: Conicville and Mount Jackson
- 3: Edinburg, St. Luke, and Fort Valley
- 4: Woodstock
- 5: Cedar Creek, Toms Brook, and Lebanon Church
- 6: Strasburg

Leaders in our county have responsibilities to all of its members, not just those that align with a specific political party. In 1870, another event happened only days following these registration issues: the third-story balcony inside the Virginia Capitol building collapsed on April 27, 1870, killing more than 50 people.

The editors of the May 5th issue of the Shenandoah Herald mention this calamitous incident in Richmond, Virginia, by referencing The Petersburg Index: " 'If Virginia shall hereafter erect a tablet to tell the history of the late disaster may it be truthfully stated thereon that the people of the State learned from such a sudden and heart-rending reality, to discard minor differences and petty animosities, and dated a new departure towards peace and lasting happiness, from the awful event the tablet commemorated.' To this we heartily respond. Would that, from this time, the lesson taught could dwell in hearts, and influence the action of our people!" (Shenandoah Herald, 5 May 1870, Vol. 5, No. 35, p. 2).

And so I wish this mindset for us today. Can we move towards peace and lasting happiness by focusing on how the new names of southern campus schools can do the same as our local districts today: bring communities together to celebrate the beautiful spaces that we love so much in Shenandoah County, Va? Or will we continue to hold communities hostage through our minor differences and petty animosities by continuing to threaten to return to the oppressive misuse of the names of Confederate leaders, over 150 years later? 

I was at the deathbed of a friend yesterday. It was hard and I didn't realize how I had scaffolded my own emotions to be a source of support for her loving caregivers until I got home late in the day, when my own well of emotion was released. Mourning those we love and admire is hard. But, it should never be the source of greater harm. In the end, it was wrong for Virginia's, for Shenandoah County's leaders to use names that define this beautiful place as weapons of defiance and idolatry. Each of us should really consider the overall impact of such decisions and work to create public spaces that welcome and communicate compassion and inclusion for all our citizens - not just the white majority.