Post, Joseph. Letter to Isaac Post.

Title

Post, Joseph. Letter to Isaac Post.

Creator

Post, Joseph

Contributor

Post, Isaac, 1798-1872

Date

186-?

Description

Handwritten letter from Joseph Post to Isaac Post, 186-?

Is Part Of

Isaac and Amy Post Family Papers

Rights

The organization that has made the Item available believes that the Item is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States, but a determination was not made as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. The Item may not be in the Public Domain under the laws of other countries. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information. http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/

Identifier

1271

Location

Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester

Transcription

2^nd mo 8^th 3 oclock

I have just got home from

New York I went down day before

yesterday in the afternoon to here [sic] Carl

Shurz at Brooklyn I like him very

much he advocated the equality of

all before the law and to the b^a^llot

said he thought the President made

a great mistake in taking the rebels

back and keeping the coulerd [sic] people

who were universially [sic] loyal out

that the President spoke truly when

he said the Southern people done

as well as he expected, for he to [sic]

could say the same, and what could

be expected of people who had

risked all who had for the support

slavery, and to have the rule of the

government, and had lost both rule

and Slavery, and had forfieted [sic] all

right not only to slavery but life also

that if the President had only said

that as a condition of pardon the

(Page 2)

black man must have equal rights

in all respects, they would have

gladly excepted [sic] it. that the President

sent him through the Southern States

he had made his report and he had

not one word to take back, that he

expected the committee of 15 would

make a repote [sic] much more startling

than his, he still hope [sic] that Congress

would maintain their position

I yesterday attended New York Monthly

Meeting they had much business among

the rest Silas T Robbins for marrying a

member contrary to our order and being

drafted and procuring a substitute

and nearly neglecting the attendance of

meetings I said to one friend that I

thought it a little inconsistent to

bring his case of hireing [sic] a substitute

when they all were paying taxes for

the very purpose of hireing substitutes

so that others would not be drafted I

have heard that Silas aske [sic] one of the

overerseers [sic]whiter it was any worst to

(Page 3)

hire a man to go, than to pay the 300 $

which the law then required after being

drafted, which a son of the Overseer did

and which has not yet been noticed and

proberly [sic] never will they also 4 other

cases of serving in the war

Two months ago the monthly meeting of

New York got up a concern to see if they

could not do something to get up a the

young folks to attend meeting and feel

an interest in society which resulted

in calling a conferrence [sic] of friends

generally both young and old to have

a free enterchange [sic] of views They had

one meeting and adjourned to meet

last evening again I felt so much interest

I staid to attend it Samuel Willets was

appointed chairman at the first meeting

after Thomas Folk was rejected he acted

again last evening after the meeting

was opened Effringham Cock introduce

the business by offering to the meeting

some resolutions the first that plain

-ness does not require a particular form but

(Page 4)

simplisity [sic] which after much being

said resulted by a large majority in

favour of the view, the next the names

of days and months which also had a

large majority in favour of a change

Then came the music question which

called out much expression when

the meeting adjourned for 2 weeks

without coming to a dissition [sic] the

resetutions [sic] were worded very different

from what I have given the above

is only the substance the first meeting

nearly full up stairs [sic] as well as down last evening

quit [sic] a snow storm yet the house nearly full

down stairs [sic] Rosoland Johnson and Aar^o^n Powell

were their [sic] and took an active part Aaron read

a resolution proposeing [sic] to ask the monthly

to take steps to have the disipline [sic] so change

as to do away with the select meeting which

was not reached as the other took all the

time wether it will be entertained next time

is somewhat uncertain yet I think if they

do not allow the largest liberty now they

have begun it will do no good but rather

hurt From what appeared in the meeting

some were for stoping [sic] the thing last

night but a very large majority were disposed

to to [sic]meet again I heard of some advising other

freinds [sic]to stay away. I suppose many of the con

-ceritive [sic] friends will feel as though all was lost

[Text aligned upside along top margin of Page 3 continuing over to Page 2]

Just say to Jacob that I don’t know but his letter is lost it stood on the mantle for weeks waiting to send it or hear from him about it it was taken off by some one [sic] and whither it has got I cannot

[Text aligned vertically along right margin of Page 2]

tell we are thinking it may turn up somewhere but have not-the least idea where

[Text aligned horizontally along bottom margin of Page 2]

it is if found will send I am sorry for our carelessness.

Carl Shurz (1829-1906) German born; came to US in 1852; abolitionist; served in Civil War as general; at the request of President Andrew Johnson, Shurz toured the Southern States in the summer of 1865; his report was critical of Johnson’s reconstruction policies which were adversely effecting blacks and those who had stayed loyal to the Union.

Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) was elected as Abraham Lincoln’s Vice President in the election of 1864. He became President when Lincoln was assassinated in 1865. A native of Tennessee he was eventually impeached by radical Republican members of Congress who disagreed with his reconstruction policies regarding the civil and political rights of former black slaves and the repatriation of Confederate insurgents.

Monthly Meeting is the basic unit of Quaker administration, which holds regular monthly business meetings. Only Quakers could participate. It has responsibility for care of members, authorizes removals and marriages, maintains discipline, considers the queries, manages meeting property, fosters social concerns, and reports regularly to the quarterly meeting. Business meetings in theory are held in a spirit of worship, and so are in effect meetings for worship for conducting business.

http://www.swarthmore.edu/academics/friends-historical-library/quaker-meeting-records/glossary.xml

After 1828, at the time of the Hicksite Separation, there were two New York Monthly Meetings: the Orthodox met at Rutgers Medical College and later on Henry Street, and the Hicksites retained the Rose Street and Hester Street Meeting Houses.

Civil War substitutes

In 1863, the government federalized the draft process, and while not allowing specific exemptions for religious beliefs, the government created a $300.00 commutation fee in lieu of service. However, many Meetings considered the payment of this fee by its members tantamount to nonobservance of the testimony against military service; therefore, no legal means existed for drafted Quakers to avoid violating the peace testimony in most Meetings.

Because of their beliefs, individual Quakers struggled with their consciences in ways not fully understood by others. of the peace testimony to some Quakers, people not accustomed to pocketing scruples. Others found ways in their hearts to make peace with their decision to make war.

http://courses.wcupa.edu/jones/his480/reports/civilwar.htm

On February 24, 1864, the following exemption clause was included as an amendatory to the Enrollment Act:

Members of religious denominations who shall by oath or affirmation declare that they are conscientiously opposed to the bearing of arms, and who are prohibited from doing so by the rules and articles of faith and practice of said religious denominations, shall, when drafted into the military service, be considered non-combatants, and shall be assigned by the Secretary of War to duty in the hospitals, or to the care of freedman, or shall pay the sum of $300 to such person as the Secretary of War shall designate…to be applied to the benefit of sick and wounded soldiers.

http://castle.eiu.edu/historia/archives/2011/2011Carnahan.pdf

SCHURZ, KARL

JOHNSON, ANDREW

CIVIL WAR

RECONSTRUCTION

QUAKER MONTHLY MEETING

Tags

Civil War; Education; Family; Quakers

Collection

D.93 Isaac and Amy Post Family Papers

Citation

Post, Joseph, “Post, Joseph. Letter to Isaac Post.,” RBSCP Exhibits, accessed November 23, 2024, https://rbscpexhibits.lib.rochester.edu/items/show/3559.

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