Reconstruction Song

Oh, the War Between the States was anything but civil Now, the election of 1860 Featured quite a threat The Dems couldn’t were split And Lincoln fit the bill This ticked off some states Who decided to extricate The stage was just being set For this war of ours Woo hoo! Yippee! Something’s stirring, yessiree! So the South launched an invasion Without explanation, And Sumter’s guards started uttering exclamations: HALT! We need supplies! ALARM! We're under attack! FINE! We surrender, take what you desire! AAAK! I am killed by this cannon’s backfire! Important slave states were right in between Leave the Union? No, they stuck with it and remained With the help of Lincoln’s federal men Oh, the US, suffering until Lincoln, A Copperhead here could talk But now they open their mouths One misspoken word And they’re sent to the big house Yes, Habeas Corpus! Lincoln struck down that constitutional rule. So in 1861 the battling was begun Naïve sides thinking it would be one and done. Bull Run Shiloh Antietam Unprepared was R. E. Lee Darn those errant smokes ¼ of his men gone, but no counterattack? These slows, what a joke! Vicksburg Western fortress controlled the Miss

Rumpled Grant set up a siege His dash and flash got the Southerners thinking Too bad their undermanned ship was sinking Gettysburg Cold Harbor Lee’s final victory, massive Union slaying Pressured from radicals, Abe gave in Freeing rebel slaves after Antietam “We are not desperate at all, you see. “This proves it to the Brits and my own party” Homestead Act Homestead, Homestead, Homestead, get your cheap land here Free-spending Congress giving acres here Got a lot of territory land, and we make it clear So come and get it as long as the southerners ain’t here! Contract Labor Act Pacific Railroad Act New economic policies are starting to debut With GOPs in Congress the bills are guaranteed to get through Need subsidies for transcontinental tracks? Here you go! Just make good use of federal land and the dough. Trent Affair Draft Riots Did you hear the South’s printing money now? Maybe they can use their cash to rebuild Atlanta after we burn it to the ground! ’64 election! It came right in the middle! ’64 election! Lincoln’s chances seemed little! But he was re-elected with a few maneuvers and well-timed victories And look, he regained the Presidency! Cautious, cautious McClellan, Never on the go. Like a bunch of tranquilized bees, Floating pollen on the breeze. Not over the battlefield, Absent from the trees, Stuck in the post was he. Fiddling in camp is where he was! Fly where? Into Lincoln’s doghouse!

Constant pressure was his belief Never letting up, not allowing relief Unmoved, he was a butcher, But at least he got the job done Loyal Virginian Lee surrendered and finally the blues had won! The winner! Yippee! Until on the battlefield you see Johnny and Billy, young men who died, At least they rest close to family. A regal man, J.D. fit the bill on paper and what an impressive arrival But he dibbled, he dabbled, And was actually inferior to his rival I'm just a Bill Yes, I'm only a Bill And I won’t leave here until I’ve hurt the Confed. army and punished Georgia’s people So I’ll make a sentinel and tie a knot And leave them with jack-squat How I hope and pray that they lose their will, But today I am still just a Bill. (Everyone calls me William, though) Lincoln was unable to see his results Instead dying in a theatrical fashion Putting the South back together was quite a task But it was finished once the North lost interest The radicals wanted a word of iron To punish the South Johnson Carpet baggers No mere floor covering carrier were they Came to exploit the South’s decay Perhaps they were good Or maybe not really apropos What’s certain was their love for the dough Sharecroppers

Support Reconstruction regimes, how could you! What a traitor, we don’t need them! Keep your help to yourself We’ll just redeem ‘em Radical Republicans/ Yellow Dog Democrats Yellow Dog Democrats knew just one party YDDs knew The Republicans, to them, were taboo Yep, man’s best friend over man’s favorite omniscient one, that’s what I always say. Johnson’s state governments did not treat blacks well “We thought we were free!” They cried and yelled But far from emancipated, it was nearer to (shh…) s-l-a-v-e-r-y To help the Freedmen Congress will make the transition not so bad Southern whites got really mad Protected the refugees from any undue wrongs Don’t blink, it’s gone Wasn’t there too long Radical elephants wanted no more conservative They knew the time had come For them to take command. It's very clear you're being unfair, Andy No matter what you say, we won't obey. Gonna hold a revolution now, And we're gonna run it all our way We're gonna impeach a president! (No more AJ) He's gonna do what the Radicals want! (No more AJ) We're gonna run things our way! (No more AJ) No executive brancher is going to tell us what to do! No, you’re not states no more, just provinces of the army Follow Congress’s requirements And you’ll be back into the big happy family One side of the government took supreme Legislative branch strong and booming Watch out, though! Apathy and Redemption are looming! Founded by Bedford, white hood tactics shocked While scared blacks stayed home

The vote was truly rocked They wanted to try to tame the black government And bring it down to size To let it grow unchecked like this Was “certainly” unwise Radical reconstruction was so easy, with no opponents present Ratified in Congress were three amendments 13 banned slavery, the next controversially struck the South, 15 forbade denial of votes and such Results were laudable, but motivations? Not so much. “Unconditional Surrender” was too loyal, too royal His government men let him down Any reaction? Just a frown Whatever happened to integrity, As businessmen and nice old G made a mockery of democracy America was the land of hope, Or so the legend told. This was a good time for the crafty So much dishonesty, truly it was bold Tilden surely had that vote Just one phone call needed Oops! Must have been a misquote… 1876, full of tricks Disputed election US headed in the wrong direction What a proper anniversary of the country’s conception!