"White man bery unsartin": "Nigger haint got no friends, no how"

In Short

This book serves as a blistering indictment of the post-Civil War era, detailing the collapse of the Freedmen’s Bank—an institution created to secure the financial future of former slaves. Through meticulous record-keeping and righteous fury, the author tracks how Republican “Christian statesmen” and local power brokers funneled millions of dollars into worthless, fraudulent securities. It remains a crucial historical document because it captures the raw, documented reality of institutional corruption and the betrayal of a vulnerable population by the very leaders who claimed to be their greatest allies.

The Story

The narrative begins with a cold, stormy night in 1871, when an informant arrives at the author’s home to reveal the extent of the conspiracy against the Freedmen’s Bank. The plot is simple but devastating: powerful men, including local officials and high-ranking bank officers, are using the deposits of former slaves to fund their own speculative ventures. They trade the laborers' life savings for worthless paving company stock, sandstone company bonds, and other fraudulent collateral.

As the author dissects the bank’s internal ledgers, a pattern of calculated predation emerges. He documents specific loans—such as $18,000 for quarry company stock and $14,000 for paving company shares—that were clearly never meant to be repaid. The narrative follows these threads to the highest levels of the Republican party, implicating figures like Alexander R. Shepherd and General O. O. Howard. The author describes how Howard, a man regarded as a “Christian soldier,” exploited his position to secure thousands of dollars for his own real estate speculations, proving that even those held in high moral regard were susceptible to the allure of the bank’s vast, unprotected assets.

The tragedy deepens as the bank moves toward inevitable bankruptcy. Rather than protecting the depositors—the “washers and scrubbers” who had worked for generations to build their small fortunes—Congress authorizes the appointment of a board of commissioners to “wind up” the bank’s affairs. Instead of acting as stewards, these commissioners—Creswell, Purvis, and Leipold—essentially treat the remaining funds as a private pension. They pay themselves generous salaries, hire well-connected lawyers like Enoch Totten to absorb the funds through bloated legal fees, and repeatedly ignore or stifle investigations into the mounting scandals.

The author concludes by highlighting the enduring misery caused by this theft. He compares the “chicken-roost” thefts often attributed to the poor with the massive, institutionalized thievery of the political elite, arguing that the latter is far more devastating. The story ends on a note of bitter frustration: despite clear evidence and numerous reports by investigators like Beverly Douglas, the men who orchestrated the ruin of thousands remain wealthy and in positions of power. The depositors, meanwhile, are left with nothing, their faith in the new economic order shattered by those they were taught to trust.

How It Unfolds

The Informant’s Revelation The author receives a visitor on a stormy night who provides a transcript of the bank’s corrupt loans. This list reveals that bank officers were funneling millions into worthless paving and quarrying schemes.

The Christian Speculators The investigation shifts to the bank’s leaders, specifically General O. O. Howard, who resigned his board position only to immediately borrow massive sums for personal land speculation. This segment exposes the hypocrisy of officials who wore their piety as a shield for their financial opportunism.

The Congressional Shield The author details how the Republican-controlled Congress refused to act, instead appointing a commission that effectively turned the bank’s liquidation into a new revenue stream for the well-connected. He shows how these commissioners pocketed thousands while the bank’s remaining assets vanished into legal fees.

The Final Audits The narrative culminates in a review of the absurdly high bills submitted by lawyers like Enoch Totten. By mapping these payments, the author proves that the systemic looting continued long after the bank had already failed.

The People

The book centers on the clash between the vulnerable and the powerful. The freedmen and women—described by the author as the “washers and scrubbers”—are the central, silent victims who trusted the bank with their lifetime earnings. Their thrift and hard work are pitted against the “ring” of Republican conspirators led by Alexander R. Shepherd. These men are defined by their greed and their ability to hide behind religious and political status. General O. O. Howard stands as the ultimate example of this contradiction, a “Christian soldier” who is tempted by and ultimately fails to resist the illicit profits of the bank. The Commissioners (Creswell, Purvis, and Leipold) serve as the final antagonists, managing the bank’s demise with a cold, bureaucratic indifference. Lawyer Enoch Totten represents the parasitic nature of the legal system, as he harvests the remaining funds through exorbitant, unnecessary fees.

In Its Own Voice

“White man very unsartin.” “Nigger haint got no friends, no how.”

The author uses these common sayings to summarize the sense of betrayal felt by those whose savings were stolen by the political elite.

The six millions of dollars deposited in the Freedmen’s Bank by the slaves just set free, after nearly two centuries of the most abject bondage, proved Brother Howard’s Satan, tempting him on to commit crime.

The author reflects on the fall of General O. O. Howard, a man of religious standing who prioritized his own ambition over the welfare of the vulnerable.

What It's Really About

At its core, this book is an exploration of the fragility of institutional justice when confronted with unchecked political power. It argues that the failure of the Freedmen’s Bank was not merely a financial mishap but a moral collapse of the Republican party. The author explores the question of whether the legal system is designed to protect capital or the people, ultimately concluding that the law was used as a tool to legitimize theft. By contrasting the intense labor of the freed people with the effortless corruption of the ruling class, the book challenges the reader to reconsider the true cost of political hypocrisy and the systemic barriers erected against Black economic independence.

Why Read It Today

Readers interested in the history of institutional racism and the roots of economic inequality will find this work essential. It is a raw, angry, and deeply uncomfortable read; the author does not shy away from the period’s harsh racial dynamics, and his inclusion of contemporary dialect reflects the language of the 1870s. The book is not a polished, modern history, but a firsthand, urgent piece of political journalism that pulses with the author’s indignation.

You will feel the weight of the author’s disillusionment as he watches the very party he once supported abandon its principles for the sake of profit. While the length and the specific, list-heavy nature of the financial documents can be demanding, they serve as a powerful testament to the cold, hard evidence behind the tragedy. It is a book that stays with you, not because of its literary flair, but because of the stark reality it records: that when institutions fail, the poor are the first to pay the price, and the powerful are the last to face the consequences.