Lauren Rabon 

Mrs. Penegar 
English I 4th Block 
December 19, 2018 

Wade Hampton III: The Loyal Traitor

The Civil War General and blooming Governor of South Carolina was one of South

Carolina’s most important leaders. Wade Hampton III stayed truthful to his native state of South

Carolina and fought in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, however, once the

war was over he changed his way of leading and became one of the few South Carolinians that

supported the freedom and equalization of slaves. In 1860 Hampton and the rest of South

Carolina seceded from the Union, this led to the tragedy of the Civil War. In 1863

Reconstruction began in the South and Wade Hampton started working towards the south

accepting that they had lost and that slavery was no longer acceptable which is one of the

greatest triumphs in the United State’s history.

Wade Hampton was one of the South's most wealthy plantation owners, that relied on

slaves for his family's prosperity. Robert K. Ackerman claims that Hampton had a yearly income

of nearly 200,000 dollars a year, which is approximately 3 million dollars in today's currency.

With this being said he was not one-hundred percent pro-slave, Hampton III knew that the unfair

discrimination was not the right decision for the United States to continue using as an economic

system, and was willing to give up all of his family fortunes to get rid of slavery. “Wade

Hampton III developed misgivings about slavery, apparently not because of moral scruples, but

because he concluded the system was uneconomical,” (americancivilwar.com). Though Wade

Hampton was a very well off plantation owner that owned slaves, he and his father both

acknowledged that slaves were people, not property and treated them as so. Some could say that

Wade Hampton was racist or that he was wrong for being a part of the Confederacy. Considering

that he gave up all of his wealth by freeing his slaves even when he knew what it would do to

him and his family he was not completely for these southern indecent morals. Wade Hampton

was brave to stand up in front of angry southerners who just lost a war and their way of life and

say that their loss was for the best.

The Civil War also known as The Southern Rebellion is easily one of the United States

greatest tragedies and Wade Hampton III played a role in allowing this to happen. The United

States fighting against one another was awful for both the Confederacy and the Union because

all of the focus went towards fighting rather than building the country up. South Carolina thought

that they had the right to secede because of Abraham Lincoln’s goals to abolish slaves was seen

as a threat to southern states because their owning of slaves was protected by the Constitution.

Bruce G. Kauffmann states that “South Carolina’s reasons for seceding went back to the

Constitutional Convention of 1787, when it successfully led the fight to protect slavery in the

Constitution, after which it agreed to join the Union created by the Constitution. But when, in

1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected president, South Carolina saw his election as a threat to

slavery.” Although Wade Hampton didn’t agree with the secession, he stuck with his native

home and went along with South Carolina's secession (revolvy.com). The secession of Southern

states immediately was seen as the first move to the start of the war by the Union. The lack of

communication between the South and the Union is a huge factor in why the war was started and

why the two sides could not get along. Daniel Nasaw of BBC News concludes that “The US
Civil War was incontrovertibly the bloodiest, most devastating conflict in American history.”

Most of the Civil War battles took place in southern states, so the South was in ruins after the

war was over. Even though slaves were outlawed after The Civil War took place, the number of

deaths and the countries split up during the war made it one of the country’s biggest tragedies

that Wade Hampton III played a part in doing.

Wade Hampton fought in The Confederacy but this is not because he wanted to continue

to use slaves for his benefit. After the Civil War was over reconstruction began, Wade Hampton

III was tired of the radical reconstruction and the South continuing to fight for the right of slaves

so he ran as governor of South Carolina in 1876 (history.com). Wade Hampton won the election

because of the overwhelming support from the black community, without their votes, he couldn’t

have won the election against Daniel Henry Chamberlain. The Washington Times says... “As a

state senator, Hampton agreed with his friends that a state had the constitutional right to secede

but held that action in this direction was inexpedient and without sufficient provocation. As for

slavery, he wanted to limit the institution and eventually abolish it.” Wade Hampton III knew

that slavery was not an efficient economic system for the United States to sustain. After the war

was over he was tired of the relentless, radical reconstruction and started making efforts to regain

a sufficient relationship with The Union. The Washington Times also states that, “Hampton,

although barred from holding office for many years, tried his best to steer South Carolina into an

honorable transition back into the Union,” Wade Hampton III didn’t want slavery to continue

and put forth all of his effort after the war to make the South feel the same way. He used his

connections and loyalty from his peers to do so. All of Hampton's wealth was lost after the war

because of the destruction that occurred, even though this took place, he still wanted to free
southern slaves and work towards creating a new, more beneficial economic system for The

United States. Robert K. Ackerman states that after the Civil War was over Hampton was not

able to rejuvenate his plantation in Mississippi and had to declare bankruptcy

(scencyclopedia.org.). South Carolina’s reconstruction plan made Hampton weary, in 1876 he

ran for governor. Wade Hampton III won the election with overwhelming support from the black

community. Ackerman also states that “As governor, he supported black suffrage and appointed

several African Americans and some Republicans to public office,” (scencyclopedia.org). Wade

Hampton respected that slaves were not property but that they were humans and should be

treated as so.

Wade Hampton’s triumphs and his tragedies, for better or for worse, big or small, shaped

the way the South and The United States are today. The Civil War was a very destructive war but

it causes some changes that are very beneficial to the U.S. today. Betsy Towner claims that “The

Civil War paved the way for Americans to live, learn and move about in ways that had seemed

all but inconceivable just a few years earlier.” Wade Hampton helped the South as a whole

accept that change needed to happen and, was going to happen whether they chose to help

gracefully or not. Wade Hampton’s role in the Confederate Army was a huge setback in how

people perceive him, even today some see him as a racist slave-owning Southerner. Even though

the U.S. isn’t discriminative towards African Americans today the decisions by our Southern

ancestors still cause havoc in the way many see the South today, and many of the former slaves'

families are still dealing with the effects that slavery has had on them. Hampton was a part of a

war that divided such a powerful country. He caused devastation to many lives of all ethnicity,

but he also caused merriment. Hampton helped southern states reconnect to the rest of the
country after The Civil War was over by leading his southern peers in the right direction for the

future of the United States. Despite his role as a Confederate General, he was able to change his

views and help mold America into the country it is today. However the Civil War is viewed, it

has helped the united states unite together and become one, “It took the War Between the States

to make us one nation, indivisible,” (Towner, Betsy). The War of the Southern Rebellion that

Wade Hampton fought in changed the way American society is today.

Wade Hampton’s loyalty to the South lead to the dividing tragedy of The Civil War,

however, his place in getting the South to go back to the Union was not only a triumph for him

but is easily one of The United States greatest accomplishments. His views on slavery and his

popularity amongst southerners made him a major factor in how gracefully the South accepted

defeat and started working towards change. The Civil War is seen as a huge flaw in American

history but without it, the United States would still be separated into the North and South and

slavery would still be around today. Wade Hampton III can be seen as a success and a failure,

but either way his tragedies and triumphs they have had significance in American history.