A page from Marx’s Communist Manifesto
The Communist Manifesto was written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1847 and served as a rallying call for revolutionary socialism in Europe. In 1848, a wave of unsuccessful revolutions inspired by the manifesto swept across Europe. Many revolutionaries fled to the United States, where a significant number supported the Union during the War for Southern Independence. Some even joined the Union army. During the war, Karl Marx wrote regularly for the New York Tribune, a prominent pro-Union paper, and he and Engels contributed articles supporting the Union cause to newspapers across Europe. Marx admired Abraham Lincoln and believed the Union’s cause aligned with his view of labor and class struggle.
Parallels Between the Communist Manifesto and Reconstruction-Era Policies
Below are the ten points outlined in Part II of the Communist Manifesto. Marx and Engels claimed these would transform a nation into a communist society. Below each, we explore how aspects of these points were reflected in South Carolina during the Reconstruction years (1865–1877). By some interpretations, eight of the ten were partially implemented during this time:
1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.
During Reconstruction, South Carolina’s property tax system shifted to target land over commercial and industrial holdings. Tax rates soared, and many landowners—unable to pay—lost their property. In 1873 alone, over 270,000 acres were seized; in 1874, the number exceeded 500,000 acres. Property tax remains a major revenue source in South Carolina today.
2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.
A graduated federal income tax was introduced in 1862 to fund the Union war effort and was raised again in 1864. Though it ended in 1872, it applied to South Carolinians during Reconstruction. The 16th Amendment, ratified in 1913, later established a permanent national income tax that remains in place today.
3. Abolition of all rights of inheritance.
The Union enacted an inheritance tax in 1862, which also applied during Reconstruction. It was repealed in 1870 but reinstated in 1916 and remains in force today in various forms.
4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.
The Confiscation Acts of 1861 and 1862 allowed Union authorities to seize property from those supporting the Confederacy. After the war, many Confederates were required to take an Oath of Allegiance and request a presidential pardon to retain their property. President Andrew Johnson denied pardons to many Confederate leaders and confiscated their assets.
5. Centralization of credit in the banks of the state, by means of a national bank with state capital and an exclusive monopoly.
The National Banking Acts of 1863 and 1864 created a national banking system, displacing many state banks and centralizing financial control. This system, imposed during Reconstruction, forms the foundation of today’s banking structure.
6. Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the state.
Attempts were made during Reconstruction to place railroads and telegraphs under federal control, but these failed. However, in 1887, Congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act, creating the Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate railroads and, eventually, other forms of transportation.
7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the state.
Government ownership of industry was not implemented in South Carolina during Reconstruction. However, Lincoln established the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1862, which would grow into a major regulatory agency in later decades.
8. Equal obligation of all to work; establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.
The Freedmen’s Bureau, created in 1865, oversaw labor contracts between landowners and freedmen and required able-bodied individuals to work to receive aid. Though intended to assist former slaves and refugees, the Bureau’s practices often resembled military oversight. Sharecropping became the dominant labor system after the Bureau was disbanded in 1868.
9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing; abolition of the distinction between town and country.
Charleston and Columbia, two major urban centers, were largely destroyed by Union forces. Economic pressures and federal policies encouraged freed people to remain in rural areas as sharecroppers. Census data shows a decline in urban population in South Carolina from 8.6% in 1870 to 7.5% in 1880, reflecting this rural emphasis.
10. Free education for all children in public schools.
The 1868 South Carolina Constitution mandated public education and created the office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. This laid the foundation for the state’s current public school system.
