,<»• ..^* ^^m^ . % A .^^' c.-^^, rf ''oV V*, ^> . , 1 ,0 ^^^'^^ '■"■^- %./ .J.' ^^ x^--^ ^>.<^^ Publications of the University of Virginia ( > Phelps-Stokes Fellowship Papers Number Four The Negro in Virginia Politics, 1 865- 1 902 BY RICHARD L. MORTON, Ph.D.. Phelps-Stokes Fellow in the University of Virginia, 1917-1918 Charlottesville, Va. The University of Virginia Press 1919 ^.?2 Vs M^Z library of congress MAY;J71921 EDITORIAL NOTE. The Phelps-Stokes Fellowshii) for the study of the Xegro was founded at the University of Virginia in 1912 through a gift from the trustees of the Phelps-Stokes Fund. It is the duty of the holder of the Fellowship to stimulate and conduct investigation and to encourage and guide a wider general inter- est among students concerning the character, condition, and possibilities of the negroes in the Southern States. W'itii this object in view the successive incumbents have or- ganized classes for study that have been well attended and dil- igent. Special investigations have been carried on by each Fel- low : related topics have been assigned for study by indi\iduals and groups, and the results presented for class discussion ; and from time to time men distinguisiied as thoughtful students of negro life have been invited to lecture at the University. Sev- eral studies, of which this is Number Four, have been consid- ered of suf^cient importance to merit publication. In no case, however, is the University or the Phelps-Stokes Fellowship Committee to be considered as passing judgment on the conclu- sions of these papers. PREFACE. The seriousness of the race prol)lcm in the social and ])ohlical life of any one of the United States varies directly with the percentage of the negro element to its total population. In 1(%5 forty-two per cent of the population of Virginia was colored. Negroes were in the majority in forty-three of the one hundred counties of the State. In 1902 \'irginia ranked fifth in the L'n- ion in the number of its negroes, and seventh in the percentage of negroes to its total population. There were 1,192,855 whites and 660,772 blacks in the State. Negroes, therefore, formed 35.7 per cent of the population. The race problem was rendered more acute by the fact that the greater part of the negro popula- tion was found in the Tidewater and Piedmont sections. Ne- groes were in the majority in thirty-five of the counties.^ In over one-half of the Northern states, at this time (1902), negroes did not constitute one per cent of the poimlation. Mass- achusetts, with a population of 2,801,738, had only 31. ''74 ne- groes, 1.2 per cent of the total population. It ranked twenty- fifth in the Union in number of negro inhabitants and thirt\- first in the percentage of negroes to its total po])ulation. F.vcn these figures did not express the difiference in the problems con- fronting the two great sections of the country, for in the North- ern States, illiteracy among the negroes was comparatively small, while in Virginia over fifty per cent of the male negroes of vot- ing age were illiterate. - The Northern student of race relations is too far away to understand the Southerner's problem — even though he may have a formidalile arra}' of facts and figures at his command. The Southerner, on the other hand, is too close to the negro to form an entirely unbiased opinion regarding him. Much harm has '. See map opposite page 147. ^ About 12 per cent of the adult male whites were illiterate. This percentage was somewhat lower among the whites of the black belt. PREFACE been done to both races in the South by ignorance of conditions and by harsh criticisms of the South as a whole when things have gone wrong in one locahty. It should be remembered by those studying race relations in the South that conditions pre- vailing in \'irginia and in Georgia, for example, are entirely dif- ferent in many respects. They are different in degree rather than in kind. The same may be said of \''irginia and any one of the Northern states where the negro has become a problem, even in a very limited degree. Race troubles in East St. Louis and in other Northern cities show this to be a fact. They also show how truly remarkable is the present harmony between the two races of the black belts of the South. Most of the friction between the races in the South since the War of Secession, has grown out of the work and teachings of political agitators who have sought to use the untutored negro to further their selfish aims. Few people realize that the politi- cal and racial troubles of the South did not end with the over- throw of the Reconstruction governments in the seventies, and that those troubles which followed were a constant reminder of that evil period in which they had originated. The negro may well be i^roud of the progress he has made, with the aid and encouragement of the white man, in bettering his condition dur- ing the last twenty years. It is the opinion of the author that this im])roved condition and the increasing harmony existing be- tween the two races could only have come through the removal of the negro from sectionalism and politics. In X'irginia, prior to the War of Secession, the political tra- ditions handed down from the days of Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Marshall, tlic l\an(loli)hs and other statesmen had cast an aristocratic dignity and noblesse oblige around politics and ]joliticians that is not readily understood by those not acquainted with \'irginia history prior to the war. This feeling made the ])Cople of the State choose well their ])olitical leaders and caused them to be most conservative in extending the suft'rage. Not until 18.^0 was white manhood suft'rage adopted, and a recognition of this political conservation prior to Reconstruction is essential to an understanding of the attitude of X'irginians towards the participation in i)olitics of their former slaves, led by unscrupu- lous adventurers. PREFACE 7 The political history of Virginia since 1865 is of unusual in- terest. It tells of the struggle of a peoi)le. bled by four years of war and stripped of capital, to adapt their social, economic and political life to new conditions. Several monographs have been written which deal more or less with the part that the negro has played in the politics of this period. Professor J. A. C. Chand- ler, in his Rcprcsciilalioii in rir(/inl(t, and f/istory of Suffrage ill I'irc/inia, gives brief accounts of the history of representation and suffrage in the State since 1ople of \'irginia, like those of her sister states of the North and of the South, accepted slaxery with the moral appro- bation of the world. Then came the spirit of freedom and de- mocracy that destroyed the theory of the divine right of kings in most of Europe and found expression in the writings and deeds of Virginians in the days of the Revolution and of the founding of the Republic. The leaders of those days realized that the doctrines of the Virginia Bill of Rights and of the Dec- laration of Independence were markedly at variance with the institution of slavery. "1 will not. I cannot justify it . . ,"" said Patrick Henry. "I believe the time will come when an oppor- tunity will be afforded to abolish this lamentable evil. l\ver>-- thing we can do is to improve it, if it hapi^ens in our day; if not, let us transinit to our descendants, together with our slaves, a pity for their unhappy lot and an abhorrence of slavery." - At this time negro slaves constituted almost fifty per cent of the total population of the State. They were but shortly re- moved from savagery and were utterly unfit for citizenship in a democracy. They were a social menace to their owners, and w'ere beginning to be an economic burden. Thomas Jefferson pictured the situation truthfully when he said. "We have tlvj wolf * J. C. Ballagh, A History of SUnrry in rir^iitia p. 2.1. (Jolins Hop- kins University Studies.) Hening's Statutes, ix. 471-172. • G. Morgan. The True Patrick Hoiry, p. 246. 11 12 ruitLrs-sTOKFS fellowship papers hv the ears, aiul it is as dangerous to let go as it is to hoUl on." '^ Most \'irginians were abolitionists, but not in the later sense of that word. The General Assembly of 1831-32 gave most of its time to a brilliant discussion of abolition. There was no more eloquent arraignment of slavery than that given in the debates of that session. Finally a bill that would have greatly encour- aged manumission was defeated by one vote in the Senate, after having passed the House of Delegates. The defeat of any plan of emancipation was due to the fact that it could not solve the race question. It would have demoralized the whole system of labor in the State and would have left the large mass of igno- rant freedmen with no adequate instruction or restraint. The helplessness of finding a way out of these dif^culties. and the bitter aggressiveness and — from the Southern viewpoint — the Pharisaic sectionalism of the Xew England Abolitionists, who were just beginning their agitations, closed the mouths of the anti-slavery men in \*irginia and induced some to defend openly the unhappy institution with logic and with Scripture. But the conservative people of the State were always opposed to slavery in theory, although they could see no practical manner of ridding themselves of the institution. In 1861 \"irginians entered the War of Secession in an at- tempt to assert the right of nationalit}- for the Confederate States, just as their forefathers had done in the days of the Rev- olution to gain American independence. In 1865 they came out of the war freed from slaver\- but con- fronted with a tremendous racial and social problem in the great crowd of freedmen. who were poor, ignorant, unmoral, supersti- tious, easily led astray and utterly unused to the ways of freedom and self-control. They outnumbered the whites in almost half of the counties, the local units of government of the State. The difficulties of the situation were enhanced by the fact that the State government was no longer in the hands of those who un- derstood conditions and who were most fit to administer it. Before the radical element of the Republican part}- gained con- Quoted in B. B. Munford. I'irginia's Attitude 1 onards Slavery and Secession, p. 73. THE NEGRO IX VIRGINIA POLITICS 13 trol of the Federal government the cxMiservative leaders of both parties in the Xorth looked upon negro suffrage as unwise and dangerous in the South. ^ and not highly desirable in the Xorth. In 1865 there were only six Xorthem States which per- mitted negroes to vote: Elaine, Massachusetts, Xew Hampshire. Rhode Island. \*ermont. and Wisconsin.^ In those States riiere were discriminations against them, with the probable exception of Maine. Yet n^roes in the Xorthem States were not an ap- preciable factor in the population and were far more intelligent than the Southern ex-slaves. In the Federal capital, itself, they were not allowed to vote. On June 8. 1867. Congress passed a biU over the President's veto establishing negro suffrage in the District of Columbia, ^\^len the plan was submitted to the vot- * Oliver P. Morton in a speech at Richmond, Indiana, in Septem- ber. 1565. said: "I believe that in the case of the four million slaves just freed from bondage there should be a period of probation and preparation before they are brought to the exercise of political power * * * To say that such men. just emerged from slavery, are qualified for the exercise of political power is the strongest pro- slavery argument I ever heard. It is to pay the highest compliment to the institution of slavery." He proposed that the simrage be withheld from them until immigration had made a good white ma- jority in the Southern States. In his valedictory address of January 5. 1S66. Governor Andrew, of Massachusetts, said: '"It would be idle to reorganize those States [the Southern States] by the colored vote. If the popular vote of the white race is not to be had in favor of the guarantees justly re- quired, then I am in favor of holding on just where we now are. I am not in favor of a surrender of the present rights of the L.'ion to a struggle between a white minority, aided by the freedmen on the one hand, against a majority of the white race on the other. I would not consent. ha\-ing rescued these States by arms from se- cession and rebellion, lo turn them over to anarchy and chaos. "I only know that we ought to demand and secure the co-opera- tion of the strongest and ablest minds and the natural leaders of opinion in the South." For the above quotations and for a further consideration of this subject, see William Henry Trescot, **The Southern Question." Xorth .-Imcncjn Rczit-w, October. 1576 (cxxiii. 249-2S0). * Xew York (and Tennessee^ permitted limited Negro suffrage. G. T. Stephenson. Race DistinctioHS in American Lt:l\ p. 2S5. 14 PHKLPS-fiTOKRS FKLLOWSHIP PAPERS ers, it was rejected by a vote of 6,321 to 35 in Washington, and by a vote of 812 to 1 in Georgetown. Rut negro suffrage was introduced, and after four years of trial proved so disastrous that Congress had to rid the District of the disturbing element in politics by disfranchising the whole population. Unlimited negro suffrage had no place in Lincoln's plan of Re- construction, or in the early Congressional plan. It was forced upon the South by a group of aggressive radicals led by Thad- deus Stevens as a means of their personal aggrandisement and of executing punishment and revenge upon the Southern States. Its effects in \^irginia are shown in the pages that follow. CHAPTER II. Thk Beginnings of Negro Suffrage — 1861 to 1867. Prior to 1865 Virginia had enjoyed for four years the unique distinction of having two governments, the regular State gov- ernment that was in the Confederacy and the shadowy revolu- tionary government set up in trans-Alleghany Virginia and rec- ognized by President ijncoln as the government of all Virginia. Although there was unanimity regarding secession in the counties that are within the present boundaries of Virginia, the trans-Alleghany counties opposed it and in June 1861 set up a government known as the "Restored Government of Virginia." F. H. Pierpont was made governor and in August 1861 the leg- islature met in Wheeling and gave the consent of N'irginia to the formation of the new State of West Virginia from the counties that had seceded from \^irginia. After having given away about all the territory over which it could really claim jurisdiction, the Wheeling government found itself in a foreign State. Governor Pierpont, therefore, changed his capital to Alexandria where his government represented a minority in a few border counties un- der the shadow of the Federal armies. Here his capital re- mained until the spring of 1865 when it was removed to Rich- mond after its evacuation by the Confederate forces. In May, 1864, a constitutional convention was called by the "Restored Government." This convention, representing a con- stituency composed mostly of people from without the State and people with Northern sympathies, adopted a constitution limit- ing the suffrage to (loyal) white male citizens of the Common- wealth. ^ By recognizing this government on May 9, 1865, President Johnson gave Virginia a government of her own shortly after the close of the war. Governor Pierpont sudlenly found him- self governor in deed as well as in name, and was recognized as ' Constitution of 1864, Article III. 15 16 PHKLPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS such by the people of the State. The people of \'irginia now de- sired peace and restoration. The questions of state rights and slavery had been settled in fact, whatever their theories might have been. After the struggle for state rights had. with Lincoln's Eman- cipation Proclamation in 1863, "degenerated," as Governor Letcher expressed it, into a war for the emancipation of slaves, ^ it was evident that the defeat of the Confederate armies meant the end of slavery. On June 19, 1865, an extra session of the legislature that had previously met in Alexandria was called. This legislature passed some much needed laws regarding freedmen, and also an enabling act which resulted in the removal of the clauses in the constitu- tion of 1864 disfranchising those who aided the Confederacy. Just before the adjournment of this Assembly, Speaker Downey congratulated its members that the State had been delivered from the hands of the "Abolitionists" (the radical Republicans). "\'irginia." he said, "is now safe. Whatever they may do to other states, thank God they cannot now saddle negro suffrage upon us." ^ This utterance, though coming from the foreign and Union element in \'irginia, is not surprising in view of the fact that the negro was not only denied the sufifrage in most of the Xorthern States but was even forbidden to enter some of them with the intention of residing.-* Speaker Downey was but ex- ' "It is no longer a war for the preservation of the old Union, as it was originall}' proclaimed to be, but it has degenerated into a war for the emancipation of our slaves." House Journal and Documents, 1863-64. ' H. J. Eckenrode, Political History of Viri^inia duriii_:^ Rccn)i .trnc- tioii. p. 30. (Johns Hopkins University Studies, vol. xxii). For example. Illinois, in 18.")3, put on her statute books a law making it a misdemeanor for a negro to enter the State with the intention of residing. In 1862, this law was made a part of the State constitution. In Article XVIII, Section 1, it was enacted that "No negro or mulatto shall immigrate or settle in this State after the adoption of the constitution." "This article of the constitution," observed Mr. Munford, "was submitted to the popular vote separately from the body of the con- stitution, and, though the latter was rejected by over 16,000 major- THE NEGRO IN VTRGIXIA POLITICS 17 pressing the sentiment of the great body of conser\ative incn of the North at that time. But the unfortunate personaHty of Pres- ident Johnson, the necessary but unwise vagrancy laws of the Southern States and the growing need of the RepubUcan party for extreme measures to keep itself in power brought the Radi- cals in Congress to the front. Governor Pierpont, though a staunch L'nion man, was very conservative and for that reason soon lost favor with the radi- cals in his party. These men. for the most part scalawags and carpetbaggers, desired to gain control of the State for their own purposes by disfranchising most of the whites and giving the ballot to the ignorant negroes. On June 12. 1863. the Republi- cans of the Radical center, Alexandria, formed a political asso- ciation. They adopted resolutions to the effect that the State was in danger of coming under the control of secessionists and that this should be prevented ; and "that the constitution of \'ir- ginia should be amended so as to confer the right of suffrage upon, and restrict it to, loyal male citizens without regard to color." This "Union Association of Alexandria." as it was called, also urged the people of the North, and Congress, to re- gard the Pierpont government as merely pro\isional and to order an election of members to a state convention in which all loval men should vote regardless of their color. According to Mr. Eckenrode, "This was the first announcement of the advocacy of negro suffrage by the Republican party in \'irginia." '"' The State elections in the fall of 1865 resulted in the amend- ment of the Alexandria constitution of 1864 so as to extend the franchise to those who had aided the Confederacy, and to allow ity, the former was made a part of the organic law of Illinois by a majority of 100.590. This vote was taken in August. 1862, and thus, barely a month before Mr. Lincoln's first Proclamation of Emanci- pation, the people of his own state, by a vote approaching unanin-ity. placed in their constitution this clause preventing free negroes from coming into their commonwealth." MunfoTd, J'irgiiiia's Attitude TflZi'ards Slavery nri-l Secessinii, pp. 171-172. " H. J. Eckenrode, Political History of I'irgiiiia during Reconstruc- tion, p. 33. IS PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS them to hold office. As a result, the legislature that met on De- cember -I — the very day that the \'irginia delegates were refused seats in Congress — was a very representative and conservative body. John B. Baldwin, of Augusta county, an ex-congressman of the Confederacy and one of the ablest and best politicians of the State, was made speaker of the House of Delegates. R. M. T. Hunter. William Smith and others of like prominence in the Commonwealth were members of the Assembly. The conserva- tism of this body may be inferred from the fact that out of the ninetv-seven members of the House of Delegates all but one were old line Whigs.^' There was plenty of work for this legislature to do for a war- stricken State. It attempted to win back West Mrginia. and, since that was impossible, to effect with that State a reasonable adjustment of the public debt. On March 2. 1866, the Assembly passed bv a unanimous vote an act to provide for funding the interest on the public debt. One-third of the debt was consid- ered as West \'irginia's share." In order to put an end to the rumors that the Assembly would repudiate the State debt, this legislature passed the following joint resolution: "1. Resolved, That this General Assembly will pass no such acts of repudiation. "2. That such legislation would be no less destructive of our future prosperity than of our credit, our integrity, and our honor." This resolution of what may be regarded as the last General Assembly of the ante-bellum regime should be carefully borne in mind when considering the Readjuster legislation of 1879 to 1885.^^ The greatest problem that confronted this legislature when it met in December. 1865. was the large number of aimless, va- grant freedmen. The State had been the main battle field of a long war. Many of her young men were dead : her capital was gone : her transportation system was crippled : the whole system ' Eckenrode. Political History of J'irginia diiri)ig Rcconstructioit. p. 41. ' House Journal. 1S65-66. p. 448; Senate Journal. 1S65-66. p. 312; Acts of Assembly, 1S65-66. ch. 9. p. 79; Ibid., ch. 35. ' Acts of Assembly. 1866-67. ch. 73. p. 499. THE NEGRO IX VIRGINIA POLITICS 19 of labor was demoralized. Although want and poverty were everywhere and labor was needed as never before, there was in many localities an abundance of freedmen who understood freedom to mean exemption from work and the ability to roam at will and to live by the aid of the Freedmen's Bureau and petty thieving. ]\Iany of them, in order to fully demonstrate their freedom, left their old homes. Often their wives and children were left as a further burden on their former masters. They crowded into the cities. They congregated in some places in the country, killed the cattle and poultry, and devastated the corn fields and melon patches. The whites of the State, scattered through the rural districts with little police protection, if any, were naturally alarmed at this condition of affairs.^ The reports of the military officers stationed in X'irginia show that this tendency among the negroes was also causing them grave concern. They advised the negroes to go to work, and attempted to put an end to vagrancy among them by the use of their authority. An order of June 1. 1865, of General Gregg, who was stationed at Lynchburg, reads as follows : "Xo f reed- man can be allowed to live in idleness when he can obtain any description of work. Should he refuse to work he will be treated as a vagabond." On the day following the date of this order, another was issued by General Gregg to the effect that, "Able- bodied men will be prevented, as far as it is possible to do so, from deserting the w-omen, children and aged persons ; and where there is no good cause shown why they left, they will be sent back." General Duval at Staunton gave notice on June 2, 1865. '"That all negroes now roaming the country will be made at once to break up their idle pursuits and seek employment." Colonel Brown, in a report of January 2. 1866. said that "in the neigh- borhood of Norfolk. Fortress Monroe and Yorktown. about seventy thousand negroes have been collected during the war. ... In other districts, thousands of freedmen were roaming about without settled employment and without 1 omes. In locali- " J. P. McConnell, Xegroes and Their Treatment in Virginia from 1863 to 1867, P- 45. The newspapers of the period are filled with com- plaints of vagrancy among the negroes. 20 PIlCLPS-STOKr-ZS FEIvLOWSIiri' PAPERS ties, least disturbed by the pressure or conflict of armies and where the average amount of land was under cultivation, the crops were suffering from want of proper attention." ^"* The wages paid the freedmen were very low. The farmers were without capital and could afiford to pay very little. On the other hand the freedmen showed no disposition to assume any responsibility for their contracts or their work, and consequently, their aid could not be depended upon in advance. At the same time they were encouraged by the carpetbaggers, and sometimes by the officers of the Freedmen's Bureau, to demand higher wages than had ever been paid in the State to either whites or blacks. The need for legislation to prevent vagrancy was very great and the demand for such legislation was urgent and insistent, es- pecially throughout eastern \'irginia. Under these circum- stances it was natural that the legislature should have attempted to find some relief for the situation. An act was therefore passed whose stringency was commensurate with the seriousness of the evil that existed.'^ It was provided in this act that all beggars, except those who were incapable of labor, and all persons in the State who could not support themselves and their families and yet refused to work for the "usual and common wages given to other laborers in the like work in the place where they then were" be classed as vagrants. Along with these were placed all persons who came into the State and who had no occupation or visible means of support and who could not give an account of themselves or their business. If upon due examination a person was found to be a vagrant, he was to be hired out for any term not exceeding three months and the wages used for him or his family. I'rovision was made for the punishment of the vagrant should he attempt to escape from his enforced employment. There wjts no distinction of color made in this law. Although it was intended i)riniarily for the freedmen. the fifth section of '" The quotations above are found in J. V. AlcConnell, A'cgrocs and Their Treatment in I'irginia from i86j to 1S67, pp. 48, 49. " Acts of Assembly, 1865-66, pp. 'Jl-93. THE NEGRO TN VIRGINIA POLITICS 21 the second article of the law undotibtedly refers to the political adventurers who had already begun to swarm into the State in search of loot. The law resembled those enacted in the New England states when they were menaced by a large number of more or less ignorant and vagrant immigrants. It was stringent only for incorrigibles but was subject to abuse. Although cir- cumstances demanded a stringent law, it was unwise at this lime because it furnished at a critical period in national politics good material for Radical Republican propaganda. The practical working of the law was not tested, since it was annulled nine days after its passage by Major-General Terry on the ground that it would virtually restore slavery under another guise. It was, no doubt, on account of the misinterpretation of tiie \a- grancy law that the legislature passed the following resolution on February 6. 1865: "Rcsokrd, That involuntary servitude, except for crime, is abol- ished, and ought not to be re-established, and that the negro race among us be treated with justice, humanity, and good faith, and every means that the wisdom of the Legislature can devise should be used to make them useful and intelligent members of society." That the legislature wished to make it clear that, in their opin- ion, the time was not ripe for preci]iitating the ignorant freed- men into the electorate without ])reliniinrn y training is shown by the further resolution "that earnest thanks are due the President for the firm stand he has taken against amendments of the con- stitution forced through in the present condition of affairs." '- That this legislature had no desire to re-enslave the negro is shown by the act of February 27, 1865, i'' which repealed, for the most part, the old slave code. b>en the laws prohibiti.ig negroes from owning firearms or other weapons were repealed, in spite of the prexailing unrest among the negroes and the fear among many of the whites of negro insurrections. On January 23, 1866. the condition of affairs in \'irginia came before the Reconstruction Committee in Congress. The great majority of witnesses were Republicans, mostly radicals, who " Acts of Assembly, 1865-66, p. 449. " Acts of Assembly, 1865-66, pp. 84-85. '>'> when a-sked what the Viigimans. if left to themselves, wc . - . c^rth. fhrv -: the Un: d3e\- w roes."*^ :. _ . .. ils. Mostc _ :. _:. r : - .: all kinds were afloat. At this time more acts of violence were races in the State. The State vazrants. and the v. U as wt f "t; was rapiGiy cr :... ...lake of treating .... South as a whole, in spite of : greatly in the different States. The ' -. ' ' he negroes f ' ir and its lelit\- of the ^ jority of them to their masters and their masters' families 'e period of the vrar has always :ion \s\ the white peo''e '* the S, still depended upon their f ^sters for advice and aid- The press ar r - - ._ stationed in \'irginia : _ .erween the two races from 1865 to 1867. It was the injection of the ne- ; before they v.^ - ^ ^_ :.- .. ; . . /iibilities of the ::_ \... . . /^ .^. . : u- ence of the Freedmen's Bureau ofiicials, Union Leaguers, Xorth- err. adventurers of all kinds and Northern school teach- ers ... ._used the friction that existed between whites and blacks after 1867. The year 1866 was f; iety to '.e of Virginia. At the end of the previo t h— ^e:- ..a- refused to admit ** Reports cA Reconstruction Committee, Thirty-Ninth Congress, first session. Part 2, Virginia; Reports of the Secretary of War, Thirty-Ninth Congress, second session. Con^r^'jjiV/fMt/ GU/be, l%65-66, pp. 1407-1411. THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA POLITICS 23 their representatives. Lincoln's plan of early conciliation and restoration, that President Johnson had adopted, was doomed to failure. From the nature of the witnesses and the testimony they gave before the Reconstruction Committee in January, 1866, it was evident that Congress had nothing good in store for \'ir- ginia. It was felt that the old South with its traditions had gone, that the eastern part of the State would probably sink into the condition of Hayti, and that whatever might be saved from be- ing "Negroized" would only be saved at the price of being "Yan- keeized" — whatever that word connotated at the time.^^ Emboldened by the increased strength of the Radicals in Con- gress, their followers were much encouraged to seek control of affairs in Mrginia. On May 17, 1866, the ■"Unconditional Un- ion Convention" met in Alexandria. It was the first state-wide political convention in the State since the war. Its chairman was John Minor Botts. a man of no mean ability, who had re- mained loval to the Union during the war and had not thereby increased his popularity in his native State. A resolution was adopted by this convention. "That no reorganized State govern- ment of Mrginia should be recognized by the government of the United States which does not exclude from suffrage and holding " In a letter to Dr. Moses D. Hoge of August 16. 1S63. Dr. R. L. Dabney. one of the leading theologians of the period, writes from his home in the black belt of Virginia that "people do not enough allow for the poisonous effects of an oppressive government, which, with this blight so visible now in society, and church, and the killing and banishing of the most of our better spirits. I fear that the in- dependence, the honor, the hospitality, the integrity, the everyth'ng which constituted Southern character has gone forever." In a letter of March 13. 1S66. Dr. R. L. Dabney wrote from his home in Prince Edward County. "It seems to me nearly every per- son of any standing or intelligence I meet with is inclined to emi- gration, and onl}' needs an inviting outlet to determine him." Mat- thew Fontaine Maury, then in Belgium, was much interested in find- ing a suitable country as a home for those who should leave Vir- ginia. General Tubal A. Early, who was never re onstructed. looked with especial favor upon Xew Zealand, because it was "far from Yankees and negroes." Thomas Gary Johnson. The Life aud Letters of Robert Lezvis Dab- ney, pp. 304-307. 24 PHEI.I'S-STOKKS FHLLOWSllIP I'APERS ofifice, at least for a term of years, all ipersons who have volun- tarily given moral or material support to rebellion against the United States, and which does not, with such disfranchisement, provide for the immediate enfranchisement of all Union men without distinction of color." It declared that since the \ irginia legislature was made up largely of rebels, it was an illegal body and that its laws, therefore, should be considered illegal and void. The convention furthermore had circulated through the State a petition, addressed to the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States, asking that the Pierpont government be overthrown and that reconstruction of Virginia be made along those lines afterwards adopted by Congress and known as the Congressional plan of Reconstruction. This plan would require the appointment of a provisional governor. Therefore, "They [the signers of this petition] further request," continued the pe- tition, "that the Hon. John C. Underwood, the faithful patriot and distinguished jurist, who has always adhered to the gov- ernment with a fidelity which no flattery could seduce, no bribery corrupt, nor fears intimidate, be selected as said provisional Governor." ^^ John C. Underwood was a native of New York who had lived in Clarke county, Virginia, for a few years prior to the War of Secession and who had become so unpopular there on account of his radicalism that he soon found it more agreeable at the North. He was a man of little education or natural ability and was ut- terly unscrupulous. He returned to Virginia in the wake of the Federal armies and had already made himself obnoxious by ad- vocating the disfranchisement of all but "loyal" whites, by his activity in confiscating the property of Virginians who had aided the Confederacy, and by urging the negroes to be active in pol- itics. Uesides the adverse testimony before the Reconstruction Com- mittee there was other material for Radical propaganda against Virginia in 1866. In the spring of that year. Judge Thomas, of Alexandria, rendered a decision adverse to the Civil Rights law when he held that the laws of Virginia forbade negroes to testify ,lppletO)i's Annual American Cyclopaedia, 1866, "Virginia." THE NEGRO IN VIRCIXIA I'OLITICS 25 in cases where only whites were concerned, and that a Federal law conld not prescribe qualifications for witnesses in a State. A more serious case was that of Dr. Watson, of Rockbridge county, who was brought to trial that fall for the murder of a negro and was acquitted. \\'hereui)on he was ordered by Gen- eral Schofield to appear before a military tribunal, but was par- doned by President Johnson before trial, .\lthough such cases were exceptional, they were used with much effect in creating an unfavorable impression of conditions in Virginia at the Xorth. On September 2, a convention was called at Philadelphia t(j bring together the Republicans at the Xorth and the L'nionists at the South. The topic that was most discussed was unre- stricted suft'rage. Of the \'irginia delegation, John Minor IJotts opposed unrestricted suffrage, and James W. ITunnicutt, who was destined to become one of the leading Radicals of the State, advocated manhood suft'rage, except to "rebels." ^'^ During the last days of its session, the convention, by a small vote, declared itself in favor of manhood suft'rage. As Mr. Eckenrode points out, ^^'' it was not until after this convention that manhood suf- frage was accepted by the Republican party. When on December 2, of this unhappy year, the legislature met in its second session. Governor Pierpont wisely advised moderation in all laws regarding freedmen and Federal relations, and advised the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment. lUit public sentiment in the State was very strong against the amend- ment and the legislature could not conscientiously ratify it while there was hope of its being defeated. P)esides, \'irginia consid- ered it most illogical and imlawful to be treated as a conquered " Rev. James W. Hunnicutt was a native of South Carolina and had resided in Alexandria for a number of j-ears as the editor of a religious paper. During the war he followed the line of least re- sistance and did not oppose the Confederacj'. lUu during Re- construction he became one of the most violent and dangerous of the Radical demagogues, and through a newspaper, the Xew Natiou, which he published in Richmond during that pe. 'od. he exerted a very great influence over his party. " Eckenrode, Political History of ririiiitia durini; Rcconstruclioti, p. 49. 26 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS province and at the same time be forced to aid in ratifying an unwelcome amendment as one of the States of the Union. Con- sequently it rejected the amendment on January 9, 1867. i'' On -March 3. 1867, the legislature adjourned. But before it closed its doors, it requested the Governor to call an extra ses- sion at once to meet the emergency that would arise out of legis- lation pending in Congress. Governor Pienpont complied with the request and, in his message at the beginning of the new ses- sion, laid before the Assembly the Reconstruction Act of March 2 with the advice that a convention be called to make a constitu- tion to meet the conditions therein imposed. The legislature realizing that the Radicals now had control of Congress, decided to act upon the Governor's advice. A bill providing for the call- ing of a constitutional convention was introduced in the Senate on March 9, and a committee was sent to Washington to learn the wishes of Congressional leaders in this matter. They re- turned with the assurance of these men that the proposed bill was satisfactory and that a convention called according to its provisions would be considered legal by them under the Recon- struction act of March 2.-" The Richmond IVhig had, at an early date, begun to urge the l^eople of the State to accept the inevitable. Now the Richmond Dispatch urged the people to support the action of the Senate and "to come out and take part in the political measures of the day, and, gracefully submitting to necessity, thus save themselves and their State from the most dreadful fate that ever came upon a nation, namely, the giving up, through inaction, their govern- ment and their fates to the colored voters and the followers of Ilnnnicutt." There were many advocates of inaction in politics at first, but this changed as Reconstruction progressed. The bill for calling a constitutional convention was passed by " General Schofield attributes the action of the Assembly in re- jecting the Fourteenth Amendment to influence from Washington, perhaps to that of President Johnson. General Schofield advised its adoption in order that more radical legislation might be thereby- avoided. General John M. Schofield, Forty-Six Years in the Army. '■* The Richmond Dispatch, March 11, 1867. THE NEGRO IN VIKC.INIA I'OI.ITICS 27 a large majority in the Senate. Hut the act of Congress of March 23 made a vote on the bill of no tise in the House. In the mean- while, however, the Reconstruction Act of March 2 was being put into execution. \ ir^inia now became Military District Niun- ber 1, and Lieutenant-General John M. Schofield. who had beeji in charge of the Federal troops of the Potomac Division, was put in command. He assumed control of the District on March 13, 1867. Reconstruction had come. Virginia was most fortunate in having General Schofield at this time. He was conser\ative, wise and just ; and it was due to his moral courage and good sense that Virginia was spared the reign of terror that existed in most of the Southern States during the Reconstruction ]:)erio(i. His i)olicy was to gain the confidence and support of the people of the State and to inter- fere as little as possible with the civil authorities.-* The Reconstruction Acts of March 2 and March 2i gave to the freedmen the right to vote for delegates to a constitutional convention to frame a constitution according to the wishes of Congress. The negroes had, however, already made their first attempt to vote on March 5, 1867, at Alexandria, where they had been influenced by the Northern settlers in their midst. The mayor of the town and the local judge asked the advice of the President of the I'nited States and of the Attorney General as to the right of these people to partici])ate in the municipal elec- tion. As no definite answers were given to the inquiry, negro votes were not counted in. In this election there were cast 1.400 negro votes (counted by a Radical agent), 1,000 white Conser- vative votes, and 72 white Radical votes.-- This action on the part of the election officials l.>rought forth much harsh criticism in the North. Similar troubles elsewhere in N'irginia were jire- vented by an order from General Schofield of .\pril 2, which for- bade any local election until after registration under the Recon- ^ John M. Schofield, Forty-Six Years in the Army. p. ?,90. Ch. xxi deals with Reconstruction in Virginia. "^ H. J. Eckenrode, Political History of I'irginia duriuj; Recouslruc- iiou, p. 66. 28 piif:i.p?-?tokfs fkllowship taphrs struction Acts had been completed. In the meanwhile vacancies were filled by the Commanding General.--^ Immediately after the Reconstruction Act of Congress of ^larch 23 was published, the Commanding General appointed a board of army officers to select suitable (persons as registering officers throughout the State. In selecting these officers of reg- istration, preference was gi\en : first, to officers of the army and of the Freedmen's Bureau on duty in the State ; second, to per- sons who had been honorably discharged from the army after having seen service; and third, to loyal citizens of the locality in which they were to serve. In fact, the greater part of them were chosen from the first class. The outlook in Congress was becoming more and more dis- couraging to the Southern people. On March 19, 1867, Thad- deus Stevens introduced his bill for confiscating the property of "rebels." In a speech advocating this measure as a punishment of the people of the South he said, "The punishment of traitors has been wholly ignored by a treacherous Executive and by a sluggish Congress. I wish to make an issue before the Ameri- can people, and see whether they will sanction the perfect im- punity of a murderous belligerent . . . To this issue I desire to devote the small remnant of my life." It was in the hands of this man and his followers that the fate of the country seemed to rest in March, 1867. In view of such leadership in Con- gress and of such legislation as had already been enacted, it is not surprising that a feeling of uncertainty, gloom and dread should have settled down over the people of X'irginia.--* '' Annual Cyclopaedia, 1867, p. 758. ** The description of the conditions that prevailed at the time in Virginia, given in the two extracts below from letters in the Rich- mond Dispatch of March 21, 1867, are typical of those found in many letters and other contemporaneous accounts. The first letter, dated March 19, 1867, is from Halifax county. "The country," said the writer, "wears now a gloomy aspect, and the farmers are depressed. Before the war many farmers worked a large number of negroes. But it is now the rarest thing to find a half-dozen negroes working together. * * * Politically, the people want rest and peace. They have been in war and storm long enough. They feel they have no power of resistance, and hence de- THE NEGKO IX VIRGINIA I'OMTICS 29 Prior to September, 1866. negro suffrage was not favorably considered except by a few extreme Radicals. But as the Re- publican party came under the control of the Radical element, which was destined to bring so much discredit upon the party not only at the South but at the North, negro suffrage was adopted by that iparty to l>olster up its declining strength. The negro was most unfortunate in the time of his induction into pol- itics, March 1867. And he was still more unfortunate in his sponsors on that occasion. It would be hard to imagine less de- sirable ])olitical teachers and leaders for the freedmen than such men as the carpetbagger Inderwood and the scalawag Ilunni- cutt. ^'et these men, whose radicalism was fast bringing them into prominence in 1865 and 1866, al^solutely dominated the ne- gro voters and, through them. X'irginia politics in the campaign of 1867. sire to heal the breach between the Soutli and tlie Federal Govern- ment with tlie least possible delay. True, you sometimes meet with individuals who council entire inactivity; but these are the excep- tions to the general rule. Submit to any requirements of the con- quering party — for it is a necessity — is well nigh the unanimous voice of this region of the country." The second is a private letter to the Baltimore Sun. which says that it was written by one of the most eminent citizens of Accomac county and adds that "there is much reason to believe it too true." "I regret," he said, "that there is nothing pleasant to communicate; general gloom and despondency hang over our entire section, and a fearful looking for what is to come. The prospect is less promis- ing to me than at any previous period. We might nerve ourselves to meet the most stringent of political measures if there was a cer- tainty of its being final. But it seems a disposition to accede to die demands of the dominant party leads to more oppressive demands. "A want of confidence, a perfect stupor, and an indisposition to attempt anything, or to form any plans for the future, is the inevita- ble consequence of the position of matters. God only knows what is to become of us." The above letter explains in part the amazing inactivity that ex- isted in some sections of the South among the whites during the first part of Reconstruction. See also T. C. Johnson. Life and Letters of Robert Lexds Dahncy. pp. P,ni-:;o:i. Similar accounts are numerous. CHAPTER III. Tiiiv Campaic.x of 1867 — Radicals and Xegroes Draw the Color Line. Registration nndor the Reconstruction Acts took place in the summer of 1867. Those who had held any state or Federal of- fice and afterwards supported the Confederacy were disqualified from holding ofifice and from voting. The following were classed as state officials : "Governor. Lieutenant-Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor of Public Accounts, Second Auditor, Registrar of the Land Office, State Treasurer, Attorney-General, Sheriff, Sergeant of a city or town. Commissioner of the Revenue, County Surveyors, Constables, Overseers of the Poor, Commissioners of the Board of Public Works, Judges of the Supreme Court, Judge of the Court of Hustings, Justices of the County Courts, Mayor, Recorder, and Aldermen of a city or town corporation, Escheators, Inspectors of tobacco, flour, etc.. Clerks of the Su- preme Court, District, Circuit, and County Courts, and of the Court of Hustings, and Attorneys for the Commonwealth." ^ The Commanding General of the District estimated that 70,000 of the whites were disfranchised in this way. Although this es- timate is "more ingenious than convincing," as Professor Dun- ning puts it, it is certain that thousands of the leading men — all who had had experience in administration — were disfran- chised. The number of registrants totaled 225,933. of which 120,101 were white and 103.832. or 47 per cent were colored. The col- ored voters formed a majority in only half of the counties. But since these were the most populous counties of the State, they were at an immense advantage when it came to representation. There were 90,5.^5 registrants in the white section, the northern and western part of the State, and 125,895 in the black section to the south and east. By a strict apportionment on the basis ' Act of Congress of July 19 amending tliat of June .3. ;]0 i^ ^ Fold-out Placeholder This fold-out is being digitized, and will be inserted at a future date. Fold-out Placeholder This fold-out is being digitized, and will be inserted at a future date. THE XF.r.RO IN VIRCIMA POLITICS 31 used, one representative to 2,061 constituents, there would have been 44 representatives from the white counties and 61 from the colored counties — in spite of the fact that in the State as a whole the majority of the whites was 14.269. The actual apportion- ment gave the districts under the white control 47 representa- tives to the convention, and those under colored control 58.- When the colored population was enfranchised in the spring" of 1867. the Republican party was already organized and in the field. There was no other party in X'irginia. Inirthcrmore. that party had two highly developed organizations to bring the ne- groes into line, the Freedmen's Bureau and the L'nion League. The Freedmen's Rureaa was established in X'irginia on June 13, 1865. The State was divided into eight districts, each under an assistant quartermaster. These in turn were divided into sub- districts under the command of military officers. This organi- zation not only protected and cared for the freedmen but also imi)ressed upon their minds the debt which they owed the Re- publican party. The political strength of this institution was great. Rut more powerful as a political factor was the Union League. It was organized in X'irginia late in 1866. Its secrecy and the mysterious solemnity of its ritual made a strong emo- tional appeal to the colored people. They were taught in the ritual that their only friends were the L'nion Republicans, and that their chief enemies were their former masters who were not of the Republican party. ^ They were also encouraged to assert their newly acquired rights in season and out of season. •• / As soon as the People of Virginia had recovered from the stupefaction into which they had been thrown by the Reconstruc- tion Acts, they began at once to attempt to win the colored vote from the control of the Radicals. But the futility of their ef- forts is plainly shown by the returns of the fall elections. There was also a futile attempt made by the conservative col- ■ Report of the Secretary of War; 4()tli Congress, second session. vol. ii, p. 294. ' XValter L. Fleming, Documentary History of F'ccoiistructioii. * The numerous secret organizations among the Xegroes that now exist throughout the State may have had their origin in part from the Union League. 32 PHELPS-STOKKS FKLLOWSHIP PAPERS ored leaders to win their people from the control of their un- scrupulous leaders and to find some basis of compromise with the native white conserv^atives. The State owes much to the self control, wisdom and moderation of many such colored men who, though too much in the minority to accomplish much, did what they could to narrow the breach that was rapidly separating the two races. .\s early as April 15, 1867, a committee of colored men in Richmond invited several prominent white men to give their political views. The meeting was held at the theatre and was addressed by William H. McFarland, Marmaduke Johnson and Raleigh T. Daniel — who was introduced by the chairman of the colored committee, Solon Johnson.'' Three days later, a great mass meeting assembled in the Court House Square in Petersburg. It was called by a number of the most influential white citizens of the town and had as its presiding officer Robert Mcllwaine. A correspondent of the Richmond Dispatch thus described the meeting: "The crowd was immense, and the whites and blacks mixed up indiscriminately, and the best dis- position was manifested by all present." A series of resolutions was unanimously adopted advocating equal school advantages for the white and colored, and equal legal and political rights to both races. The negroes were invited to attend the political meetings of the whites and to participate in their deliberations. Although the people of Virginia did not accept the Petersburg platform as their political creed, it was a long step forward in the compromise movement among the Conservatives of the two races. The Richmond Dispatch even went so far as to predict that these resolutions would probably be adopted as the platform of Conservatives throughout the State. ^ They were adopted by several local Conservative conventions. In Charlottesville, on April 24, 1867, a meeting was called at the Delevan Hospital by a large number of colored men, who invited speakers of both races "to interchange political opinions." Speeches were made by William F. (lordon and Col. T. J. Randolph, who represented the whites, and by Fairfax Taylor and Rev. Nicholas Richmond, The Richmond Dispatch, April 15. April IG, 1867. The Richmond Dispatch, April 19 and 20, 1867. THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA POLITICS 33 who represented the blacks, llarniony prevailed at the meeting with the excei)tion of the speech by Fairfax Taylor, who was reported as bitter and insulting to the whites. In conclusion Mr. Gordon read the Petersburg resolutions of April 18. to which all seemed to subscribe heartily." Influential negroes of Cape Charles, Amelia and other counties called similar meetings.** This movement seems, however, to have had little success in win- ning over the rank and tile of the negroes to the Conservatives. In the meanwhile a new and much more important movement, ^ the "co-operation" movement, was inaugurated. The purpose of this movement was to bring about co-operation between the Con- servatives and the Republicans in such a way as to form a new Republican organization that would be less extreme than that led by Huiiiiicutt. It had the support of the moderate element of the Republican party both within and without the State, and was supported by many of the most influential Conservatives of \'ir- ginia. The resolutions adopted at a meeting in Albemarle county in behalf of co-operation show the aims of the co-operators. It was resolved, "That having consented in good faith to the re- construction of the Southern States under the Sherman-Shella- barger I'ill. we consider ourselves bound in honor to the uncon- ditional maintenance of the Union of these States, and that we regard the welfare of Virginia and of the other Southern States as requiring that our people should co-operate with the party that will give us (protection for life and property, and believing that the Republican party of the United States alone has the power to give us protection, we desire to co-operate with them." ^ The respectability of the movement is shown by the names of those connected with it. Among those appointed on the com- mittee of resolutions at the Albemarle meeting were Col. John J. Bocock, William T. Early, W. F. Gordon, W. H. Southall. J. R. Barksdale, Col. R. T. W. Duke. Dr. A. G. Dabney and Dr. W. C. N. Randolph.^" There were similar co-operation con- ' The Richmond Disf'atcli, April 24, 1867. * The Richmond DisMtch, April 25, 1867. ° The Richmond Enquirer, July 2, 1867. " The Richmond Whig, July 3, 1867. —3 34 PHKLPS-STOKES FKLLOWSHIP PAPERS ventions in a number of other counties of the State, and by the end of July, 1867. co-operation had gained considerable impor- tance.^^ Throughout the whole campaign of 1867 the extreme radical- ism of the Radical Republicans in Virginia gave much concern to moderate Republicans everywhere. The New York Tribune of April 12. 1867.1- made this comment on the subject: "Far be it from us to advise a campaign of bitterness. We do not pro- pose to influence the negro by exciting in his mind a hatred of his former masters. Nor should we advise any organization antagonistic to those masters. Agitators like Mr. Hunnicutt, of X'irginia, may mean well, but their zeal is bitter and offensive. To organize a campaign on the Hunnicutt plan is to abandon any hope of a permanent Union party in the South. We cannot af- ford to array the white against the black, or the black against the white." In April, Senator Wilson, of Massachusetts, came to Virginia in order to deliver his party from the Hunnicutt element, and to form a respectable Republican party around the old Union men and former Whigs.i-' He did not succeed, however, in disturb- ing the Hunnicutt organization. In fact he was too conservative for the Radicals and too radical for the Conservatives. He also seemed to have had an exaggerated idea of the number of men in Virginia who had been true to the Union during the war, and was not as careful as he might have been in his utterances be- fore and during his visit to the State. He had the support of John Minor Botts, who had attempted at an early date to or- ganize a conservative Republican party in Virginia. After registration had begun in March. 1867, the freedmen became more and more engrossed in politics. The Union League and the Radical agitators, of whom there were not a few from the North at this time, had the negroes completely under their control. According to General Allen, its Grand Deputy in Vir- " H. J. Eckenrode, Political History of Virginia during Reconstruc- tion, p. 75. " Quoted in the Richmond Dispatch, April 15, 1867. " The Richmond Dispatch, April 22, 1867; The Richmond Enquirer, April 23, 1867. THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA rOLIi'lCS 35 ginia, the Union League was "a system of night school in which they (the negroes) were instructed in the privileges of citizen- ship and the duties they owed to the party which had made ihem free and given them exercise of suffrage." ^' Largely as a re- sult of this political excitement among the freedmen, lahor be- came increasingly more unsatisfactory. ^■'' On March 20. 1867, the Republican State Central Committee called a State convention to meet in the African Church in Rich- mond on April 17. About half of the counties (49) were rep- resented. Of the two hundred and ten delegates present at this convention only fifty were white. H'he assembly was entirely under the control of Ilumiicutt. who l)oasted in a bitter s.peech to the delegates that "The rebels have forfeited all their rights, and we will see that they never get them back." '•"• The negro delegates took an active part in the discussions and made some very inflammatory speeches. They even surpassed their white leaders in advocating extreme measures against the native whites. They advocated confiscation almost unanimously. On the second day of its session the convention resolved itself into a great mass-convention of negro and white Radicals in the Cap- itol Square. There was considerable disorder at both meetings of the convention. There were numerous calls for the confisca- tion of "rebel" lands, cheers for Thaddeus Stevens, condemna- tions of President Johnson and of the "rebel aristocracy," and disputes between the delegates. A few of the cooler heads among the freedmen counseled moderation. Fields Cook, of Richmond, reminded his people that the whites still had a ma- jority in the State and that harmony would be wisest. Several other colored speakers gave the same advice, but none of them were heeded by the crowd of excited negroes. Similar local Radical conventions were held in the State at a number of places. ^" with the same disquieting results. " H. J. Eckenrode, Political Ilistflry of l'ir:^iui(i di'iin^ Reconstruc- tion, p. 61. " The Richmond Iluquircr. April 18, 1863; Ricliniond Dispatch, July 8, 1867. '" The Richmond DisMt^'l', April 18. 1867. " Applcton's Annual Cyclopaedia, 1867. p. 750. 36 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS The efifect of all this radical propaganda upon the ignorant freedmen is clearly seen in the riots and general restlessness among them during the spring and summer of 1867, especially in the latter part of April and during May. Near the end of April, four negroes insisted upon their right to ride upon a street car in Richmond and were taken olT by the police. I'* A riot was narrowly averted. The city recorder ruled that the car company could make such regulations as it chose concerning those who should ride on its cars. But the president of the company decided to remove the restrictions from the col- ored people. On Tuesday, May 6, 1867, the United States Circuit Court convened in Richmond. Judge John C. Underwood presided. It was an interesting event and well calculated to produce uneas- iness among the white people of the State. In the first place the Judge, Underwood, was one of the most bitter and unscrupu- lous carpetbaggers in Virginia politics. And in the second place negroes served on jury for the first time in the history of the State.^'' This event was unfortunate, especially at this time, as it produced in the minds of the untutored freedmen an exag- gerated estimate of their own importance in political afifairs, and increased the friction already existing between the races at this time. Nor was Judge Underwood's fiery charge to the grand jury of such a nature as to promote harmony between the dif- ferent elements in the State. -^ V '' The Richmond Dispatch, April 25, 1867. " There were six colored grand jurors, George Seaton, Cornelius Liggon Harris, George Sinims, Fields Cook, John Oliver and Dula- ney Beckley. The Richmond Dispatch, May 7, 1867; the Richmond Enquirer, May 7, 1867. *' This charge was in part as follows: "Gentlemen of the Grand Jury, — The circumstances surrounding us demand devout thanksgiv- ing to Almighty God that we, the friends and representatives of the Government of the United States, who last year were threatened with destruction and hunted by assassins in this city for attempting to execute the laws of our country, can now meet in conscious se- curity under the wings of the starry banner which our patriotic Congress has raised for our protection; and we are permitted to THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA POLITICS 2)7 On Friday, May 10, fourteen white and twelve colored men were summoned as petty jurors of the Circuit Court. -^ It was before a mixed jury chosen from among these men that the no- meet in this building of everlasting granite, so emblematic of the power and strength of our Government, standing alone and un- harmed amid the general conflagration that swept as with a besom of destruction all around it. "And what solemn associations are suggested by reflecting that in the very rooms we now occupy dwelt the fiery soul of treason, rebellion and civil war, and hence issued that fell spirit which starved, by wholesale, prisoners For the crime of defending the flag of our common country, assassinated colored soldiers for their noble and trusting labors in behalf of a Government that had as yet only prom- ised them protection, burned towns and cities with a barbarity un- known to Christian countries, scattered yellow fever and small pox among the poor and helpless, and finally, struck down one of earth's noblest martyrs to freedom and humanity. "Another subject of thanksgiving is presented in the very consti- tution of your body, furnishing ocular evidence that the age of caste and class cruelty is departed, and a new era of justice and equality, breaking through the clouds of persecution and prejudice, is now dawning over us. And strangest of all, that this city of Richmond should be the spot of earth to furnish this gracious manifestation. Richmond, the beautiful and abandoned seat of the rebellion, look- ing as comely and specious as a goodly apple on a gilded sepulchre, where bloody treason flourished its whips of scorpions; Richmond, where the slave trade so long held high carnival; where the press has found the lowest depth of profligacy; where licentiousness has ruled until probably a majority of births were illegitimate, or with- out the forms of law; * * * But we are reminded that 'where sin aboundeth grace may much more abound.' And in the light of recent changes, may we not hope a material and moral future fcr this city of Richmond in strong contrast with its awful and atheistic past, and in harmony with the salubrity of its climate, the poetic beauty of its scenery and the magnitude of its water power. * * * I am truly gratified to find so many gentlemen of public and private worth upon the present jury." The Richmond Disfatcli, May 7, ISfw; the Richmond Enquirer, May 7, 1807. " The colored men summoned were as follows: Joseph Cox. J. B. Miller. Edward Fox, Lewis Lindsay, Albert Brooks. Andrew Lil- ley, Lewis Carter, Landrum Boyd. Fred Smith, Dr. Walter Snead. John Freeman and Thomas Lucas. 38 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS torious Judge Underwood summoned Jefiferson Davis to appear, after his two years' confinement at Fortress Monroe.-- On the same day that Judge Underwood summoned his men for the petty jury, a mob of negroes attacked several policemen and rescued one of their number who had been taken into cus- tody for disorderly conduct. Several policemen were badly in- jured and a number of others were in danger from a shower of stones thrown at them by the mob. The spirit of the mob was shown by a remark of one of its number who said, "We got Judge Underwood here now; we gwine to do what we please. He'll protect us." They were having the difficulty of newly emancipated peoples in not being able to distinguish between liberty and license. Having been freed from one kind of re- straint, they were loth to recognize any restraint. After the mob had refused to obey the Mayor's order to disperse. General Schofield appeared and requested them to go to their homes. When they refused to go, he had a regiment of soldiers disperse the mob. On the next day, May 11, a negro mob attempted to take from the police a negro who had 'been arrested for being drunk and disorderly. The officers were stoned and fired upon. Federal troops were again called out to rescue the police, and order was finally secured by General Schofield by stationing soldiers throughout the city. It is not without its signfiicance that on the day of the last attack on the police one Zedekiah K. Hayward, a prominent agitator from New England, ^^ was arrested, with the approba- tion of General Schofield, charged with inciting the negroes to "acts of violence, insurrection and war." -^ After having urged the freedmen to assert their rights of equality in all things and - The Richmond Dispatch, May 13, 1867. ^ Hayward was a native of New Hampshire. After leaving Dart- mouth College in disgrace, he went to live in Massachusetts. He afterwards left Massachusetts and after wandering about for a time turned up in Richmond as a philanthropist. The Washington Na- tional InteUigcnccr, cited in the Richmond Dispatch, May 20, 1867. '* The Richmond Dispatch, May 13, 1867; the Richmond Enquirer, of the same date. THE NEGRO IN VIKC.IMA POLITICS 39 to "have high carnival" as soon as their white alhes had left the State, he added, "It is useless for me to advise you what to do, for great masses generally do what they have a mind to." -•'• Throughout the summer months of 1867 the political excite- ment in \irginia increased. Botts, Pierpont and other conserva- tive Republicans refused to recognize the authority of the Re- publican convention of April 17, on the ground that it was not representative of the party of the State. A call was therefore made for a new convention to meet on July 4, L867, in Charlottes- ville to organize the Republican party of the State.-" This call was signed by o\er three hundred men, many of whom were na- tive Virginians of prominence, for the most part former Whigs. The movement was entirely independent of the llunnicntt fac- tion and therefore threatened to disrupt the Rei)ublican party in \'irginia. At this juncture the Republican leaders in Congress called upon the Union League clubs in several of the Northern cities to bring about harmony between the two factions of the party in Virginia. As a result, the leaders of both factions met with the mediators from the North in the Governor's home in Richmond on June 16, 1867.-' The Hunnicutt faction made it plain that it would not participate in the Charlottesville convention. .\s a compromise it was decided to ha\e another convention at Rich- mond. It was to meet on August 1, and a party platform was to be made to take the place of that of A])ril 17. Since Richmond "'' To add to the general confusion all the negro coopers of Rich- mond struck for higher wages during this week. Gerritt Smith and Horace Greely, who were visiting Richmond at this time, made speeches to the negroes urging them to desist from idleness and drunkenness. The Richmond Dispatch, May 14, 1867, Ibid., May 16, 1867. For an account of the riots mentioned above see the Richmond Dispatch and the Riclimond Enquirer of May 11, 13, 14, 15, 16. '° The Richmond Enquirer, May 21, 1867. "" Among those present were. Governor Pierpont. John M. Botts, Judge Underwood, J. VV. Hunnicutt, John Hawxl'urst. L. H. Clian- dler, Senator Wilson, of Massachusetts, John Jay, oi Xew York and other prominent poHticians. H. J. Hckenrode, Political History of Virginia during Rcconstructio)i, p. 7."!. 40 PHElvPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS had succeeded Alexandria as the Radical center of the State, Ilunnicutt had won a decided victory over the more conservative faction of the party. With the freedmen to back him it would be easy to control a convention in Richmond. The co-operation movement rapidly gained strength during luly and August. The co-operators accepted negro suffrage but hoped to gain the leadership over them and thus avoid the dan- gers of Radical Reconstruction. But the white and colored Rad- icals in speeches throughout the State were advocating extreme social and political equality. Some went even further. One of the most prominent negro Radicals of Virginia, Lewis Lindsay, in a bitter speech at Charlottesville in July, 1867, stated that the negroes intended to elect a part of the legislature, the members of Congress and the Governor of the State; and that appoint- ments should always be equally made between the two races. ^^ The freedmen had become more radical than their white teach- ers. The possibility of the more conservative faction of the Re- publican party gaining their support no longer existed, if it ever did exist. Co-operation was doomed. On the day before the meeting of the Republican convention of August L 1867, the conservative faction of the delegates met and approved of a platform, presented by John Minor Botts, which condemned secession as a crime, advocated the enfran- chisement of all Confederates but their leaders and the punish- ment of the latter. The Republican convention met on August 1, 1867, at the Afri- can Church in Richmond. It was a great event for the freedmen of the city. By ten o'clock they had left the tobacco factories and the streets, and were crowded around the church. At eleven o'clock the doors were opened and the negroes crowded in. Many county delegates, both white and colored, were excluded from the building. The only whites that were admitted were the fifty Radical delegates who had attended the April convention. The convention was called to assemble at twelve o'clock. In the meanwhile 1 lunnicutt harangued the crowd. lie expressed his disapproval of the conservative Republicans and co-operators in Charlottesville Chronicle, July 2, 1867. THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA POLITICS 41 no uncertain terms, and warned his followers against the "rebels" who were "'seeking admission into the council of the Republican party." "Xow," he said, "we tell the strangers that if they want to come with us they will have to swallow a bitter pill. They must swallow the Constitutional Amendment, the Civil Ric,'hts Bill, the Shermau-Shellabarger-Wilson liill, the Supplementary Bills, every Reconstruction Act, the Iron-clad Oath, the 17th of April platform, W'ardwell, Ilunnicutt, and the nigger; yes, the nigger — his head, his feet, his hide, his hair, his tallow, his bones, and his suet ! Nay, his body and soul ! Yes, all these they nuist swallow, and then, perhaps, they can be called Republicans." -"•' The main duty of the conxention, he said, was to endorse the platform of the April convention. This was promptly done. Those who could find no place in the African Church assembled in "mass convention" in the Capitol Sciuare. John llawxhurst, a Radical, was made chairman. A motion to invite John Minor Botts to address the convention was voted down almost unani- mously. The conservative Republicans were again ignored and the April platform was adopted.-"'" At eight o'clock that night there was a meeting in the hall of the House of Delegates of members of the convention and oth- ers who were dissatisfied with the action of the double "mass convention" of the African Church and the Capitol Square. Fields Cook, a colored politician w ith conser\ative leanings, was in the chair. They decided not to form an independent organi- zation but to do their best to promote harmony in the Republi- can ranks. Hunnicutt and his followers held a meeting at the same time in Republican Ilall.-''^ On its second and last day the convention met in the west end of Capitol Square. Much radical talk was indulged in, and Hunnicutt in a characteristic speech advocated the disfranchise- ment of all "rebels." The meetings of the convention were \ery ^ The Richmond Dispatch. August 2, 1867; also Riclimond Enquirer of the same date. This is a type of lluiinicutt's speeches and of tFe Radical speeches of that time. '' The Richmond Pisf^ntch. August :.', 1867. " The Richmond Dispatch, August 2, 1867. 42 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS disorderly on both days. As a rule the Radical conventions, which were chiefly made up of freedmen, were disorderly. The freedmen and their leaders had not acquitted themselves well in the eyes of the country, and had done the cause of universal suffrage no good. Furthermore the Republican conventions of April 17 and of August 1 increased the freedmen's love for the outward forms of politics, gave them a high opinion of their own importance in political affairs, made them more independ- ent of their former leaders and made them more extreme in their radicalism. In some places they now refused to admit whites to the Union League and even formed armed organiza- tions. ^^ The tumultuous convention of August 1, 1867 marks the turning point in the political history of the negro in Virginia. Although the attempt to bring the colored vote under the influ- ence of the conservative whites through fair means was not abandoned until several years later, the color line became hence- forth sharply drawn in politics with the negroes supporting the least reputable factions, in the respective campaigns. The rep- utable whites who wished to co-operate with them were ignored and insulted. Negro suffrage had come to mean carpetbagism and radicalism. That negro suffrage had come to stay was ac- cepted by all. The whites were anxious to compromise in such a way as not to draw the color line. Had the negroes been content with the suffrage and conservative white leadership, in- stead of allying themselves with carpetbaggers and scalawags, advocating confiscation and disfranchisement for the whites, and seeking office before they were fitted for responsibilities of that kind, much bitterness and disillusionment in politics might have been spared them. But under the circumstances it was natural that they should have acted as they did. They had just been freed from slavery and were eager to enter into all the privileges of their new estate. Politics, with its excitement, its conxcntions and s]:)eech-making, was very fascinating to these "^ \V. L. Fleming, Docn)iicntary History of Reconstruction, No. 3, p. 4; Richmond Enquirer, September 6, 1867; H. J. Eckenrode, Po- litical History of J'^irgiiiia diirini^ Reconstruction, p. 79. TH1-: NEGRO IN VIRGINIA POLITICS 43 childlike people. The franchise was given them as a kind of panacea for all their troubles. High hopes and ambitions im- possible of attainment were held out to them by more or less unscrupulous demagogues. Furthermore, the Radical leaders represented the /party that had been most instrumental in free- ing them from slavery at the cost of much blood and treasure, and who were then in complete control of the Federal govern- ment. Then there were the Freedmen's Bureau and the Union League. During August, September, and October, nominations were made throughout the State for delegates to the constitutional convention which would meet in December, if the act calling it were not defeated at the polls. Political excitement continued. Many freedmen abandoned themselves to the attendance upon poHtical meetings, and labor was harder than ever to obtain. The Conservatives had no organized party in the State and not a few were apathetic towards politics. Many of their most in- fluential men had been disfranchised by the "test oath" require- ment of the act of Congress of July 9, 1867. The Radicals, on the other hand, were well organized and aggressive.'''* Of the Radicals nominated for the convention, about a third were ne- groes. Most of the conservative Republican candidates were defeated. In Richmond, for example, the names of Governor Pierpont, Franklin Stearnes and other prominent Republicans who did not follow Hunnicutt were not considered, and the great Republican mass-convention nominated instead the white Radicals, James Morissey (from Ireland). Judge Underwood (from New York), and James W. I hnuiicuU (from South Car- olina), and the colored Radicals. James Cox and Lewis Lind- say.^'* When the conservative Republicans attempted to hold ^ The words "Republican" and "Radical" were used synonymously during this period. The Radical party in the State was niadc up of most of the negroes, Northern adventurers (the carpetbaggers) and a few native whites (the scalawags). The Conservatives did not really form a party in the strict sense of the won until later. They were the great mass of white people and a few conservative negroes. ^* The Richmond Enquirer, October 1.j. 1867. 44 PHKLPS-STOKES FELUOWSIIIP PAPERS a meeting to consider the nomination of a special ticket, a mob of freedmen prevented them. The consen^ative Repubhcans were too few to have any influence in the campaign. The election to decide whether there should be a constitutional convention and to elect delegates to the convention (should there be one) took place during October 18 to 21, 1867. Gen- eral Schofield and his subordinate officers tried conscientiously, it seems, to have fair elections. However, the Commanding General was justly criticized for reopening the polls another day in some of the black wards in Richmond in order to give the freedmen a longer time in which to vote. This resulted in changing the outcome of the election in one precinct.-^'' The returns of the election of 1867 are very interesting in showing the thoroughness of the organization of the negroes under Radical leaders, and the unmistakable race line between Radicals and Conservatives. Of the 120,101 white registrants, 44,017 did not vote. Of the 105,832 colored registrants, only 12,687 did not vote. Only 14. 833 of the 76,084 white regis- trants that voted were for a constitutional convention ; and out of 92,507 blacks that voted, all but 638 were for a convention.^^ The large negro vote polled indicates the efficiency of the Radi- cal machinery. The colored voters were not only marshalled to the polls but were also instructed how to vote. Their leaders and secret societies saw to it that those who desired to vote for Conservative delegates were prevented by threats, ostracism or ^ Documents of the Coustitittio>ial Convention of I'irginia, 18G7-1868. ^° Hundreds of the best white men of the State voted for the con- vention. The Richmond Disf'atch was of the opinion that until two weeks before tlie election a majority of the whites in the State in- tended to vote for a convention. A number of the most conservative and representative papers in the State had expressed themselves in favor of calling a convention. Among these were, the Lynchburg News, the Norfolk Journal and Daybook, the Richmond IVhig, the Richmond Dispatch and several papers of the Southwest. See the Richmond Dispatch, October 30, 1867. For the returns of the elec- tion, see Documents of the Constitutional Convention of J'irginia, 1867, Document Xo. 5, pp. 51, 53 (the number of registrants by race and county is also shown in this document). THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA POLITICS 45 open ^■iolence."' \\ liile there was a very decided color line in the vote on calhng the convention — especially on the side of the hlacks — there was an almost ahsolute color line between Con- servatives and Radicals in the choice of delegates. The north ern and western counties, those having a minority of negroes, elected native white Conservatives : and the more populous cen- tral and eastern counties, where negroes were in the majority, elected white and colored Radicals. A contest was now in progress between the white race and the black race. In Rich- mond, now the headquarters of the white Radicals, there were registered 5,382 whites and 6.284 blacks. The vote oti the candidates for the convention was as follows :-'^ FOR CONSERVATIVE CANDIDATES. White vote Colored vote Johnson . Sturdivant Taylor . .•. Evans . . . Sands . . . , 4,772 25 4,767 21 4,785 26 4,760 21 4,788 23 FOR RADICAL CANDIDATES. White vote Colored vote Hunnicutt 48 5.168 Underwood 48 5,169 Morissey 48 5.169 Lindsay (colored) 48 5.169 Cox (colored) 48 5,169 Edgar Allen, one of the most prominent Radicals, was elected from Prince Edward county entirely by negroes, with the ex- " Documents of the Constitutional Conventiov of lirginia, 1867, Document No. 1, pp. 22-23; the Richmond Dishitcli, December 12, 1867. " The Richmond Disf^atch. October .-^O, 1867. 46 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS ception of one white vote.^'-^ These are but fair examples of what took place throughout the black belt. Of the 105 delegates elected to the convention, 35 were Con- servatives, 65 were Radicals, and the remaining 5 were doubt- ful. This overwhelming victory of the Radicals greatly in- creased their confidence and dismayed the whites. Bitterness increased. Finally the Radical leader, Hunnicutt, was arrested by the civil authorities in November on the charge of attempt- ing to stir up insurrection among the negroes by an incendiary speech that he had delivered during the fall campaign.'**^ He was released, however, on bail by the military authorities until after the adjournment of the constitutional convention. Al- though the Conservatives had laid the blame of the attitude of t)ie negroes in politics upon such white Radical leaders as Hun- nicutt, they now began to attribute to the negroes a fair share of the blame for the unhappy situation. Race relations became more unsatisfactory. As a result of the campaign of 1867 the Conservative party was formed. Prior to December, 1867, the Repu]:)lican, or Rad- ical party was the only organized political party in the State since the War of Secession. It was not until the white people of \'irginia had seen the negroes marshalled in a body against them by their Radical leaders, that they determined to organize a Conservative, or white man's party to protect themselves against the rule of demagogues and their horde of ignorant fol- lowers. '♦^ The leaders of the old Democratic and \\ big parties of former days issued a call for a State convention of men of conservative views to meet in Richmond on December 11, 1867. There were eight hundred delegates present at this convention, *'' Speech by Edgar Allen quoted in Richmond Whig, April 21, 1868. ^" Tie had said, "You colored people have no property. The white race has houses and lands. Some of you are old and feeble and cannot carry the musket, but you can apply the torch to the dwell- ings of your enemies. There are none too young — the boy of ten and the girl of twelve can apply the torch." Applcton's Annual Cyclo- paedia, 1867, p. 763. " The Richmond Pispatch, December 12, 1867.- THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA POLITICS 47 representing all parts of the State. The convention also repre- sented the finest type of Virginia citizens. Among those pres- ent were, Alexander H. H. Stuart, ])rcsident of the convention, R. M. T. Hunter, j. R. Hranch, William Kemper, Marmaduke Johnson and Raleigh T. Daniel. '- In his inaugural address Mr. Stuart expressed the views and aims of those present, in fact of the white people of X'irginia, when he said, "At the close of the war, we were assured that upon the repeal of the ordinance of secession, the repudiation of the Confederate debt and the emancipation of the slaves, we would be restored to our rights in the I'nion ; but instead of these promises being fulfilled, a policy has l>ecn inaugurated placing the Southern States under the control of our inferior race. We have met to appeal to the North not to i)ermit the infliction of this disgrace upon us. Our rights may be wrested from us, but we will never submit to the rule of an alien and inferior race. We prefer the rule of the bayonet . . . We de- sire further to perfect our organization so that all who desire that this shall continue to be a white man's government may be able to act in concert and by a vigorous and united effort save ourselves from ruin and disgrace." "*'^ This address contained the main features of the set of resolu- tions adopted by the con\ention. It was resolved: (1) That slavery had been abolished, and that it was "not the purpose or desire of the people of Virginia to reduce or subject again to slavery the people emancipated;" (2) that the State should be restored to Federal relations with the United States government and that the people of X'irginia would not vio- late or impair her obligations to the Federal Govermnent but would "perform them in good faith;" (^) tliat the people of the State were entitled to all the rights and privileges guaranteed to them by the constitution of the L'nited States; (4) that "to subject the white people of these States to the absolute su- " The Richmond Enquirer, and the Riclimond W'lig, December 12, 1867; the Richmond Dispatch, December 12, and 13, 1867 (list of del- egates in Dispatch, December 12). *^ The Richmond Enquirer, December 12, 1867. 43 PIIELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPHKS premacy, in their local governments and in their representation in the Senate and the House of Representatives, of the black race just emerged from personal servitude — is abhorrent to the civilization of mankind, and involves us and the people of the Northern States in the consequences of surrendering one-third of the Senate and one-quarter of the House of Representatives, which are to legislate over us. to the domination of an organized class of emancipated slaves, who are without any of the train- ing, habits, or traditions of self-government;" (5) that "this convention, for the people of X'irginia. doth declare that they disclaim all hostility to the black population ; that they sincerely desire to see them advance in intelligence and material pros- perity, and arc willing to extend to them a liberal and generous protection. But that while, in the opinion of this convention, any constitution of Virginia ought to make all men equal before the law, and should protect the liberty and property of all, yet this convention doth distinctly declare that the governments of the States and of the Union were formed by white men to be subject to their control ; and that suffrage should be so regu- lated by the States as to continue the Federal and State systems under the control and direction of the white race:" and (6) that the people of Virginia would co-operate with all men regardless of party in restoring the constitutional union of the States and the continuance of the government under the control of the white race."*"* It is obvious from these resolutions and from the party or- ganization effected at this time that lines of party and of race had become definitely fixed for the first time by the whites of Virginia since the war, and that a new and aggressive white man's party, the Conservative party, was ready to oppose the Radical (Republican), or black man's party. Attempts to com- promise, for the time at least, were at an end. After the passage of the Reconstruction Acts in March 1867, the white people of the State accepted negro suffrage as inevita- ble, whatever they may have thought of its wisdom at that time. They were anxious for peace and would ha\e accepted the new Current newspapers; Annual Cyclof'acdia, 1867, p. 763. THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA I'OLITICS 49 conditions of defeat without opposition had the Ra(h(.als in Con- gress and in the State not continued to persecute them. The State was placed under mihtary rule ; its leading men, all those who had had any experience in administration, were disfran- chised and disqualified from holding office; its people were threatened with new punishments and humiliations ; and to the uncertainty and dread caused by the action of Congress was added the agitation among the negroes by unscrupulous out- siders. In spite of these discouragements the whites attempted to win the confidence and leadership of the negroes and to co- operate with the best elemt-nt in the Rcpul)licaii party in bring- ing the State back into the I'nion upon a firm, conservative ba- sis. But the Republican party, which was for the most part rad- ical in X'irginia. was the victorious party in the Union which hclose of the Radicals was made clear in the speeches of their leaders, llun- nicutt, Underwood and others, and in the conduct of these men in the Republican conventions of April 17 and August 1, 18>^)7. Compromise and co-operation were no longer possible. Car- petbaggers, scalawags and negroes had drawn the color line in politics. The whites now organized the Conservative jiarty to meet the new situation. CHAPTER IV. The Constitutional Convention of 1867-1868. In accordance with the order of the Commanding General of the District the convention assembled in the hall of the Honse of Delegates of the capitol on December 3, 1867. The election of October resulted in the choice of the most heterogeneous and remarkable assortment of lawmakers that ever assembled in the Commonwealth. There were native Virginians, white and col- ored, and men from beyond her borders ; there was a delegate, a Northerner, who had commanded a company of negro troops in the Federal army against the people of the State ; there was a deserter from the Confederate army ; there were adventurers ; there were ex-slaves ; there were educated men, and ignorant men who could speak the English language only in dialect. A contemporaneous account of the personnel of the convention, given in the Richmond Dispatch of April 20, 1868, is as fol- lows : "The Convention consisted of one hundred and five members, of whom some thirty-five were Conservatives, some sixty-five were Radicals, and the remainder doubtful. The Radicals were composed of twenty-five negroes, fourteen native-born white Virginians, thir- teen Xew Yorkers, one Pennsylvanian, one member from Ohio, one from Maine, one from Vermont, one from Connecticut, one from South CaroHna, one from Maryland, one from the District of Co- lumbia, two from England, one from Ireland, one from Scotland, one from Nova Scotia, and one from Canada. Of the fourteen white Virginians belonging to this party, some had voted for secession, others had been in the Confederate service, others were old men whose sons had been in the Confederate army; hardly one had a Union record. A large proportion of the Northerners and foreign- ers had drifted here in some non-combatant capacity."^ ' For the names of the carpetbagger delegates see the Richmond Enquirer, April 11, 18G8. The following negro delegates were elected to the convention: William H. Andrews, Isle of Wight, Surry; James D. Barrett, Fluvanna; Dr. Thomas Bayne, Norfolk city; James W. D. Bland, 50 THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA TOLITICS 51 The officers of the convention were equally as miscellaneous a group. The convention had as its chairman John C. Underwood of New York, and has been known in history, therefore, as the "Underwood Convention," and the constitution that it made, as the "Underwood Constitution;" its secretary and sergeant-at- arms were from Maryland ; the stenographer, an Irishman, was lately from Maryland ; the assistant clerk was from New Jersey ; the chaplain was from Illinois ; the two doorkeepers were negroes ; the boy pages, with one exception, were negroes or sons of Northern men or foreigners ; and the clerks of the twenty stand- ing committees, with t\'o or three exceptions, were Northern men or negroes. - The most prominent of the white Radicals were John C. Un- derwood, Judge Edward Snead, John Hawxhurst, Edgar Allen, Charles H. Porter and David B. White. The leading negro Ra'l- icals were Thomas Bayne, Lewis Lindsay and William A. Hodges. Several negro delegates took active part in most of the debates. Dr. Bayne of Norfolk was particularly garrulous. The Conservatives were led by John L. Marye, Jr.. and Eus- Prince Edward; William Breedlove. .Middlesex, Essex; John Brown. Southampton; David Canada. Halifax; James B. Carter, Chesterfield. Powhatan; Joseph Cox, Richmond city; William A. Hodges, Prin- cess Anne; Joseph R. Holmes. Charlotte. Halifax; Peter K. Jones, Greenesville, Sussex; Samuel F. Kelso. Campbell; Lewis Lindsay, Richmond city; Peter G. Morgan. Petersburg city; William S. Mose- ley, Goochland; Frank Moss. Buckingham; Edward Nelson. Char- lotte; Daniel M. Norton, James City. York; John Robinson. Cum- berland; James T. S. Taylor, Albemarle; George Teamoh. Norfo.k (county), Portsmouth city; Burwell Toler. Hanover. Henrico; John Watson, Mecklenburg; F. W. Poor. Orange. Thomas Bayne. a dentist, was a runaway slave from the South who had been a resident of Boston for a number of years; Hodges was born in Virginia, but had been living in New York; Poor was from New York. In many cases a county had both white and col- ored delegates. Of the thirty-five white Conservatives, one refu.-ed to serve, one was excluded from the convention by the Radicals, and one was ex- pelled by them. = The Richmond Distatch. April 20. 1868. 52 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS tace Gibson. Most of them were new men in the pohtical af- fairs of the State. There was no lack of abihty among them, however. Although hopelessly in the minority, they served as a check upon the majority, and they were ready to investigate and to expose any false or dishonest move on the part of the Radicals. Whenever there was a division among the Radicals on account of the extreme measures of the negroes and their white allies, they were enabled to aid the less extreme faction in defeating much obnoxious legislation. Their superior education and mental ability gave them an advantage in debate over their opponents far in excess of their numerical strength. The first few weeks were occupied in organization and in gen- eral political discussions, for the most part outside of the prov- ince of the convention. For instance much time was spent in discussing the Reconstruction policy of Congress. There was a long debate over resolutions introduced in the convention ex- pressing appro\al of the action of Congress in impeaching Pres- ident Johnson. There were other debates equally futile. It was not until January that the committees began to make their reports and work on the constitution began. When the first section of the preamble was brought up for discussion on January 6, 1868, James W. D. Bland (colored) moved that in place of the word "men" in the clause, "That all men are by nature equally free and independent," as reported from the com- mittee, be substituted the words "mankind, irrespective of race or color." The motion was defeated through the influence of Thomas Rayne (also colored) who had pledged himself to his constituents that he would "endeavor to aid in making a consti- tution that should not have the word black or the word white in it." ^ But when the debates over mixed schools were in prog- ress, Bayne proposed an amendment to the committee's plan so as to place whites and blacks in the same schools. The amend- ment failed to get the support of enough Radicals to be adopted, in spite of the efforts on the part of the negro delegates, and the threats of Bayne, Lindsay. Hodges and others that if it were ' Debates of the Constitutional Convention of Virginia, 1867, p, 251. THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA POLITICS 53 not supported by the white Radicals the negroes would with- draw from the Rei)ublican party.' The question that overshadowed all others in the debates of the convention was that of suffrage. It was the subject of de- bate throughout the session. The first long debate on the sub- ject was occasioned by the consideration of that section of the bill of rights which affirmed, "That all elections ought to be free; and that all men, bearing sufficient evidence of permanent com- mon interest with, and attachment to, the community, have the right of suffrage." John Hawxhurst moved that this be amended by the substitution, "That all elections ought to be free : and that all men (not disqualified by crime, insanity or idiocy) have the inherent right of suffrage." '' The doctrine of the inherent right to vote and to enjoy other political ])rivileges was warmly ui)held by the negroes and some of the white Radicals, but it was re- * The negroes tlireatened more than once to desert their white alHes. On one of these occasions, Bayne. who had made the threat, was answered by one of the leading white Radicals in part as fol- lows: "He [Bayne] makes no recognition of any white men. hut wants a party, so far as iiis remarks can be understood, to be composed entirely of colored men, in order, as \ suppose, as he thinks, that he might be the leader and head of them. I do not say that he would, but he might. It is for us to show that there shall be no division between these two classes of the Republican party. Tt must be clearly known that loyalty must be the only distinction; and I say here frankly, that the white loyal men of Virginia cannot get along twenty-four hours without the colored men of Virginia; and. I say, on the other hand, that the colored men of Virginia cannot get aU ng without the white loyal men of Virginia, and T ask if there is any one who has the hardihood to deny it. We are all in the ^amc boat together. * * * "And so shall the colored people and the loyal white men of Vir- ginia say, in one chorus, 'Sink or swim, live or die. survive or per- ish, we are together, one and indivisible and inseparable, for the procuring and perpetuation of civil and political rights to all men, of whatever shade or color of skin.' " Debates, p. '>4.5. ' Documents of the Constitutional Convention of ]'irginia, ISfiT, No. XV, pp. 107-109. 54 PHElvPS-STOKES FEI^LOWSHIP PAPI<;RS pudiated by the Conservatives and moderate Radicals. Havvx- hurst's motion was defeated by a vote of 47 to 82.6 On January 14, General B. F. Butler of Massachusetts spoke before the convention, upon the invitation of the Radicals. After explaining to the convention, in the most paternal fashion, just how a constitution should be made, he advised the enfranchise- ment of all freedmen and the disfranchisement not only of those Confederates who had held civil or military positions but also of those who had been prominent in business affairs before and dur- ing the war, such as directors of corporations, presidents of banks, etc. He advocated an educational test for the franchise like that which existed in Massachusetts, not that those who could qualify in this manner would be more capable of using rightly the ballot, but that such a test would encourage the young men of the State to learn to read and write. But he hastened to add that he did not think that it would be wise to apply such a test at that time or for a number of years. ''I would not apply it to a man who has the right to vote at the present time, to save my right hand," he said.^ Two days later. Judge Underwood, in one of his characteristic speeches which was very insulting to the Conservatives, moved that all negroes and women be admitted to the suffrage. His followers did not approve of woman suffrage, however, and the motion was defeated. In the course of the debate John L. Marye said that the Radicals, instead of teaching the colored people lessons of thrift, honesty and dignity, were encouraging them to entertain vain hopes in politics and were deluding them into thinking that they could "live without labor and thrive without eft'ort." ^ Finally provision was made for enfranchising all negroes and the attention of the Radicals was centered on the various meas- ures introduced for disfranchising the whites, who had been " Journal of the Convention, p. 102. ' Debates of the Convention, p. 435. ' Debates, p. 458; the Richmond Dispatch, January 17, 1868; the Richmond Enquire)', January 17, 1868. THE NEGRO IN VIL^iNIA POLITICS 55 guilty of "complicity with rebellion." ^ As the session drew to a close the Radicals grew more insistent upon the disfranchise- ment of the whites of the State, and the debates became, accord- ingly, more stormy. The majority report of the Committee on the Elective Franchise and Qualifications for Office i"' was the chief subject of debate during March and April. The article, as reported by the committee and afterwards adopted by the con- vention, disciualified from holding office and from jury service practically every white man in the State, and disfranchised sev- eral thousand of the most capable white men. The article was so amended in the convention as to carry the disfranchisement even further than the committee had recommended. iVt the same time negroes were given the right to vote without qualification. Hunnicutt, fearing that the constitution would be rejected by the electorate as then constituted, advocated the disfranchisement of thirty thousand more whites than had already been provided for in the constitution. ^^ More drastic measures were prevented by the alliance of some of the most conservative Radicals, who were guided by General Schofield and conservative Republicans at the North, with the Conservative delegates. There was also a con- sciousness in the minds of the more extreme Radicals that after all, the whites were a majority in the State and that it would be wiser to be prudent. The convention came to a close on April 17, 1868. Its ad- journment was made necessary by the refusal of General Scho- field to approve any bill providing for the payment of the ex- penses of the convention after April 6. During its closing hours the constitution was adopted as a whole by a vote of 51 to 36. A few Radicals, one of them colored, voted with the Conserva- tives against its adoption. By the clauses of the constitution disfranchising all ex-officers " See for example Documents of the Convention, No. XXVII. " This standing committee was composed of seven Radicals, two of whom (Bland and Moseley) were colored, an ' four Conservatives, one of whom was removed from the committee after his appomt- ment. James W. Hunnicutt was its chairman. " The Richmond Enquirer, March 4, 1868. 56 PHELPS-STOKEii -XLLOWSIIIP PAPERS of both State and local governments, requiring the test oath as a qualification for office, and excluding those thus disfranchised and disqualified from jury service, the destiny of the State was left in the hands of the densely ignorant freedmen who were without experience in government and utterly lacking in the tra- ditions of i)olitical morality, a people who by their very nature and training had been an easy prey to unscrupulous dema- gogues. ^- On the day of its adjournment General Schofield appeared be- fore the convention and made an earnest plea for the reconsid- eration of Article III of the constitution, that referring to the franchise and to ofiice holding.^-'' He said : "I deem the question of the oath of office of so vital importance, that I believe it to be my duty to give m}' views on the subject. It has been necessary for me, during the past year, to select register- ing officers as well as persons to fill the various civil offices in the State. "I have been able to find in some counties only one, in others two, and others three persons of either race able to read and write who could take the test oath. Most of the local offices give very small compensation, such that even a laboring man could not afford to go to another part of the State for the purpose of accepting them. I have no hesitation in saying that it will be practically impossible to administer the government under your constitution and with that provision, and that the retention of that provision will be fatal to the constitution, and probably fatal to those who are responsible for the existence of that objectionable feature. I say this, lest some of you may be deceived as to the wishes of the people of the coun- try at large, or those whom you regard as your friends in Congress. They will not and cannot sustain you in going so far beyond what is either authorized or required by the acts of Congress. "14 After his departure General Schofield was bitterly attacked by Bayne, Lindsay and others for his advice, and no heed was taken of his counsel. '* For clauses of the constitution referring to the elective fran- chise and qualifications for office, see Appendix No. I. Special at- tention is called to Sections 1, 3, 6 and 7 of Article II T. " The privilege of the floor was extended to the Commanding General and to his staff at the beginning of the session. Journal, p. ;52. " The Richmond IVhig, April 18, 1868. THE NEGRO TX VIRCTXIa I'OIJTICS 57 In a lettei' to General Grant, written the next day — April 18, 1868 — General Schofield describes the work of the convention and expresses the belief that no satisfactory Union party can be organized upon the basis of the present Radical party and its constitution in the State, and advises that the consiituti«Mi be al- lowed to "fall and die where it is — not to submit it to the people at all :"' that a provisional government Ixi organized ; and that, after the government could be organized upon a loyal basis, an- other convention be called to draw up a constitution "fit to be ratified by the i)eople of the State and approved by Congress and the country at large." It is his opinion that the negroes and their associates would insist upon the unqualified indorsement of the constitution, and this, he says, "the respectable whites will not give." General Schofield also expresses his fear that the "late Convention will be reproduced in the legislature, a large majority being either worthless radicals, white and black, or bitter op- ponents of reconstruction upon the Congressional plan. The danger is that we will have on our hands, not only one big ele- phant in the constitution, but a host of little ones in the shape of ofificers-elect who are not fit to be installed — a prospect not very encouraging, at least." ^'' If the Republican Federal ofiicer in command of the District was so completely discouraged and disgusted with the progress of Reconstruction in X'irginia under the Congressional plan, one need scarcely marvel that the respectable white population of the State were op])onents of the system of Reconstruction that threatened the very existence of their civilization. '" In an extract from this letter, General Schofield shows the sp rit and purpose of the Radicals of the convention as follows: "The same baneful influence that secured the election of a ma- jority of ignorant blacks, and equally ignorant or unprincipled whites, to the Convention, has proved sufficient to hold them firmly to their original purpose. They could only hope to obtain oft.cc by disqualifying everybody in the State who is capable of discharging official duties, and all else to them was of comparatively slight im- portance. Even the question whether their consti'ution will be rati- fied or rejected, they treat with indifference. Congress, they say. will make it all right anyway." John M. Schofield. rorty-Six Y'cars in the Army, p. 400. ss :? PAPERS inent of these v.ere ]\ They w- exrre— •: . onl; ployeo :. Bye-x . offices. :/ fices for me j^aciiczJs crease further '.'r : ^ the : ^r- :- - " :::in several of the most > adoption. Most prom- : Sr.r 1 - Eastham and Edgar Allen. : T : :':red delegates, that T :; 7 :f the State would disastrous to those that em- he State competent to fill the — red the State and local of- >ul irus was not all. It purposed to in- - rhe Radicals by doubling the nimiber , .e State government and by having .ir vote. In this way the fortv- -: -_..--.; ::-:ntie5 of the State, "^ The followilTig ex-T len. who wa? of the Xortr Prince Edwi to --^- - ces: '■ignoring the plan members of the ;:r" ^ and never 'will bt feeling of Tt^s.-i not onlj fixes th e r - what the J belie-- only boon you ;^ short years of r your gifts; and : be the hatred o: f--.- and again. I warn y stead of working for stitction for V'rr'r'i votis for a-: fat of the k the love o: 1868. For a ; :rr:.ir ; qxirer, April 17, l56S. speeches by r.lgar AI- -tsident -e; of jiside mr -rht - ' -- -^"■: . -z \' - ",^5 5- ' - : \- z :onvention: of the 1 ■ i - ; er can -T ■ :.:'.y man v. L5t ..-:ch rht for : tijc cons' '.ante to be i , elves IS to have the ' z- ■ - -- 'z ■ .-.-r. w!-' --^ :nly amb:: • c gacy y: ire to y: iU -.gain no in- ez- e upon the - State than _. April 21, ■ - z\ - z r. ichmond £»- THE NEGRO IX VIRGINIA POLITICS 59 would be under the control of negro office holders and their car- petbag allies. The legislature would have been a repetition of the convention. These numerous officers were to be elected un- der a township system which was copied from that of Xew Eng- land and which was entirely unsuited to the sparsely settled counties of A'irginia. The number of officers in each count}' was increased from about twenty to not less than fort>--eight — all elected by popular vote. Most of the principal State officers were to be elected by the legislature, which in turn, as General Schoheld suggested, might greatly resemble the convention. The election, tenure of offi:e and salarj- of judges were placed in the hands of the legislature.^" A sufficiently convincing illustration of what would have taken place had this constitution been adopted in its entirety is found in a report of November 21. 1869. of General Stoneman (who had succeeded General Schofield as Commanding General of District Xumber 1 > to the Adjutant General. i- As the result of the Act of Congress of Februan.- 8. 1869. requiring a more stringent oath of those elected to office, there were many va- cancies in State and local offices, which were at that time filled by the Commanding General. According to General Stoneman's report, of the 5.446 offices in the State. 2.613 were then vacant. Of the officers already appointed many had not accepted, and '"' Although these were the most objectionable features of the constitution, there were many others that were not welcomed bj" the people. The new system of government was more expensive and cumbersome than the former one. The provision for a system of public free schools before 1876 to take the place of free schools for the poor under the '"literary fund" system, though it proved to be a blessing, was a great financial burden at that time and was not cordially received by many. Voting by ballot which was introduced in the place of the old ziza zoct method was considered a cowardly and unmanly way of voting, and the secrecy which it encouraged was thought to be conducive of fraud. ** General Schofield was given a place in the ^resident's Cabinet. His successor. General Stoneman. was an able and conscientious officer. But on account of the increased stringency of his orders from Washington he was forced to be more severe in his adminis- tration than his predecessor had been. 60 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS many others would be unable to take the oath of office. Few native white X'irginians could take the oath because, as General Stoneman said, nearly every one gave "aid, countenance, counsel, or encouragement to persons engaged in armed hostility" to the Federal government, "and once having engaged in war, prob- ably no portion of the Southern people, old and young, male and female, were more earnest in its prosecution." A test oath there- fore, such as that required by the Underwood Constitution, would have excluded practically the whole white population from holding office. After describing the impossibiity of securing of- ficers under the oath imposed by Congress, similar to that im- posed by the Underwood Constitution. General Stoneman ended his report with this striking comment upon the political outlook for \'irginia under the proposed constitution : "The offices in the state have not been filled by competent per- sons; they certainly cannot be filled when the restrictions of any one party are to be observed and complied with, as will be the case upon the adoption of the proposed constitution, under which it is desired by some that the people of Virginia shall be forced to live, and to the requirements of which they are expected to consent. "19 The Underwood Convention of 1867-1868 and the constitu- tion which it advocated, taught the people of the North what Radicalism meant in \'irginia, and made certain the victory for the Conservatives in the compaign of 1869, which brought Vir- ginia back into the I'nion, free from Radical-negro rule. The Richmond Enquirer, April S. 1869. CHAPTER V. The COMMITTEIC OF XlN'E. The story of the contest in 1868 and 1869 between the Con- servatives and the Radicals over the adoption of the Underwood Constitution is one of continual changes in the political attitude of both parties. The Conservatives became through necessity more liberal; and the conservative Republicans became more conservative and finally became allies of the Conservative party. The Radicals clung to the Underwood Constitution with all of its objectionable clauses in spite of the willingness of the Con- servatives to compromise. When defeated in the fall of 1869 they urged Congress to continue military rule in the State and to inaugurate a government by Radicals alone. As a result of these political alignments the Conservative white party l)ecame larger, and the Radical smaller and blacker. Furthermore the name "Republican," by which the Radical party continued to call itself, became more and more disliked in \'irginia politics. During the summer and fall of 1868 there seemed to be but two alternatives for the people of \'irginia, the Underwood Con- stitution, which meant disfranchisement of the whites and negro rule, and the continuance of military rule, which is degrading to a peo])le who are accustomed to govern themselves. An election to decide whether the constitution was to be adopted, and to elect officers under the same, was ordered by the convention to be held on June 2, 1868. But General v^chofield issued an order on April 24 to the effect that, since Congress had not made an appropriation to defray the expenses of an election, he had no authority to have carried into effect the ordinance of the convention which provided for an election on June 2 And since he thought that the constitution with the disfranchising clauses would be most harmful to the State, he refused to draw on the State treasury for the purpose, as he .ad a right to do.^ ' John M. Schofield, Forty-Six Years in tlw Army. p. 402 61 62. PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS He also advised Congress to have the disfranchising and test oath clauses voted on separately. Wells and other extreme Radicals appeared before the Reconstruction committee in Con- gress to plead for an appropriation for holding the election be- fore enough whites would have political disabilities removed from them to defeat the Radical aims. But the constitution con- tinued to rest peacefully in the pif^/geonhole of the Commanding General's desk, and Virginia remained unreconstructed under military government until 1870. In spite of General Schofield's order of April suspending the time of the election indefinitely, the two parties, which had be- gun to plan their campaigns soon after the adjournment of the convention in April, held conventions during the first two weeks of ]\Iay 1868 and nominated candidates for the principal offices in the State in case there should be an election at some time dur- ing the year. The Radicals nominated for governor an extreme and unscrupulous carpetbagger, H. H. Wells.- The Conserva- tives nominated R. E. ^^'ithers.^ Wells had been appointed temporary governor of Virginia by the Commanding General on April 4, 1868. It was believed by the Conservatives that Governor Pierpont was removed because he was not radical enough to suit the Republicans of the State. The real cause of the change seems to have been the desire on the part of the Republican managers to bring forward a leader who was sufficiently extreme to get the support of the negroes and other Radicals but who was superior in ability and respec- tability to TIawxhurst and Hunnicutt, who had announced their candidacy for the office of governor before the adjournment of the constitutional convention and were actively canvassing the negro voters. Wells would also receive prestige from his new ' Wells was a native of New York who had been for many years a resident of Michigan. He came to Virginia early in the War of Secession as provost-marshal of Alexandria. ^ The Conservatives nominated James A. Walker for lieutenant- governor and John L. Marye, Jr., for attorney-general. The Radi- cals nominated J. H. Clements for lieutenant-governor and G. W. Booker for attorney-general. THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA POLITICS 63 office which would make the way easy for his nomination on the RepubHcan ticket in the next election for governor.^ During the remainder of the year after the convention had ad- journed, the campaign was conducted vigorously by botli parties. The Radicals became more confident of victory and the Conser- vatives, more determined to defeat the constitution and to elect a Conservative governor. At this time the people of the South believed that the intelligent people of the North would not tol- erate universal negro suffrage in the South. ° Even the an- nouncement by the Republican party, in the summer of 1868, of its platform with universal negro suffrage as its cardinal doc- trine did not make them lose hope of somehow escaping negro sufifrage. Public opinion had been somewhat inclined towards negro suffrage as a compromise measure, but it had changed during the year of negro domination in politics that had just been experienced. This campaign increased the hostility to uni- versal negro suffrage. When therefore the elections in the fall of 1868 showed the people that Reconstruction could only come by the sacrifice of feeling and conviction through the acceptance * A. H. H. Stuart, The Restoration of Virginia, pp. 49-50. ° What 'the people of the State thought of the sentiment of the Northern states on this question is seen from an address of the Con- servative members of the Constitutional Convention of 1867. The following is an extract from this address: "Every Northern state which has voted on the subject since the close of the War has rejected negro suffrage. Ohio, on a direct issue, no later than last fall, did so by a majority exceeding 50,000. Kansas, Minnesota and Connecticut had previously done the same thing. The late Constitutional Convention of New York deliberately recoiled from deciding the question. .\nd Michigan, hitherto so overwhelmingly Republican, has just voted down her new constitution by a majority of :!0,000. because it admitted ne- groes to the polls. The census shows that there were only 35.000 negroes in Ohio in 1860. There could have been only 7,000 negro voters in the state, had they been enfranchised. In Michigan there are only about 500 male negroes twenty-one years of age. The white voters number more than 165,000. And yet this .-tate. where a Re- publican governor was elected in 1866 by a majority of 29,o:!S. re- fused by some 30,000 majority to let 500 negroes vote." The Rich- mond Whig, April 20, 1868; the Richmond Enquirer, same date. 64 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS of universal negro suffrage with its dangers to their hves, prop- erty and civihzation, the outlook for the future seemed most gloomy. The apparent hopelessness of the situation and the dis- couragement of the people threatened to cause entire inactivity in politics among the Conservatives. It was felt that Congress was determined to degrade them and that there was no use to struggle against the inevitable. What was in store for them was no longer an uncertainty since negro suffrage had already been tested. On December 8, 1868, the bill approving the Underwood Con- stitution was passed in the House of Representatives with little notice or comment on the part of the members of the House and with no protest from the people of X'irginia. Alexander H. H. Stuart of Staunton, Mrginia, who had been a close observer of affairs in the State and in Congress, had urged one of the organ- ized political committees in Richmond to formulate a protest to Congress against the approval of the Underwood Constitution. But it did not consider such action within its jurisdiction. Fortunately for Mrginia. Congress took its recess soon after the House of Representatives had approved the constitution. Time was thus gained to aid ^Ir. Stuart in the carrying out of a scheme which he had already set on foot to rid the constitution of its most objectionable features — the test oath, disfranchise- ment and county organization clauses — while accepting as a mat- ter of necessity universal negro suffrage. This scheme was first brought before the people in an article over the signature "Se- nex." which appeared in the Richmond U hig and in the Rich- mond Dispatch on Christmas Day, 1868. By ^Ir. Stuart's per- mission his authorship of the article was made known at the same time. He pointed out that there would be military rule should the constitution be rejected at the polls, and that a still greater calamity would befall the State should the constitution be accepted in its entirety. Xegro suffrage was now inevitable since public sentiment at the North, as shown by the recent elec- tions and by the tone of the press, had changed in this respect. He showed that it had become the conviction of a majority of the people of that section that negro suffrage was the legitimate. if not the necssar}- consequence of emancipation ; and that these THE NEGRO IX VIRGINIA POLITICS 65 people had the power to enforce their convictions. It would be better, he counseled, to accept negro suffrage in return for a re- vision of the Underwood Constitution. He advised the execu- tive committee of the Conservative party to call two men of "approved wisdom and integrity" from each Congressional dis- trict of the State to meet and draw up for the consideration of Congress a new constitution which would embody "the universal suffrage and universal amnesty proposition in its broadest terms, and negro eligibility [to office] to boot!" So unprepared were the people of \'irginia for accepting uni- versal negro suft'rage, especially after the campaign that had just been waged on that issue, that one of the leading Richmond papers refused to pubHsh Mr. Stuart's article, and those that did publish it did so only on condition that they assume no respon- sibility for it whatever. Even Colonel John B. Baldwin, who was one of the active and useful advocates of the "Xew Movement," as the plan was called, hesitated in joining Mr. Stuart at first because he thought that public opinion was not prepared to en- tertain so bold a proposition.''' ' On January 2, 1869, Colonel Baldwin wrote to Mr. Stuart, who had just returned from Richmond where he had gone in behalf of this movement, a letter in which he said: "I apprehend from all I can learn from Bell. Trout and Echols, that you found rather a slim showing of sympathy in Richmond, and I shall not be surprised if you find the movement entirely ta- booed before many daj-s. "Our people seem to be in pretty much the same condition they were just before the fall of the Confederacy. Everybody looked for it and believed it was coming, and yet if any one dared utter his thoughts he was set upon and cuffed without mercy. "Our people now do not seem to be prepared to discuss, or even to consider any plan of dealing with the awful danger which threat- ens them, and I very much fear they will be caught as the people of old were by the deluge." A. H. H. Stuart, The Restoration of Vir- ginia, p. .30. The movement was opposed in the beginning by some of the leading politicians of the State. Among these were Henry A. Wise (Richmond Enquirer, January 18, 20. 21, -\ 2.3, 1869), Mar- maduke Johnson {Enquirer, Januarj' 13), Raleigh T. Daniel {En- quirer. February 2, 1869) and War-Governor Fletcher {Enquirer, February 17, 1869). —5 66 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS Air. Stuart's article was widely and earnestly discussed. It had much influence upon public opinion and prepared the way for the events that later transpired. The "New Movement" rapidly gained ground as the people began reluctantly to admit that what had been said in the "Senex" article was true. Through the influence of Air. Stuart a number of leading men from all parts of the State met in Richmond on December 31, 1869 to formulate more definite plans for making the movement a success. A committee of nine men was chosen to go to Wash- ington in order to acquaint Congress with the true state of af- fairs in \'irginia and to save the State from the evils that im- pended. Air. Stuart was made chairman. The other members were : John B. Baldwin, of Augusta County ; John L. Alarye, Jr., of Fredericksburg; James F. Johnson, of Bedford County; W. T. Sutherland, of Danville; Wyndham Robertson, of Washing- ton County; W. L. Owen, of Halifax County; James Neeson, of Richmond, and J. F. Slaughter, of Lynchburg. The New Alovement was exceedingly fortunate in having as its founder and guiding spirit Alexander H. H. Stuart. He had served his state as a member of each branch of the General Assembly, as a representative in Congress, as presidential elector, and as Sec- retary of the Interior under President Fillmore. He had been a Whig and a strong Union man before the War.'^ His mental and moral worth was well known and respected, and the success of his scheme was largely due to the high regard in which he was held. At the time that the Committee of Nine was appointed, resolu- tions were adopted setting forth the aims of those present at the meeting, and requesting the people of Virginia to appoint dele- gates to a popular convention to be held in Richmond on Feb- ruary 10, 1869, for the purpose of considering the report of the Committee of Nine and to adopt such measures as would be nec- essary to aid them. The views and purpose of the meeting as ' He was later rector of the University of Virginia for a number of years, a trustee of the Peabody Fund and president of the Vir- ginia Historical Society. THE NEGRO IN VIRCINIA rOIJTICS 67 set forth in the resokitions were the same in substance as those expressed in the "Senex" letter.^ On January 8, 1869, the Committee of Nine met in Washing- ton. Colonel Baldwin was the chief spokesman of the Commit- tee before the Reconstruction and Judiciary committees of Con- gress. He had been active in X'irginia pohtics and was moderate, pleasing in address and very- forceful in debate. Mr. Stuart se- cured the services of his friend, Horace Greely, thereby enhst- ing the powerful influence of the Xew York Tribute iti bringinc: the true state of affairs in \'irginia before the i)eoplc of the North. In this wa}- he rendered niucli aid to the Committee of Nine.-' There were two other delegations present at the meetings of the committees in Congress having charge of Reconstruction. One of them represented the conservative faction of the Repub- lican party, and the other, the radical faction. The former dele- gation, which was composed of Franklin Stearnes, L. H. Chand- ler, Edgar Allen and others, were there simply as a committee of observation to prevent any action prejudicial to their faction in Mrginia. The latter delegation, which was more numerous, was led by Governor Wells and was comjiosed of both white and col- * They were set forth in the resolutions as follows: "While the convictions of the undersigned and, as thej' believe, of the people of Virginia, generally remain unchanged, that the freedmen of the Southern States in their present uneducated condition are not pre- pared for tiie intelligent exercise of the elective franchise and the performance of other duties connected with public affairs, and arc therefore, at this time, unsafe depositories of political power; ye., in view of the verdict of public opinion in favor of their being al- lowed to exercise the right of suffrage as expressed in the recent elections, the undersigned are prepared to surrender their opposi- tion to its incorporation into their fundamental law as an offering on the altar of peace, and in the hope that union and harmony may be restored on the basis of universal suffrage and universal am- nesty." A. H. H. Stuart, Restoration of J'irgitita, p. 28. ° Among the most influential newspapers of the \orth that gave their support to the Committee of Nine were the New York Times, the Boston Advcrtizcr and the Chicago Tribune. .\. \\. W. Stuart. Restoration of Virginia, p. 47. 68 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS ored men. They had come to defeat, if possible, the pfans of the Committee of Nine. Governor Wells testified before the Reconstruction Committee that enfranchisement of the whites would not be safe at that time ; that it would put an end to the Republican party in Vir- ginia and destroy the last hope of the Loyalists in the State; and that material development could only come through Republican, or Radical, control. He stated furthermore that public opinion in \'irginia would not support the Committee of Nine. He was answered by members of the other two delegations from Vir- ginia. Mr. Stearnes said that since the defeat of the Democratic party in the elections of the previous fall, the people of Virginia were ready to comply with the Reconstruction Acts ; that a ma- jority of the property holders would support the Committee of Nine; and that if Virginia were restored under the proposed constitution, without the disfranchising, test oath and county organization clauses, prosperity would revive and "justice would be impartially administered and all classes completely protected." He condemned the Underwood Constitution and felt confident that it would be defeated by an honest vote of the people, which would "leave the State without a civil government, and subject to all the whims and caprices of military rule." He was there- fore in favor of the program of the Committee of Nine.^" After a conference with the Judiciary Committee in the Senate, the Committee of Nine was requested to present in writing their grievances and the amendments to the Underwood Constitution that they desired. ^^ The report was written by Mr. Baldwin. The conservative Republicans, finding themselves in accord with the Committee of Nine, had become their ally. One of those who was invited to Washington by the Committee was Gilbert C. Walker, a New Yorker, who had come to reside in Norfolk, Virginia. The aid that he rendered the Committee in Washington won for him the esteem of the most influential con- servatives of both parties and paved the way for his election a few months later as governor of the State. Stuart, Restoration in Virginia, pp. 37, 38. Ibid., pp. 39-44. THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA POLITICS 69 Remembering his promise to the Committee of Nine, (icneral Grant, in his first message to Congress on April 7, 1869, advised that an election be held in \'irginia .and suggested that such jiarts of the constitution as might be thouglit expedient be submitted separately to the voters.^- Three days later Congress res])onded to the President's message by authorizing him to submit the I'n- derwood Constitution to the voters of Virginia for their ap- proval or rejection at such a time and in such a manner as he should see fit. The State officers provided for under the con- stitution were to be elected at the same time. Accordingly, on May 14, 1869, the President named July 6 of that year as the date for the election. Sections 1 and 7 of Article 111. those, relating to the test oath and disfranchisement, were to be voted on separately.^ ^ It was a great disappointment to the Conserva- tives that the county organization clause was not included among those to be submitted to a separate vote. General Grant had expressed his unqualified disapproval of this feature of the con- stitution to the Committee of Nine, because it would put the governments in about half the counties of the State under the control of the negroes and their unscrupulous white leaders. (Jn this point, however, the President had yielded to the opposition of his cabinet, which feared that a change in this respect would destroy the public school system which was closely associated in the constitution with the county organization. The way was now clear for the decisive stniggle between the Conservatives and the Radical-Republicans for which both sides had already been preparing. " Ibid., pp. 53, 54. " Code of I'irgiiihi, 1873. p. 26. CHAPTER VI. The Campaign of 1869 and the Restoration of X'^irginia. While it appeared that the New ^Movement had divided the Conservatives into two factions during the early part of 1869, a serious division had occurred in the ranks of their opponents. This schism was due in great part to the unfortunate personality and ultra-radicalism of the Radical candidate for governor, H. H. Wells. His political record was not above reproach and he had made some very powerful enemies in his party. His sudden elevation to the highest office in the State and to the leadership of the Republican party, which went with that position, had brought upon him the jealousy and dislike of such men as Hun- nicutt and Hawxhurst, who were openly aspiring to that pre- eminence themselves. He had, through his dishonesty, incurred the enmity of General William Mahone, the leading railroad man of the State, a man of doubtful party leanings and of great influence as a politician. He had alienated the more moderate members of his party by his extreme views and by some rather questionable political acts.^ He had been among the first of the Republicans to advocate the universal enfran- chisement of the negroes and the disfranchisement of the whites. As early as June, 1865, \\'ells had accused the wdiite people of Virginia of perjury and had advocated very extreme measures against them.- In 1868 he urged the Reconstruction Committee * Richmond I'.nqnircr, March 11, 1869. ^ His views are stated in a letter of June 21, 1865, to S. Ferguson Beach, president of the Virginia Union Association. This letter was widely used as a pohtical document at the time. After stating that "loyal" men, both white and colored, were not receiving sufficient protection and that a remedy was necessary, he said, "And what is that remedy? It is, in my judgment, to establish a military pro- visional government, to locale a sufficient military force to preserve peace, command respect, and secure order, in other words, to vin- dicate the supremacy of the law. Then disfranchise those who are not THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA I'OLITICS 71 in Congress to disfranchise 25.000 \'irginians who had not been disfranchised by the Reconstruction Acts, in order to make se- cure the poHtical position of his i)arty. In 1X68 he had also ad- vocated the Underwood Constitution witliout reservation. And in 1869 he again appeared before the Reconstruction Committee and opposed the submission of the objectionable clauses of the constitution to a separate vote because it would mean the defeat of the Radical party in the State. In spite of all this, in May, 1869. Wells declared himself in fa\or of the omission of the of- fensive clauses in the Underwood Constitution.-' This move was taken by him after it was evident that his former ])osition was making him unpopular with the best men in the Republican party. But he did not advocate in his public speeches the defeat of the clauses, and his followers, both white and colored, con- tinued to support the constitution as a whole. It was generally believed, and with good reason, that he was secretly working with his followers as he had done openly in the past."* The unpopularity of Governor Wells had made such discord in the Republican ranks that the state executive committee of the party decided to set aside all the nominations of 1«S68 and to call a new convention to put other candidates in the field. The con- vention met at Petersburg Marcli *> and 10. It was one of the most turbulent of the many disorderly Radical conventions of tiie period. The insurgents, who composed the more moderate wing of the Republican party, desired the nomination of James H. Clem- ents for governor. The negroes, who made up the rank and file of the opposing wing, supported the candidacy of Wells almost unanimously. The contest between the two factions over the election of a chairman to the con\ention was very stormy. When the Clements faction claimed the victory, the Wells faction started a riot. Order was restored only after the police had loyal, making loyal acts, and not a l^apcr oath, the test of loyalty. This done, create a perpetual balance of power, which will at ail times secure you from political danger; or more \ lainly. Irt the negro vote." Richmond Enquirer, April 7. 1868. ^ Richmond Enquirer, May 8, 1869. * Richmond Enquirer, June 10, 1869. inr I. nuir^L -t^n^g^-^ ^e^ers —im: Z^afsr AIJer_ il irosr jci Jir "it^ ■nscrsin: ^e A tils i^fssi i: -foe Scsre t: :ie 'Z^iirji. xs Tsel £= ^De rr:^- ''n iir _ __ . — --: ir=s u»rxc«d ly Cv'sisr^sa i.«ar ■see- -=^oiscr-irriar -" j-sk >i^nrr.- THE KZjGBO IX VTkGl'SlA. J- Counn.' ' Tbese re- hundred and fim- of tbe nxi'^: , bers of the Republican part}- in tbe State tzrlj tbe inflneoce of the Gx nmi tt e e of X been mainly instrnmental in ^— - members of d*e oonservaiiTe ? rtee that bad as- sisted Mr. Sttiart's Committee -cf Xuic in '• ■ . r the month of Jannaiy. Tlie Committee of Nine had - _ ^tive ticket be pnt in tbe field against \\"eiis. regardiess of parrv iii>es. It was even suggested that in case t^" — " -" ' ' ': the Republican party was unable to : Wells in tbe coming election, that tbey witbdraw from tbe r:r.- vention and nominate candidates of tj' " " ' ' .: the ^^'ells ticket by dividing tbe party . - - ment had been made witb tbe moderate Re - - It is probable that tbe allied factions saw at an ez- sity of supporting a conservative, or — r-ferate. - r -.'. in order to defeat tbe Wells facr: visely V- to themselves until public opinion "sras ready for :ii At any rate it "n-as adopted in April 1869 Ik- tbe Cout ? and moderate Republicans. On tbe tweity-eigbtb of tbat montb a convention of tbe Ccc- serv-ative party met in P.-:'- " " ''" : Excbar.r' - -- --e political readez\-ou5 of tb.r. ::tude o: regard to tbe Xew Movaneiit had chained. After tbe nrsi beat of biner protest lad passed away. ' • - ^ - - -- - - -- - - iudgnient and self contrdl and wr sible, tbe remainder of their political fortunes, ResohitxHis were adopted ui^ng tbe voters to defeat tbe c": ' ^ -■ ": tbe constinztion when it was submitted. T. - - - been nominated l^ tbe Conservatives about twelve nxjoths be- fore withdrew in order to give tbe parrv- a " ? crisis. A few davs later the state central cc " ; - ' Appleton's Avvuai Cy: * Stuart. The Risii.-'^JiioK . ; ■ . -.•••_ .. * Richmond En^ircr, April », 1S«9. 74 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS people to support the conservative Republican candidates. It was felt that although the Conservative party could probably win by an honest count, since the choice would lie between W ith- ers, a '"red-handed Confederate colonel, '" and Wells, a "loyal" Republican, the latter might be ''counted in'" by the election of- ficials.^'^ Such was the party ahgnment when, on May 4, 1869, Presi- dent Grant named July 6. 1869 as the time of the election in \'irginia and proclaimed that a separate vote would be taken on the disfranchising and test oath clauses. Notwithstanding the disappointment of the Conser\-atives because the county organi- zation clause was not submitted to a separate vote, the cam- paign, which had already been inaugurated, was conducted with energy. Walker was greeted with enthusiasm by Conser\'atives in all parts of the State. Wells also conducted an efficient cam- paign, mostly among the negroes. The Conservatives were beginning to feel confident of victory. when it became known, just before the election, that General Canby, who had succeeded General Stoneman as commanding general of the District in March 1869, was determined to ad- minister the "iron clad" oath to the officers-elect. Should this be done, the candidate having the next highest vote would be counted in. Only Radicals would then be elected, and it would have meant disaster to the Conservatives and to the State. Upon hearing this through Mr. Stuart, the President issued an order preventing General Canby from carrjing his designs into effect. 11 The attitude of the consenative whites towards the negroes in this campaign is very interesting. The Conservative party had organized as a white man's party after the bitter campaign of 1867, but the new organization, which included the moderate Republicans, sought the aid of the conservative negroes just as the Conservative party had done in the election of 1867. Most of the political shortcomings of the negroes were charged to their white Radical advisers, who were cordially hated during " Stuart, Restoration in Virginia, p. -52. " Stuart, The Restoration of Virginia, pp. 63-66. THE NEGRO IX VIRGINIA POLITICS 75 their stav in \'irginia. The negroes themselves, if moderate, were preferred as candidates to these men. The Richmond Dispatch, a conservative paper, in commenting on the election, said, "Dr. Norton [colored] of Williamsburg, will be no doubt elected in the First District. He is. we believe, conservative, and opposes Aver, the bitter Radical from the North. We shall con- sider Norton's election a victory." ^- In several counties the white Conservatives nominated negroes for office. Three of these were elected to the General Assembly. ^-^ Some of the most substantial negroes aided the Conservatives in this cam- paign as they had done in 1867. About a week before the election, some two hundred and fifty Conservative negroes of Richmond, at the risk of personal vio- lence from the colored Radicals, arranged a barbecue for their men and invited a number of prominent white Conservatives. The speeches on both sides were harmonious and good feeling prevailed. The hosts displayed a banner upon which was a pic- ture of a white man and a colored man shaking hands. Under the picture was written. "United we stand : divided we fall." By an unhappy coincidence a nearby bridge fell soon after the appearance of this banner, carrying with it a crowd of people. Many were injured and several killed.'-* .\mong those who were killed was Colonel James R. Branch, a prominent white Conservative, of Richmond. The Radicals encouraged the superstitious negroes in believ- ing that this accident was an evil omen against the affiliating of members of their race with the Conservative party. The Radi- cal newspapers attributed much importance to the providential warning, as they interpreted it to the negroes. One of them, the Richmond Evcuiuii Jounial, of July 3, 1869, said of the ac- cident. "That colored vote of ours is a pozi'cr. It is directed by a religious sentiment. The hand of God is in it to curse those who apostatize, and to bless and guide those who go faithfully to the polls and vote for the Republican ticket. . . . There has ** (Aver was elected, however). Dispatch. July 7. 1S69. " The Xation. July 15. 1S69. " Richmond Distotch, July 2. 3. 1S69. 76 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS been no 'colored Conservative barbecue" and there will be none. An awful fiat has forbidden, and that finger will not again be tempted to be uplifted against colored apostasy." ^'^ During this campaign most of the negroes were completely un- der the influence of the Union League.i*^ gome of them were persuaded by the anti-Wells Republicans to follow them into the Conservative ranks. Others had been persuaded to abandon the League by the farmers, who in some cases refused to employ a member. As the day of the election drew near the negroes showed a growing tendency to nominate men of their own color as candi- dates for election to the General Assembly and to Congress. On May 24, the first unmixed negro state convention ever held in Virginia met in Petersburg in answer to a call issued by the colored people of that city. The object of the convention, as expressed by Dr. Bayne, was to bring it about that the State would have no peace while all of its offices were filled with white men. The convention endorsed the whole Underwood Constitution and the \\'ells ticket. i" In a number of counties in the State the negroes put candi- dates of their own race in the field against those of both the Walker and the Wells tickets. In Norfolk city they had two colored candidates for the State Senate and three for the House of Delegates. In six Congressional districts they had candidates for the Mouse of Representatives. The vote in the election of 1869 was perhaps the largest that had ever been cast in the history of the State. The returns are very interesting since they show the vote by race as well as by party. They are as follows i^'^ " Quoted in the Richmond Dispatch of July 5, 1869. According to the Dispatch (July 9) the accident was made to help in intimidating those of the negroes who had deserted the Union League. Barbe- cues were given the negroes in several counties to win them from the League. '" The Richmond Dispatch, July 2, 1869. " The Richmond Enquirer, May 28, 29, 1869. " Code of Virginia, 1873, p. 28. THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA POLITICS 11 Total Number of Reg- Number of Votes For the Con- Against istered Voters. Cast. .stitution. tlic Consti- White Colored White Colored tution. 149,781 120,103 125,] 14 y7,20.') 210..JS.-> y.KSfi For 4th For 7th clause Sec. Section, 1, Art. Ill Against Article Against .\ot V( atuig of Constitu- It. III It. White Colored tion. 84.410 i24,:]r)0 83,458 12 4.715 24.637 22.898 For Governor For Lieutenant-Gov. For Attorney-General Walker Wells Lewis Harris Taylor Bowden 119,535 101,204 120,068 99.600 119.446 101,129 The color line in this election was drawn more shaq^ly than in the i)revious election. That part of the constitution not in- cltiding the two parts that were voted on separately was accepted by both sides almost unanimously. Walker was elected govern- or by a majority of 18,331 out of 220.739 votes. The Conserva- tives, Lewis and Taylor, were also elected lieutenant-governor and attorney-general, respectively. Of the six candidates for the three highest state offices, Taylor received the greatest num- ber of votes and Harris, his colored opponent, the smallest. Evi- dently some of the Radicals did not support their colored candi- date. The most interesting and significant feature of the elec- tion was the vote on the clauses that were submitted separately. The negroes voted almost unanimously for these clauses, which if adopted would have disfranchised thousands of white men and disqualified from holding office practically all the white men of the State. The efforts to break the hold of the Union league on the negroes had been successful only to a very small degree, and the negroes voted as they had been instructed by their Rad- ical leaders. Of the 43 senators elected to the General Assembly. 30 were Conservatives and 13, Radicals. Of the 138 d degates elected. 96 were Conservatives and 42. Radicals. There were 6 negro Rad- icals among the senators elected, and 18 negro Radicals and 3 78 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS negro Conservatives among the delegates. The Conservative candidates won 5 out of the 9 Congressional districts. To the country at large this seemed like a victory of the mod- erate faction of the Republican party, but it was really a victory of the old Conservative party. It meant that the State had passed directly from under a fairly efiicient military government to one under Conservative control, and that Virginia was thereby spared several painful years of carpetbag-negro rule, like that which had existed in most of the other Southern States. There remained, however, from Reconstruction, a new and cumber- some government, the provision for an expensive public school system, a large public debt, and other new and fearful prob- lems — social, political and racial. These problems had to l)e faced and solved by a poverty-stricken state, carrying a heavy debt and a burden of about one hundred and fifty thousand newly enfranchised freedmen. who were densely ignorant and well organized under unscrupulous leaders politically hostile to the white population. The election had been a quiet one in spite of the bitterness of the campaign that preceded it.^^ The general apprehension that had been felt over this feature of the election is shown in the frequent comment, "No disturbance," "All quiet," and other similar laconic phrases in the telegraphic reports to the news- papers of the elections in the black counties of the State. In a few of the reports, mention was made of the fact that some negroes had voted with the whites for Walker.-" There was great rejoicing among the Conservatives over the results of the election. The Norfolk correspondent of a Rich- mond paper said, "W bile I write, bonfires are burning, music playing, and other demonstrations of a rejoicing people" are in progress. There were similar celebrations throughout the State. The exodus of the carpetbaggers was anticipated with keen pleasure. "Thank Cod," writes the editor of the Richmond '° The Dispatch, July 8, 1869, considered this "a marvel of these days." =" Richmond Dispatch, July 7, 1869. THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA POLITICS 79 Dispatch, "they must soon depart or take to some honest liveli- hood." In September 1869, the provisional Governor, Wells, hndinj^ the political climate of Virginia no longer congenial, resigned, and the governor-elect, Walker, succeeded him in office. A few days later, October 5, 1869, the first General Assembly that had met in three years, and the first in ten years to receive the un- qualified recognition of the Federal government convened in Richmond. The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments were submitted to the Assembly by Governor Walker on the third day of its session. The former amendment was ratified in the Senate by a vote of 36 to 4, and in the House of Delegates by a vote of 126 to 6. The latter amendment was ratified in the Senate by a vote of 40 to 2, and in the 1 louse by a unanimous vote. The virtual unanimity with which the amendments were ratified is interesting in view of the fact that before the .Assem- bly had been able to effect a permanent organization and pro- ceed with its work, the Radical members had attempted to have the test oath required of all the members, and followed this vain attempt by a protest against the loyalty and legality of the As- sembly. The Radical party expressed its disapproval of the July elec- tions in resolutions adopted by its State convention which met in Richmond on November 24, 1869. It was therein declared that "the election held in this State on the 6th of July, last, re- sulted in a Confederate triumph, which we unhesitatingly assert was achieved by artifice, intimidation and fraud." ^^ "We l>e- lieve," continued the resolutions, "that the secret of our defeat can be found in the unfortunate submission to a separate vite of the test-oath and disfranchising clauses of the State consti- tution, in direct opposition to the deliberate opinion of the rank and file of the Republican party in \'irginia." .\n appeal was "' The election was conducted under tlie supervision of Federal officials, and two local men of each race were chosen to challenge the voters at the respective voting places. The Commanding Gen- eral at the time was a Radical sympathizer. The accusation of the Radicals, like many similar statements to gain the support of the North, was without foundation. 80 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS made to Congress to "guarantee to \'irginia a republican form of government" by either requiring the test-oath of those elected and upon their refusal to take it to count in the candidate having the next highest vote, or by requiring a new election in order to have a vote taken on the constitution as a whole. "In event of a new election," continued the appeal, "we would ask for a mili- tary force sufficient to protect us in our political and civil rights. . . . This is perhaps our last contest. On your decision, loyalty in Virginia lives or dies. If you decide against us, no one will dare avow his Republicanism. The pernicious example set here will extend to other Southern states ; the colored people will again be at the mercy of their former masters ; the national debt will be repudiated ; and the rebel Democratic yoke may be placed on the necks of the American people in 1872." 22 These resolu- tions are sufficient to show the character and the methods of the "rank and file of the Republican party in Virginia," and to explain, in part at least, the solidarity of the opposition to that party in the Commonwealth since 1867. Fortunately for the State, Congress did not heed the cry of the Radicals, and Virginia took her place in the Union by an act of Congress of January 26, 1870. Appleton's Annual Cyclopaedia, 1869, p. 714. CHAPTER \'l I. The Elimination of thk Cakpkti'.acc.krs — 1S6"' to 1K7'). The first phase of the history of the negro in N'irj^inia poHtics ended with the Conservative victory of 1869, wliich brouf,'ht the State back into the Union in 1870 under the control of the na- tive white Conservatives. The victory had been fairly won under the careful supervision of the Federal authorities. The Radical domination of the State government by means of the colored vote was ended. liut the Radicals retained their hold on local governments in the black counties and were a constant menace to the political welfare of the State. Grave economic troubles had arisen out of war and reconstruction. lUit before the people of the State could turn their attention to these mat- ters, the political field had to be cleared of carpetbaggers and their radical followers, and the negroes relegated to the back- ground in the affairs of government. The economic troubles were intimately bound up in State pol- itics with the State debt of over forty-fi\e million dollars that had been contracted before the War of Secession for works of internal improvement.^ The greater i)art of the debt had l>een made during the hopeful decade just preceding the war; and during the decade of war and reconstruction that followed, it was enormously increased by the unpaid interest that accumu- lated. Mad there been no war. the debt, representing for the most part good investments, would not have been a burden to the people. In 1870, however, it weighed like a mill-stone upon the State, and was to dominate X'irginia politics for the next half a generation. In 1866 the payment in full of the debt and accumulated interest was pledged by the last legislature repre- senting the old regime. By the code of honor of this regime. ' R. L. Morton. "The Virginia State Debt and internal Improve- ments, 1820-38," The Journal of Political Economy, April. 1017. W. H. Ambler, The History of Sectionalism in I'irginia. —6 81 82 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS those who governed the State guarded its honor as jealously as they guarded honor in their personal affairs. Fraud had been practically unknown in the public affairs of the Commonwealth. The stand taken by the legislature in 1866 was heroic in view of the extreme poverty of the State at that time. At the beginning of his administration Governor Walker took a very hopeful view of the situation. In his message of March 8, 1870, he advocated the funding of the entire debt on a basis most favorable to the creditors, and the passage of other laws to strengthen public and private credit. His advice was heartily seconded by the press of the State and was approved by conser- vatives everywhere. The legislature showed by its acts a desire to conform to the new order of things and to follow the lead of the Governor in an effort to strengthen the financial condition of the Common- wealth. A good system of public schools was inaugurated un- der the very efficient management of the first superintendent of public instruction, Dr. W. H. Ruffner; and provision was made for putting into operation the new system of local gov- ernment required by the Underwood Constitution. But by tak- ing advantage of the provision in the constitution that reap- portionment should be made on the basis of representation in the General Assembly, the legislature broke up the gerrymander of the Underwood Constitution. ^ Closely associated with the debt question was the question of railroad ownership and control. Governor Walker advocated the abandonment of the State's interest in the railroads. As a result of its policy of borrowing, the State owned a controlling interest in its main lines of communication. In response to the advice of the Governor, the legislature, after a bitter struggle, passed an act ^ providing for the sale of the State's railroad stock at a sacrifice. The negro vote was the deciding factor in the passage of this bill.-* The act was not favorable to the in- * J. A. C. Chandler, Representation in Virginia (Johns Hopkins Uni- versity Studies, vol. xiv), pp. 79-80. ' Act of March 28, 1871. * C. C. Pearson, The Rcadjuster Movement in Virginia, p. 29. THE NEGRO IN VIRCINIA I'OIJTICS 83 terests of the State, and the people felt that their interest ^jad been bartered away. This was one of the most important pieces of legislation of that session. The most important act of the session was the Inindinjr .Act. which was passed two days later. By this act it was j)rovided that the old bonds conld be exchanged for new ones, bearing six per cent interest — the old rate — for two-thirds f)f the amount of the old bonds, respectively, and the overdue inter- est on them. With these were to be given interest-bearing certificates for the other tliird u\Hm which was stated that pay- ment of this would be made in accordance with such settlement as would thereafter be made between Virginia and West Vir- ginia. Interest promises were to be in the form of coupons re- ceivable in payment of taxes or other dues to the State.'' The bill was rushed through the House at the close of the session with little opportunity for debate. It received the sup- port of half the Conservatives and of all the Republican mem- bers but one.*' The negroes, who were Republicans, voted against the bill at first, but reversed their vote three hours later." It was believed that they had been bought. After the passage of this act, the rcvcmies of the State were not sufficient to pay the six per cent interest on the debt and at the same time pay the other appropriations provided by her laws.^ The current expenses of the State, which had averaged a little over half a million dollars, now required an anmial ap- propriation of over a million dollars. To offset this, only lit- tle could be realized from the sale of the State's railroad assets under the act of March 28. 1871.'* Furthermore, taxes were ° Act of March 30. 1871. ' Journal of the House of Delegates, March, 1871. Jouru^il of the Senate, March, ISTl. ' House Journal, 1S71-1872, pp. .31, 1:57, 297 ff; tlie Richmond fr/ii>. Enquirer, Dispatch, February 14-20. 1872 — cited in C. C. Pearson. The Readjuster Movement in rirginia, p. .32. See also F. G. Ruffin, The Cost and Outcome of Xegro Education in Virginia, (Pamphlet) Rich- mond, 1889; Virginia House Journal and Docunicnli, 1874-1875, p. -30. " Journal and Documents of the House of Delegates, 1874-187.'); W. L. Royall, The J'irginia State Debt Controversy, p. 21. ' Senate Jourual and Documents. 1874-1875, Doc. 1. 84 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS already high and the people were in very straightened circum- stances. The negroes, who constituted over a third of the pop- ulation, had practically no property at all to be taxed. There had been little interest taken in the campaign of 1870. Three Republican and five Conservative representatives were elected to Congress. The color line had appeared as usual be- tween the two parties. At the end of the legislative session of 1870-1871 party issues were still ill defined. The debt and rail- road controversies of that session had not been strictly along party lines. Party platforms had been conciliatory and not clear cut. There were factions in both parties over the recent legislation and on account of strife between the carpetbaggers, supported by the negroes, and their allies, the scalawags, over the giving of Federal patronage. i" But the Conservatives re- organized the party in their convention of August 30, 1871. The old ante-bellum leaders, who had been barred from poli- tics, now made their presence felt. In the words of Professor Pearson, this marked "the beginning of a Confederate reaction against the compromising idea that had prevailed for two years." It should be noted, however, that six negro members from Richmond were given a hearty welcome at this conven- tion and Governor Walker was invited to be present. About a month later, the Republican convention formulated a platform in which the Conservative party was severely arraigned. The Funding Act, which had received the votes of their own dele- gates when passed, received special condemnation. It was also stated in the platform that the Conservatives had not fulfilled the requirements of the new constitution in regard to the pub- lic schools and in regard to the right of negroes to sit on juries. In the November election which followed, the Conservatives increased their majority in the House of Delegates by fifteen members and in the Senate by six.^^ The number of negroes in '" C. C. Pearson, The Rcadjttstcr Moz'cincnt in rirginia, p. 38. " In the House of Delegates there were 97 Conservatives and 35 Republicans, 14 of the latter colored; in the Senate there were 33 Conservatives and 10 Republicans, 3 of whom were colored. The Richmond Distatdi, November 16, 18, 1871; Applcton's Annual Cyclo- paedia, 1871. THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA POLITICS 85 the House was reduced from twenty to fourteen, and in the Senate, from six to three. In the meanwhile, the financial situation of the State was be- coming very serious. The State government found it impos- sible to meet the obligations imposed by the Funding Act of March 1871 and defaulted in the payment of the interest on the new bonds. In March 1872, an act was passed over the Governor's veto forbidding tax collectors from receiving the coupons, already issued, in payment of taxes. ^- But the Vir- ginia Court of Appeals, in December 1872, declared this act an impairment of the oliligation of contract and therefore uncon- stitutional.'-^ As a result, coupons were redeemed as before. A deficit occurred in the State's revenue. On account of this the public schools suffered most heavily.'' Out of this state of affairs grew the Readjuster iMovement. The new devclojiment in the debt question was looked upon with alarm by the Con- servative leaders, especially those of the old school, who be- lieved with William L. Royall, that "all of this proceeded di- rectly from the new order of things which the introduction of the negro as a voter produced." '•'' The legislature of 1872-1873 did not improve the situation by acts to reduce the expenses of the government or to improve the credit of the State, though elected with that end in view. The Conservative party failed to carry the State for Horace Greely, the Liberal-Republican candidate, in the national elec- tion of 1872. In the Congressional elections of that year. Rad- ical (Republican) candidates were elected from the four east- ern and southern districts — the black districts — of the SMte. The remaining five were won by the Conservatives. '*"' The Re- " Act of March 7, 1872. " .A-ntoni f. Wright, 32 Graftan, sr^.T. " For account of arrears in the appropriations for the public schools, see the Governor's Message. December 0, 1870, House Jour- nal dnd Documents, 1876-1877. " W. L. Royall, The Jlrghiia State Debt Controversy, p. 23. Mr. Roj-^all was chief counsel for the bondholders during the contro- versy. " The first amendment to the Underwood Constitution was 86 PHElvPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS publican success in this election greatly encouraged them and aroused the Conservatives to increased efforts in the campaign for the election of the higher State officers and members of the General Assembly. The campaign of 1873 was one of unusual interest through- out the Commonwealth. The Radical, or Republican conven- tion assembled in Lynchburg on July 30. About half of its members were colored. i' Robert W. Hughes, a former se- cessionist and a man of ability, who came from southwestern Virginia, was nominated for governor; C. P. Rumsdell, a car- petbagger from an eastern county, for lieutenant-governor; and David Fultz, an old Union man, from Augusta County, for at- torney-general. Thus every faction of the party and every sec- tion of the State were represented. The platform adopted was generous, progressive and of wide appeal. The Conservative convention, held in Richmond a few days later, August 6, was one of the largest and most enthusiastic meetings ever held by the party. Their nominations and plat- form, like those of the Republicans, were made with a view to harmonize contending factions and sections. General James L. Kemper from the Valley, an officer in the Mexican war and in the War of Secession, was nominated for governor; Colonel R. E. Withers of the Southwest, for lieutenant-governor; and Raleigh T. Daniel, a prominent lawyer and party leader, of Richmond, for attorney-general. Kemper owed his nomina- tion largely to the influence of William Mahone, whom he had supported in the contest over the railroads. Withers, on the other hand, was an enemy of Mahone. ^^ adopted by the people at this election. The usury clause was stricken from the constitution, giving the legislature a free hand in setting the rate of interest. The constitution underwent many changes in this way. For these changes, see later codes of Virginia, and, for a convenient summary of them, see David L. Pulliam, The Constitutional Conventions of J^irginia (Richmond, 1901) pp. 165-179.^ A change in legislative representation had been made, but this had been required by the constitution. " Current newspapers. Appleton's Annual Cyclopaedia, 1873. ^' R. E. Withers, Autobiography. THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA POLITICS 87 The return of the old leaders to political life was made pos- sible by the wholesale removal of disabilities by Congress in 1872. The same qualities that had brought these men to the front in times of war brought them to the front in political af- fairs, and their rank in the army made them heroes in the pop- ular mind. The platform adopted by the convention had much in common with the platform adopted by the Radicals the pre- vious week, but it was not quite as liberal in content and tone. A comparison was drawn between the condition of Virginia under Conservative control and that of other Southern states under Radical rule ; justice to all, regardless of race or nativity, was made the aim of the party ; the new system of public schools was pointed to with pride, and liberal support of pub- lic school education was advocated.!^ Conservatives were ad- vised to vote against all independent candidates. In spite of the fortunate nominations and the progressive platforms of the two parties, the true issue of the campaign, negro control in politics, could not be concealed. The cam- paign was a struggle of the carpetbaggers to regain their for- mer prominence through the aid of the negroes. The bitter- ness of their fight was increased by the realization that this would be, perhaps, their last one if they were defeated at that time. So sharply drawn was the line between the whites and the blacks that, as The Nation expressed it, it was "barely an exaggeration to say that it was a struggle of races." -^ The Conservatives, who had refrained from recognizing the color line in former campaigns, now frankly did so, and challenged the whites to be true to their race by supporting their party. They had tried in vain to effect some kind of compromise to ^° It may be noted in this connection that there were in Virginia 390,913 negroes over ten years of age who could not read, and 445,893 who could not write. Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruc- tion of Virginia, 1871, p. 202. (According to the census of 1870 the total colored population was 512,841.) =» The Nation, November 6, 1873. The quest mi was asked in an editorial in the Richmond Dispatch, March 4, 1873: "Shall the whites rule and take care of the negroes, or shall the negroes rule and take care of the whites?" There was no longer a compromise here. 88 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS break the solid ranks of the negroes under their Radical lead- ers in order to avoid the race issue in politics. There was now but one course to pursue, that of drawing the color line just as their opponents had done. The whites in the central, eastern and southern counties of the State had borne patiently the re- sults of Reconstruction. They had in their local offices and as their representatives in the legislature their former servants — carriage drivers, butlers, shoemakers and field hands — and self- seeking white adventurers from without the State and native demagogues. Some of the negro officers were honest and cap- able men who exerted a good influence over their people ; but even these were lacking in training and experience to represent educated white constituencies which had always possessed a genius for politics and a high standard for its officers. Accord- ing to Dr. W. H. Ruffner, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, there was in these counties "one agonizing desire ; it is for honest, enlightened, local government, and for deliver- ance, not only from the actual incubus, but from the constant dread of semi-barbarous rule." -^ The weakening of the Re- publican party by the many political scandals during President Grant's administration, and by the panic of 1873, diverted the mind of the North from Southern affairs and gave the Con- servatives in Virginia more freedom from outside influence in politics. It was also at this time that there occurred the famous decisions of the Federal Supreme Court in the Slaughter House Cases, which marked a reaction in that court against the undue interference of the Federal government in the political affairs of the individual states. During the campaign of 1873 the Radicals adjured the ne- groes to support their party, and reminded them that the whites, or Conservatives, had once held them in slavery and would do so again if they could control the government. In answer, the Conservatives urged the whites to be loyal to their race and to remember the crimes committed under negro local rule in the State. For example, reference was made to the rav- ishing of an old lady by two of Kellogg's colored policemen, of " State School Report, 1873, p. 204. THE NEGRO IN VIKCINIA I'OI.ITICS 89 which deed the Lynchburg News said. "It seems monstrous to suppose that any white men. having a mother, sister, wife, or daughter can march up to the polls and vote to place in j)ower a party which connives at such outrages." — The horrible ex- ample of Radical-negro rule that could then be seen in other Southern states afforded the white Conservatives an ample and just reason for the existence of their party." The election resulted in the defeat of the Republicans. Kem- per won with a majority of 27.239 votes out of the 214.2.^7 cast. Withers and Daniel were also elected. In the General Assembly the Conservatives had as the result of the election i3 men in the Senate and 99 in the House of Delegates. The Re- publicans had 9 men in the Senate and 33 in the House. A third of the Republicans in the Senate and over a half of the Republicans in the House were colored. -'"^ One of the hardest things for outsiders to realize was the friendly relations that still existed between the members of the two races in Virginia outside of politics. In spite of bitterness engendered by political strife and outside interference, when blacks met whites in everyday life, the old attachment that had existed between master and servant before the war continued to exist. The negroes continued to look to the whites for pro- tection, advice and emi)loyment ; and the whites depended upon the negroes for their labor. In speaking of this in 1873. Dr. Rufifner said. "In spite of the political contests on the race line, the personal relations between the white and colored people are not only friendly, but are more free and genial than commonly exist between the corresponding classes of whites." -^ In his message to the General Assembly of January 1. 1874, Governor -^ The Xation, November 6. 1873. ^ Warrock-Richardson Almanac, 1874; Applctnu's .hiiiual Cyclof'ac- dia. 187."]; The Richmond Dispatch, Xovember 17. 187.3. During the legislative session of 1874, Colonel Robert E. Withers was chosen United States Senator. His closest opponent in the contest for the position was James P. Evans, a n-gro, who received 15 votes, all but one of which were colored. Virginia now had two Conservative United States senators. Journal of the House of Dele- gates, 1874, pp. 72-73. '* The I'iriiinia School Report, 1873. 90- PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS Kemper pointed to the fact that there was not a single discrim- ination in regard to race in the laws of the State, and that the Federal government had not had a single occasion to interfere in the domestic affairs of the State upon the pretext of injus- tice or inequality in the Virginia code of laws, or in their ap- plication and enforcement between the races. In reference to the recent defeat of the carpetbaggers, he said, "Recent events prove how futile, and how disastrous to its authors, must be any attempt to array the colored race as a political combina- tion upon any principle of antagonism between the races. All such attempted combinations of the past are dissolved and dis- persed and we are afforded a golden opportunity for settling forever the internal jealousies which have hindered our mate- rial progress, and for completing thf pacification of all elements of the body politic." The Governor advocated the division of the races socially and their mutual aid along all lines of prog- ress. He desired the moral and educational betterment of the colored people. In political affairs he was confident that the white people would lead on account of their superior numbers, wealth, political training and intelligence. ^^ The growing strength of the Conservative party was further shown in the returns of the Congressional elections in the fall of that year, 1874. With the exception of one representative, William H. H. Stowell. administration candidate from the Fourth District, all the representatives elected were Conserva- tives.2*' ^'' Journal and Documents of the House of Delegates, 1874, pp. 10-11. *" Excitement ran high during political campaigns. John Goode defeated James H. Piatt of Vermont in a warmly contested election for a seat in Congress from the district in which Norfolk city is lo- cated. Piatt had made himself exceedingly obnoxious to the white people of the district and Goode gives the following account of the reception that he received upon his victory over Piatt: "The city was brilliantly illuminated and nearly the entire popu- lation turned out to meet me at the station, and with a torchlight procession escorted me to my house." In this district the negroes nominated as candidates one of their number, Robert Norton, in a mass meeting at Yorktown. John Goode. Recollections of a Lifetime, pp. 107 fif. THE NEGRO IN VIK(.IMA POLITICS 91 After the defeat of the Radicals at tlie polls the Conserva- tives, under the guidance of their old leaders, proceeded with the undoing of Reconstruction in the State. Resolutions had already heen adopted by the previous Assembly to amend the article in the Underwood Constitution relating to county or- ganization.-'' These resolutions were now finally adopted. The amendments, therein, provided for the abolition of a third of the local officers of the State and for changing the name "town- ship" (which was a constant reminder of Reconstruction ad- venturers that had introduced the townshij) system in the Com- monwealth) to "magisterial district." the old name. This amendment was submitted to the people in the fall of 1874 and was ratified by a good majority.-^ During the session of 1874-1875 the legislature, acting upon the Governor's advice, again laid violent hands upon the Un- derwood Constitution, and the reaction against Reconstruction ^ Acts of Assembly, 1872-1873, p. 274; Journal and Documcitts of the House of Delegates, 1874. pp. 20-24. * Governor Kemper was not satisfied with the amendment because it was not drastic enough, and strongly advocated further amend- ments. "That instrument." he said, referring to the Underwood Con- stitution, "imposes upon the impoverished and sparce population of Virginia a frame-work of State and local government so complicated and costly that it must of necessity be oppressive in any but a densely settled state. After Virginia had been stripped of a third of her territory and more tlian half of her material values — when the legis- lature should have been reduced in* numbers one-half, and the gov- ernment conformed to the diminished size and resources of the State — the legislative department was made relatively large, its sessions twice as frequent, and the whole machinery of the government more expensive than when the State was powerful, rich and prosperous. The Constitution is full of details which belong only to the domain of ordinary legislation. It puts unusual and meddlesome restric- tions upon the legislative power, which cripple the government in its efforts to equalize the burdens of taxation, and to restore the State credit. It contains provisions and allusions touching our past history which are irritating and offensive to a irajority of the peo- ple." Furthermore, he said, it had abolished tlie "ancient, honest and manly mode of voting by the living voice." and had substituted the secret ballot, a source of fraud, dissimulation and falsehood. Journal and Documents of the House of Delegates. 1874, pp. 4S2-4S4. 92 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS went on apace. Two sets of amendments were adopted for sub- mission to popular vote. The first of these dealt with that part of the constitution relating to the elective franchise and quali- fications for office ; the second had to do with the article relat- ing to the legislative department. To the former disqualifica- tions from voting — insanity, bribery at elections, embezzlement of public funds, duelling (or aiding in a duel), treason and fel- ony — was added petit larceny. This was the first time that dis- crimination had been made against the negroes through legis- lation striking at their peculiar characteristics. The following oath, that had been required of "every person ofTering or ap- plying to register," was stricken from the constitution : "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am not disqualified from exercising the right of suffrage by the Constitution framed by the Convention which assembled in the city of Richmond, on the third of December, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and that T will support and defend the ?ame to the best of my ability. "29 Thus an unhappy reminder of the past was removed and the ground was cleared of this obstacle to tender consciences in the future. By the second group of amendments, adopted at this time, the number of members of the House of Delegates was reduced from 132 to not over 100; the General Assembly would meet biennially instead of annually ; power was given the General Assembly to provide for the government of cities and towns, and to establish such courts therein as might be necessary for the administration of justice ; the General Assembly was given the power to remove disabilities incurred by aiding or partici- pating in duelling; and finally, the former custom of reciuiring the payment of a poll tax as a requisite for voting was re- vived. ^^ " .-lets of Assonhly, 1874-187.5, p. ;^99. ch. 313. Submitted to the people by act of the General Assembly, Acts 187.5-1876. p. 82, ch. 87; p. 87, ch. 88. These amendments were ratified by a large majority. Hven at this date Federal troops were used at tlie polls in Peters- burg. '° This tax requirement did not prove satisfactory as there was no provision made for a set time for the payment of this tax before THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA TOLITICS 93 Although the poll tax rec|uirement as a requisite for voting was aimed chiefly at the negro.''^ who it was believed would not pay his poll tax. the fiscal need for the law was largely respon- sible for its existence. 'IMic chant^c in the constitution was strongly urged by (lovernor Walker at the bcgiiming of his ad- ministration on this account. In 1873, Dr. RulTner advocated the payment of a two dollar poll tax as a rc(|uisite for vcning in order to provide money for the jiublic schools. lie reminded the people of the fact that it was the custom in Virginia before 1867 to re(iuirc tax receipts of those desiring to vote and cited this as "evidence, that this movement (for the poll tax recpiire- ment) is not aimed at the rights and privileges of any particu- lar color or condition." •'- the elections. Tt was consequently often paid at the last moment for the voter. Fraud resulted, and much money was needed by each party for the purchasing of votes. Furthermore, some of the poorer whites were disfranchised thereby. When the Readjuster party came into power in 1880 the legislature proposed an amendment to abol- ish that part of the constitution. The amendment, according to law, had to be passed by a second session of the legislature. It was ap- proved a second time and was ratified by the people in 1S82. There was no change in the suflfrage after this until 1902. J. A. C. Chan- dler, The History of Suffrage in I'iri^iuia. Johns Hopkins University Studies, 19th Series. For the acts relating to these amendments, see .lets of Assewhiy. 1874-1875, p. 399, ch. 313. Submitted to the people by the act of As- sembly 1875-1876, p. 82, ch. 87; p. 87, ch. 88. The amendment relating to duelling was made in behalf of some of the old leaders who had participated in duelling. Duelling ex- isted in Virginia until about 1880 in spite of the better judgment and the disapproval not only of the people in general but also of those who participated in them. For an interesting account of the last and most famous of the post-bellum duels fought in Virginia and of the attitude of one who figured prominently in these aflFairs and m Virginia politics of the period, see \V. L. Royall. Some Remiinseeuces. pp. 64-100. " The Richmond Dis(^oteli, I-ebruary 28, 1880. '- He said furthermore that the restrictions on the franchise that existed in some parts of New England at that time were much more severe. In Connecticut, for example, no man could vote who could 94 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS The change in the constitution which placed the form of government for the respective cities in the hands of the legisla- ture was one of the most important adopted at this time. This, like several other contemporaneous changes, was designed to deliver the local governments of the black belt out of the hands of the negroes and their leaders. It was at this time that disillusionment first came to the negroes in regard to their white allies, the Radical-Republicans from abroad. Upon the failure to receive the Federal support which they had so earnestly prayed for, the more aspiring and capable carpetbaggers had sought other occupations or more propitious fields for their political activity ; some had joined the Conserv- ative ranks. But the less capable of these unwelcome invaders still lingered in the black counties, courting favor with the col- ored people in order to win an ofifice here and there. These men, had, by their familiarity with the colored people and by their lack of real sympathy and regard for them, brought upon themselves the contempt of the negroes, who after all still prided themselves on their friendship with the "quality." Fi- nancial troubles had diverted the attention of the people of the North from their former wards at the South. The negroes now began to realize that they were not only forsaken by their former political allies but also that the whites were no longer in the mood to compromise in political affairs. The colored voters gave vent to their dissatisfaction in a state convention held at Richmond on August 20, 1875. The meeting was called for the purpose of preserving the rights of the colored people and of securing redress for the wrongs which they claimed to have received at the hands of the local authorities and at the hands of the Republican leaders in Rich- mond and Washington. There were many delegates present from all parts of the State. T.ike former Radical gatherings of this kind, it was characterized by much speaking, excitement and confusion. Resolutions were adopted as follows : not read; and in Massachusetts the ability to read and write was re- quired of voters. Annual Report of the Superintendent of Public In- struction of Virginia, 1873. THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA POLITICS 05 "Believing in a republican form of government such as emanated from the reversionary right of all power, that it should not or would not be deemed improper or impertinent for us. who represent ninc- tenths of the Republican voters of Virginia, to state candidly and earnestly some of our grievances, which we have borne patiently as a party and as a class, and to call the attention of the Administra- tion thereto and ask, respectfully but firmly, that they be noticed, and, as far as is in the power of the Administration, that they be rectified, and the party relieved of unnecessary burdens, harmonized, inspired anew and prepared to run in the next presidential race and gloriously and triumphantly win: and whereas we deem it essential to this end that the party in the State should control its own in- ternal economy without the interference in our local politics of po- litical stock-brokers atd speculators to dictate Federal appointments over the head of our own State Committee, and to keep them there against our respectful protests and petitions: therefore — "Resolved, That while we reiterate unflinching fidelity to the prin- ciples of the Republican party and. per consequence, fealty to the Administration, we again respectfully ask and think it right for the Administration to stretch out its hand and save us and the organi- zation as it exists, and which we acknowledge, by recognizing such organization as the supreme power of the party, and listen to their behests rather than to those interested individuals, whether they live here, in Massachusetts, or any other portion of the land. "Resolved. That we look with the utmost anxiety and alarm at the condition of disorganization and disaffection existing in the party in the State, caused by the appointment of a number of Federal of- fice-holders all over the State, many instances of which occur to us who are pronounced Democrats, who would blush Judas-like were Republican sentiments imputed to them, and of others who are an incubus to the party and are preparing the way for a precipitate desertion into the Democratic lines in case the late lamented Con- federacy shall succeed in establishing its power and supremacy again in 1876."-f3 The proposed amendment of the constitution in.nkin.tx petty larceny a cause of disfranchisement was discussed by members of the convention and denounced as an unjust discrimination against their race. Rcsohition? were adopted dcnouncinj? it."''^ One delegate said, "It is hard that a poor negro cannot take a few chickens without losing his right to vote." " Affleton's .Inituol Cyr/o/'(7i'rfi(J, 1875. ''* See contemporary newspapers, the Richmond Distatch. U'hif: and Examiner: .Ipplcton's Annual Cyelof'aedia, 1875. 96 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS The effects of the end of carpetbag rule and of the operation of the new legislation undoing Reconstruction may be seen in the results of the elections of 1877 and 1878. As the result of the former elections the number of Republican members of the House of Delegates was reduced from twenty-two to nine. There were only seven negroes left in the legislature. The rep- resentatives elected to Congress in 1878 were Conservatives with the exception of one Republican from the Fourth District. Now that the Conservative party was no longer held together by the race question and that the Republican party had become practically a negro organization, the number of independent members of the House of Delegates had increased from six to twenty-three. The negroes, who had been "noisy and jubilant" over Hayes's election in the national contest of 1876,^''"' did not realize that this election meant a compromise between the North and the South, nor did they suspect that it marked the beginning of a deadlock between the great political parties which was to exist from 1875 to 1879, and which was to prevent all interference in Southern affairs by the national government. Furthermore there were many in both sections who had begun to say, in the words of an eminent Southerner, 'T am tired of this turmoil and distrust. I want a country I can love." ^^ After the elimination of the carpetbaggers and the undoing of a large part of their work in the early seventies, the race question in politics had become of little importance until the debt controversy gave origin to the Readjuster party in 1879. The recrudescence of the race question has occurred in Virginia politics only in times of political stress, when the negro vote has been necessary to keep a certain element in power. Just as the carpetbaggers had thus won supremacy for a short time during Reconstruction, and had made the race question a political issue during the several years that followed in order to regain their '•^ .\lderman and Gordon, J. L. M. Curry, A Biography, p. 235. •■" Ibid., p. 2:55. vSee also p. 238. Hayes offered Curry a place in his cabinet and even considered giving General Joseph E. Johnston a place there. THE NEGRO IX VIKCFNIA I'OI.ITICS 97 supremacy, so General William Mahone — taking advantage of the debt problem — built up a powerful political machine with the aid of the negro votes, dominated State politics from 1879 to 1883 and, ;ifter his defeat, continm-d lo make the race (jues- tion a campaign issue for several years longer with the hope of regaining power. The Readjuster Movement in X'irginia grew out of the in- ability of the peoi)le of Virginia in their crippled financial con- dition to construct a satisfactory policy in regard to the State debt. The history of this movement is one of great interest and importance, not only as a chaj)ter in Virginia history during a critical period but also as an account of a reaction against tiie ancient order of things, which occurred between 1876 and 1900. This reaction, which we are about to study, resembled Re- construction in its radical tendencies, its type of leaders and their use of the negro vote to further their ends. And just as the drawing of the color line during Reconstruction brought a reaction against the negroes in the Southern States, which showed itself in election frauds, intimidation and, finally, amendments to the state constitutions, so this second movement brought its reaction in the form of a new tyjie of politicians in the South — the anti-negro politicians — and forced the adojjtion of new state constitutions around the year 1900. —7 CHAPTER VIII. The Readjuster Movement in Virginia. 1879-188v3. It is not in the scope of this paper to give a detailed account of the Readjuster movement in Virginia.^ But since the suc- cess of the Readjusters was obtained with the aid of the sohd negro vote, it is not out of place here to give briefly the history and results of the movement. The issue of the State debt had not been squarely faced be- fore 1879. The Funding Act of March 1871 was unsatisfac- tory to all factions. The attempt to prevent the payment of in- terest coupons into the treasury had failed. As a consequence they continued to be received and the State could not meet its obligations to its public schools and its creditors. Governor Walker had taken entirely too hopeful a view of the financial condition of the State and of its ability to meet promptly its obligations. The creditors and the world at large had been given reason to believe from the official statements of the Gov- ernor that the resources of the State, which had suffered four years as a battle field, had been but little diminished. He had said that if the lands of the Commonwealth were fairly as- sessed there would be enough revenue, without increasing the rate of taxation, to pay the interest on the public debt and to defray the current expenses of the State government. After such official statements it was only natural that those who were not in the position to know the real state of affairs in Virginia should have looked upon the defalcation of the payment of in- terest on the bonds of the State and the attempts to defeat the purpose of the Funding Act as bad faith on the part of the peo- ple of Virginia, As a consequence British financiers were not only refusing to loan money in the State but were in some cases ^ For a full account of the period, see C. C. Pearson, The Read- juster Movement iii J'irginia. 98 THE NEGRO IX VIKC.INIA I'OLITICS 99 advising others to do the same. Thus further tiuaucial distress was caused. 2 Governor Walker's cheerful estimate of the resources of \'ir- ginia were, unfortunately, not founded upon sufficient evidence, and proved to be highly exaggerated. To outward appearances the scars of war were to some extent healed. I'arm buildings, implements, fences and other property that had been taken away or destroyed by contending armies were being replaced. r)Ut the increase in such property was balanced by the capi- tal borrowed for procuring it. The prosperity of Virginia, whose population was almost entirely rural, depended upon its agriculture. The national census of 1870 shows that the num- ber of acres in cultivation within the limits of the ])resent State of Virginia was less by over two millions in 1870 than in 1860, that the number of pounds of tobacco had been reduced two- thirds, and that the number of bushels of corn and wheat had been reduced to about half. Of twenty- four and a half million acres of land in the State only about eight million one hundred thousand were improved farm land. This productive portion had to bear the burden of taxation for the entire State. .Vdded to the loss of men and capital during the war, there had been since its close bad seasons for crops and a lack of dependable labor. The labor system had become completely disorganized and demoralized. The negroes were still enjoying the novelty of their new estate and could not be depended upon to remain at work. On the average they were producing little besides food ^ The Nation, November 1. 1874; Journal and Poiumcnts of the House of Delegates, 1874-1875. Document No. 1. In his message of March 27. 1874 to the legislature. Governor Kemper said. "The State credit is prostrate. The best bonds of Virginia rate lower in the Stock Exchange of London than those of Egypt. Turkey or Peru, and our credit ranks in the grade of such countries as Mexico and San Domingo. No grosser fallacy can be conceived than the one which claims that a ommonwealth can flourish while its credit is in a state of prostration or dishonor." Capital was badly needed to develop the resources of the State. Journal of the House of Delegates, 1874, pp. 348-.349. 100 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS and clothing for themselves, and there was no other labor to be had in a large section of the State. ^ The statement of Governor Walker that the state assessment of property was too low was erroneous. The national valua- tion of all property, real and personal, in Virginia in 1870, was $409,588,133. The state valuation of the same property was $336,686,433.23 or 82 per cent of the national assessment. In the United States as a whole the national valuation of that year was 32 per cent higher than the state valuations ; and in the six New England states together with New York and Penn- sylvania, a contiguous group of prosperous states, the aggre- gate valuation of the respective state assessments was only 42 per cent of the aggregate Federal valuation in those states. This was evidence of the fact that the state assessment in Vir- ginia was relatively very high."* Virginia was at a lower ebb economically in 1875 than in the hopeful year just after peace was made in 1865. The decrease in realty values had occurred in all the counties of the State except in seventeen or eighteen, mostly white counties of the Southwest ; and in a large part of the black belt they decreased over twenty-five per cent.^ The State's revenue for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1873, excluding the cost of collection, amounted to $2,421,945.41. During the year there was collected from the people in local taxes, excluding the cost of collection, $2,217,538.49. Thus there was a net aggregate of $4,639,483.90 paid yearly (this be- ing an average paid) in taxes by the people. Large amounts collected as corporation and Federal taxes were not included in this sum.^' Payment in full that year of the interest on the State debt as- ^ Journal and Documents of the House of Delegates, 1874-1875, p. 16; Ibid., Document No. 1; P. A. Bruce, The Plantation Negro as a Freedman, chs. XII, XIII, XIV; contemporary accounts in news- papers and personal reminiscences. * Journal and Documents of the House of Delegates, 1874-1875, Doc- ument No. 1. '^ C. C. Pearson, The Rcadjustcr Movement in I'irginia, map oppo- site page 66. ° Journal and Document of the House of Delegates, 1874, p. 346 ff. TIIF, NFC.RO IX VIKCIMA I'f)LITICS 101 sumed by the Funding Act would have necessitated the increase in the State and local taxes (exclusive of corjioration and Fed- eral taxes) to $5,964,425.77 because the revenues for that fiscal year had fallen $1,324,941.87 short of the necessary amount for the support of the government and the payment of this interest." In his inaugural address of January 1. 1874, Governor Kem- per voiced the sentiments of the conservative white ])eople of the State when he said. "Obhgations to pubhc creditors, l)ind- ing the honor and good faith of the CommonweaUh, should he fulfilled to the utmost of her abihty in any eveiU and under all circumstances. No other calamity could inflict greater detri- ment, either moral or pecuniary, upon the whole body of the people than a deliberate breach of public honor." lie recr)m- mended the taxation of such subjects as had been exempted in the past, strict economy and the elimination of all unnecessary offices. He hoped that by these means Virginia could meet her obligations withotU further increase in the existing taxes. ' State Collections and Disbursements in Virginia. 1869-1877: Year lS69-'70 1870-'71 1871-'72 1872-'73 1873-*74 lS74-'75 1875-'76 1876-'77 Total State Ordinary e.x- revenue penses of govern- ment $1,487,353.84 $1,041,682.22 2,732,456.75 1.243,682.66 2,160,598.36 2.421,945.41 2,578,938.25 2,647,790.05 2.679,339.66 2,505,387.17 1.098,808.83 1,082,536.00 1,057,975.14 980,450.89 975,282.85 967,393.42 Extraor- dinary expen.'^es of govern- ment $ 17,933.60 129,548.05 40,026.83 13,885.54 55.407.52 28,177.65 138,432.83 92,252.52 Paid from Paid on in- State treas- terest on ury for pub- debt lie schools Total-dis- bursements $ 346,034.86 $1,405,650.6? $382,000.00 385,994.26 375.000.00 345,000.00 423,000.00 443.000.00 326,266.46 99.980.05 639,114.65 1,290,758.79 1,691,191.96 1,417,345.41 1.105,305.88 1.062.110.17 1.855.210.7f 2.163,944.57 2,762. lfiO.32 3.149.574.62 2.848.'.l73.9." 2.662.02 1..M' 2.448.022.5; ^Journal ami Documi-nts of the House of Delegates, 1874-1875. Doc- ument Xo. 1, p. 24; Senate Journal and Documents, 1875-1876, p. 15. tSenate Journal and Documents, 1875-1876, p. i 5. JHouse Journal and Documents, 1876-1877, p. 11. \\Ibid., 1877-1878, p. 12. 102 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS These measures, however, could be taken, for the most part only by amending the constitution — a process requiring at least two years. And there was need of immediate relief. Further direct taxes on real and personal property would mean, at this time, the virtual confiscation of private property. Some other remedy was necessary. In a message to the legislature in March, 1874, Governor Kemper said, "Our relief is in the res- toration of confidence and understanding between the State and her creditors ; in such a settlement of the public indebtedness as will restore respect in our good faith, as will command the assent of creditors and secure to them the regular payment of the utmost interest we are now able to pay, only postponing such part of our undertaking as our poverty renders impossible of performance for the present. It is certainly in our power, if we now enact a just and efficient system of taxation, and prudently husband our resources, to pay, henceforward, four per centum per annum on the entire debt intended to be as- sumed by the Funding Act. It is believed that an understand- ing can be had with creditors by which we might guarantee with certainty the regular and punctual payment, in semi-an- nual installments and at convenient places, of two-thirds of the accruing interest for the present, giving proper certificates for the deferred interest and providing for the full interest, to- gether with all arrearages on interest account, as soon as our steadily increasing resources shall permit." ^ In order to compromise with the creditors, and thereby ef- fect an honorable settlement of the debt question, the Governor and Treasurer of the State, with the approval of the legislature, called a meeting of the home and foreign bondholders in Rich- mond in November, 1874. The meeting bore no immediate fruit in legislation, but the bondholders were made to realize the real financial condition of the State, which they had never realized before. Hugh McCulloch was a representative of the foreign bondholders at the meeting ; and it was due, doubtless, to his influence that these bondholders were afterwards less severe in their criticism of Virginia's altitude towards them. * Journal and Docuiuoits of the House of Delegates, 1874, p. 348, THE NEGRO TX VIRCIXIA I'DI.lTICS 103 The elections of 1877 brought into the legislature twenty-two independents. The elimination of the Republican party as a considerable factor in State politics, the subse(|uent relief from the race cjuestion for a time, the grange movements, and the State debt, divided tiie voters of the State into numerous fac- tions. But most of the indc])endents and not a few of the oth- ers were followers of Mahone and advocated his plans of "re- adjustment," or partial repudiation of the interest on the State debt. Mahone had proved a failure in the extensive railroad interests which he controlled. He had also failed by a small margin to receive the nomination for governor in the Demo- cratic convention of 1877. He therefore seized upon tlie idea of readjustment as a means of bringing himself into power. The general feeling of discontent, the looseness in party lines, the bad economic condition of the State, and the certainty of gaining the entire negro vote if he opposed the conservative whites made the time propitious for his plot. Furthermore he now had a large following in the General Assembly. The election of Colonel F. W. M. Holliday, an able and staunch "debt-payer," however, neutralized Mahone's power in the leg- islature since the Readjuster vote was not strong enough to override the executive veto.^ Consequently the legislature spent two years of its existence in a hopeless contest with the Governor over the debt problem. At the end of its second ses- sion, however, the contest ended by the passage of the McCul- loch bill with the approval of Governor Holliday. ^'^ This bill ofifered the creditors new bonds with tax receivable cou])ons and bearing three per cent interest for ten years, four per cent interest for twenty years and five per cent interest for ten years. The bonds were free from taxation. I'ndcr the terms oflfered with these bonds it was provided that \'irginia be re- ' Governor Holliday received his education at Yale College and at the University of Virginia. He was a gentleman of the old school, well read and well traveled. His record in the Confederate Army was good, and only the loss of an arm prevented him from receiving a higher commission. '"The bill was named for Hugh McCuIloch, who was largely re- sponsible for its existence. 104 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS leased definitely from its obligation for West Virginia's third of the debt. The new funding scheme was supported by the Council of Foreign Bondholders of London, and by prominent New York- bankers. Public oi)inion at home and abroad favored it, and the support of the bondholders, which was necessary for its success, seemed assured. The success of the bill depended upon the ability of the State to meet the interest payments fully and promptly. This was difficult but not impossible from the point of view of the debt-payers. So difficult was the task ahead for the State, which was in a most deplorable condition financially, that Mahone and Massey, the Readjuster leaders, found some very capable and honest supporters. But the lead- ing classes supported the McCulloch Act.^i This act not only afYorded the creditors a satisfactory adjustment of the debt, but also afforded the State a relief from its worst fiscal bur- dens until it was to grow strong enough to bear them. It be- came a law on March 28, 1879, in spite of the opposition of Mahone and his followers. Soon after the elections of 1877 Mahone had begun to or- ganize a party to force "readjustment" upon the State. Since the Funding Act of March 1871 had been upheld by the high- est State court, and all attempts to prevent the execution of the law declared unconstitutional, the only resource left to Mahone for defeating the act was to fill the offices of all departments of the State with his followers, who would stop at nothing to ren- der the coupons useless as tax-paying instruments. With this end in view Mahone called a convention which met at Rich- mond in Mozart Hall, February 25 and 26, 1879. All parts of the State were represented. There were present men of every political complexion — liberal Conservatives. Republicans, Green- backers and independents of various kinds. The negroes had played very little part so far in the movement. There were only a few in the convention, those from Halifax and New Kent counties. Although no positive constructive policy in re- gard to the debt was proposed by the convention, there was a " House Journal and Documents, 1878-1879, p. 10. THE NEGRO IX VIRHIXIA POLITICS 105 great deal said on the subject durino; the two days of the meet- ing. The Governor and the courts were accused of having be- trayed "the people" into the hands of brokers and bondholders. There was niuch talk of the rights of "the pcoj)le" and the iniquitv of the "rings." Mahone advocated a further lowering of the interest on the debt. Finally the convention adoj)ted a platform and an address to the ]x^O])le which enunciated the ar- ticles of faith of the Readjuster party, which was being formed. They were in substance as follows: That the Mc- Culloch Act was drawn up in behalf of the brokers and i)er- petuatcd the most objectionable features of the Funding .Act and added others; tiiat Virginia should disown all responsibil- ity for West Virginia's third of the debt : that "in any settle- ment with the State's creditors, the annual interest of the rec- ognized indebtedness must be brought within her revenues un- der the present rate of taxation ; that "the capacity of these revenues must be determined by deducting therefrom the nec- essary expenses of the government, the apportionment to schools, and reasonable appropriations for the support of the charitable institutions of the State;" that any settlement, to be final, must rest "upon the sovereignty of the State;" that no settlement could be made except by the will of the people of the State and subject to the alteration of the legislature at any time ; that "the rate of taxation is as high as can be borne, and. instead of entering into any understanding that may necessitate an increase of taxation, a diminution in public burdens should be provided for." The intentions of the Readjusters were here made i)lain. A large part of the interest upon the State debt was to be r -nu- diated, in spite of former contracts with the bondholders and the decisions of the courts on the .subject. It was claimed that the State was bankrupt and could not do otherwise. A party organization was formed with General Mahone as chairman of the State executive committee and therefore head of the jiarty.'^ The leaders of this new party were mostly self-made men. " For proceedings of this convention, see the Richmond Whig and the Richmond Dispatch of February 26 and 27, 1879. 106 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS Some of them were honest in their convictions that circum- stances justified readjustment, others were more careful of their own material welfare and political advancement than for a nice observance of ethical principles. Of such as these latter was William Mahone. There were some members of the old aristocracy among the Readjusters, but they were few. Among these were James Barbour, William E. Cameron (editor and the mayor of Petersburg) and John S. Wise. Next to Mahone in power and the most interesting figure in the Readjuster party was John E. Massey, then of Albemarle county. "Parson" Massey (as he was called) was, like Ma- hone, a self-made man. He had been, respectively, teacher, lawyer, preacher and farmer. He had been a Conservative in politics but was led to advocate readjustment through the be- lief that the Funding Act was unjust and that the people were not receiving fair treatment at the hands of those in power at Richmond. Just as Mahone was the master organizer and in- triguer of the movement, so Massey was the campaigner par excellence. Possessed of a reputation for piety, a knowledge of human nature, a cheerful countenance, fluency and a ready wit, he went about the State speaking from the platform on week days and from the pulpit on Sundays. His readiness at repartee was more efifective than logic in discomforting his op- ponents, and was especially effective among the unlettered whites and negroes. ^^ Among the leading Funders (the opponents of the Readjust- ers) were Governor Holliday ; John Randolph Tucker, founder of the law school of Washington and Lee University and for a long time professor there ; John W. Daniel, later United States senator and long prominent in Virginia politics ; General W. C. Wickham, a prominent business man and a conservative Repub- lican ; and J. L. M. Curry, a professor in Richmond College and later embassador to Madrid. The Funders had the sup- port of the Richmond papers, with the exception of the Whig, which was under Mahone's control. Furthermore they repre- " The Autobiography of JoJni li. Massey. TIIK NFX.R() IN VIRGIXIA POLITICS 107 sented the great mass of the respectable and inteUigent whites of the State The campaign of 1879 was vigorously conducted on hoth sides. ^■^ Neither party Ijid for the colored votes at first, and the race question was shuinied. In September, however. Mas- sey made a speech in Petersburg in whicli he intimated that ne- groes would be welcomed as Readjusters. The Readjusters spread the rumor among the negroes that the Funders wished to increase their burdens, and that their own party would give them more rights. Churches and societies were mad<' use of to spread the rumor and to win the colored vote for tiie party.'"' The Funders now tried to divide the colored vote through some of the negro leaders. They hired negro speakers, estab- lished clubs among the colored i)eople. ran Republican candi- dates to split the Readjuster vote and in six counties at least they voted for these candidates, two of whom were negroes. But these efforts did not succeed. The negroes remained un- der the control of their old leaders, who were now on the side of the Readjusters, and voted against the majority of tiie whites just as they had always done.^^' The campaign ended amid great excitement. The Readjusters with the aid of their colored allies won both houses of the legislature. They elected fifty-six out of one hunflred delegates, eleven of whom were negroes; and they elected a majority of Readjuster senators, two of whom were negroes.'' The most absorbing topic before the newly-elected General Assembly was, of course, the State debt. With a majority in both houses of the legislature, the Readjusters passed a bill known as the Riddleberger Bill,'^ which embodied the plaii of " For the Democratic platform, see the Richmond State. .-Xiigust 8, 1879. " C. C. Pearson, The Readjuster Moveiiieiit in rirgiiiia. p. 12.^. " W. L. Royall. J'irgiitta State Debt Coittroxrrsy, pp. 27-.37. '' The Richmond Dispatch, November 14, 1879; The Warrock-Rich- ardson Almanac, 1879; Appleton's Annual Cyclopa-dia. 1879. '* The Nation (March 4, 1880, xxx, 166) makes the following com- ment on the passage of this bill: "Under the lead of a popular but unscrupulous demagogue they [the Readjusters] made a dash for the 108 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS settlement that became the central feature of the debt contro- versy from this time until its final settlement. It was vetoed by the Governor as a violation of the constitution of the United States, of the constitution of Virginia and of "the spirit which has ever moved and inspired the traditions of the Common- wealth." Since legislation of this kind was unable to escape Governor Holliday's veto, the Readjusters had to content them- selves with filling the State offices with their men, and with improving their party machinery in order to insure the election of a Readjuster governor in 1881. The appointment of county judges in the hundred counties of the State fell to this legislature. There were comparatively few reputable lawyers in the Readjuster party. Consequently, in order to get men who would be true to the party, many in- competent and unscrupulous men were chosen. As a rule the new appointees did not bring credit upon their party and in many cases caused much scandal. To make way for these new men the supreme court judges and about three-fourths of the county and corporation judges were removed. This tampering with the judiciary, which was traditionally the most honored and incorruptible part of the State government, marks the be- ginning of the reaction against Mahone which led to his down- fall.^'* The wholesale removal of officers did not end here. Boards of directors of the State asylums and educational institutions were removed and their places filled with Readjusters. In like manner the county and city superintendents of schools, and control of the State government, one of the chief railway lines of the State, and, the United States Senatorship; finding 'readjustment' a popular means to these ends, they used it with great success. * * * The fact that most of the Republicans voted with the re- pudiators, however, is a really discouraging thing. It contradicts the inference, drawn by every one at the time of the election, that the color line was broken; and they appear to have got nothing of any account in exchange for their adherence to what is probably as disreputable an organization as now exists in this country." '° The Autobiography of John U. Massey, pp. 216-217; W. L. Royall, State Debt Controversy, ch. 5. THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA POLITICS 109 even the State superintendent of education. Dr. RulTner. were made to give place to men from tiic i)arty in jjuwer. Dr. RutT- ner was replaced by a man lacking both in mental and moral fitness for the position in which he was placed.-" The Readjusters claimed that this ruthless use of the spoils system w-as necessary to rid the government of inefficient "Bourbons" and to let "the jieople" have more say in the gov- ernment. But the appointments made in no wise justified the removals. Mahone was elected to the United States Senate and took his seat at the time of the special session beginning March 4. 1881. Two years later, H. H. Riddleberger. another prominent Readjuster. was elected as his colleague. They served until 1887 and 1889, respectively. The Readjuster party had organized as a faction of the Dem- ocratic party, and Mahone had denied emphatically that he had any agreement or sympathy with the Republican party. Had Mahone and his associates declared themselves Republican sympathisers at first they would have lost the support of that part of the native white people that followed them. Xo white Virginian of either faction was in the mood to join their com- mon enemy. The memory of the evil influence of the Repub- lican party in Virginia affairs in the past could not be forgot- ten ; and now while they w^ere combating the evils done by that party, the Republican politicians and newspapers at the North were prodding the South with harsh criticisms and pious advice which could not veil the sectionalism and partizanship back of it all.2i *' C. C. Pearson, the Readjuster Movement in J'iri^ini^i, p. 148; .-lu- tobiography of John E. Massey, p. 204. " The following editorial from the New York Times of January r.. 1880, is not an extreme example of this sort of thing: "The old slave masters must domineer and tyrannize; they must keep the colored man in subjection and misery; they must raise a barrier of intolerance against enlightened ideas, and fight against the incursion of those who would work for free Mistitutions. • ♦ ♦ But one great change they must recognize. They can never agam tyrannize over the nation. * * * The civilization of the South is of the past. * * * It must go down, and the sooner, the bet- ter for the South and the better for the nation." 110 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS In the fall of 1879 Mahone secretly promised the Republican leaders the support of his party in the presidential elections of the following year. In order to do this and at the same time keep his Democratic followers in line for the State elections of 1881, Mahone induced his party convention to reject the prof- fer of the Funder Democrats to coalesce in national politics on an equal footing, and to present thereby a solid front for Han- cock and English. As a result both Funders and Readjusters nominated electors for the Democratic candidates although only the Funder Democrats were recognized by the national Demo- cratic organization as the true Democratic party in Virginia. The Republicans were encouraged by this dissension in the Democratic ranks to make a vigorous campaign in the State. There were now three sets of candidates in the field. By draw- ing ofif votes from the Democratic party Mahone had accom- plished his purpose of aiding the Republicans while nominally refusing to support that party.22 So cleverly had this master politician worked his plan that many Virginians continued to believe that he was as ardent a Democrat as he still professed to be. Circumstances, however, not only made him show his true colors but also gave him great notoriety in Congress. When the Senate was about to organize in March 1881, by the appointment of committees, it consisted of seventy-six members. Of these thirty-seven were Republicans and thirty- seven were Democrats. Of the remaining two. Senator Davis, an Independent from Illinois, had been elected by Democratic voters and had declared that he would affiliate with their party. It was evident therefore that the vote of the Readjuster Ma- hone. who had been elected by Democratic voters, would decide whether there would be a Democratic or a Republican organi- zation, since the Republican president of the Senate could cast a deciding vote in case of a tie. General Mahone, now forced to take sides oi:)enly, cast in his fortune with the RepubHcans as he had already secretly bargained to do as early as the fall of 1879. Riddleberger followed his example in 1883. These men " W. L. Royall. State Debt Controversy, ch. iv; Appleton's Annual Cyclopaedia, 1880. THE NEGRO IN VIRCIXIA POIJTICS 111 were quite willing to exchange their votes for special favors at the hands of the party. They were only used as pawns hy the Republicans and received consideration only so long as their votes were of special value to the party. So engrossed were they in political afifairs in Virginia that they took little interest in national politics except to cast the deciding vote for the Re- publicans when called upon to do so. Mahone's position in the Senate gave him prestige and com- plete control over Federal appointments in Virginia. Me was also in a position now to obtain campaign funds in the Xorth. He used his increased prestige and power to strengthen his party and his own position in that party. The Readjuster party was rapidly changing into Mahone's party. By working (|uietly through his confederates, Mahone laid his plans to further in- crease his power. In the fall of 1881 he had the following pledge sent to each of the candidates for the legislature for his signature : "I hereby pledge myself to stand by the Readjuster party and platform, and to go into caucus with the Readjuster members of the legislature, and to vote for all measures, nominees and candidates to be elected by the legislature that meets in Richmond, as the cau- cus may agree upon. "Given under my hand and seal this day of September, A. D. 1881. "23 Judge Lybrook received one of these documents enclosed with the following letter from Fernald, the collector of internal revenue at Danville, Va. : "U. S. Internal Revenue Office, Danville, Va., Sept. 14, 1881. Dear Judge, — • I send you herewith two 'pledges' to sign one and have the party nominee for your county to sign the other one, and return to me, and T will forward them to Gen. Mahoiic, who directed me to do this. Of course it is nothing for an honest man to do and sign liis hand to his faith. Please attend to this promptly. Fernald." This is an illustration of Mahone's methods. ^ Letter of Judge Lybrook's in the Richmond Disptach, September 12, 1882. 112 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS Since Mahone was the political boss of the State, Readjuster candidates had little chance for election without his endorse- ment ; and the returns that fall showed that most of the candi- dates that were elected had signed the pledge. In the elections of 1881, the Readjusters chose a majority in both houses of the General Assembly and all the high State of- ficials. The following Readjuster candidates were elected : for Governor, William E. Cameron, a Readjuster-Democrat ; for Lieutenant-Governor, J. F. Lewis, a Republican; and for At- torney-General, F. S. Blair, a Greenbacker. Mahone defeated the nomination for Governor of Massey (who next to Mahone was the most powerful man in the party) because Massey would not submit to his pledges or follow him blindly. ^^ Mas- sey could have thwarted Mahone's schemes had he been chosen governor. Mahone now had every reason to believe that he was su- preme in Virginia politics, since he had control of his party in the State and the aid of the administration. President Garfield had given him only negative support, but he had been assassi- nated in July 1881, and President Arthur rendered Mahone ef- fective aid in the fall campaign by putting an end to the inde- pendent Republican move that was threatening to separate the Republicans from the Readjusters in Virginia. ^^ Senator Don Cameron and other supporters of the Administration also ren- dered Mahone and his party great aid in the campaign of 1881 by collecting funds through assessments and subscriptions to provide Mahone with funds to pay the poll taxes of the negroes in order that they might vote the Readjuster ticket. 2« Office- holders throughout the State were assessed by Mahone for campaign purposes. 2''' In spite of some discontent in the Readjuster party with Ma- hone and his political methods, the party was held together by " W. L. Royall, State Debt Controversy; Autobiography of John B. Massey. ** W. L. Royall, State Debt Controversy, p. 54; Appleton's Annual Cyclopaedia, 1881. ^ T. V. Cooper, American Politics. " Autobiography of John E. Massey, pp. 199, 206. THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA POLITICS 113 the fact that the debt question was still unsettled. In 1882 the Readjusters had for the first time an opportunity to readjust the State debt according to their original purpose and un- hampered by the Governor's veto. Accordingly they passed two acts known as "Coupon Killers," which virtually destroyed the tax-receivable coupons of the Funding Act of 1871. These act^ provided that if coupons were presented in payment of taxes, a like amount in cash had to be tendered at the same time. The coupons were then received for identification and verification by the collector, who should certify them to the cor- poration or county cou'-t. which should, in turn, empanel a jury to decide whether they were genuine or not. If they were de- clared to be genuine, the cash received from the taxpayer should be returned to him and the coupons received in the treas- ury in payment of taxes. The reason given in the preamble of the act for its existence was that there were many stolen and counterfeit bonds with coupons attached in circulation. Rut there was not sufficient evidence to show that such strenuous measures were necessary on this account.-^ These acts vir- tually destroyed the coupons by making their acceptance in pay- ment of taxes depend upon such difficulties and expense, and the probability of their acceptance by the State was much les- sened by the fact that the judges of the county and corporation courts were now for the most part Readjusters. The Read- justers were correct in believing that the remedy given the bondholders was sufficient to prevent the laws from being un- constitutional, as inijxairing the obligation of contract, (^tlier "coupon killers" followed from time to time, and in spite of much litigation the scheme won out.-'^ " Acts of January 14 and January 26, 1882. House Jouninl and Documents, 1881-1882, Documents 2 and 8; Senate Jouinal and Docu- ments, 1881-1882. Document 15. Antoni 7-. Greenliow. 107 U. S. R. p. 793; W. L. Royall, State Debt Controversy. For Readjuster view, see Autobiography of John E. Massey, pp. 4:?-47. Massey oripinatcd this method of killing the coupons. '' W. L. Royall, State Debt Contro7'ersy. pp. .").'> ff: W. I- Royall. Some Reminiscences. Royall was attorney for the hondholdcrs in their fight over these Readjuster acts. 114 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS After the passage of the first two "coupon killers," the leg- islature of 1882 passed, with some qualifications, the Riddle- berger Bill, which had been vetoed by Governor Holliday two years previously. ^^ This statute placed the new principal of the State debt at $21,035,377.15, which was to bear interest at three per cent. Under this arrangement the annual interest was reduced over fifty per cent and the principal was scaled about ten million dollars. The bonds issued under this act were known as "Riddlebergers." The bonds and coupons were not exempt from taxation, nor were the coupons tax-receivable. Interest on the bonds was to be paid out of any money not oth- erwise appropriated. In January 1882, Mahone and his machine leaders ofTered to re-elect Massey Auditor of Public Accounts, but only on condi- tion that he submit to caucus rules. He refused to do this and was deposed accordingly by Mahone, who told Massey's friends that he had declined to accept the nomination of the Readjuster caucus. 31 But Massey had not been buried politically, as fur- ther events proved, for now that the aims of the original Read- justers had been practically accomplished, he was free to op- pose Mahoneism. There were in the General Assembly of Virginia at this time a majority of fourteen Readjusters in the House of Delegates and a majority of six in the Senate. Mahone left his place in the Senate at Washington and came to Richmond in order to formulate such laws for his caucus as would give him supreme control over State afifairs. But there were m the legislature four Readjuster senators, two former Democrats and two for- mer Republicans, who had refused to sign the Mahone caucus pledge and were therefore not bound by the caucus. 3- These men, with the aid and encouragement of John E. Massey, voted with the Funders and were thereby able to defeat Mahone's "' Act of February U, 1882, Acts of Assembly, 1881-1882. p. 88. ^' Autobiography of John B. Massey, ch. xviii. " They were Samuel H. Newberry of Bland county and Peyton G. Hale of Grayson county, Democrats; and A. M. Lybrook of Patrick county and B. F. Williams of Nottoway county, Republicans. THE NEGRO IN VIKGIMA POLITICS 115 measures by a majority of one in the Senate, (^n account of the importance of the votes of these senators at this critical time they were known as the "Big Four." •'•'' The character of the bills introduced by the caucus and de- feated by the aid of these four Readjusters indicate how greatly Virginia's welfare was menaced by Mahoneism, which was the outgrowth of Readjusterism. A bill was introduced by the caucus providing for the removal of a great manv nt' the petty officers of the State, such as notaries public, public school trus- tees and commissioners of chancery, in order to make vacancies for Mahone's followers. The appointment of many of these was to be made in Richmond in order to bring them under Ma- hone's central control. An attempt was made to gerrymander the Congressional districts in such a manner as to increase the number of representatives in the black counties, which sup- ported Mahone and the Republican party. ^Mahone's paper, the Richmond IVhig openly asserted that should the bill, which had already passed the house by a large majority, be passed in the Senate, Virginia would send eight, instead of two, admin- istration representatives to Washington. The IFIiig regretted that still more could not be sent and added. "But it is the best that can be done, and we are content . . .Already we have at Washington two senators and two rcjirescntatives who stand firmly and cordially by President .Arthur; and under this bill, if passed by the Senate, our liberal forces will send to Washington six more supporters of the Federal administration than we now have. To intrench and further it. the present ap- portionment bill is avowedlv framed — to elect eight congress- men out of ten who shall be committed and pledged to supjiort President Arthur and his administration." ^^ Another caucus bill provided for the creation of a board of railroad commis- sioners, to be chosen by the Governor. The board was to have complete supervisory control of the railroads and could dismiss employees at its pleasure. The i)urpose of this was to bring " Autobiography of John E. Masscy, ch. xi.\. Royall, State Debt Controversy. " The Whig, April 10. 1882. 116 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS the railroad systems of the State with their numerous employ- ees under Alahone's control. Another caucus measure pro- vided that judicial sales be made only through a commissioner of sales appointed in each county by the Governor. Commis- sioners of sales had always been appointed by the courts as oc- casion demanded, and no fault had been found with that sys- tem. Furthermore a bill was introduced which provided that the commissioners thus chosen select a newspaper in each of their respective counties and cities which should have the ex- clusive right to publish their official notices. In this way Ma- hone would secure both an agent and a subsidized newspaper in each county and city of the State. These and similar bills designed to further Mahone's interests were introduced into the legislature by the Readjuster caucus and failed to pass only through the aid of the recalcitrant Big Four, whom Maiione tried in vain to seduce. ^^ Although these measures had been defeated, the Readjusters passed at this time all the laws that they had promised their constituents in the beginning. They made laws which settled the State debt along the lines originally advocated by their party, passed acts giving the apportionment for public school purposes priority over appropriations for paying the interest on the public debt and those for other causes, repealed the provi- sion in the constitution which made the payment of poll taxes a requisite for the franchise, and passed an act to suppress duel- ing. They had also defeated the "Bourbon" Funder leaders. The original purposes of the Readjuster party were therefore accomplished. The issue in the next succeeding campaign was Mahoneism. The Readjusters now became known as the Ma- honeites, and the Funders, Anti-Mahoneites, with little change of personnel in either party. The most substantial element of the Readjuster party joined the Anti-Mahoneites, and the re- " Letter of Judge Lylirook (one of the Rig Four) in the Rich- mond Dispatch, September 12, 1882; B. B. Munford, "What is Ma- honeism?" in the Richmond State, September 13, 1889; W. L. Royall, State Debt Controversy, G8-69; Autobiography of John B. Massey, chs. xix, XX, xxi; Appleton's Annual Cyclopaedia, 1882. Till'. XKC.RO IN VIKC.IXIA POLITICS 117 mainder of that party now consisted almost entirely of the old elements of the Radical party of former days, that is, the old alignment of Radical Republican leaders, drawn from the ranks of Northern immigrants and the less respectable native white politicians, with the solid mass of negro voters. Once more the national Republican party was allied with what was most dis- reputable in \'irginia politics. The new alignment in political affairs began to show itself in the Congressional elections of 1882. But the (|uestion of the constitutionality of the Coui)on and Riddleberger Acts had not been finally disposed of by the Supreme Court of the United States, and the Funders were still hoi)ing for a verdict against them. Then too, it was not an easy matter for some Readjust- ers to come back quickly into the party they had just bitterly opposed. However, their old leader, John E. Massey, was en- dorsed by the Democratic State Committee as a candidate for Congressman-at-large from Virginia. He was opposed by the Readjuster candidate, John S. Wise, and the candidate of the few straight-out Republicans in the State, Rev. John M. Daw- son, colored. Wise was elected, and Readjusters were also chosen from five of the nine Congressional districts. ■'*■' Mahone was once more victorious and the Conservative- Anti-Mahoneites were more than ever determined to crush iiim. But the Conservatives now realized that to defeat Mahone. their own organization must be strengthened and their platform fur- ther liberalized to satisfy the Readjusters who were joining their ranks. An opportunity soon presented itself to the Conservatives to effect a compromise with the moderate Readjusters. The de- cision of the Supreme Court in March 1883 that the act known as "Coupon Killer Xo. 1" was constitutional,-*" sustained the Readjuster party in its debt legislation. The Funders. who had been fighting to defend the Supreme Court in its former posi- " The First, Second. Fourth. Seventh and \ 'Uli. '' Antoni r. Greenhow. 17 U. S. RcM>ts, 7r.9: \V. L. Royall. State Debt Controversy, ch. vi; Appleton's .liuiua! Cyclopncdia, 1S83. "Ob- Hgation of Contracts." 118 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS tion on the question, could now accept gracefully the status quo of the difficult question as here decided and unite both Funder and Readjuster Conservatives in the attempt to defeat the cor- rupt rule of Mahone. A Democratic State convention met in Lynchburg on July 25, 1883. It was well attended and very enthusiastic. Massey and other ex-Read justers were present. The platform that was adopted advocated a number of liberal reforms, condemned Mahoneism, the bosses and the rings, and accepted the recent settlement of the debt controversy as final. ^^ This platform successfully united the Democratic party, and a new and com- plete organization upon an efficient basis gave the party new life. John S. Barbour, a railroad official of great executive ability, was made chairman of the State executive committee and much power over party affairs was placed in his hands. For the first time the Conservative party assumed the name "Democratic" — an evidence of the abandonment of old issues. ^^ But the strengthening of the Conservative-Democratic party did not necessarily mean its success. Mahone had a well or- ganized party completely under his control. The local. State and Federal offices were for the most part in the hands of his followers, and more effective still were the solid ranks of the negro voters, who followed Mahone's men with childlike con- fidence and obedience. With this solid mass of voters behind him, only a few white followers were necessary to give Mahone a majority of voters in the State. They could be found among those who had been estranged from the Democratic party by the bitterness of the State debt controversy, from among the unscrupulous or ignorant whites in the black counties and from among the whites of the white counties which were not con- fronted with the danger of "Africanization" in local affairs. '' "The Democratic party," said the platform, "accepts as final the recent settlement of the public debt pronounced constitutional by the courts of last resort, State and Federal, and will oppose all agi- tation of the question or a disturbance of that settlement by appeal or otherwise." The Richmond Dispatch, July 27, IBS.'!. " The Richmond Dispatch, July Sfi, 27, 28, 188.-5; the Richmond Whig, July 25, 26, Nov. 7, 1883. THE NEGRO IX VIRGINIA POLITICS 119 The alliance with the blacks, which was the chief element of Mahone's strength, proved, in the end, to be his undoing. In order to win and keep the fealty of the colored voters, Mahone had resorted to tactics which Radical leaders had ])reviously used in Virginia. The results were the same. Although his pre- tended love for the colored people resulted neither in legislation to benefit them nor in high rewards in the way of office, the col- ored people were given some local offices in the black counties ; and they were taught that the great body of whites, which made up the Democratic party, wished to bring them once more into bondage. Conditions similar to those that i)revailed during the Reconstruction period existed in numerous localities through- out the State at this time as the result. MuIkjuc tilled the of- fices of the State, counties and cities with men who were his willing tools Some were Northerners of the carpetbag tyj)e, others were native whites of the scalawag calil)re. The acts of these officers and their inflammatory speeches threw the credu- lous negroes into a high state of e.xcitement, and cau.sed many of them to be exceedingly disagreeable and unbearably im])crli- nent to the whites. The Democrats hesitated before drawing the color line, but as the campaign progressed the attitude of their opponents in- duced them to recognize the race question as an issue that could not be avoided in politics. "I am a Democrat because I am a white man and a Virginian," said Major John \V. Daniel to an audience in the Southwest.-*" Excitement grew more intense as the election approached, and the relations between the races grew more strained. The tenseness of feeling gave way in Danville to a street fight between the races that completely turned the scales in behalf of the Democrats in the elections, which came a few days later, throughout Virginia. This con- flict was known as the "Danville riot." Danville, a town in southeastern X'irginia. had in 1880 a pop- ulation of 7,526, of which 4.397 were colored and v^.l29 were white. By 1883 the percentage of negroes had become even larger. Yet in this town the whites paio in rouufl tnunbcrs *" The Richmond DisMch, October 26. ISS.'f. 120 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS $40,000 in taxes and the negroes paid only $1,200, or $800 less than the amount appropriated out of the local taxes simply for the education of the colored children of the town. Prior to 1882 Danville had no wards and the government of the town as a whole was in the hands of the whites. But in 1882 the Mahoneites had gotten their legislature to amend its charter so as to divide the town into three wards with four councilmen and one justice of the peace from each ward. The division was made in such a way as to secure for the negroes the power of electing seven out of the twelve members of the council, all the justices of the peace and four out of the nine policemen. One of the negro policemen served also as a health officer and another as weighmaster of the public scales and clerk of the market. Twenty out of the twenty-four stalls of the market were rented to negroes by the town council. And the market was in a most dilapidated and filthy condition. The chairman of the council, Colonel Raulston, carpetbagger internal revenue collector at Danville and a tool of General Mahone's, had openly avowed upon assuming his office as chairman that it was his aim to build up the Radical-negro party in that locality. The members of the town council were in his employ. The po- lice courts with their corrupt judges were a farce. The Fed- eral internal revenue office was also filled with negro employ- ees, or in the language of a former revenue officer of the town, "My office looks Africa because I have so many colored peo- ple in it." "^^ " The following extract from a speech of W. L. Fernald. Repub- lican (white) collector of internal revenue at Danville, which was delivered at Halifax Court House in behalf of Mahone's party, gives not only a picture of a Radical-Republican leader but also gives an example of the kind of speeches that were used to inflame the col- ored people by Mahone's followers: "It does those Funder overseers so much good to see a nigger's back whipped. Every time they see a nigger's back cut, they jump up and clap their heels together like game cocks. * * * You will see colored judges and lawyers in that courthouse, and you will have good schools if the Rcadjusters succeed. * * * When a colored man comes out against the Readjuster party, he has sold himself. A man who goes against his race and color is a damned THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA POLITICS 121 For over a week before the election, business in Danville bad given place to politics. Incendiary speecbcs were made to tbe negroes by their leaders of both races, and two mass meetings were held by them just before the riot took place on November 3. Whites were menaced by armed negroes, and white women were pushed from the sidewalk.^- Conditions were unbear- able. The riot, which occurred a few days before the election, followed an accidental discharge of a pistol during a dispute between a white man and two negroes. A crowd gathered but dispersed after several people had been killed.''' The governor sent militia to restore order, but before it could arrive the whites had the situation in hand. News of the riot and tbe conditions back of it spread rapidly over the State and united the whites against Mahone as nothing else could have done."*' Similar conditions had prevailed in other localities of tbe black belt and other riots were narrowly averted. The returns of the elections in November (1883) showed a complete victory for the forces opposed to Mahone. The newly elected Assembly contained a Democratic majority of about two-thirds in each house. And contested elections together with the resignation of several Readjusters soon brought the Democratic majority to over two-thirds in both houses of the scoundrel. * * * Some will say. what will become of the Repul)- lican party if we all go over to the Readjusters? There is nothing in a name except the smell. * ♦ * My office looks .\frica be- cause I have so many colored people in it." Quoted from the Rich- mond Dispatch by C. C. Pearson, The Rcadjtistcr Movement in i'ir- ginia, p. 155. " The Richmond Dispatch, October 2.!, Xovembor I. 1883. " The Richmond Dispatch, November 4. lSS;i. " W. L. Royall, Some Recollections. The New 'S'ork Tribune, the Cincinnati Commercial Gazette and other Republican papers accused the whites of the State of conspiring to massacre the colored peo- ple of Danville in order to intimidate them throughout the State be- fore the election. The Republicans even went so far as to have the afifair investigated by a committee of the United w tates Senate. The accusation was groundless. The Richmond Dispatch; John Goode, Recollectifltis. p. 119. 122 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS legislature. There were only a few negroes elected, most of them from the Fourth Congressional District.'*^ The acts of the Assembly of 1883-1884 show the effects of the compromise between the Funder and Readjuster elements in the Democratic party. The debt question was declared to be settled. The liberal acts passed by the previous legislature con- cerning the suffrage, taxation, appropriations for public schools, and others of like nature were kept on the statute books ; and the liberal program in regard to the public institutions was en- larged. But those acts which were the products of Mahone- ism were changed and the whole political machinery, built up by Mahone, was at once attacked. One of the first resolutions introduced into the Senate on the first day of the session was one by Senator Newberry asking that Mahone resign from the United States Senate. It was charged that he had betrayed his party in order to get control of the Federal patronage in Vir- ginia; that he had absented himself from his duties in Wash- ington for about five months in order to control the legislature " The Fourth district was in the center of the black belt and was solidly Republican in representation on that account. The name of the counties of the district, their voting populations and colored representatives are as follows: County Delegate (Negro) White voters Negro voters Dinwiddie (including A. W. Harris 3,526 3,741 the city Petersburg) A. Green (Petersburg) Brunswick l.-^96 1,924 Mecklenburg A. A. Dobson 1,912 2,922 Lunenburg 1,085 1,222 Nottoway Archer Scott 759 1,471 Amelia Archer Scott 785 1,425 Greenesville 692 1,165 Prince Edward N. M. Griggs 1,180 1,972 Charlotte 1.398 2,055 Powhatan "^07 1,007 Cumberland Philip S. Boiling 756 1,426 The above figures were taken from the Richmond Dishitcli, Octo- ber 30, 1883. THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA POLITICS 123 for his own selfish ends; that he had tried persistently to prej- udice the people of other states against those whom he repre- sented ; and that he iiad not ceased to "array class against class, and race against race, and to influence the passions and preju- dices of one against the other hy the most i)alpal)le misrepre- sentations and unparalleled vituperation." The resolution was passed in both houses of the Assembly.^*' The undoing of Ma- honeism by this legislature was complete. The Readjuster Governor's powers of appointment were greatly curtailed in such a way as to give the legislature the opportunity of depriv- ing Mahone's appoint'=^es of office. There was also further cen- tralization of the appointing power in the legislature. Thus a great many petty officers throughout the State, who had been active agents for Mahone, were removed. Provision was made for keeping local school officials from engaging in politics. Un- der Dr. Ruffner's administration these officials were required to keep out of political affairs. But the Readjusters, especially under Mahone's rule, had found them very useful as local agents for the party. The charters of the cities with large col- ored populations were amended so as to prevent negro-Radical domination in their affairs such as had existed in Danville after Mahone's party had changed its form of government. Con- gressional districts were reapportioned in favor of the Demo- cratic party ; but gerrymandering was not as obvious in this as ' in the former redistricting under Mahone's supervision. In- vestigations were made by the Assembly into every phase of the State government that had been affected by Mahoneism, and much incompetence, fraud and evil political practices were brought to light. The work of the legislature was thorough and drastic, but the evil which was undone and the superior character of the new local and State officials amply justified these measures. In April 1884. the Coalitionist (as the Mahone State conven- tion was called) State convention met under General Mahone's leadership, drew up a platform and instructed its delegates to the National Republican convention to support Anhur for pres- " House and Senate Journals. 1883-1884. 124 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS ident, and adopted the name "Republican" officially for the first time. Mahone again posed as the black man's friend. He conducted his campaign with his usual vigor, but the Demo- crats carried the State for Cleveland and elected eight out of the ten Congressmen.-*" In the elections of 1885 there were to be chosen members of the General Assembly and the Governor. Mahone again made a desperate effort to win the State. As a compromise with those who inclined towards the straight-out Republicans, John S. Wise was nominated for governor by his party. The Demo- crats nominated General Fitzhugh Lee. The removal by Pres- ident Cleveland of Republican postmasters and revenue offi- cials, who had been very active in politics throughout the State, during the summer of 1885 further weakened Mahone's organ- ization. And the Democratic organization under the capable management of Mr. Barbour was rapidly increasing in effi- ciency. The campaign was a hard one on both sides. Na- tional interest was felt in it because of the notorious record of General Mahone in both state and national politics, and the knowledge ttiat his defeat meant the loss by the Republicans of two men in the United States Senate and of a state out of the solid Republican South. For the first time in about twenty years prominent Northern Republicans came to Virginia to speak in behalf of their party candidates. Most prominent of these were Forakcr and John Sherman. Although these men made "mild and soothing" speeches in Virginia, it was known that they had "wanted the bloody shirt" at home. Their pres- ence therefore aided the Democrats more than it hurt them.^s *' Eighty-five per cent of the total vote was cast in the election. The total Democratic vote for President in the State was 145.197; the total Republican vote, 139,356. *' While Sherman was speaking in Virginia, the following head- lines appeared in his own paper in Ohio, the Cincinnati Commercial Gazette: "Desperate Doings — Smacking of the Mtirderous Old Danville IMethods— Inaugurated as the Last Hope of Virginian Bourbons — Republican Meetings broken up at various places, while their lead- ers are Brutally Assaulted — Democracy's Scandalous treatment of THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA I'dl.ITIfS 125 The Democrats were again victorious. Accusations of fraud were made by both parties and doubtless there was occasion for them, but the large vote cast by the Rcpublicrui |)arty. wiiich was composed largely of negroes, shows that there was no foundation to the Rciniblican report that there was widespread "bulldozing" by the Democrats in the election. ••" "The Demo- crats," said a telegram from Mahone on hearing the election returns, "have carried the State and legislative tickets by un- scrupulous use of election machinery, over which they have ab- solute control, and which was provided by their past usurping legislature with this end in view." The Richmond Dispatch in denying this accusation said. "What a characteristic etTort to poison the mind of the Northern jjublic. 'Unscru])ulous' for- sooth! Indeed does that word come with poor grace from the leader of a party that has floodecl the State with bogus bal- lots." ■"'" Although the negroes had voted without hindrance in this election, it was at this time that the [jeople of X'irginia resolved to eliminate them from politics regardless of any means short of violence. They were tired of the danger and friction which their presence in governmental affairs caused. The first phase of the Readjuster Movement gave momentum to the liberal movement already begun in X'irginia laws and in- stitutions. The second phase. Mahoneism, was more imj)ortant Sherman and Villitication of I'oraker." Quoted in Riclimond Dis- patch, November 3, 1885. See similar articles quoted from the \c\v York Efoiiug Post and the New York Tribune. On the other hand. the Washington Post took the following view of the situation: "There is but one issue to be decided tomorrow in the Common- wealth of Virginia and ^hat is designated most fitly by the word 'Mahoneism.' Can Mahone, with 120.000 negroes at his back, rein-* force his failing columns with a sufficient number of white men to perpetrate for an indefinite number of years his rule as a Iretbootcr and a pirate over the people of his own state." The Xatiou shared the opinion of the Post as to Mahonc's charac- ter and purposes. '" The vote for Lee was 152, .■)44; and for Wise. 136.519. Note the Richmond Dispatch, November Ifi, 1885. ^ The Richmond Dispatch, November 4. 1885. 126 PHELPS-STOKES FELEOWSHIP PAPERS ill Virginia history from a political point of view. It left its traces on the political life of the Commonwealth for years to come. The methods introduced by Mahone to place himself in power were adopted by his opponents as the only means to de- feat him, and men's consciences became more or less accus- tomed to such political methods. The next fifteen years were marked by an increase of race friction and the increased use of loose political methods to defeat the negro vote. It was to rem- edy this unhealthy state of affairs, to leave neither cause nor excuse for fraud in politics, that changes were made from time to time in the fundamental laws of Virginia. c II A I'T i-:r I X. Politics and Race Friction — 1885 to 1900. In 1888 the deadlock which had existed between the Demo- cratic and Republican parties in national politics since 1876 was broken. In the elections of that year the Republicans won the presidency and a majority in both houses of Congress. In Virginia they elected two representatives and successfully con- tested the elections i.i the Third and Fourth Districts. There were three candidates in the Fourth District. * Ivlward C. \'en- able, Democrat; A. W. Arnold, Republican; and Joim W. Langston, independent Republican, nominated by a negro mass meeting. The returns of the election gave Venablo 1.^.298 votes ; Langston, 12,657 votes ; and Arnold. 3,267. Langston was a Virginia mulatto, who had been cduc.itcd at the North, where he had lived until he came to Petersburg. \ir- ginia, as a teacher. He was un.scrupulous altiiough intelbgcnt and fluent. Shortly after his arrival in tiie State lie entered politics with the determination to defeat Mahone in his own district. For several months before the election he canvassed the district, bitterly denouncing Mahone and the whites of both political parties, and drawing the color line with the greatest severity. The colored leaders who were in the legislature or had been there remained true to their party and Mahone. They condemned Langston and the methods that he used to win the colored votes as tending to jiroduce friction between the rrces and to alienate the white Republicans and the other whites in the State, who were paying the greater part of the taxes to sup- port the colored schools and to support the regular functions ' Tn this district were the counties of Amelia, Rrunswick. Dm- widdie. Greenesville. Lunenburg. Mecklenburg, yottoway. Powhatan. Prince Edward. Prince George, and Surry, and the city of Peters- burg. The White population in 1880 was 59,011. the colored popu- lation, 100.487. See note, page 122. 127 128 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS of government.- But they were insulted and persecuted by other members of their race who followed Langston. Langs- ton's chief appeal to the people was that there were enough ne- groes in the district to elect a negro to Congress and that it was time for them to have a representative there. By his oratory, he worked the ignorant and excitable negroes into a kind of frenzy. The whites were denounced and the fires of race ani- mosities were constantly stirred. The bitterness engendered by this campaign ^ and the revival of the race question in the na- " The United States Census of 1890 shows the following facts: White population in Virginia 1,015,123 Colored population 640,857 Total 1,655,980 Value of property belonging to whites $351,919,071 Value of property belonging to negroes 10,503,671 Total $362,422,742 Percentage of property held by whites 97.2 Percentage of property held by negroes 2.8 Value of property per capita of whites $346.67 Value of property per capita of negroes 16.39 ^ The following is a part of the testimony of J. H. Van Auken, a Republican from the Fourth Congressional District of Virginia, be- fore the Committee on Elections of the House of Representatives: "Question. Then explain, if you please, how with Arnold, the reg- ular nominee of the party, supported by its entire organization in all its great influence, skill, management, and outlay, Arnold ran so poorly in the district? — Ans. For long months prior to the election, and for long months before the convention, Mr. Langston had, un- opposed, been making a canvass, in which he and his emissaries had insidiously and industriously played upon the passions and preju- dices of the colored people, basing his claims for Congress largely on the fact that the negroes outnumbered the whites very largely, and it was time for them to send a negro to Congress. He aroused even the women, got up an immense religious fervor in his favor and aroused the prejudice of the large mass of the unthinking col- THE NEGRO I.\ VIRiUXIA POLITICS 12'> tional elections of 1888 were doubtless larfjely rcspoiisiljlc fur the great increase of crime and lynching during the next few years. The elections in Virginia of 1889 marked the end of Ma- hone's political career. Having lost his seat in the United States Senate, he sought to become governor of the Common- wealth. The campaign for governor and for members of the legislature, which were to be chosen at the same time, was con- ducted with the usual vigor l)y the two opposing party leaders. Barbour and Mahone. Mahone's party was weakened by the revolt of John S. Wise, William K. Cameron and their friends, the most brilliant and worthy of his followers. This faction held a convention in October at which about two hundred del- egates were present. Resolutions were adopted containing fif- teen articles condemning Mahone's actions, and adding the res- olution, "That the defeat of William Mahone is essential to the salvation of the Republican party." Pressure was brought to bear on the colored voters from all sides. Xot a few votes were bought for a dollar or for tw(j dollars cacli l)y the Demo- crats. The usual mctliod of bribing them, however, was to buj their preachers or other leaders. The great mass of the ne- groes remained true to tlieir old leaders, who followed Ma- hone.^ The defection of the Wise-Cameron wing left Ma- hone's party, which had already been deserted in 188.^ by the best of the Readjusters, still less reputable, both at home and abroad. Philij) W. McKinney, the Democratic nominee, was elected governor by a majority of 42,000 votes out of a total of 283,000. In the legislature, the Democrats won the greatest ored people to such an extent as I never witnessed before and hope never to witness again. * * * "This feeling was intensified largely under the teachings and lead- ership of young colored men, who had no memories of the past. which enabled them to properly appreciate what the Republican party had done for their race, hence no feeling of gratitude." Report No. 2.462, House of Representatives. Fifty-First Congress, first session, pp. .I and 4. See other testimony . i the report. * F. G. Ruffin, Jl'liitc and Monsrcl. (pamphlet) Richmond, 1890. Evidence of contemporaries. —0 130 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS majority that any conservative party had won in the State since the enfranchisement of the negroes.^ Only about twenty-four Republicans were left in the General Assembly. Among them were five negroes.*' The victory of the Republicans in the national elections of 1888 resulted in their attempt to give tangible expression to the desire of regaining their former power which had been menaced for several years by the creation of the solid Democratic South at the expense of their colored allies. This desire found expres- sion in a bill introduced in 1890 by Representative Lodge of Massachusetts. This "force bill," as it was called, was de- signed to place Federal elections in the Southern States under the control of Federal officers and Federal troops. President Harrison had advised such a measure in his first message ,to Congress in December 1889. The bill passed the House, but died in the Senate. Around this bill there was centered a bit- ter debate in Congress and throughout the Nation, which served only to stir up past memories and to increase the soli- darity of the South against the aggressiveness of Northern Re- publicans." The conservative people of the North, however, who had ^ The Richmond Times, November 29. 1887; the Richmond Dis- patch, November 10, 1889; the Richmond Times, November 27, 1889; the W arzvock-Richardson Almanac, 1890 and 1891. ' There was one colored Senator, N. M. Griggs, of Prince Edward, who represented the counties of Amelia, Cumberland and Prince Edward. He was one of the members of that half of the Senate which was chosen in 1887. The other four negroes were delegates from Mecklenburg, Nottoway and Amelia, New Kent and Charles City, Elizabeth City, Warwick, and James City. ' Hilary A. Herbert, editor. Some Noted Men of the Solid South, Why the Solid South. The attitude that was most resented by Southerners at this time was that expressed in a speech before the Paper Trade Association of Boston by William E. Barrett, speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, in which he confidently asserted that the "Southern Question" would be solved through "the infusion into the South of New England men, capital and ideas." The Richmond Dispatch, March 22, 1890. THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA POLITICS 131 contrasted the ten years of bayonet-negro rule in the South with the decade of home rule there, were willing to let that section manage its own affairs.^ The many Northerners who had gone South to invesTth^ir money and to live were not slow in appreciating the situation from the Southern point of view. By voting for the Force Bill the Republican representatives from Virginia did not increase their popularity with the ma- jority of the people of the State, nor did their conduct aid their party in the State elections that followed.'-' The political contests in 1888, especially in the Fourth Con- gressional District, and the agitation over the Force Bill caused the speedy end of the Republican office-holders in Virginia, at least for a time. In 1890 Democratic representatives were elected in every district of the State. There was opposition in only four districts by regular Republican candidates. Inaction was advised by Republican leaders on the grounds that they were being cheated by the Democrats at the polls. In 1891 there were only three Republicans in the General Assembly, and for the first time since 1867 there were no negroes in the State Senate. In 1893 the Republicans made no nomination for governor or for members of the legislature. Some of the Republicans supported independent candidates, and others, candidates of the People's party. The People's party, aided by the Southern Republicans, suc- ceeded in 1890 and in 1892 in dividing the whites in several of the Southern States, thereby capturing the legislature in South Carolina, Alabama. Missouri and Georgia ; in electing several Congressmen in the South — one of them colored ; and in elect- ing governors in Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee.'** ' E. L. Godkin. "The Republican Party and the Negro," in the Forum, March, 1889 (vii, 246 ff). For a conservative Soutliern view of the situation, see Wade Hampton, "What Negro Supremacy Means," Forum. June. 1888 (v, ;;83 ff). See also editorial in the Na- tion, July 3, 1890, p. 5, containing an extract from a speech by Ham- ilton G. Emart, Republican representative to C ngress from the Ninth District of North Carolina. ' The Richmond Times, October 21, 1890. " James M. Callahan. "Political Parties in the South Since 1860," in The Soutli in the Building of the N^ation, iv, 640. 132 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS But memories of the Force Bill and the danger of giving the negroes the balance of power through division of the whites held the South in line for Cleveland in the fall of 1892. The Virginia Populists had their first convention in 1892 and in the election of that year gave their presidential candi- date 12,191 votes. In 1893 they elected thirteen members to the General Assembly. This movement received the support of the Republican element in the State and of the more illiter- ate Democrats. As a result of the fusion of the Republican and People's parties, the Republicans elected about thirty-six members to the General Assembly, and further strengthened that party in the Southwest. Y The success of the Democratic party in the national elections of 1892 placed both houses of Congress and the presidency in the hands of Southerners and their sympathisers, and demon- strated the futility of the bloody-shirt-negro-agitation methods of previous campaigns. In 1894 Congress repealed all the ex- isting statutes providing for Federal supervision of elections. Time and a more hopeful outlook in the South, and a better understanding of conditions by the North were bringing the sections of the country closer together. The war with Spain at this time had a nationalizing influence; and the problems of suffrage, confronting the Republican party in the insular pos- sessions, which were similar to those with which the South had been struggling, forced them to see the suffrage question from a new angle. Consequently the Southern States were left to .deal with the suffrage of the ignorant masses within their bor- ders without interference. " This new era in national life was reflected in the political af- fairs in Virginia. The State government and the bondholders had in the winter of 1891-1892 reached a settlement which was satisfactory to both sides. Mahoneism had been defeated. New interest was taken in national affairs, in education, eco- nomic development and social reforms. But the old elements of danger remained in politics and were prevented from show- ing themselves by the use of political methods which were evil in themselves and tolerated only because they prevented greater evils. The governor of the State frankly admitted in his mes- THE NEGRO IN VIRCIMA I'OI.ITICS 133 sage of December 4, 1895, that prior to 1894 "iIktc had hi-cii much confusion and disorder at the voting i)hices, and lliat large sums of money had been used in every election to corrupt voters by all political parties, and men's ballots had been pur- chased like stocks in the market," and added "that this condi- tion of afifairs should cease in the interests of our institutions had long been apparent to every honest and right-thinking cit- izen," This state of afifairs caused grave concern to the people of Virginia, who had begun to realize that the wliolc bodv poli- tic was threatened with this infection. It was in order to secure decent and honest elections and to eliminate the most objectionable of the voters that there was enacted in March, 1894. the \\'a1ton Act, which introduced a modified form of the Anslralian l)allnt system, the main fea- tures of which exist today. Official ballots were retiuired. Booths placed forty feet from outside observers were to be provided to enable the voters to prepare their ballots secretly and without interference. Upon entering the booth, the voter must be given by one of the judges a ballot, which he was for- bidden to take outside of the polls. He was allowed two and a half minutes in which to prepare his ballot and could secure the aid of one of the judges of election in marking his ballot if "physically or educationally" unable to do it himself." This system of elections was a great improveniciU over the former one. In the words of the Governor, "The excitement, confusion and disorder, and the badgering, pulling and hauling of voters that prevailed to such a disgusting extent," under the old system were eliminated.^- Bribing was made much nore difficult, since there was no way for the voter, who had to be alone in the booth, to show his ballot after marking it. Bogus ballots, which liad ])laycd an important part in former elec- tions, could no longer be used. Manv illiterate voters were " The original act provided tor the appointmeiU of a special con- stable for this purpose. But the arrangement, w.ich was expensive and which lent itself easily to fraud, was not desired by the author of the law and was changed at the next session of the legislature. " Governor's Message, House Journal, 189.'>-180fi. p. .''.4. M \ 134 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS practically disfranchised by the Walton law in spite of the fact that they could receive official assistance if necessary. Many negroes hesitated in getting a Democratic election judge to as- sist them in marking their ballots ; others were timid or ashamed to acknowledge their ignorance : and many that at- tempted to vote could not correctly mark their ballots in the al- lotted time. In some voting precincts, from a third to a half of the ballots had to be thrown out because they were incor- rectlv prepared. The governor of the State actually proposed ,'■ in 1898 that emblems be used on the ballots to distinguish the / candidates of the two parties in order to enable illiterate voters to vote as they desired. Fortunately, the General Assembly did not consider his proposition, f ^ Upon losing their votes through legal and illegal methods, and lacking aggressive leadership, the colored people grew apa- thetic, and many did not go to the polls in the elections of 1896 and 1897. In 1896 the Democrats had their own way in all the black counties, and the white counties of the Southwest and the Valley, now relieved from the fear of negro domination in the eastern counties, became more independent in politics and gave more support to the Republican part}-. In 1897 a Democratic governor. Charles T. O'Ferrall. was elected. ^^ In spite of the fact that the white people of \'irginia had practically disfranchised the negroes by the middle of the nine- ties, they were greatly dissatisfied with political conditions as thev existed. The system of fraud that had been built up to defeat Mahoneism by disfranchising the negroes had a demor- alizing effect upon the whole electoral system and was finally used where whites alone were concerned. And the political unitA- of the whites, made necessan.- by the solidarity of the col- ored voters against them, prevented independent voting and therebv virtually disfranchised the whites in national and some- times even in state elections. These evils were forcibly brought before the people by the presidential election in 1896. There was in Mrginia a strong gold-standard faction in the Demo- cratic part}- which had the enthusiastic support of the Rich- mond Times, a paper that had been founded to support the The Richmond Dispatch, November 3. 1897. THE NEGRO IX VIRGINIA POLITICS 135 "Debt-payers" ■ in their fight against Readjusterism. In the Southwest and the V^alley, where the whites had a free hand and where there was less reason for prejudice against the Re- publican party, the Republicans either won or ran up large mi- norities. In the eastern counties, however, which had been the Republican stronghold in the State on account of the colored vote. Bn,an won with large majorities, thereby gaining the State by over nineteen thousand majorit}-.'^ The men who had opposed the regular Democratic organization were warmly assailed by former political associates for forsaking the party, and the "gold Democrats" felt that they did not get a square deal at the polls. After this there was an increased demand for the elimination of fraud in elections, and the causes back of it. by the revision of the suffrage article in the State Constitution. The Richmond Times led the way in this demand. This desire for cleaner and more independent politics resulted in the new Constitution of 1902. The changes made by this constitution in the suffrage can be rightly understood and appreciated only by a knowledge of the race conditions and relations — within and without the borders of the Commonwealth — that insured and hastened the calling of the Constitutional Convention of 1901. The histor\' of race relations in the South shows that most of the friction that has existed between the races since the War of Secession can be traced directly to political agitation. The unscrupulous leaders of the negroes endeavored to keep them united by vilifying the whites and by stirring up race preju- dices and passions. Their propaganda was more easily spread on account of the advent of the younger generation of negroes who were reared in the years of turmoil during and after Re- construction and who lacked both the friendship of the whites and the training and discipline that were given them before the War of Secession. The percentage of older freedmen on the prison records was comparatively low. The records of the Mrginia penitentiar}- for the years 1871 to 1888 inclusive show that an average of 67 whites and 247 negroes were received W. L. Rovall. Sott'.e Reminiscences, ch. v. 136 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS into that institution yearly. With the census figures of 1880 as a basis, it is seen that the percentage of negroes received yearly into the penitentiary was seven times as great as that of the whites. ^^ Even after making allowance for possible discrimi- nation against the negroes by the courts, the contrast is very striking. However, such statistics do not show that the more unfortunate race was proportionally inferior, because crime is the ally of poverty and ignorance the world over. But such statistics were naturally used in those days against the negro as such. The general lawlessness that followed war, the lack of any system of police in the rural districts, which contained most of the population of the State, and the inadequacy and ineffi- ciency of the State and local governments compelled the people to take the law into their own hands to a great extent. Under these conditions, mob violence could not be readily checked. In those days, lynchings for the crime of rape which is the most unspeakably hideous of all crimes to a Southerner, espe- cially when the offender is of another race, was deemed the only quick and certain method of punishment and a wholesome lesson to would-be offenders. It was considered necessary for the protection of women scattered on lonely plantations through- out the country. 1^' Records show that lynchings were the result of the nature of the crime rather than of mere race prejudice, as was generally believed outside of the State. But there was only a short step between lynchings for rape and lynchings for murder — and for even lesser crimes. From 1880 to 1888 inclusive, there were eight white and eighteen colored people lynched, or an average of one white to two colored victims a year in Virginia. Of these twenty-six, nine were accused of rape or attempted rape and twelve of murder. In the decade of the nineties, contemporary evidence of all kinds shows that the number of rapings liy negro men were " Frank C Ruffin, Cost and Outcome of Negro Education in Vir- ginia. Table prepared by W. W. Moses, superintendent of the Vir- ginia penitentiary, 1871 to 1888 inclusive. " Governor McKinney's Message, House Journal, 1803-1894. THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA POLITICS 137 increasing at an alarming rate. This marked increase began to be evident about the end of the year 18»n May 2, 1900, advocated the calling of a convention to revise the Underwood Constitution. It also passed a resolution "That it is the sense of this convention that in framing a new constitution, no effort should bo made to disfranchise an\ citi- * Numerous amendments had. liowcvcr, change ' the original con- stitution in a great many different places. For a convenient list of these amendments, see J. X. Brennaman. ./ History of lirginia Con- ventions, p. 122. ' Act of March 5, 1900. 147 148 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS zen of Virginia who had a right to vote prior to 1861, nor the descendant of any such person, and that when such constitu- tion shall have been framed it shall be submitted to a vote of the people for ratification or rejection." ^ The Republican party declared emphatic opposition to a constitutional conven- tion. "Let every voter," urged the chairman of the party, "get to the polls on the 24th of May 1900, and snow the attempted outrage under." ^ In this election 77,362 votes were cast for a convention, and 60,375 against it.-'* The returns of the election show some odd results. Of the 100 counties, 48 were for and 52 against a convention. Of the 35 counties in which there was a majority of negroes, 18 voted for a convention and 17 against it. Of the 65 white counties, 30 voted for and 35 against a convention — 25 of the latter be- ing west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The 32 counties west of the Blue Ridge contained a population of 454,209 whites and 58,599 negroes, or a majority of over 400,000 whites. Yet all but 7 of these counties voted against the calling of a constitu- tional convention/ In the 30 white counties that voted in favor of a conventiori there were 375,039 whites and 184,139 ne- groes, or a ma/ority of 190,900 whites ; and in the 35 white counties that opposed the convention, the whites numbered 416,848, and the negroes only 83,174, or a white majority of 333,674. In the 35 black counties which had a majority of 16,491 male negroes of voting age the majority against a con- vention was only 422.^ These figures show that the election ^ The Richmond Times, May 3, 1900. * I hid.. May 11, 1900. ° The total possible vote in the State was about 447,000. ° Charlotte county had 1,847 more colored than white inhabitants. Its majority for the convention was 476. Prince Edward county with its majority of 4,493 negroes had a majority of 64 for the conven- tion. Many had been eliminated, doubtless, by the usual methods. But the small negro vote may be accounted for in most cases by the fact that the negroes had ceased to vote and did not have their former leaders to bring them to the polls. Nevertheless not a few colored votes were cast. Debates of the Constitutional Coni'ention of igoi, p. 3,000. THE NEGRO IX VIKCIXIA POLITICS 149 was won in those counties having,' tlio largest negro population, although it was a foregone conclusion that the negro would he disfranchised if a convention were called. Two questions naturally arise from the consideration of these facts : Why did the white counties oppose the calling of a convention ? and why did not the blacker counties oppose it ? The answer to the first question is found in the social and economic differences of the two sections. As long as the Kast was swamped in negro-carpetbag rule under RefHiblican lead- ership the West was solidly Conservative, or Democratic. When the East became solidly Democratic the West became largely Republican. This change in the political affiliation of the Southwest was due in part to the old sectional spirit that made the opposition of the West to the East in politics tradi- tional in Virginia. The influence of Mahoneism and Populism, the freedom from the menacing presence of the negro in local politics, and the growth of large mining interests in thr West and Southwest, all united in turning these sections toward^ the Republican party. Mahoneism had made a strong appeal to the vast numbers of illiterate whites in the western counties. Mahoneism paved the way for Populism ; and Populism paved the way for the Republican party, which was associated with both the Mahone and the People's party in X'irginia. The Republican party was still the colored man's party in the State. And, furthennore, in the white counties little was to be gained in local politics by the elimination of the negro vote, and in State politics there was little for the West to be anxious about so long as the whites in the eastern counties were in control of the political machinery. Perhaps the greatest cause of the opposition in the Southwest to the calling of a convention was the fear that the illiterate whites of that section would be excluded along with the illiterate negroes in the eastern counties. In the Ninth Congressional District, which lies wholly west of the Blue Ridge Mountains, there were more tl an nine times as many white as negro voters. Yet there was 1 voter out of ev- ery 4.2 in the district who could not read and write. The per- 150 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS centage of illiteracy was greater among the white than among the colored voters of the district, the ratio of illiterate to liter- ate white voters being 1 to 4.6, and that of the colored 1 to 21. In the Fourth District, on the other hand, which remained longest under negro domination and which was one of the most aggressive sections in bringing about the disfranchisement of the negroes, there was one-sixth less white than colored voters. In this district the ratio of white illiterate to literate voters was 1 to 10.8, and the ratio among the negro voters was 1 to 1.6. The proportion of white voters in the Ninth District who could not read and write was more than twice as great as that in the Fourth District; and the proportion of negro voters in the former district who could read and write was thirty-three per cent larger than that in the Fourth District." It is obvious from these figures that the problems facing the sections represented by these two districts were very different. The western counties had little reason for desiring to disfran- chise their small negro minority or to endanger the suffrage of their illiterate whites who were of the same race and political faith as the literates. In the black counties there were no such bonds between the mass of literates and illiterates. In the black counties the burden of taxation fell upon the white minority and the whites desired control of expenditures. The total amount of taxes paid by the negroes of the State for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1902. if used solely to cover the amount appropriated for colored schools, would cover less than half of the expenditure for their schools alone — exclusive of the pay of county and city superintendents and the expenses of the State Department of Education.^ Al- ' Debates of the Constitutional Convention of 1901, p. 3,000; Journal and Documents of the Convention of 1901. For map showing bound- aries of the districts, see opposite page. ' The following tables, from the Report of the Auditor for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1902, show the economic differences that existed between the two races in Virginia at this time. The ^ ^ Fold-out Placeholder This fold-out is being digitized, and will be inserted at a future date. i^ ii Fold-out Placeholder This fold-out is being digitized, and will be inserted at a future date. THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA POLITICS 151 though iio httle progress had been made in bettering their con- dition, the majority of them still remained ignorant and were a constant social danger.'' The Constitutional Convention of 1901-1902 began its ses- sion on June 12. Of the one hundred delegates eighty-eiglit were Democrats and twelve, Republicans. There were men of all shades of political beliefs represented. The j)ersonnel of the Convention was much above that of the average legislative body of the State. John (joode. who had served in the Seces- sion Convention of 1861 and in the Confederate Congress, was elected chairman. In the campaign preceding the convention and in the con- vention itself no attempt was made to conceal the main pur- white population was l,19~'.8r)8 and the colored population was 661,326, or 32. G of the total population. Total Value of Personal Property Owned by Whites Negroes Total $108,660,967 $ 4,2istih(tio)is of Vir- ginia by Earl G. Swem. Virginia Sate Library Bulletin, vol. 3, no. 4 (1910). Senate Journal and Documents. House Journal and Documents. Acts of Assembly. Proceedings and Debates of the Constitutional Contention of Virginia. 1901-1902 (1906). Debates and Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention of 1867-1868, vol. I. (Debates througli January 29. 1868). The second volume was never j^ublished and there arc now no known reports of the debates after January 29. 1868 in manuscript form. For a later efTort to publish the re- mainder of the Debates see House Journal 1870-1871, p. 115. According to the Richmond Dispatch (April 25. 1868), "The Debates are utterly worthless. They arc a fraud because the jargon of the negroes is rendered into tolerable language and will appear as the declamation of passably well informed orators." W. M. Samuel, the of- ficial reporter for the convention, frankly admitted that he had polished up the language of the Debates, lie was aided in this work by Edgar Allen. (Documents of the Convention of 1867-1868). The actual and complete re- ports of the convention can be had in the Richmonil Pis- patch and in the Richmond Enquirer. Journal and Documents of the Constitutional Conzrntion of 1901. (1901). Journal of the Constitutional Convention of lb67-1868. (1867). Documents of the Constitutional Convention of 1867-1868. (1867). 164 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS Negroes in the United States. Census Bulletin no. 8. The Negroes of Farmvillc, Virginia, by W. E. B. DuBois, U. S. Department of Labor Bulletin no. 14. This is an excel- lent and candid study of local conditions in a typical county and town of the black belt of Virginia. H. J. Eckenrode, "Political History of Virginia During Re- construction," in JoJins Hopkins University Studies, xxii (1904). J. P. McConnell, Negroes and Their Treatment in Virginia from 1865 to 1867. (1909). C. C. Pearson, The Readjuster Movement in Virginia (1917). This and the two monographs next preceding are the best accounts of the periods of which they treat. Note the bib- liography of this book. C. H. Ambler, The History of Sectionalism in Virginia from 1776 to 1861, (1910). " J. A. C. Chandler, Representation in Virginia (Johns Hopkins University Studies vol. xiv 1896). J. A. C. Chandler, The History of Suffrage in Virginia (JoJins Hopkins University Studies vol. xix 1901). G. T. Stephenson, Race Distinctions in American Latv, (1910). W. A. Dunning, Bssays on Civil War and Reconstruction, (1898). William L. Royall, History of the J'irginia State Debt Contro- versy, (1897). Walter L. Fleming, Documentary History of Reconstruction, (1906). (Note especially the introductory chapters). P. A. Bruce, The Plantation Negro as a Frcedman, (1889). James M. Callahan, "Political Parties in the South Since 1860," in The South in the Building of the Nation, (1909). See articles by Bruce, Clarke and others in this work. Appleton's Annual American Cyclopaedia, article, "Virginia." The Twentieth Century Negro Literature, (1902), D. W. Culp, editor. Thomas V. Cooper and liector T. Fenton, American Politics, (1882). TUF, XKGRO I\ VIKCIMA POLITICS 165 lVarrock-Richardso)i Almanac. Valuable in giving political af- filiations of the of^ceholders of the State, hut not com- plete or always dependable in distinguishing between white and colored officeholders. Supplement with newspapers. John E. Massey, Autobiography, (1909). John Goode. Recollections of a Lifetime. (19()6). Thomas Gary Johnson. Life and Letters of Robert Leu'is Dab- ney. (1903). General John M. Schnficld. Pnrty-Si.v )'ears in the .■h)ny. (1897). R. E. Withers. Autobiography of an Octogenarian. (1907). \y. L. Royall, Sotne Reminiscences. (1909). E. A. Alderman and A. C. Gordon. /. L. M. Curry. A Biogra- phy. Booker T. Washington. Up from Slavery. (1907). Alfred Holt Stone, Studies in the American Race Problem. (1908). Edgar Gardner Murphy, Problems of the Present South. (1904). B. T. Washington. Putnre of the American Negro. University of Virginia Phelps-Stokes Pello7<-ship Papers. North American Revieiv. The Nation. The Richmond Enquirer and E.vamincr. The Richmond Dispatch. The Richmond State. The Riciimond JVhig. In addition to the above items, mnnerous pamphlets in the \Mrginia State Lilirary. and elsewhere, local newspapers and personal accounts of contcmjwraries have been made u.sc of in the preparation of this paper. For an interesting short account of Reconstruction from the point of view of \Mrginians, see "Reconstruction in X'iri^inia." a letter written by John Randolph Tucker to lion. G. W, Woodward of Pennsylvania and published m the Richiuotul Enquirer and E.vaininer. June 24, 1868. APPENDIX I Article III, Coxstitutio.v of Virginia, 1868.* Elective Franchise and Qualifications for Office. Section 1. Every male citizen of the United vStates. twenty- one years old. who ^hall have been a resident of this state twelve months, and of the county, city or town in which he shall oflfer to vote, three months next i)recedinp any election. shall be entitled to vote upon all ([uestions submitted to the peo- ple at such election : provided, that no officer, soldier, seaman or marine of the United States army or navy shall be consid- ered a resident of this state by reason of 1)einf^ stationed therein : and provided also, that the following: j)crsons shall be exchided from voting : 1st. Idiots and lunatics. 2nd. Persons convicted of bribery in any election, embez- zlement of public funds, treason or felony. 3rd. No person wlio. while a citizen of this state, has, since the adoption of this constitution, fought a duel with a deadly weapon, either within or beyond the boundaries of this state, or knowingly conveyed a challenge, or aided or assisted in any manner in fighting a duel, shall be allowed to vote or hold any ol^ce of honor, profit or trust, under this constitution. [4th. Every person who has been a senator or representa- tive in congress, or elector of president or vice-president, or who held any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oatr. as a member of congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or ju- dicial officer of any state, shall have engaged .n insurrection or ' Code of Virginia, 1S73, pp. 70-TL 168 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the ene- mies thereof. "This clause shall include the following officers: governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, auditor of public ac- counts, second auditor, register of the land office, state treas- urer, attorney-general, sherififs, sergeants of a city or town, commissioner of the revenue, county surveyors, constables, overseers of the poor, commissioner of the board of public works, judges of the supreme court, judges of the circuit court, judges of the court of hustings, judges of the county courts, mayor, recorder, aldermen, councilmen of a city or town, cor- oners, escheators, inspectors of tobacco, flour, &c., clerks of the supreme, district, circuit, and county courts, and of the court of hustings, and attorneys for the commonwealth : provided, that the legislature may, by a vote of three-fifths of both houses, remove the disabilities incurred by this clause from any person included therein by a separate vote in each case.] ^ Sec. 2. All elections shall be by ballot, and all persons enti- tled to vote shall be eligible to any office within the gift of the people, except as restricted in this constitution. Sec. 3. All persons entitled to vote and hold office, and none others, shall be eligible to sit as jurors. Sec. 4. The general assembly shall, at its first session under this constitution, enact a general registration law; and every person offering or applying to register shall take and subscribe, before the officer charged with making a registration of voters, the following oath : "I, , do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am not disqualified from exercising the right of suffrage by the constitution framed by the convention which assembled in the city of Richmond on the third day of December, 1867, and that I will support and defend the same to the best of my ability." Sec. 5. No voter, during the time of holding any election at which he is entitled to vote, shall be compelled to perform niil- ' Code of Virginia, 1873, pp. 26-27. THE NEGRO IN VIRCINIA POLITICS 169 itary service, except in time of war or public dangjer, to work upon public roads, or to attend any court as suitor, juror or witness: and no voter shall be subject to arrest, under any civil process, during his attendance at elections, or in goinj; to or returning from them. Oath of Offfce. Sec. 6. All persons, before entering upon the discharge of any function as officers of this state, must take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation : "I, , do solemnly swear (or affirm) that 1 will support and maintain the constitution and laws of the United States, and the constitution and laws of the state of Virginia ; that I recognize and accept the civil and political e(|uality of all men before the law, and that I will faithfully perform the duty of to the best of my ability. So help me God." [Sec. 7. In addition to the foregoing oath of office, the gov- ernor, lieutenant-governor, members of the general assembly, secretary of state, auditor of public accounts, state treasurer, attorney-general, and all persons elected to any convention to frame a constitution for this state, or to amend or revise this constitution in any manner, and mayor and council of any city or town, shall, before they enter on the duties of their respec- tive offices, take and subscribe the following oath or affirma- tion, provided the disabilities therein contained may be individ- ually removed by a three-fifths vote of the general assembly: "I^ , do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I have never voluntarily borne arms against the United States since I have been a citizen thereof : that T have voluntarily given no aid, countenance, counsel or encouragement, to i)ersons en- gaged in armed hostility thereto; that T have never sought nor accepted, nor attempted to exercise the functions of any of- fice whatever, under any authority or pretended authority, in hostility to the United States; that I have nt yielded a volun- tary support to any pretended government, authority, iiowor nr constitution, within the United States, hostile or inimical thereto. And I do further swear (or affirm) that, to the best 170 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS of my knowledge and ability, I will support and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same ; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental res- ervation or purpose of evasion ; and that I will well and faith- fully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God." The above oath shall also be taken by all the city and county officers before entering upon their duties, and by all other state officers not included in the above provision."] ^ ■ Code of Virginia, 1873, p. 27. APPENDIX II Article II, Constitution of Virginia, 1902. Elective Franchise and Qualifications for Office. Sec. 18. Every male citizen of the United States, twenty-one years of age, who has been a resident of the State two years, of the county, city, or town one year, and of the precinct in which he offers to vote, thirty days, next preceding the election in which he oiTers to vote, has been registered, and has paid his state poll taxes, as hereinafter required, shall be entitled to vote for members of the General Assembly and all officers elective by the people ; but removal from one precinct to another, in the same county, city, or town shall not deprive any person of his right to vote in the precinct from which he has moved, until the expiration of thirty days after such removal. Sec 19. There shall be general registrations in the counties, cities and towns of the State during the years nineteen hun- dred and two and nineteen hundred and three at such times and in such manner as may be prescribed by an ordinance of this convention. At such registrations every male citizen of the United States having the qualifications of age and residence required in section Eighteen shall be entitled to register, it lu- be: First. A person who, prior to the adoption of this Constitu- tion, served in time of war in the army or navy of the United States, of the Confederate States, or of any state of the United States or of the Confederate States ; or. Second. A son of any such person; or. Third. A person, who owns property, up n which. ff)r the year next preceding that in which he offers to register, state taxes aggregating at least one dollar have been paid : or. Fourth. A person able to read any section of this Constitu- tion submitted to him by the officers of registration and to give 172 PIIELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS a reasonable explanation of the same; or, if unable to read such section, able to understand and give a reasonable expla- nation thereof when read to him by the officers. A roll containing the names of all persons thus registered, sworn to and certified by the officers of registration, shall be filed, for record and preservation, in the clerk's office of the circuit court of the county, or the clerk's office of the corpora- tion court of the city, as the case may be. Persons thus en- rolled shall not be required to register again, unless they shall have ceased to be residents of the State, or become disqualified by section Twenty-Three. Any person denied registration un- der this section shall have the right of appeal to the circuit court of his county, or the corporation court of his city, or to the judge thereof in vacation. Sec. 20. After the first day of January, nineteen hundred and four, every male citizen of the United States, having the qualifications of age and residence required in section Eighteen, shall be entitled to register, provided: First. That he has personally paid to the proper officer all state poll taxes assessed or assessable against him, under this or the former Constitution, for the three years next preceding that in which he ofifers to register; or, if he come of age at such time that no ])oll tax shall have been assessable against him for the year preceding the year in which he offers to register, has paid one dollar and fifty cents, in satisfaction of the first year's poll tax assessable against him ; and. Second. That, unless physically unable, he make application to register in his own hand-writing, without aid, suggestion, or memorandum, in the presence of the registration officers, stat- ing therein his name, age, date and place of birth, residence and occupation at the time and for the two years next preced- ing, and whether he has ])reviously voted, and, if so, the state, county, and precinct in which he voted last ; and. Third. That he answer on oath any and all questions affect- ing his qualifications as an elector, submitted to him by the of- ficers of registration, which questions, and his answers thereto, THE NEGRO IN VIKGIXIA POLITICS 173 shall be reduced to writing, certified by the said officers, and preserved as a part of their official records. Sec. 21. Any person, registered under cither of the last two sections, shall iiavc tlie right to vote for niL-nibers of the Gen- eral Asseml)ly and all officers elective by the pco{)le. subject to the following conditions : That he, unless exempted by section Twenty-two. shall, as a prerequisite to the right to vote after the first day of lainiary. nineteen hundred and four, personally pay, at least six months prior to the election, all state poll taxes assessed or assessable against hiiu, under 'his Constitution, during the three years next preceding that in whicli lie offers to vote; provided that, if he register after the first day of January, nineteen hundred and four, lie shall, un.less ])hysical!y unable, prepare and de- posit his ballot without aid, on such printed form as tlie law may prescribe ; but any voter registered (>rior to that date may be aided in the preparation of his ballot by such officer of elec- tion as he himself may designate. Sec. 22. No person who, during the late war between the States, served in the army or navy of the United States, or the Confederate States, or any state of the United States, or of the Confederate States, shall at any time be required to pay a poll tax as a prerecfuisite to the rigiit to register or vote. The col- lection of the state poll tax assessed against any one shall not be enforced by legal process until the same has become three years past due. Sec. 23. The following persons shall be excluded from reg- istering and voting: Idiots, insane persons, and paupers; per- sons who, prior to the adoption of this Constitution, were flis- qualified from voting by conviction of crime, either within or without this State, and whose disabilities shall not have been removed; persons convicted after the adoption of this Consti- tution, either within or without this State, of treason, or of any felonv, bribery, petit larceny, obtaining money or property un- der false pretences, embezzlement, forgery. »r perjury ; per- sons who. while citizens of this State, after the adoption of this Constitution, have fought a duel with a deadly weapon, or sent 174 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS or accepted a challenge to fight such duel, either within or with- out this State, knowingly conveyed a challenge, or aided or as- sisted in any way in the fighting of such duel. Sec. 24. No officer, soldier, seaman, or marine of the United States army or navy shall be deemed to have gained a resi- dence as to the right of suffrage, in the State, or in any county, city or town thereof, by reason of being stationed therein ; nor shall an inmate of any charitable institution or a student in any institution of learning, be regarded as having either gained or lost a residence, as to the right of suffrage by reason of his lo- cation or sojourn in such institution. Sec. 25. The General Assembly shall provide for the annual registration of voters under Section Twenty, for an appeal by any person denied registration, for the correction of illegal or fraudulent registration, thereunder, and also for the proper transfer of all voters registered under this Constitution. Sec 26. Any person who, in respect to age or residence, would be qualified to vote at the next election, shall be ad- mitted to registration, notwithstanding that at the time thereof he is not so qualified, and shall be entitled to vote at said elec- tion if then qualified under the provisions of this Constitution. Sec. 27. All elections by the people shall be by ballot ; all elections by any representative body shall be viva voce, and the vote recorded in the journal thereof. The ballot-box shall be kept in public view during all elec- tions, and shall not be opened, nor the ballots canvassed or counted, in secret. So far as consistent with the provisions of this Constitution, the absolute secrecy of the ballot shall be maintained. Sec. 28. The Czcneral Assembly shall provide for ballots, without any distinguishing mark or symbol, for use in all state, county, city, and other elections by the people, and the form thereof shall be the same in all places where any such election is held. All ballots shall contain the names of the candidates, and of the offices to be filled, in clear print and in due and or- derly succession ; but any voter may erase any name and insert another. THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA POLITICS 175 Sec. 29. No voter, during the time of holding anv election at which he is entitled to vote, shall be compelled to [jerfonn mil- itary service, except in time of war or public danger; to attend any court as suitor, juror, or witness; and no voter shall be subject to arrest under any civil process during his attendance at election or in going to or returning therefrom. Sec. 30. The General Assembly may prescribe a jiroperty qualification not exceeding two hundred and fifty dollars for voters in any county or subdivision thereof, or citv or town, as a prerequisite for voting in any election for officers, other than the members of the (^icneral .Assembly, to be wholly elected by the voters of such county or subdivision thereof, or city, or town; such action, if taken, to be had u])on the initiative of a representative in the (^icneral .Assembly of the county, city, or town affected ; provided, that the General Assembly in its dis- cretion may make such exemptions from the operation of said property qualification as shall not be in conflict with the con- stitution of the United States. Sec. 31. There shall be in each county and city an electoral board, composed of three members, ai)pointed by the circuit court of the county or the corporation court of the city, or the judge of the court in vacation. Of those first appointed, one shall be ap])ointC(l for a term of one year, one for a term of two years, and one for a term of three years; and thereafter their successors shall be ajipointed for the full term of three years. Any vacancy occurring in any board shall be filled by the same authority for the unexpired term. Each electoral board shall appoint the judges, clerks, and registrars of election for its county or city ; and. in appointing judges of election, representation as far as possible shall be given to each of the two political parties which, at the general election next preceding their appointment, cast the highest and next higliesl number of votes. No person, nor the deputy of any person, holding any office or post of profit or emolument, under the U.ited States (^.ov- ernment. or who is in the employment of such government, or holding any elective office of profit or trust in the State, or in 176 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS any county, city, or town thereof, shall be appointed a member of the electoral board, or registrar, or judge of election. Sec. 32. Every person ciualified to vote shall be eligible to any office of the State, or of any county, city, town, or other subdivision of the State, wherein he resides, except as other- wise provided in this Constitution, and except that this provi- sion as to residence shall not apply to any office elective by the people where the law provides otherwise. Men and women eighteen years of age shall be eligible to the office of notary public, and (jualified to execute the bonds required of them in that capacity. Sec. 33. The terms of all officers elected under this Consti- tution shall begin on the first day of February next succeeding their election, unless otherwise provided in this Constitution. All officers, elected or appointed, shall continue to discharge the duties of their offices after their terms of service have ex- pired until their successors have qualified. Sec. 34. Members of the General Assembly and all officers, executive and judicial, elected or appointed after this Constitu- tion goes into effect, shall, before they enter on the perform- ance of their public duties, severally take and subscribe the fol- lowing oath or affirmation : "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Virginia ordained by the convention which assembled in the city of Richmond on the twelfth day of June, nineteen hundred and one. and that I will faithfully and impartially dis- charge and perform all the duties incumbent on me as , according to the best of my ability; so help me God." Sec. 35. No person shall vote at any legalized primary elec- tion for the nomination of any candidate for office unless he is at the time registered and qualified to vote at the next succeed- ing election. Sec. 36. The General Assembly shall enact such laws as are necessary and proper for the purpose of securing the regularity and purity of general, local and primary elections, and prevent- ing and punishing any corrupt ])ractices in connection there- THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA POLITICS 177 with ; and shall have power, in addition to other penalties and punishments now or hereafter prescribed by law for such of- fences, to provide that persons convicted of them shall there- after be disqualified from voting or holding office. Sec. 2>7. The General Assembly may provide for the use, throughout the State or in any one or more counties, cities, or towns in any election, of machines for receiving, recording, and counting the votes cast thereat: provided, that the secrecy of the voting be not thereby impaired. Sec. 38. After the first day of January, nineteen hundred and four, the treasurer o*^ each county and city shall, at least five months before each regular election, file with the clerk of the circuit court of his county, or of the corjioration court of his city, a list of all persons in his county or city, who have paid not later than six months prior to such election, the state ])oll taxes required by this Constitution during the three years next preceding that in which such election is held ; which list shall be arranged alphabetically, by magisterial districts or wards, shall state the white and colored persons separately, and shall be verified by the oath of the treasurer. The clerk, within ten days from the receipt of the list, shall make and certify a suf!i- cient number of copies thereof, and shall deliver one copy for each voting place in his county or city, to the sheriff of the county or sergeant of the city, whose duty it shall be to post one copy, without delay, at each of the voting places, and, within ten days from the receii)t thereof, to make return on oath to the clerk, as to the places where and dates at which said copies were respectively posted: which return the ckrk shall record in a book kept in his office for the purpose: and he shall keep in his office for public inspection, for at least sixty days after receiving the list, not less than ten certified copies thereof, and also cause the list to be published in such other manner as may be prescribed by law: the original list returned by the treasurer shall be filed and preserved by the clerk among the public records of his office for at least five years after re- ceiving the same. Within thirty days after the list has been so posted, any person who shall have paid his capitation tax, but whose name is omitted from the certified list, may, after five —13 178 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS days' written notice to the treasurer, apply to the circuit court of his county, or corporation court of his city, or to the judge thereof in vacation, to have the same corrected and his name entered thereon, which appHcation the court or judge shall promptly hear and decide. The clerk shall deliver, or cause to be delivered, with the poll-books, at a reasonable time before every election, to one of the judges of election of each precinct of his county or city, a like certified copy of the list, which shall be conclusive evidence of the facts therein stated for the purpose of voting. The clerk shall also, within sixty days after the filing of the list by the treasurer, forward a certified copy thereof, with such correc- tions as may have been made by order of the court or judge, to the Auditor of Public Accounts, who shall charge the amount of the poll taxes stated therein to such treasurer un- less previously accounted for. Further evidence of the prepayment of the capitation taxes required by this Constitution, as a prerequisite to the right to register and vote, may be prescribed by law. APPENDIX III Consolidated List of Persons Registered as Voters in the State of Virginia under the REa)NSTRUCTioN Acts OF Congress. (1867).i Number Registered \ No. Counties, ttc. 1 Richmond City 2 Xorfolk County, City of Portsmouth 3 Albemarle 4 Augusta 5 Bedford 6 Campbell 7 Halifax 8 Loudoun 9 Mecklenburg 10 Pittsylvania 11 Rockingham 12 Xorfolk City 13 Petersburg City 14 Alexandria 15 Amelia 16 Amherst 17 Botetourt 18 Brunswick 19 Buckingham 20 Charlotte 31 Culpeper 22 Cumberland 23 Fairfax 24 Fluvanna 25 Frederick 26 Goochland 27 Hanover 28 Henrico 29 Henry ^hite 1 Colored Total Per cent Colored 5,382 6,284 1 1 .666 54.0 2.738 3,281 6,019 54.5 2,310 2,759 5.069 54.4 3,579 1,362 4.941 27.6 2,408 2,110 4,518 46.7 2,576 2,978 5,554 53.6 1,980 3,402 5.382 63.2 2,799 1,007 3,806 26.5 1,275 2,843 4,118 69.0 2,768 3,534 6,302 56.0 2,881 431 3,312 13.0 1.910 2,049 3,9.59 51.8 1,546 2.647 4.193 63.0 1.491 1,933 3,524 54.8 494 1,492 1,986 75.0 1.515 1,371 2,886 47.5 1.420 662 2.082 31.8 775 1,733 2,508 69.1 1,072 1,799 2,871 62.6 913 2.080 2,993 69 5 1,005 896 1,901 47.1 535 1,331 1,866 71.4 1,400 1.039 2,439 42.6 SS4 970 1,854 52.4 2.093 540 2.633 20.5 662 1,519 2.181 69.5 1 ..'■.04 1,556 3,060 50.9 1 .229 1,8: -> 3,108 60.4 1.017 1.00«) 2,023 49.7 ^ Documents of the Constitutional Con:rntifln of 1867-1868. 180 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS 30 Louisa 31 Lunenburg 32 Montgomery 33 Nansemond 34 Nelson 35 Nottoway 36 Orange 37 Princess Anne 38 Southampton 39 Wythe 40 Chesterfield 41 Powhatan 42 Caroline 43 King George 44 Spottsylvania 45 Accomac 46 Northampton 47 Bath 48 Highland 49 Rockbridge 50 Carroll 51 Floyd 52 Grayson 53 Fauquier 54 Rappahannock .... 55 Northumberland . . . 56 Lancaster 57 Richmond 58 Westmoreland . . . . 59 Patrick 60 Franklin 61 Prince Edward . . . . 62 Appomattox 63 Prince George 64 Dinwiddie 65 Lee 66 Scott 67 Wise f>8 Page 69 Shenandoah 70 Smyth 71 Washington 72 Alleghany 73 Craig 74 Roanoke 75 Charles City (Co.) 1,122 1,761 2,883 61.1 726 1,219 1,945 62.6 1,546 567 2,113 26.8 1,084 1,154 2,238 51.6 1,243 1,268 2,511 50.5 481 1,448 1,929 75.1 899 1,081 1,980 54.6 870 931 1,801 51.6 1,124 1,273 2,397 53.1 1,581 480 2,061 23.3 1,871 2,018 3,889 51.9 451 1,173 1,624 72.2 1,317 1,402 2,719 51.6 456 439 895 49.0 1,310 1,026 2,336 44.0 2,058 1,470 3,523 41.7 556 1,004 1,560 64.4 418 111 529 21.0 602 58 660 8.8 2,171 1,051 3,222 32.6 1,410 65 1,475 4.4 1,360 189 1,549 12.2 1.289 128 1,417 9.0 1,889 1,299 3,188 40.7 1,007 479 1,486 32.2 648 451 1,099 41.0 362 487 849 57.4 591 489 1,080 45.3 625 663 1,288 51.5 1,197 326 1.523 21.4 2,109 1,091 3,200 34.1 709 1,659 2,428 68.2 759 903 1,662 54.2 535 1,095 1,630 67.2 705 1,606 2,311 69.6 1,487 120 1.607 7.5 1,884 110 1,994 5.0 654 9 663 1.3 1,248 190 1,438 13.2 2,168 176 2.344 7 5 1,283 319 1,602 19.9 2,479 637 3,116 20.4 484 93 577 16.1 448 47 495 9.5 1,030 650 1.680 38.6 309 658 967 68.0 THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA POLITICS 181 76 New Kent 370 77 Clarke 763 78 Warren 656 79 Elizabeth City (Co.) 361 80 Warwick 135 81 Gloucester 864 82 Matthews 651 83 Isle of Wight 871 84 Surry 447 85 King and Queen 710 86 King William 488 87. Madison 808 88 Greene 556 89 Middlesex 388 90 Essex 576 91 Pulaski 693 92 Giles 829 93 Russell 1,415 94 Buchanan 463 95 Stafford 847 96 Prince William 958 97 Greenville 303 98 Sussex 535 99 Bland 687 100 Tazewell 1,309 101 James City (Co.) 226 102 York 425 Total 120.101 10.'i.832 225.933 47.0 454 824 55.0 378 1,141 34.2 197 853 23.1 1,585 1,946 81.5 291 426 68.3 869 1.729 50.2 334 985 33.9 656 1,527 4.1.0 582 1,029 59.6 883 1,593 .'■.5.4 713 1,201 59.4 599 1,407 42.5 263 819 32.1 409 797 51.4 1,124 1,700 66.1 366 1,059 34.5 139 968 14.4 224 1,639 13.7 5 4(iS l.I 253 1,100 23.0 307 1,265 24.3 720 1.023 70.5 1.109 1.639 67.5 56 743 7.5 275 1,584 17.4 492 718 68.5 1.188 1.613 73.5 APPENDIX IV Population of Virginia. 1900.' White Colored Total Per cent County Accomac 20.743 1 1,827 Albemarle 18.135 10.3:!8 Alexandria ■'f.9'".2 2.4»)8 ^Alleghany 11.415 +.915 Amelia 3,052 5.98.". ^ Amherst 10.^07 7,057 Appomattox 5,731 3.931 Augusta 26,670 5.700 '. Bath 4,589 1.006 Bedford 20.617 9.739 Bland 5.285 212 Botetourt 13.284 3.877 ' Brunswick 7.375 10.842 Buchanan 9.687 5 Buckingham ~.415 7.851 Campbell 13.641 9.615 Caroline 7.667 0.042 Carroll 18.964 339 Charles City 1.344 3.696 Charlotte 6.798 8.545 Chesterfield 11.105 7.699 Clarke 5.695 2.232 Craig 4.0.32 261 Culpeper 8.069 6.054 Cumberland 2.791 6.205 Dickenson 7.747 Dinwiddie 5.874 9.500 Elizabeth City 10.757 8,703 Essex 3.576 6.125 pairfax 13.576 5.004 Fauquier 15.074 8..300 Floyd 14.313 1.075 Fluvanna 5.039 i.Oll Colored 32.570 36.3 28,473 36.3 6.430 38.3 16,330 .30.1 9,037 66.2 17.864 39.5 9.662 40.6 32,370 17.6 5.595 17.9 30.356 32.1 5,497 3.85 17.161 22.5 18.217 59.5 9.692 005 15,266 51.4 23.2.-.6 41 3 16.709 54.1 19,303 1.75 5.04(1 73.3 15.343 55.6 18.804 40.9 7.927 28.1 4.293 6.07 14.123 42.8 8,996 68.0 7.747 000 15,374 61.7 19.460 44.7 9.701 63.1 18,580 26.9 23.374 35.5 15,388 6.98 9.050 44.3 ' United States Census. 1900. 184 PHELPS-STOKES FELLOWSHIP PAPERS Franklin 20,005 Frederick 12,486 Giles 9,997 Gloucester 6,224 Goochland 3,961 Grayson 15,894 Greene 4,783 Greenville 3,401 Halifax 17,922 Hanover 9,696 Henrico 17.246 Henry 10,881 Highland 5,269 Isle of Wight 6,833 James City 1,346 King and Queen 4,006 King George 3,596 King William 3,266 Lancaster 4,058 Lee 19,116 Loudoun 16,079 Louisa 7,896 Lunenburg 5,133 Madison 6,695 Mathews 5,844 Mecklenburg 10,353 Middlesex 3,684 Montgomery 12,927 Nansemond 10,115 Nelson 10,403 New Kent 1,660 Norfolk 19,113 Northampton 6,141 Northumberland 5,680 Nottoway 4,966 Orange . 7,050 Page 12,354 Patrick 13,779 Pittsylvania 25,605 Powhatan 2,343 Prince Edward 5,276 Prince George 2,886 Princess Anne 5,505 Prince William 8,240 Pulaski 11,373 Rappaliannock 6,121 5,948 25,953 22.9 753 13,239 5.68 799 10,793 7.40 6,608 12,832 41.4 5,558 9,519 58.4 959 16,853 4.69 1,431 6,214 23.0 6,357 9,758 65.1 19,275 37,197 51.8 7,923 17,618 44.9 12,816 30,062 42.6 8,384 19,265 43.5 378 5.647 6.69 6,269 13,102 47.8 2,342 3,688 63.5 5,259 9,265 56.7 3,322 6,918 48.0 5,114 8,380 61.0 4,891 8,949 54.6 740 19.856 3.72 5,869 21,948 26.7 8,621 16,517 52.1 6,572 11,705 56.1 3,521 10,216 34.4 2,395 8,239 29.0 16,198 26,551 61.1 4,536 8,220 55.1 2,925 15,852 18.4 12,963 23,078 56.1 5,672 16,075 35.2 3,205 4,865 65.8 31,667 50,780 62.3 7,629 13,770 55.4 4,166 9,846 42.3 7,400 12,366 59.8 .-),;-) 21 12,571 43.9 1,440 13,794 10.4 1,624 15,403 10.5 21,289 46,894 45.4 4,481 6,824 65.6 9,769 15,045 64.9 4,866 7,752 62.7 5.687 11,192 50.8 2,872 11,112 25.8 3,237 14,609 22.1 2,722 8,843 30.8 THE NEGRO IN VIRGINIA POLITICS 185 Richmond 4,159 Roanoke 11,990 Rockbridge 17.715 Rockingham :{0,89:{ Russell 17,207 Scott 22,067 Shenandoah 19,604 Smyth 15,950 Southampton 9,165 Spottsylvania 5,353 Stafford r).489 Surry 3.286 Sussex 4.121 Tazewell 19,802 Warren 7,372 Warwick 1.159 Washington 2(5.434 Westmoreland 4.381 Wise 17.688 Wythe 17.653 York 3,401 Cities Alexandria 9,987 Bristol 3,551 Ruena Vista 1,978 Charlottesville 3,S34 Danville 10,002 Fredericksburg 3,446 Lynchburg 10,637 Manchester 6.376 Newport News 12.788 Norfolk 26.317 Petersburg 11 ,057 Portsmouth 11 .782 Radford 2,887 Richmond 52.804 Roanoke 15.654 Staunton 5,456 Winchester 4.056 Williamsburg 1.366 2,929 7,088 41.3 3,847 15,837 24.3 4,084 21,799 18.7 2,634 33.527 7.85 764 18.031 4.23 627 22.694 2.76 649 20.253 3.20 1,171 17.121 6.83 13,683 22,848 59.8 3,886 9,239 42.1 1.608 8,097 19.8 5.183 8,469 61.2 7,961 12,082 65.9 3.583 23,384 15.3 1.465 8,837 16.6 3.729 4,888 76.3 2,561 28,995 8.8.3 4,862 9,243 52.6 1,965 19,653 9,99 2.784 20.437 13.6 4.081 7,482 54.5 4.541 14.528 31.2 1,028 4.579 22 4 410 2,388 17.2 2,615 6.449 40.5 6,518 16,520 .39.4 1,622 5,068 .32.0 8,254 18,891 43.7 3,339 9.715 34.4 6,847 19.635 34.9 20,307 46.624 43.5 10,753 21.810 49." 5,645 17.427 32.4 457 3.344 13.7 32.246 85.050 37.9 5.841 21.495 27.2 1.833 7,289 25.1 1.105 5,161 21.4 678 2,044 33.2 hsude Advertiser, Boston, 67 n. African Church, convention in, April, 1867, 3."); convention in, August, 1867, 40. Alabama, l.U. Alexandria, Pierpont government moved to. IT); State convention meets at, 15; Radical center, 17. Allen, Edgar, elected by negroes from Prince Edward County, 1867, 45; 51; opposes Constitution of 1868, 67; 68. 68 n.; in campaign of 1869, 72. Allen, General R., and Union League, :!4. Amendment. See Constitution. Anti-Mahoneites, 116, 117. Arnold, A. W., 127. Arthur, Chester A., 112, 115, 123. Aycock, Charles B., elected governor of North Carolina. 14.1. Baldwin, John B., Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates. 1°65, 18; and New Movement, 6."). O.l n.; and Committee of Nine. 66, 67, 68. Ballot, voting by, introduced in Constitution of 1868, 59 n. Barbecue, negro, 75, 76 n. Barbour, James. 106. Barbour, John S., strengthens Conservative party. 118; in campaign of 1885, 124. Barrett, William E., quoted, l.io n. Bayne, Thomas, in Constitutional Convention of 1867, 51. 51 n.. 52. 53, 56; and negro convention, 76. Beach, S. Ferguson, 70 n. Big Four, defeat Mahone's legislation. 114. 11.'), 116. Blair, F. S., 112. Bland, Jomes VV. D., in Constitutional Convention of 1867. 50 n.. 52. 62 n. Booker, 0. W.. 62 n. Botts. Jolm Minor. 23, 25, 39. 40. 41. Bourbon, 109, 116. Branch, James R., 75. Bryan, W. J., and campaign of 1896. 135. Butler, General Benjamin F., speech before the Con'^titutional Con- vention of 1867. 54. 187 188 INDEX Cameron, Senator Don, aids Mahone, 112. Cameron, William E., Readjuster, lOB; elected governor, 112; leaves }*[ahone. 129. Campaign, of 1867, 43; of 1869, 70ff.; of 1869. returns, 76. 77, 78; of 1870, results of, 84; of 1871, results of, 84; of 1872, 85; of 1873, 86ff.; of 1873, returns of. 89; of 1879, in7; of 1882. 117; of 1S84, 123; of 1885, 124, 125. Canby, General E. R. S., and election of 1869, 74. Carpetbaggers. 20, 36, 42, 43 n., 49, 78, 81, 87; defeated, 90; 94, 96, 120, 161. Caucus, rule of. introduced by Mahone, 111. Chandler, L. H., 67. Charlotte county, 145; and Constitutional Convention of 1901, 148 n. Charlottesville, meeting in, at Delevan Hospital, 1867, 32; conserva- tive Republicans call convention at, 1867, 39. Clements, James H., campaign of 1869. 71. Cleveland, Grover, wins Virginia, 1884. 124. Coaches, separate, for races in Virginia, 141; in North Carolina, 143. Coalitionist State Convention, 123. Colored. See Negro. Commercial Gazette, Cincinnati, quoted, 124 n. Committee of Nine, chosen. 66; in Washington. 67; and campaign of 1869, 73. Committee on the Elective Franchise and Qualification for Ofifice, Constitutional Convention of 1867, 55, 55 n. Congress, refuses to admit vSouthern representatives, 22, 23; Act of February 8, 1869, 59; removes disabilities from Southerners, 1872, 87. Conservatives, early meaning of term, 43. 43 n.; party formed, December, 1867, 46; leaders in Constitutional Convention of 1867, 51, 52; 61, 62; candidates. 1868, 62 n.; candidates withdraw, 1869, 73; unite with moderate Republicans, 73, 74; and negro barbecue, 75; vote on Funding Bill, 83; elected to Congress, 1870, 84; con- vention of, August. 1871, 84; in legislature, 1871, 84, 81 n.; fail to carry State for Greely, 85; elected to Congress, 1872, 85; con- vention of, August, 1873, platform of, 1873, 87; draw color line, 88; and election of 1874. 90; and election of 1878, 96; strengthen party organization. 118; assume name, "Democrats," 118. Constitution, Virginia, of 1864, 15, 16. 17; Constitution of 1868 ("Un- derwood Constitution"), adopted, vote on. 55; nature of, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60; vote on, delayed, 61, (-2; approved by House of Rep- resenatives. 64; Stuart proposes changes in, 64; 69; approved by Congress and submitted by President Grant to voters of Vir- ginia, 69; endorsed by negro convention, 76; vote on, returns of, 76, 77; first amended, 85 n.; clause concerning elective franchise and qualifications for office and that part of, relating to local ixDKx 189 government amended, 92; poll tax amendment, 'J2, 'J3; petty lar- ceny amendment in, denounced by negro convention, 95; amend- ments to, 147; Constitution of 1902, 135; 158; result of, 162; new, in North Carolina, 144. Constitutional Convention, of 1864, 15; of 1867-1868; SOflf.; persoimel of, 50; officers of, 51; close of, 55; of 1901-1902, 135. 147; vote on calling, 148, 149; begins session, personnel of, ITil; purposes of, 151, 152. Convention, Unconditional Union, first statewide political convention after War of Secession, 23, 24; Republican, at Philadelphia and suffrage, 25; in African Church, Richmond. April, 1867, 35; Re- publican, of August, 1867, at Richmond, 40; of Conservatives. De- cember 1, 1867, o'-ganizes white man's party. 48; conservative, and Committee of Nine, 66. 67, 67 n., 68; Radical Republican, Petersburg. March, 1869, 71, 72, 73; moderate Republican. 1869, 72; first unmixed negro State. 76; Conservative. 1871, 84; Con- servative, August, 1873, 86; negro. August. 1875. 94; Coalitionist (Republican), 123; Populist. 1892. 132; Democratic, at Norfolk. 1900, 147. Cook, Fields, 35; and convention of August 1. 1867. 41. Cooperation Movement, inaugurated, aims of, 33; 40. Council of Foreign Bondholders of London, supports McCulloch Act, 104. County organization clause in Constitution of 1868, 68; not voted on separately, 69; amended, 92. Coupon Acts. 117. Coupon Killers, 113, 114. Cox, James. 43. Currry, J. L. M., quoted, 96. 90 n.; Funder, 106. Dabney. R. H., quoted. 141 n. Dabney, R. L., letter of, 23 n. Daniel, John W.. Funder. 106; quoted. 119; 153. Daniel, Raleigh T.. Speech at negro meeting, 1867. 32; and Xcw Movement. 65 n.; and campaign of 1873. 86. 89. Danville, riot in, 1883, 119. 120. Davis. Jefferson, summoned by Judge Underwood, 38. Dawson. John M., Republican Candidate. 1882, 117. Debt. See State debt. Debt Payer. 103. Delevan Hospital, meeting at, 32. Democrats, hesitate in drawing the color line, 119; legislation of, 122; in campaign of 1885, 124; successful in Virginia. 1888. 129. 130; in Congressional election. 1890, 131; in election of 1892. 132; in elections of 1896 and 1897, 134; in Constitutional Convention of 1901-1902, 151; sign Constitution of 1902. 157. 190 INDEX Disfranchising clause, Constitution of 1868, 55, 56, 56 n.; submitted to voters separately, 69; 79. Dispatch, Richmond, quoted, 75; quoted, 79; quoted, 87 n.; quoted, 125. Douglas, Dr. W. C, in campaign of 1869, 72. Downing, Speaker, Virginia legislature, 1865, views on negro fran- chise, 16. Duelling, legislation regarding, 93, 93 n., 116. Duval, General, and vagrants, 19. Early, Jubal A., proposes emigration, 23 n. Eastham, Dr.. and Constitution of 1868, 58. Election, of 1867, 43, 44, 45, 46; of 1869, 76, 77, 79, 79 n.; of 1871, re- sults of, 84; of 1874, results, 90; national, of 1876, significance of, 96; of 1877, 96; of 1878, 96; of 1879, 107; of 1881, 112; Congres- sional, of 1882, 117; of 1883, effect of Danville riot on, 121; Con- gressional, of 1884, 123, 124; of 1885, national importance of, re- sults of, 124, 125; Congressional, 1888, 127, 128; of 1889, 129, 130; national, of 1888, results, 131; of 1890, 131; of 1893, 131; national, of 1892, 131; of 1893, 132; of 1896 and of 1897, 134; national, of 1896, 135; of 1900, vote on calling constitutional convention, 148, 149. Election, laws, Federal, repealed, 132. Election frauds, 132, 134, 145, 146. Elective franchise, in Constitution of 1868 amended, 92; reports on, 152, 153; Article II, Constitution of 1902, 154-159. Elective franchise and qualification for office, committee on, Con- stitutional Conventon of 1901-1902, 152. Evans, James P., 89 n. Evening Journal, Richmond, quoted, 75. Fernald, W. L., Readjuster, 111 n.; speech of, to negroes, 120 n. Fifteenth Amendment, ratified by legislature, 79. Fletcher, Governor, and New Movement, 65 n. Foraker, J. B., Speaks in Virginia, 1885, 124. Force Bill, 130, 131, 132. Fourteenth Amendment, rejected by legislature, 25, 26; ratified by legislature, 79. Fourth Congressional District, in election of 1883, 122, 122 n.; elec- tion of 1888, 127; counties included in, population of, 1888, 127 n.; 131. Freedmen, vagrant, 19, 20, 21. Freedmen's Bureau, established in Virginia, 31. Fultz, David, and campaign of 1873, 86. Funders, 106, 107; and Democratic party, 110; compromise with Re- adjusters, 117, 118, 122. INDEX 191 Funding Act, 1871, 83; condemned hy Republicans. 84; unsatisfactory, 98; and State finances, 101, 102. Garfield, James A., 112. General Assembly. See Legislature Georgia. 1.31. Gerrymander, 82; attempted by Malione, 115; by Democrats. 123. Gibson, Eustace, in Constitutional Convention of 1867-1868. 51. Glass, Carter, and Convention of 1901-1902. Gold Democrats, 134, 135. Goode, John, election of 1874, 00 n.; Cbairman of the Constitutional Convention of 1901-1002. 151. Grandfather clause in Constitution of 1002. l.")4 n.. 159. Grange movement, 103. Grant, U. S., General Schofield's letter to. 57; and Committer' of Nine, 69; submits Constitution of 1868 to people, sets date of election, 1869, 69, 74; 88. Greely, Horace, speaks in Richmond, 39 n.; aids Committee of N'ine. 67; fails to win State in 1872, 85. Gregg, General, and vagrant freedment, 19. Griggs, N. M., 130 n. Hale. Peyton G., and Big Four, 114 n. Harrison. Benjamin. 130. Harris, Dr. J. D., in campaign of 1860. Hatton, Goodrich. 154 n. Hawxhurst. John. 39 n.; and Republican convention of .\ugust 1, 1867, 41; and Constitutional Convention of 1867-1868. 51. 53; 62, 70. Hayes. President R. B., 06 n. Haygood, Atticus G., quoted. 137 n. Henry, Patrick, views on slavery, 11. Hodges. William A., in Constitutional Convention of 1867- isr.^. 51. 51 n.. 52. Hoge, Moses D., letter to Dabney. 23 n. Holliday, F. W. M., elected Governor, opposes Mahonc. 10'! : carl/ life. 103 n.; Funder, 106; vetoes Riddlehcrper Bill. 10<. Holmes, James R.. killed. 145. Hoss. E. E.. quoted, 137 n. Hughes. Robert W.. and campaign of 1873. 86. Hunnicutt. James W.. and convention at Philadelphia, former career. 25. 25 n.; speech in African Church convention. :!4; an estimate of, 34; victory over conservative faction of Republican party. .39. 39 n., 40; speech before convention of .August i. 1867. 40. 41; 43; speech and arrest. 46. 46 n.; advises further disfranchisement of whites, 55, 55 n.; 62; in campaign of 1869. 70. Hunter. R. M. T., 47. 192 INDEX Illinois, legislation of, against negroes, 16 n. Inaction, Whig and Dispatch advise Virginians against, 26; advised by Republican leaders, llil. Independents, elected to legislature, 1877, 96. JeflFerson, Thomas, views on slavery, 11. Johnson, Andrew, 15; 17. Johnson, Bradley T., 144 n. Johnson, James F., Committee of Nine, 06. Johnson, Marmaduke, speech before negro committee. 1867, 32; and New Movement, 65 n. Johnson, Solon, 32. Johnston, Joseph E., 96 n. Judges, changes regarding, in Constitution of 1868, 59; character of those appointed by Readjusters, 108. Kemper, James L., in campaign of 1873, 86; quoted, 90, 90 n., 99 n.; and State debt, 101, 102. Langston, John W., campaign of 1888, 128; 137. Lee. FitzHugh, elected Governor, 1885, 124. Legislature, of 1865, and State debt, 13, 181; of 1865 and vagrant freedmen, 19, 20, 21, and slavery, 21; of 1869, recognized by Fed- eral government, 79; of 1869, personnel of, 77, 78; of 1869, ratifies Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, 79; of 1871, personnel of, 84, 84 n.; of 1873, personnel of, 85; of 1881, personnel of, 112; of 1882, personnel of, 114; of 1883, 121, 122, 122 n.; of 1883, laws of, undoing Mahoneism, 123; of 1889, personnel of, 129, 130; of 1891, personnel of, 131; of 1893, personnel of, 132. Lewis, John F., and campaign of 1869, 72, 77; lieutenant-governor, 1881, 112. Lindsay, Lewis, advocates social and political equality for races, 40; 43; 51; in Constitutional Convention of 1867-1868, 52, 56; in cam- paign of 1869, 72. Local governments, new system of, established, 82; number of offi- cers in, reduced, 92; system of, changed by constitutional amend- ment, 94. Lodge, H. C, Force Bill. 130. Lybrook, A. M., 114 n. Lynching, some causes of, 128, 129; account of, 136-140. McCulIoch, Hugh, and State debt, 102; and McCuUoch Act, 103 n. McCulloch Act, 103, 103 n., 104, 105. McFarland, William H., speech before negro committee, 32. McIIwaine, R. H., 154 n., 155. McKinney, Philip, elected Governor, 129; opposes lynching, 139. Mahone, William, in campaign of 1869, 70; and campaign of 1873, 86; and Readjuster Movement, 97; and Readjuster party, 103, INDKX 193 104, 105, 106; and the appointment of judges. 108; elected to United States Senate, 109; and Republican party, 109; joins Re- publicans in Senate, 1881, 110; refuses to join Funders in na- tional politics, 110; sends caucus pledge. 111; defeats Masscy's nomination for governor, 112; aided by Republicans, 112; at- tempts to win back Massey, 114; legislation attempted by, 115, 116; 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 12:5; and campaign of 1985, 124, 125; political methods of, 126; end of political career of, 129; 134; 137; 149; 161. Mohoneism, undoing of, 123. Mahoneites. 116. Marye, John L., Jr., a Conservative leader in Constitutional Conven- tion of 1867-1868, 51; 54; candidate, 1868, 62 n.; and Committee of Nine, 66. Massey, John E., and Rcadjuster Movement, 104, 106; as campaigner, 106; breaks with Mahone, 111, 114; and Big Four, 114; joins Anti-Mahoneites, campaign of 1882, 117. Maury, Matthew F., discusses emigration after war, 23 n. Missouri, 131. Morissey, James, 43. Mozart Hall, convention in, 104. Murphy, Edgar Gardner, quoted, 161. Murray, George Washington, quoted, 160. Nation, quoted. 87, 107 n., 158. Neeson, James, and Committee of Nine, 66. Negroes, number in Virginia, 1865 and 1902, in Massachusetts. 5; and suffrage in the North before 1865, 12; enfranchised in the Dis- trict of Columbia, disfranchised later, 13, 14; legislation in Illi- nois against, 16 n.; relations with whites, 1865-1867. 21; first at- tempt of, to vote in Virginia, 27; suffrage and the North. 29; tcg- istrants, 1867, 30; enfranchised in 1867, 31; invite whites to con- ference, 32; and African Church convention, in Capitol Square mass convention, advocate confiscation of "rebel" property, 35; serve on jury in Virginia for first time. 36, 36 n.; and street '•ars, 36; as petty jurors. 37. 37 n.; riots in 1867. 36. 38. 39 n.; and poli- tics, 42, 43; voters, 44; conservative convention advocates con- trol of, 47; delegates in Constitutional Convention of 1867-1868, 50 n.; enfranchisement discussed. 53. 54. 55; unqualified enfran- chisement of. in constitution of 1868. 55; early opinion cf grant- ing suffrage to. in North. 63. 63 n.; suffrage to. proposed by A. H. H. Stuart, 64, 65; resolution* regarding suffrage to. in con- vention of December 31, 1869. 67 n.; suppor Wells. 71: membcr. and 1902, compared with that of other states, 5; before War of Secession. 11; of North Car- olina, 1890, 142. Populists, 131; in Virginia. i:i2; in North Carolina. Hi.'; 14'.«. Porter, Charles H.. ")1. Post, Washington, quoted, 125 n. Prince Edward County, 45; vote of, on calling Constitutional Con- vention of J'JOl-1902, 148 n. Public schools, mixed, debate on, :>2; in Constitution of 1868, 59 n.; inaugurated, in Virginia, 82; 85; advocated by Conservatives, 87. Race friction, caused by political agitation, 6; causes of. 22; in cam- paign of 18()7, 46; increase of, 126; 127; 135. Race problem, in Virginia, 1865 and 1902, 5; proportional to density of negro population, 5; before the War of Secession. 11; at '»nd of War of Secession, 12. Radicals, 43, 43 n.; win in 1867, 44; in Constitutional Convention of 1867-1868, 51; attempt to disfranchise whites, 55; candidates, 1868, 62; convention of, November, 1869, 79; protest to Congress over Conservative victory, 79, 80; lose control in State, menace in local governments, 81; elected to Congress, 1872, 85. Railroads, owned by State sold. 82. Rape, and lynchings. 136-140. Raulston, Col. carpetbagger. 120. Readjuster Movement, causes of, 85; and negro vote. 97; account of 98 fT. ; two phases of. significance of, 125. Readjusters. and poll tax, 92 n.; opposed by Governor Holliday, i0.1; convention of, at Mozart Hall, 104 fF.; in legislature, 1879. 107; judges, 108; wholesale removal of officers by, 108, 109; party of, and Republican party, 109. 110; party of, changes into Mahonc's party. 111; and election of 1881. 112; and state debt, 113, 114; in legislature. 1882, 114; elected to Congress. 1882. 115; legislation enacted by, 116; and Republican party. 123. 124; 161. Reconstruction, Committee in Congress investigates conditions in Virginia, 21; Acts of March 2 and March 23, 26, 27; beginning of. 27; registration under, disfranchise whites. tO; ,'?: undoing of. 91; 96. Registrants, number of, 1867. 30. Registration officers, chosen by Schofield. 28. Republicans, form Union Association of Alexandria, advocote ne- gro suffrage, 17; party of, only party in Virginia. 1867. 31; radi- calism of, in Virginia, 34; attempt to create morlorate party. 34; Radical convention of, at African Church an ' in Capitol Square. 35; convention of, April 17, 1867, separate convention of conserv- ative. 39; compromise meeting, factions of. 39; convention of. August 1, 1867. 40. 41; 42; 43; 43 n.; Radical, attempt to di«- 196 INDEX franchise whites, 55; party of, 61, 62; Radical, candidates, 1868, 62; adopt universal negro suffrage, 63; Radical convention of, 71, 72; moderate, revolt, 72; Radical convention of, 79; Radical, appeal to Congress, 79, 80; lose control of State government, a menace in local governments, 81; vote on Funding Bill, 83; con- vention and platform of, 1871, 84; elected to Congress, 1870, 84; in legiskture, 1871, 84, 84 n.; elected to Congress, 1872, 85; Rad- ical convention of, July 30, 86; lose power, 88; defeated, 1873, 89; members of legislature, election 1879, 96; Congressional elec- tion of 1878, 96; Mahone's party adopts name of, 124; win in na- tional elections, deadlock broken, elections in Virginia, 1888, 127; divide, 129; attempt to regain South, 130; in elections of 1890, 1891, 1893, 131; in Southwest, 134, 135; and elections of 1896 and 1897, 134, 135; in North Carolina, 142; oppose constitutional convention, 148; in Southwest, 149; in Constitutional Conven- tion of 1901-1902, 151; in Southwest, 152; vote on Constitution of 1902, 157, 157 n. See also Radicals. Restored Government of Virginia, established, moved to Alexan- dria, 15. Review of Reviews, quoted, 159. Richmond, succeeds Alexandria as Radical center, 37; convention of August 1, 1867 in, 40; election returns from, 1867, 45. Riddleberger, H. H., elected to United States Senate, 109; joins Re- publicans, 110. Riddleberger Bill enacted, nature of, 114; Riddleberger Act, 117. Riddlebergers, 114. Riot, those of 1867, 36, 37; in Danville. 119, 120. 121; in Roanoke, 139; in Wilmington, N. C, 142-144. Roanoke, riot in, 139. Robertson, Wyndham, and Committee of Nine, 66. Royall, William L., quoted, 85; attorney for bondholders. 113 n. Ruffner, W. H., first State Superintendent of Public Instruction, 82; quoted, 88, 89; and poll tax requirement, 93; removed from of- fice by Readjusters, 109. Rumsdell. C. P.. and campaign of 1873, 86. Scalawag, 42; 43 n.; 49. Schofield, John M., advises Virginia to adopt Fourteenth Amend- ment, 26 n.; military governor of District Number 1, 27; disperses negro mob, 38; re-opens polls, 1867, 44; and Constitutional Con- vention of 1867, 55; and Constitution of 1868, 55, 56, 57 n., 59, 61, 62. Schools. See Public schools. Secret ballot, Kemper on, 91 n. Senate, United States, and Readjuster senators, 110. Senex, article appears, 64. ixDKx 197 Sherman. John, speaks in Virginia, 124, 124 n. Slaughter, J. F., and Committee of Xine, tjt). Slaughter House cases, 88. Slave trade, opposed by Virginia. 11. Slavery, Virginia's attitude towards, 11, 12; problem in Virginia prior to War of Secession, 11, 12; resolution of legislature con- cerning, 21. Smith, Gerritt, speaks in Riclimond. .;<) n. Smith, George S., 22. Snead, Edward, and Constitutional Convention of 18G7-186H, .')1; op- poses clauses in Constitution of 18158, US. South Carolina, i;U. Spain, effect of war with, 1;J2. State debt, resolution of legislature about, 1866, 18, 81; begini.ing of, 81; and Funding Act, 83; State defaults in interest on, 83; before 1879, 98; bondholders meeting, 1874, 102; and McCulloch Act, 103, 104, 105; and Readjuster convention in Mozart Hall, 104; and Riddleberger Bill, 107. 114; and Coupon Killers, 113, 114; and politics, 116, 117; settlement of, accepted by Conservative (Democratic) party, 117, 118; 132. Stearnes, Franklin, 43, 67, 68. Stevens, Thaddeus, desires to punish South, 28; 3.'5. Stoneman, General, succeeds Schofield, opinion of Constitution of 1868, 59, 59 n., 60; succeeded by Canby, 74. Stowell, William H. H.. elected to Congress, 90. Stuart, Alexander H. H.. chairman of Conservative convention of December 11, 1867. address to convention. 47; writes Scnex arti- cle, and begins Xew Movement. ()4; and Committee of Nine. 66; and election of 1869. 74. Suffrage, in District of Columbia and in Xorthern States, l.l, 14. 17, 29; negro, opposed by Republicans. 15, 16; discussed in Conven- tion of 1867-1868, 55; early Northern view of, 63, 63 n.; adopted by Republican party, 64; advocated in Senex article, 64, 6.'»; res- olutions of convention of December 31, 1869, 67 n. Sutherland, W. T., and Committee of Nine, 66. Tanner, William E., 114 n. Tax. poll, 92, 92 n., 93, 155, 156. 157, 158. Taylor, J. C, and campaign of 1869, 72, 77. Tennessee, 131. Terry, Major-General, annuls vagrancy law. 21. Test oath, in Constitution of 1868, 57, 57 n., 60, 69. 80. Thorn, A. P., and Constitutional Convention of 1901-1902, 153. Thomas, Judge, 24. Tidewater, section of Virginia, majority of negroes in Piedmont and, 5. 198 INDEX Times, New York, aids Committee of Nine 67n.; quoted, 109 n. Times, Richmond, 134. Township, system, introduced in Constitution of 1868, 59; name changed to "county," 91. Tribune, Chicago, 67 n. Tribune, New York, quoted, 34; 67 n. Tucker, John Randolph, Funder, 106. Tyler, Hoge, opposes lynching, 140. Unconditional Union Convention meets at Alexandria, resolutions of, 23. Understanding clause in Constitution of 1902, 153, 154, 154 n. Underwood, John C, early activities in Virginia, 24; presides at Fed- eral Circuit Court, Richmond, 1867, 36; charge to jury, 36, 36 n.; 43; chairman of Constitutional Convention of 1867-1868, 51; in Constitutional Convention of 1867-1868, 54. Underwood Convention. See Constitutional Convention of 186/-1868. Union League, organized in Virginia, 31; 42; and campaign of 1869, 77. Usury clause in Constitution of 1868, 85 n. Vagrancy laws, effect on North of, 17. Vagrants, menace to State, laws concerning, 19, 20, 21. Van Auken, J. H., testifies before Reconstruction Committee, 128 n. Venable, Edward C, opposed by Langston, 127. Virginia, population of, by races, 1865 and 1902, 5; attitude towards politics prior to 1861, 6; attitude towards slavery, 11, 12; growth of anti-slavery feeling in, 11, 12; enters War of Secession, 12; Constitution of 1864, 15; Restored Government of, 1861, 15; be- comes Military District Number 1. 27; condition of, after war, 28 n.; registration in, 1867, 30; admitted to Union, 80; financial condition of, 1875, 85; credit of. 98, 99 n.; economic and finan- cial condition of. 98 ff. ; decrease in realty values in, 100; annual State revenue and expenditures, 100, 101, 101 n.; statistics of, 128 n.; separate cars for races in, 141; new constitution pro- claimed. 1902, 155. Virginia Union Association, 70 n. Walker. James A., candidate. 1868. 62 n. Walker, Gilbert C, .'Kids Committee of Nine, 68; in campaign of 1869, 72; elected governor. 77; 78; and State debt, 82; sells State railroads, 82; and Conservative convention. 1871, 84; and State debt, 98, 99, 100. Walton law, 145. Warner, Charles Dudley, views on negro education, 159. Washington, Booker T., negro leader, 160; quoted, 160, 161. Watson, Dr., 25. Watson, Walter A., and Constitutional Convention of 1901-1902, 155. iNi)i:x 199 Wells, H. H., temporary governor of Virginia, candidate, 1868, 62. 02 n.; before Reconstruction Committee, G«; candidate, campaign of 18f)9, 70, 71, 72, 7.'{, 74; resigns governor's chair, 7y. West Virginia, formation of, 15; share of State debt in McCulloch Act, 104, 105; and State debt, 105. Wheeling, W. Va., legislature of Restored Government meets at. 15. Pi'liig, Richmond, sides with Readjusters. lOO; quoted, 115 White, David B., 51. Wickham, W. C, Kunder, lOO. Williams, B. K., and Big P'our. 114 n. Williams, John Sharp, and negro question, 162. \\'ilniington, N. C, race riots in, 142-144. Wilson, Senator, visits Virginia, 34. Wise, Henry A., opposes New Movement, t)5 n. Wise, John S., Readjuster, 106; elected to Congress, 1882, 117; and campaign of 1885, 124; leaves Mahone, 129. Withers, R. E., candidate, 1868. 62; in campaign of 1873. 86; United States senator, 89 n. Wysor, J. C, and franchise article in Constitution of 1902, 151 C> * o . o ' .0' .^ > ' ^^r. /^ .'c^^^'a:^ ^. .,. .0 > .. A \- "•--.^^ ,V , o ■ • , * -of : ^^s^S . '^ ^ \ '-*t^^,* "^0^ .•^<^^ • .V '^/^ N.MANCHESTER INDIANA -*''^^'*'♦