(Content warning: This article covers topics of murder, terrorism and sexual assault.)
Today’s issue is my latest chapter in my series on Reconstruction in Florida; looking at the period after the Civil War where Black Floridians were able to exercise political power. My last issue looked at the early period of Congressional Reconstruction in Florida. With the 1867 Reconstruction Acts, military rule came to the former confederate states. Florida was re-organized and the military began the process of registering the freedmen to vote in elections. A new state constitution was passed in 1868 and Republicans won the May state elections, electing Harrison Reed as Governor.
That issue delved into the Republican factionalism that drove much of 1868. Moderate Republicans, largely white carpetbaggers, stopped more radical members, who had the support of the newly freed slaves, from winning control of the Republican Party. After the moderate faction under Reed won control for the party, Black voters were left with no choice but to support the administration, lest white Democratic rule take hold in the state and suppress their new rights.
This next article will look further into the Republican divisions. However, those internal fights came amid a massive wave of Klan violence; which will be the focus of today’s article. With the initial round of elections over and military presence in the state scaling down, the rage of the native white population would explode. This would make upcoming elections a life or death battle for the newly freed slaves.
Lets dive in.
The Rise of White Violence
In my first article in this series, Part 0: Dynamics of Reconstruction, I discussed how Florida reconstruction was marred by violent threats and intimidation from the very beginning. Early proto-Klan activities rose in Florida by 1867 or 1868. Even before this time, violence against the newly freed slaves was a major issue. However, things took on a more organized and damaging effect in the times following the 1868 State elections. This marked the rise of organized white attacks. Sometimes these people were known as the Klan, other times known as “regulators.”
As these Klan and regulator attacks would play out, much of the white population not directly involved would enter a code of silence. Rarely were the perpetrators able to be tracked down and rarely would juries actually convict someone caught. Even as white citizens would write letters to Democrat-friendly press “deploring the violence”, they covered for instigators and instead blamed Republican carpetbaggers for the trouble.
The goal of this violence was simple. Throw off Republican rule and restore Black citizens to a state similar to slaves.
Violence for Politics
In the original 1867 and 1868 elections, violence was present but more contained by the presence of federal troops. Many whites, meanwhile, opted to boycott the elections or target their efforts to assorted candidates. However, this argument from Ralph L. Peek in an article on the end of military reconstruction I think best lays out what was to come.
It seems that the Conservatives (Democrats) concluded that the only way to defeat the Republicans was by physical force and violence. The evidence also seems to indicate that rage and frustration created a recklessness within Conservative ranks that disdained consequences and risk, and invited a total war between the races. They regarded the Negro as less than human and the fact that Republican power in Florida rested squarely upon the Negro vote made them hate Republicans as well as Negroes. Subsequent events seem to confirm these conclusions.
Violence would boil up in the aftermath of those 1868 elections thanks to the removal of federal troops. Initially, Governor Harris Reed pleaded for troops to remain in the state, pointing out that no state militia was in strong form to repel attacks. The state was also under heavy Klan influence, as railroad and telegraph managers had Klan ties, leading to easy tracking of Republican officials. This culminated with Klan members stealing weapons that the state government had purchased for a militia. It was well understood that military presence was the only thing keeping white violence from breaking out against the Black population.
Florida military commander John Sprauge agreed that to leave would risk the state falling into the hands of the Klan. However, General George Meade, who ran the military district of Florida, Alabama, and George, dismissed this and pulled troops out at the end of the year. Meade was notably more conservative and in line with lame duck President Andrew Johnson. It would not be until Ulysses S. Grant was sworn in as President in March 1869 that the freedmen would have a more sympathetic ear in DC.
Reed’s please for help, however, we also undercut by his own actions. Many Black men were reading and willing to form militias to help protect their newly won freedom. However, Reed resisted these efforts, insisting it would only rile the population up even more. The merit of this is debatable, and if you read my last issue its much easier to see it as Reed just being the hardened racist that he was. Regardless of this sentiment, many Black citizens were not willing to be intimidated by white violence. At a Republican Party meeting in Leon County in 1868, one Black attendee (no clear name given) stated
“I understand the Ku Klux are here. If so, let them come on. We are armed and ready for them”
This bravery was unfortunately not able to stop the wave of death to come as anarchy began to rein in much of Florida.
Assassinations and Terror
Even before most troops left Florida, political assassinations in late 1868 became a major issues in Florida. Republican leaders, especially any emerging Black leaders, were targeted for death or exile.
This was not only a political tactic to tilt elections, but to demoralize the newly freed Black population. The killing of leaders was often part of broader demoralizing efforts; where night riders would go through the county making threats and warning Black citizens to remember it was a “white man’s country.” This terror campaign was perfectly seen in the 1874 Thomas Nast cartoon on Klan violence.
The deprivation of Black leaders was a major tactic employed by white regulators. Just some of these major assignations include Randal Coleman, a Black Republican leader in Madison County, or Timothy Francis, a Black leader in Columbia County. Columbia County saw a rash of Black murders through just 1868 to 1871; decapitating Republican leadership in the county.
Being an elected official did not make you any safer. In Lafayette County, John Kreminger, a white southern unionists that served in the state legislature and as a county judge, was murdered. Jacob Yearty, a State Representative for Calhoun County and the sheriff at the time, was murdered by the Klan in an ambush on a backroad. The same followed for Judge Archibald Carraway, a judge in Calhoun. In Jackson County, Calvin Rodgers, an elected Black constable, was gunned down. Also in Jackson County, Black State Representative Emanuel Fortune was forced to flee the county at risk of death.
No county had more murders than Jackson, which over just a two year period saw between 80 and 150 targeted murders, making it one of the most violent in the country and the most violent in Florida. The story of Jackson County is best covered in this book: The Jackson County War. If I were to tell you to read one book on reconstruction Florida, I would say pick that one. It gives you a broad Florida-wide picture but also localizes the terror.
Jackson was the site of the first Jewish murder by the Klan in Florida, when Samuel Fleischman, a longtime merchant, was murdered for his support of Black rights. Future Congressman William Purman, at the time a State Senator, was nearly killed in 1869 on the streets of Marianna when several men opened fire. While he survived the shooting, his colleague, Republican and southern local John L. Finlayson was killed. At the time Finlayson was also the Clerk of Court for the county and the most prominent doctor in the region. His replacement was John Q. Dickinson, a Vermont native who’d come to Florida as part of the Union Army. By 1871, Dickinson was the last white Republican in Jackson County, and in letters he predicted his eventual death. He was indeed gunned down on April 3rd.
Violence ranged by county. Jackson was the most violent, while Madison followed in 2nd. However, though all the counties with large Black populations, intimidation was a major tool. Leon County, for example, had less murders, but that was because its white mob, officially the known as “The Young Men’s Democratic Club” was under the rule of Joseph Williams, a former lawmakers and former Speaker of the Florida House. Williams, a large plantation owner before and after the war, was tactical in how he used his men; not allowing for random murders and instead the implicit threat of violence. People like Williams did this NOT because they cared about anyone’s life, but rather people like Williams did not want to lose their economic standing. More aggressive violence was seen in places like Jackson because it was led by younger and less-established men who reveled in the rough-neck lifestyle.
Regardless of of it was targeted assignations, mob violence, or quieter intimidation, the sentiment was the same. That sentiment was summed up in the (as best I can tell anonymous) sentiment of a prominent regulator….
The damned Republican Party has put niggers in to rule us, and we will not suffer it . . . intelligence shall rule the country instead of the majority . . . this is a white man’s government . . . [and] the colored man . . . [has] no right that white men . . . [are] bound to respect.’’
I highlight the line “intelligence shall rule the country instead of the majority” because it is a common line, albeit with different language or tone, you still see from the many of the far-right today. Of course their definition of intelligence is how light your skin is.
Terror for Economic Reasons
While this series is focused on political dynamics in Florida, I also want to highlight that terror was not just used for politics. Another common use of violence was for economic purposes.
The only thing that infuriated the native white population more than Black voting was Black economic independence. Many freedmen had gone into what would be known as “Sharecropping” in the immediate time after the war. This system, if the contract was just and fair, wasn’t a terrible idea in the early post-war period; a time when hard currency was rare and banking was shaky. Many Freedmen’s Bureau agents supported it. However, bad deals and cheating by the plantation owners, something that became a major theme in the Jim Crow era, made the system its own version of slavery.
When Black locals were able to, they purchased land to start their own farms. Some of them were able to set up their own shops, moving away from agriculture altogether. This was unacceptable to many white regulators, who punished Black families for daring to leave the plantation. Attacks on Black households was a common Klan tactic.
One example of this terror was the case of the Tutson family in Clay County. Samuel Tutson, a former slave, had purchased his own farm land. One night, the Klan ransacked his house, violently beat him, and his wife, Hannah, was sexually assaulted. By a miracle, they did not die, but their baby was severely beaten and grew up with physical and intellectual disabilities as a result. They were ordered to leave their farm and go back to sharecropping. The final insults came after the attack. The perpetrators were arrested but were quickly acquitted by an all white jury. Then Samuel and Hannah were charged and convicted for perjury.
This was the monstrosity and horror of Klan violence that existed across the south. It was these conditions that Black voters fought and struggled to maintain their access to the ballot.
The 1870 Midterm Elections
The rise of white violence in Florida came as Florida was looking ahead to the 1870 midterm elections. Republicans not only had to defend the State Legislature, but races for Congress and Lt Governor would be going on. It was clear to everyone that the goal of white regulators was to stop Black voting as much as possible and to sweep the elections.
Republican leaders worried about intimidation in Florida’s heavily populated, majority-Black counties in the north end of the state. The 1870 Census showed the population was nearly evenly split, but the old plantation counties had massive Black populations that were core for Republican wins.
As everyone worried about efforts to intimidate Black voters in these large counties, the Republican Party itself was bitterly divided.
Republican Divisions
While violence raged in Florida, Republicans that ran the state had to try and come together for the elections. Unfortunately, the party was in a bitter power struggle between Governor Harris Reed and US Senator Thomas Osborne. Both men had been united as moderates in the 1868 Convention, but broke quickly after the May elections that year. This power struggle came into full view in the 1870 August Republican convention to decide nominees for statewide office.
The race for Congress was the major driver at the convention. Incumbent Charles Hamilton was vulnerable for re-nomination. Many Black leaders wanted a proper seat at the table, and the nomination for Congress was a major driver. Hamilton had also burned his bridges with Senator Osborne, once an ally. Osborne backed Robert Meacham, a freedman native to Florida.
Several additional Black candidates ran, including Charles Pearce, Josiah Walls, and Jonathan Gibbs. The Black vote remained divided, and many Black leaders did not trust Osborne, and hence did not trust Meacham. As balloting went on, Black delegates slowly rallied around Josiah Walls; who at the time was the State Senator for Alachua county. Hamilton, recognizing he could not win, but wanting to stop Osborne and Meacham, threw his support to Walls, who cliched the nomination.
Upon the nomination going to Walls, Jonathan Gibbs stated…
“Not only a vindication of the honor of the Republican Party, but also a marked Triumph for the Negro race of Florida. This was the great point sought after and gained.”
While Josiah Walls was not a native Floridian, he was also not a “carpetbagger” in the classic sense. He had been born into slavery in Virginia and joined the union army. He originally came to Florida as part of the military and became a teacher in Alachua before getting involved in politics. His nomination did effect the choice for Lt Governor, however. Several Republicans believed that the needed someone who’d been in Florida before the war. They nominated Samuel Day, who was a southern unionist from Columbia County. Day secured the nomination with a large block of Black delegates.
The Republican ticket went into the general election against the democratic nominees. For Congress, Democrats nominated Silas Niblack and for Lt Governor the nominee was William Bloxham. Both of these men would benefit greatly from the violence to come.
A Violent General Election
The weeks and months of the summer warned of a violent election. Reports came in across the state of a ramping up of attacks and intimidation. Black voters in many counties, including Columbia, Suwannee, and Jackson were warned not to vote on election day. In August, Governor Reed warned that such threats would be met with militias if they did not cease their threats
“The seditious teachings of an unprincipled press and the treasonable appeals of prominent opponents of the State government are being responded to in several of the counties by the re-organization of bands of outlaws known as Ku Klux”
The “unprincipled press” referenced was newspapers like "The Weekly Floridian” - a Democratic paper that spent much of 1870 making excuses for murders (claiming they were for private disputes - not politics) and denying claims of threats to Black voters.
Violence continued to ramp up in the fall. Columbia continued to be a hotbed of attacks, with prominent Black Republican Robert Jones gunned down as he returned from the state convention. The Columbia Sheriff, Robert Martin, resigned in October after he was taken hostage by regulators who demanded he leave the post. US Marshalls recognized the trouble and tried to find men they could deputize to keep order in the election, but few wanted to sign up for such a dangerous job.
In Alachua County, a Republican rally of Black voters was attacked by white Klan members; who fired on the crowd and at least one Black man was stabbed to death. Meanwhile, the county’s Republican leader, Leonard Dennis, was nearly killed by the Klan and barely escaped.
Washington promised the Republican Party that troops were coming into several key counties; including Hamilton, Jackson, and Columbia, to ensure order. However, some of these arrived late and were not nearly enough to stem the tide.
Election Day Violence
The fears of Black voters came to pass in several counties on election day. Targeted efforts to dissuade Republicans from casting ballots were reported across several counties with large Black population. Detailed reports include
Columbia County - horse-riding regulators stormed a Black gathering in Lake City at a church the night before the election. They threatened the crowd, which had traveled into town to vote the next day. Many fled the city and did not get to vote.
Gadsden County - The Quincy voting site was guarded by armed white men, led by former acting Governor Abraham Allison. They refused to let Black voters come and cast their ballots
Jackson County - The voting site in Marianna was constantly accosted by white regulators. The presence of some stationed troops allowed many votes to still be cast, but the chaos that unfolded in the afternoon led to the polls closing early and hundreds of Black voters not getting to cast ballots.
Jefferson County - In the late afternoon, a mob of armed white men sought to stop any more Black ballots from being cast. Klan members from George had made there way to Monticello to aid this effort. The Black population responded with their won armed showing, and a standoff was eventually broken by the George whites fleeing. However, the delays led to several hundred Black voters being unable to cast ballots.
These were some of the most high profile moments reported, namely major clashes at polling sites. However, it cannot be stressed enough that the weeks and months of warnings and violence led to many never even attempting to make it to the polls on election day. Voting was not private and intimidation could be brazen, like we saw in the above counties, or more subtle.
The Disputed Returns
With all of the violence and with the fact that it took weeks for returns to be fully accounted for, Florida remained a very tense state after the polls closed. Early data indicated the results would be close, but Democrats believed they were likely to prevail. If they did not, the worry of an armed insurrection became so real that President Grant ordered four companies of soldiers to arrive in Tallahassee to protect the process. Grant was able to do this thanks to the 1870 Enforcement Act, which allowed the President to deploy the military to safeguard election procedures.
Depending on your sources, there is no shortage of estimate totals for these races. The Republican-led canvassing board scrutinized and threw out counts in several counties and precincts. Where some of these decisions on the up and up? Yes. Were some decisions made for partisan reasons? Also yes. When the canvassing board indicated that both Republicans Walls and Day had won by 600 or so ballots, this was not a reflection of the total returns. It only came with removing the ballots in several counties and precincts. However, I want you to remember, and I will delve into this more in a moment, that these races would not have been so close if not for the violence of election day. Several hundred Black voters were kept from the polls - which for sure would have secured Republican victory.
Here, for example, is the official returns for the Congressional Contest, which gave Josiah Walls a 600 vote lead. The counties in italics in the table were not officially counted in these returns.
Meanwhile, the returns from the Weekly Floridian, which was a firm Democratic paper, pointed to neck and neck races for both office. Their totals for Lt Governor had Bloxham winning by just a handful of votes.
The county returns, regardless of which were counted or not and if a few precincts were removed here or there, reflected an incredibly polarized state. The heavily Black counties provided the key block of Republican ballots, while the heavily white counties were firmly Democratic.
The effect of the violence in the Black counties had a clear effect. In the ten most heavily Black counties, 2200 fewer Republican ballots were cast. Democrats, thanks to their registration drives, also managed to up their total ballots by a similar number; leading to the Republicans losing ground by 4000 ballots JUST in these counties.
There were very few who voted Republican in 1868 that then switched Democratic in 1870. These swings were a result of dropping vote share among the Black voters due to violence and warnings, not people flipping in partisan support over the last two years.
Republicans were able to certify Walls and Day as the winners, whatever the true “count” was. However, both losing candidates challenged these results and eventually won in the courts. Bloxham, however, would not be declared the winner until 1872, at which point Day had already presided over the final State Senate session. Niblack would eventually be declared the winner, but not until 1873, just weeks before the term ended. Walls served in the house until then and would be running against Niblack in 1872 for a rematch.
A similar dynamic played out with the state legislature. If all returns had been counted as they were, Democrats would have narrowly won the House and tied the Senate. These results, however, had come with that same violence. Democrats, for example, flipped two of Jackson County’s house seats thanks to violence. The canvassing board rejected returns and a narrow Republican majority was maintained. You can read more about the counting back and forth and court challenges in the second half of this article on the 1870 contests.
Final Notes
Republicans managed to maintain control of the state Government, future lawsuits aside. This came almost surely tricks in how to count the votes. However, this was also in response to mass waves of violence that kept Black people from the polls. It is not remotely in doubt to me that a fair vote would have produced Walls and Day victories. That would be shown in the 1872 contests, which came after expanded federal protections for voters.
The close call also made Republicans realize they had to try and united heading into the 1872 Contests. If they did not, they risked Democratic victory, would for sure would spell the end of Black political influence in the state.
This is important information and structurally well written, but it would benefit from a run through a grammar checker.