It is often assumed that the end of Reconstruction signaled the beginning of the repressive regime that came to be known as Jim Crow. But the process of dispossession and disenfranchisement actually unfolded over several decades. African-Americans in Texas continued to be politically active until the turn of the 20th century. The “black and tans” or “tints,” as they were referred to in the press, played a key role in the Texas gubernatorial election of 1892, confounding expectations and demonstrating that when afforded the opportunity, they would use the ballot to advance their own interests. The election was supposed to hinge on the free issue of silver. The “gold bug” candidate thought he had sewn up the crucial African-American vote by securing the endorsement of the state’s black political boss. But the incumbent, Jim Hogg, turned the election into a referendum on lynching, describing in graphic detail in a stump speech the torture of a lynching victim, and pledging that the perpetrators would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Once it became clear that Hogg’s appeal was reaching African-American voters, his opponent began to characterize the contest as one about protecting white Texas women from the supposed depredations of black “brutes.” When he lost, he blamed the treachery of African-American voters he thought he had bought. In fact, this demonstration of black voters’ independence spurred efforts to keep them from the polls, both through intimidation and legislative maneuvers such as the poll tax and white primary.
This paper uses newspaper accounts and Census and election data to show that African Americans’ political might as leading to their eventual disfranchisement.
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