The Risen Phoenix by Luis-Alejandro Dinnella-Borrego

Author:Luis-Alejandro Dinnella-Borrego [Dinnella-Borrego, Luis-Alejandro]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Ethnic Studies, American, African American & Black Studies
ISBN: 9780813938738
Google: wpuBCwAAQBAJ
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
Published: 2016-07-11T05:47:35+00:00

Congressman George Henry White of North Carolina. (Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-44956)

Two major developments had a significant impact on White’s political fortunes during the 1890s: the change in the composition of the district and the emergence of the Populist Party in North Carolina. Though blacks retained a majority in the Second District, that majority decreased somewhat by 1890, thanks to the efforts of the North Carolina General Assembly, which moved three black-majority counties (Jones, Vance, and Craven) out of the district. Vance County was home to the current black congressman from the Second District, Henry Plummer Cheatham (White’s brother-in-law). Craven County contained the largest city in the former district, New Bern, where White lived. The shift of the district’s boundaries led to a more equally divided electorate in the 1890s than in the 1880s, with blacks holding only a 400-vote majority over whites.68 In addition, the emergence of the Populist Party in the state reshaped political calculations. In each congressional election from 1892 through 1898, the Populists fielded separate candidates from the Republicans, generally siphoning votes away from the Republican candidate.

Thus the situation confronting North Carolina’s most concentrated black electorate by 1892 included a reduced congressional district, a divisive third party, and the continuation of long-standing internal and interracial squabbles within the Republican Party. The unwillingness of some within the Republican establishment to countenance a single, interracial slate of candidates proved disastrous in the 1892 elections. White opposed fusion with the Populists and attempted to ameliorate internal disputes within his own party, urging caution and strongly discouraging the practice of running separate Republican slates for statewide office. His advice went unheeded. The combined force of the redrawing of the Second Congressional District, the rise of the Populists, and factional disputes within the Republican Party concerning whether to support black candidates for statewide offices resulted in a terrible defeat at the polls. Black congressman Cheatham was defeated in a three-way race in which the Democratic candidate polled 13,925 votes, while Cheatham had 11,814 and the Populist candidate 5,457.69

Though factionalism, demographic changes, and shifting political currents damaged Republican chances in the election of 1892, the disappointing results opened the door to a brighter long-term future for both White and the state party. With Cheatham’s political career effectively over (he would run again unsuccessfully in a three-way race in 1894, preventing White from earning the nomination), White saw a possible opening for his own political ambitions. Furthermore, the new Populist Party eventually forged a powerful coalition with North Carolina Republicans.

Redemption and Readjustment in Virginia

While fusion alliances produced mixed results in Mississippi and would not bear fruit until several years later in North Carolina, they rattled conventional politics in Virginia in the form of the Readjuster movement that took root by the early 1880s. The alliance forged by Virginia Republicans and dissident Democratic Readjusters made it feasible for Langston to seek elected office. By no means would fusion alliances and support for independent political movements be easy choices or sure guarantees

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