1876 was one of the worst years in American history. The country had lost over 600,000 people in the Civil War in order to free the slaves. The assassination of Lincoln and the installation of his VP, Andrew Johnson delayed Reconstruction, but the two terms of U. S. Grant established Reconstruction in the former Confederate states and the rights of the freed slaves were protected by the federal government. Blacks voted, held office, were recognized by law as citizens.
Then, came the election of 1876 – Hayes vs Tilden. It was a disputed. Four states, Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina and Oregon, had disputed results. After lots of bitter drama, the Democrats in the South reached The Compromise of 1877 – they would allow the Republican Hayes to be president in exchange for withdrawal of federal troops from the South. Hayes agreed. Reconstruction was over. Blacks lost their constitutionally guaranteed rights. The reign of the KKK, night riders, lynchings began. Statues nobilizing Confederate generals and soldiers sprang up. Blacks were disenfranchised by poll taxes, ludicrous tests like guessing the exact number of marbles in a big jar, etc in order to vote. The black vote was severely reduced and powerless.
The Jim Crow South was established. Terror and humiliation reigned. The point was to re-establish White Supremacy. The point was black humiliation and suppression. The point was black disenfranchisement.
Well, guess what? The South, which had been Democrat after the Civil War and which is now Republican after the Nixon Southern Strategy to convert the white Democrats to the Republican Party, is doing all it can to re-establish Jim Crow – suppression of black votes.
As soon as the Supreme Court allowed the former Confederate states to change voting laws and procedures in 2013 by no longer enforcing the Voting Rights Act, the South closed polls in black and brown neighborhoods, instituted a new “poll tax” by requiring government issued voter IDs which were deliberately made difficult for poor black to obtain, and doing all that they can to disenfranchise black and brown voters. We are now witnessing the horror of seeing lines that stretch for many blocks in minority communities in order to vote – and this in the midst of a deadly Pandemic. They expose themselves to COVID19, the elderly and sickly can’t stand for hours in order to vote – it is voter suppression. In Houston, the governor reduced from 12 to 1 the locations for drop off mail in ballots in Harris County (Houston) with 2 million residents.
It is un-American (except that it is far too American, Confederate States American, White Supremacist American, “just win baby” American – the disgusting dark side of America American)
And, with this White Supremacist president, supported by far too many White Supremacist law makers in charge, the KKK, Proud Boys, Boogaloo Boize, QAnon, and other White Supremacists hold sway over the Republican Party.
Jim Crow rides again. It’s the Republican Party’s main tactic.
