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'Devoted to the Interests of His Race': Black Officeholders

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'Devoted to the Interests of His Race': Black Officeholders ABSTRACT Title of dissertation: “DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF HIS RACE”: BLACK OFFICEHOLDERS AND THE POLITICAL CULTURE OF FREEDOM IN WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA, 1865-1877 Thanayi Michelle Jackson, Doctor of Philosophy, 2016 Dissertation directed by: Associate Professor Leslie S. Rowland Department of History This dissertation examines black officeholding in Wilmington, North Carolina, from emancipation in 1865 through 1876, when Democrats gained control of the state government and brought Reconstruction to an end. It considers the struggle for black office holding in the city, the black men who held office, the dynamic political culture of which they were a part, and their significance in the day-to-day lives of their constituents. Once they were enfranchised, black Wilmingtonians, who constituted a majority of the city’s population, used their voting leverage to negotiate the election of black men to public office. They did so by using Republican factionalism or what the dissertation argues was an alternative partisanship. Ultimately, it was not factional divisions, but voter suppression, gerrymandering, and constitutional revisions that made local government appointive rather than elective, Democrats at the state level chipped away at the political gains black Wilmingtonians had made. “DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF HIS RACE”: BLACK OFFICEHOLDERS AND THE POLITICAL CULTURE OF FREEDOM IN WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA, 1865-1877 by Thanayi Michelle Jackson Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2016 Advisory Committee: Associate Professor Leslie S. Rowland, Chair Associate Professor Elsa Barkley Brown Associate Professor Richard J. Bell Associate Professor Michael A. Ross Professor Nancy L. Struna ©Copyright by Thanayi Michelle Jackson 2016 Acknowledgments This dissertation is indebted to the knowledge and assistance of numerous individuals along the way, without whom it would not have been possible. I am most indebted to my advisor and committee chair Leslie S. Rowland, who devoted countless hours and immeasurable energy into helping me interpret my research and develop my intellectual ideas. She never stopped challenging me, and for that I am eternally thankful. Enough thanks cannot be given to my dissertation committee. Associate Professor Richard J. Bell, Associate Professor Elsa Barkley Brown, Associate Professor Michael A. Ross, and Professor Nancy L. Struna. I would also like to thank Dr. Ira Berlin who sat on my prospectus committee and offered suggestions that became important parts of this study. This dissertation is better for their comments and their encouragement provided valuable support. Dr. Barkley Brown not only was a member of my committee, but was a role model, source of inspiration academically and personally, and remains a valued friend. She was a valuable ear both personally and professionally during my graduate career. This project could not have been done without the aid of dedicated archivists and specialists who were always there to point me in the right direction and answer questions however small. At the North Carolina Department of Archives and History, Earl Jackson graciously shared his thoughts and expertise on black officeholding and officeholders through many conversations. Enough thanks cannot be given to the team at the New Hanover County Public Library’s Local History Room. Without them, this dissertation truly could not have been completed. Beverly Tetterton literally guided me through Wilmington’s history. Ms. Tetterton took me on historical tours through the city and engaged me in informative and provocative conversations about the neighborhoods and families that made up Wilmington. Her knowledge and assistance was invaluable. Thanks also go to Sharad Shaw, Joseph Shepherd, and Jennifer Daugherty (a comforting fellow San Jose native during my stay in Wilmington), who tirelessly pulled records and still never seemed too tired to discuss my findings. Michael Whaley was an expert in genealogy and family history and was an endless supply of creative ways to track down biographical information on the officeholders I have attempted to bring to life in this work. I must also thank Dr. David Cecelski who, by a stroke of luck, was conducting research at the Local History Room at the same time I was. One day I asked him, as an expert on Abraham Galloway, what he made of all the factionalism in Wilmington. His answer changed the course of my project. “I don’t know,” he replied, “I leave that to some ambitious graduate student.” I received crucial financial support in the form of fellowships during this process from The University of Maryland’s Center for Historical Studies and the North Caroliniana Society who awarded and Archie K. Davis Fellowship, and for that I am exceedingly grateful. I was fortunate enough to be able to present portions of this work at the annual conferences of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History and the Southern Historical Association. The comments and discussion were priceless to this work. In particular, I would like to thank Dr. Michael W. Fitzgerald who took time to ii discuss my work with me after my panel at the Southern Historical Association. His work largely guides mine and his commentary was invaluable. I must also thank my cohort of graduate students at the University of Maryland who prevented me from working in a vacuum and always kept my thinking fresh. Their daily support and encouragement kept me going. I would like to particularly thank Herbert Brewer, Tom Castillo, Dennis Doster, Claire Goldstein, Eliza Hill, Helena Iles, Matt Jezzi, Kate Keane, Jessica Johnson, Stephen Johnson, Rinna Kullaa, Luc LeBlanc, Tina Ligon, Ricardo Lopez, Jeremy Sullivan, and Amy Widestrom. Marcy Wilson and Christy Regenhardt were not only dear friends and colleagues, but also provided me with room and board while traveling to complete this dissertation. My gratitude and love for my family and friends is limitless. Stephanie Godfrey has been my rock and emotional support. Amanda Terry’s intellectual genius continues to push me to always think critically. Tasha Silva’s map making skills elucidated the tangle of redistricting. Natisha Holloway kept my belly and my heart full. Gary Brammer was my cheerleader to the end. My Grandmother Inez C. Jackson was a civil rights warrior from Texas and her example and guidance throughout my childhood taught me the importance of telling the history of freedom. My Grandfather Thomas F. Cross was a child of great depression St. Louis and nobody taught me more about intellectual curiosity. Neither had the opportunity I have been given and I wish they were still here to witness this achievement. My Grandmother Dorothy Archie Cross taught me to be happy and is the best writer I know. She has guided me through my years. But most importantly are my parents, Cass and Sandra Jackson, who have lifted me up emotionally, psychologically, and financially. With their love anything is possible. Lastly, I would like to give intellectual thanks to the election of Barak Obama for changing the dialogue on black officeholders before my very eyes while I researched this dissertation in Wilmington, North Carolina during the 2008 election. There is no place I would have rather been during that time. I wrote this dissertation over the course of Obama’s presidency, and I would be lying if I said it did not guide me at times. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgments ii List of Figures v List of Tables vi Abbreviations vii Introduction 1 Chapter 1: “In This Land We Will Remain”: Emancipation and Community Mobilization, 1865 17 Chapter 2: “Exposed to Danger Night and Day”: The Consequences of Political Exclusion, 1865-1867 108 Chapter 3: Defining Citizen, Defining Statesman: The Fight for Black Officeholding, 1867-1869 159 Chapter 4: “A Question of Color”: The Impact of Black Officeholding, 1869-1870 230 Chapter 5: “A Degredation Worse than Death”: The Assault on Black Political Power, 1870-1877 313 Appendix: Images and Biographies of Select Officeholders 388 Bibliography 398 iv List of Figures 1.1. Cape Fear Estuary, 1865 19 1.2. Wilmington Area 33 1.3. Plan of Wilmington, N.C., 1856 35 3.1. Wilmington Wards, 1866 220 3.2. Republican Card (Wilmington Post, 3 January 1869) 223 5.1. “Land for The Poor,” 1871 317 5.2. Wilmington Boundaries and Wards, 1870 337 5.3. Wilmington Wards, 1875 372 5.4. “White Slavery in North Carolina — Degredation [sic] Worse than Death,” 1876 381 5.5. Wilmington Wards, 1877 386 v List of Tables Table 5.1. Registered Voters in Wilmington, by Race, 1871 342 vi Abbreviations AMA American Missionary Association Archives, microfilm at McKeldin Library, University of Maryland, College Park DU Duke University, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Durham, N.C. FSSP Freedmen and Southern Society Project, University of Maryland, College Park (followed by the project’s file number in brackets) JNH Journal of Negro History JSH Journal of Southern History NARA-CP National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Md. NARA-DC National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C. NCDAH North Carolina Department of Archives and History, Raleigh, N.C. NCC North Carolina Collection, Louis Round Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill NCHR North Carolina Historical Review NHCPL New Hanover County Public Library, Wilmington, N.C., Local History Collection RG 105 Record Group 105: Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands RG 393 Record Group 393: Records of United States Army Continental Commands, 1821-1920 UNCW University of North Carolina, Wilmington, N.C., Manuscripts Collection, Special Collections Department, William Madison Randall Library vii Introduction In a society where only masters had been statesmen, black officeholders were revolutionary. They represented the transformation of slave into citizen. Even more, they were often the linchpin of on-the-ground change in the lives of black Southerners after the Civil War.
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