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Negro Suffrage in Florida from 1865 to the Present A

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Negro Suffrage in Florida from 1865 to the Present A NEGRO SUFFRAGE IN FLORIDA FROM 1865 TO THE PRESENT A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF ATLANTA UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS BY ALLEN QUINN JONES, JR. DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY ATLANTA, GEORGIA AUGUST 1948 PREFACE It is the purpose of this study to present a story of the role played by the Negro in exercising the right of suffrage in Florida. The writer endeavors to treat the subject fron 1865 until the present and in so doing, he wishes to present a story which will depict the attitudes of tiie various personalities and agencies within that scope of time. Actual contributions to this area of scholarship have been un¬ productive. Investigators in the history of the state have been concerned with other aspects of the state's history to the exclusion of this subject. Hence this area is filled with great potentialities for anyone who wishes to melee a real contribution to Florida history. The data for this paper, which originate from primary sources largely - newspapers, court decisions, legislative proceedings - and sup¬ porting secondary works, is interwoven with the raain chronological devel¬ opments so as to present a fairly simple narrative. The sources used, though not extensive at every point, are sufficient to supply the basic facts upon which the story may be spun. However, there is not enough tes¬ timony which treats the Negro reaction to the suffrage question. In this regard, the sources covering the period from 1865 - 1876 are more numerous than those which cover the following period, 1876 - 1800. The gap between 1900 and 1928 has to be filled from secondary sources. During these years the Negro was kept out of Florida politics almost completely and he seemed to have considered a struggle as not worthwhile. 7/ithin the last few dec¬ ades and especially since 1937, the rebirth of political activity has been ii Ill much in «Tidence. The ITegro press has not failed to record the major trials and triumphs. The material is arranged according to topics in four chap¬ ters. An attempt has teen made to group it in logical and chronolog¬ ical order. Following the fourth chapter there is a summary and a bi¬ bliography. The writer gratefully acknowledges the advice and criticism of Professor C. A. Bacote, Department of History, Atlanta University, and Dr. L. D. Reddick, librarian and professor of History at the same institution. Also many thanks are due Hr. Julien C. Yonge, librarian of the University of Florida's Library of Florida History, and his secre¬ tary, Mrs. Harriet C. Skofield, for the use of the resources of that in¬ stitution and for additional courtesies. However, the writer is alone re¬ sponsible for the unavoidable errors of this work. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PREFACE ii CHAPTER I POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS FROM THE END OF THE CIVIL 'WAR UNTIL 1868 1 Marvin Appointed Provisional Governor Attitude Toward Negro Suffrage Election of State Convention Delegates to Constitutional Convention Marvin's Message Walker Elected Governor Walker and Negro Suffrage Freedmen's Bureau Republican Factions Political Meetings Reaction to Meetings Wilkinson Call S. R. Mallory- Constitutional Convention of 1868 Delegates Question of Eligibility- Return of Monticello Group The Monticello Constitution Ratification Civil Government Restored CHAPTER II REPUBLICAN RULE AND REACTION 18 Restoring Civil Administration Attempts to Deter Negro Vote Election of 1872 Lawlessness Ku Klux ICLan Investigating Cornaittee Young Men's Democratic Club CHAPTER III DEMOCRATIC SUPREMACY 27 Democratic State Convention Questions Considered Election of 1876 Curbing Negro Vote Election Day Results Scrutinizing Returns Choosing Delegates Constitutional Convention of 1885 Poll Tax Multiple Ballot The Primary System Bryan Primary Law Election of 1928 CHAPTER IV RECENT DEVELOPMENTS Repeal of Poll Tax Davis v. Cromwell Davis v. Chavis Negroes end Primary Election Court Ruling Voting Strength of Negroes Progressive Voters' League Objectives of League Membership 1946 Primary Women and Suffrage Use of Ballot Population and Voting Primary Election of 1948 Evaluation of Negro Vote SUMMARY . BIBLIOGRAPHY CHAPTER I POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS FROM THE END OF THE CIVIL WAR UNTIL 1868 The story of the formation of civil government in Florida after the Civil War is filled with a multiplicity of events. On July 13, 1865, Presi¬ dent Andrew Johnson appointed William Malvin, a Union man from Key West as the provisional governor, with orders to set up a civil government. He em¬ bodied in the commission of the provisional governor, an injunction which stipulated that no person should be allowed to vote for the delegate to any convention called in his authority, who was not a qualified voter before Jan- 2 uary 10, 1861. In fact, no Negro was authorized to vote at this election. On addressing the people of the state, Governor Marvin enumerated the duties of the governor, the duties of the voters, and he also authorized the election of delegates to amend the constitution. In setting forth the qualifications of the voters, the governor advised that only free white sol¬ diers, seamen, and marines in the army or navy of the United States who were qualified at the time of enlistment and who had taken the amnesty oath could vote. Others qualified to vote v/ere free white males twenty-one years of age, citizens of the United States who had resided and who had their homes in this state for one year preceding the election and six months residence in the coun- 3 ty of which they sought to vote. The question of Negro suffrage, thought he, ^"Kathryn Abbey, Florida-Land of Change (Chapel Hill, 1941), p. 295. 2 John Wallace, Carpetbag Rule in Florida (Jacksonville, 1888), p. 5. 3 Ibid., pp. 5-8. 1 2 was an open question - a proper question for discussion and should be decid- 4 ed soundly by the constitutional convention. The attitude of Governor Mar¬ vin toward the use of Negro suffrage was filled with hostility, as was shown in his message to the people of Florida, calling for a constitutional conven¬ tion. But freedom does not necessarily include the idea of partici¬ pation in the affairs of government. The privilege of voting at elections, the capacity to hold office, or to sit on juries, are not essential rights of freedom. They are privileges conferred or duties enjoined upon certain persons or classes of persons by the supreme power of the state, for and on account of the public good, and the persons or classes of persons upon whom these priv¬ ileges are conferred or these duties enjoined, may be increased or diminished, within reasonable limits without impairing rights of freedom, according as that power may determine.“ On October 10, 1865, three months after Marvin became governor, the election of a state convention to construct a new constitution took place with registration and election procedures being supervised by federal, military, and civic officials. Those white persons who had taken the amnesty oath and the other whites who had received special pardons were alloxved to vote. Al¬ though the election was quiet, only about half the voters of five years ear- 0 lier took advantage of the privilege to cast their ballots. The number of qualified voters up to the day of election was 8,512, and the number of votes 7 cast for delegates was 6,707. A list of delegates to the convention consid- 8 ered numerically by counties follows: Escambia 2 Nassau 1 Santa Rosa 2 St. Johns 1 Walton 2 Duval 1 Holmes 1 Clay 1 Washington 1 Putnam 1 Jackson 3 Alachua 2 Calhoun 1 Marion 2 Franklin 1 Levy 1 4 "Proclamation of Governor Marvin", Weekly Floridian, Tallahassee, Flori¬ dian, Tallahassee, Florida, September 25, 1865, p. 4. ^Journal of the Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention of 1865, Message of the Governor, 1865, pp. 10 and 11. “Abbey, op. cit., p. 296. ^Wallace, op. cit., pp. 8-9. 3 Liberty 1 Hernando 1 Gadsden 1 Hillsborough 1 Leon 4 Manatee 1 Jefferson 3 Polk 1 Madison 2 Orange 1 Taylor 1 Volusia 1 Lafayette 1 Brevard 1 Hamilton 2 Sumter 1 Suwanee 1 Monroe 1 Columbia 2 Duval 1 Baker 1 Bradford 1 The long awaited and the much-talked of convention finally assembled 9 on October 25, 1865 at Tallahassee. Most of the delegates claimed membership in the ranks of the ex-Confederates.^ The Honorable E. D. Tracy of Nassau County was called to the chair; a committee was appointed to wait upon the pro¬ visional governor and to obtain from him a list of the delegates that had been elected. This having been done promptly, a list of delegates was immediately forwarded to the convention. Although E. D. Tracy from Nassau County had been elected president of the convention, it was quite evident that the convention was held ’under the control of the governors and the military officials.^ In his message to the convention, the governor reflected in his attitude toward Negro voting very forcefully. According to some observers, he was regarded as rather narrow-minded. This belief was upheld because of his utterances in asserting that no considerable number of Negroes desired the full panoply 12 of citizenship. With twelve days of deliberation to its credit, the conven¬ tion adjourned, after having annulled the ordinance of secession of January 10, 1861, and after having accepted emancipation somewhat reluctantly. "In a sort of obiter dictum, the convention recorded its opposition to Negro suf- 13 frage. The convention also retained the system of counting the Negro as ^Ibid. 10 Abbey, op. cit., p. 296. ■^Wallace, op. cit., p. 11. ■^Ibid., pp. 12-15. "Abbey, op. cit., p. 296. 4 three-fifths of the population in apportioning representation and adopted a constitution which became effective November 7, 1865, without being subnit- 14 ted to the people for ratification.
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