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Race, Place, and Community Politics After the Civil War

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Race, Place, and Community Politics After the Civil War Local Matters: Race, Place, and Community Politics after the Civil War Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Brian Daniel Page Graduate Program in History The Ohio State University 2009 Dissertation Committee: Stephanie J. Shaw, Advisor Kenneth W. Goings, Co-Advisor Stephen G. Hall Copyright by Brian Daniel Page 2009 Abstract This study examines how a seemingly disparate population of rural migrants was able to incorporate itself into the political process and elevate community concerns to the center of political discourse after the Civil War. Too often scholars pay little attention to the local concerns and historical processes that determined not only how former slaves conducted themselves in the political arena, but also how their goals and aspirations changed over time. Surrounded by majority slaveholding counties in the Mid-South, Memphis provides an opportunity to study the grassroots political mobilization of former slaves. Beginning with an examination of the wartime migrations of enslaved men and women in the Mississippi River Valley to Memphis, Tennessee, this study identifies the cooperative strategies black migrants utilized to express their freedom, forge new bonds of fellowship, and establish a sense of community in their new surroundings. In order to understand how the concerns of former slaves became a matter of public interest, I trace the movements and daily interactions of members of social networks within black neighborhoods to demonstrate how socialization and civic life influenced the contours of popular politics. While black political leaders focused on civil rights and the transformation of the social order, former slaves used politics to experience freedom and express their ii desire for self-determination in ways that demonstrated their level of attachment to their community. By focusing upon these social and spatially based networks, this study seeks to broaden our historical understanding of the connection between civic life and political participation in an urban setting. An examination of former slaves‟ cooperative associations reveals a variety of personal connections that transcended material conditions and long-term or migrant status. African American residential activities, leisure interests, and personal familiarity established a feeling of connectedness in their neighborhoods that became the basis for the development of political strategies. These social attributes, therefore, become a way to reconsider the shifting political alliances that characterized post-Civil War southern politics. African Americans were willing to forge alliances with ethnic minorities and ex-Confederates that reflected their sense of belonging in their respective communities and elevated local concerns to the center of public debate. In the end, my study challenges historians to consider looking beyond questions of race, class, and gender to explain black southerners‟ participation in the public sphere. African Americans responded to multiple issues that allowed them to carve out a middle ground. In Memphis, African Americans relied upon neighborhood associations to foster a consultative model of local self- governance designed to not only elect their own representatives to local office, but also to articulate their desire for self-determination by ensuring their right to secure their material well-being, protect friends and families from violence, and educate children in their own neighborhoods. An examination of neighborhood life, the iii central role of black sodalities in popular politics, and electoral behavior, therefore, demonstrates former slaves‟ willingness to eschew long-term political objectives for short-term goals to protect the social integrity of their new communities. iv Dedication Dedicated to my parents, Dan and Shirley Page, my brother, Brent, and my loving and supporting wife, Staci, and our beautiful son, Aidan v Acknowledgements Aspects of this dissertation began as part of my research for my master‟s thesis at the University of Memphis and continued as a doctoral candidate in history at The Ohio State University. I was fortunate enough to have the guidance and support of Dr. Kenneth W. Goings, who oversaw the matriculation of this project as a Professor at both institutions. While the direction and scope of this project may have changed, its completion would not have been possible without his encouragement and direction. His comments were always thoughtful and forced me to continually reconsider my arguments. I am indebted to him for his support, instruction, and advice over the years. In addition, I would like to thank the remainder of my dissertation committee for their support. Dr. Stephanie J. Shaw played a crucial role in my development as a historian. Her kind words and meticulous attention to detail taught me how to be a better historian. She was always kind enough to give me advice and constructive criticism as I completed my research. This project also could not have been completed without the help of Dr. Stephen G. Hall. I am grateful to him for taking the time to give my work thoughtful consideration. Individuals at other institutions have also been especially supportive. I am grateful to the support offered to me over the years by Dr. Beverly G. Bond vi at the University of Memphis. I could always count on her to share with me her knowledge and research on nineteenth-century Memphis history. In addition, my fellow graduate students have played an essential role in not only providing comments on my work, but giving the emotional encouragement needed to complete my studies. I am especially indebted to Drs. Jane Berger, Alison Efford, and Elton Weaver for their support over the years. The faculty in the history department at Rhodes College, where I served as an instructor, also provided a network of constant support. I am grateful to Drs. Jeffrey Jackson, Tim Huebner, Charles Mckinney, Gail Murray, and Robert Saxe. Finally, none of this would have been possible without my family. My parents were always supportive of my work and provided countless words of encouragement. My brother‟s praise, and humor, helped keep me grounded. And, lastly, the love and encouragement given by my wife, Staci Van Winkle, remains the foundation of my resolve. She is not only a wonderful partner and mother to our son Aidan, she is also my source of inspiration. vii Vita 1992…………………………………………Chattanooga City High School 1997………………………………………….B.A. Music and History, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga 2000………………………………………….M.A. History, University of Memphis 2002 to present……………………………....Ph.D., Department of History, The Ohio State University Publications “Reverend Sutton E. Griggs,” in the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, Online Edition. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2002, updated 2007. “Memphis,” in The Encyclopedia of American Urban History. Edited by David R. Goldfield. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2006. “African Americans Versus the Memphis Street Railway Company: Or, How to Win the Battle But Lose the War, 1890-1920,” with Kenneth W. Goings, Journal of Urban History 30 (January 2004): 131-151. “„Stand by the Flag‟: Nationalism and African-American Celebrations of the Fourth of July in Memphis, 1866-1887,” in Trial and Triumph: Essays in Tennessee‟s African American History. Edited by Carroll Van West. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2002, 184-202. “„An Unholy Alliance‟: Irish-Americans and the Political Construction of Whiteness in Memphis, Tennessee, 1866-1879,” Left History 8 (Spring 2002): 77-96. viii “„Stand by the Flag‟: Nationalism and African-American Celebrations of the Fourth of July in Memphis, 1866-1887,” Tennessee Historical Quarterly 58 (Winter 1999): 284-301. Fields of Study Major Field: History ix Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction………………………………………………………………...1 Chapter 2: “Negroes in Our Midst”………………………………………………......15 Chapter 3: (Re) Imagining Place………………………………………………...........59 Chapter 4: Making Places….……………………………………………………......107 Chapter 5: “Damn All White Men”….…………………………………………...…164 Chapter 6: Community Politics………...……………………………………………226 Epilogue..……………………………………………………………………………298 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………...…….302 x Chapter 1: Introduction On December 9, 1874, a coalition of African American benevolent associations announced their decision to align themselves with former slave owners. Commenting on the contentious battles over municipal affairs that characterized Reconstruction era politics in Memphis, their proclamation suggested a new direction in local politics: After longs years of citizenship, without evil intent on our part, we find ourselves…estranged from our best interests, and in a most bitter antagonistic relation to the true people of the south – the owners of the soil – through whom alone we could only hope for prosperity in this section of country.1 The events surrounding this alliance were indicative of the kind of changes taking place in southern communities towards the end of the Reconstruction era. The Republican Party‟s failure to sustain a viable political alternative in the South, along with diminished popular support for the reform agenda of Reconstruction, led black southerners to look for new ways to maintain their influence in the political arena.2 In the months following this declaration, elite Southerners‟ support for former slaves‟ efforts to appoint black teachers
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