USA > Mississippi > School history of Mississippi; for use in public and private schools > Part 23
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that followed several white men and three negroes were killed. The news spread rapidly, and the county was soon wild with excitement. Special trains with companies of armed men came from Jackson, Vicksburg, Bolton, and other places to aid the white people, for it was believed that there was to be a general massacre. For several days a reign of terror existed in the community. About twenty or thirty freedmen suspected of being connected with the riot were killed. Others abandoned their homes and went to Jackson and camped around the United States court- house.
The Governor issued a proclamation reciting that white organizations had overthrown civil government in certain sections and that members of such organizations were com- manded to disband forthwith. He then called upon the President for United States troops, asserting that " domes- tic violence in its most aggravated form " existed in certain parts of the State. General George, chairman of the Dem- ocratic State Executive Committee, telegraphed to Wash- ington that peace prevailed throughout the State, and the employment of United States troops would only increase the distrust of the people in the good faith of the present State government. The President refused to comply with the governor's request, and told him that he must first exhaust his own resources.
396. Organization of the Militia .- Having failed to get the United States troops, the governor proceeded to organ- ize the colored people of the State into militia companies, and to put the State on a war footing. The Republican legislature authorized him to purchase a number of Gatling guns and appropriated $60,000 for this purpose. The gov- ernor professed to believe that only colored troops would obey his commands, and therefore white men were not encouraged to enlist. The course of the governor, in send
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ing several wagon loads of arms from Jackson to Edwards under the command of a courageous and dangerous negro, came near causing a conflict between the militia and the citizens. The whites openly declared that it was the pur- pose of the governor to provoke a conflict. What would doubtless have resulted in a bloody conflict between the white people and the negroes, and perhaps in the overthrow of the State government, was avoided by a peace agreement between Governor Ames and General George. The gov- ernor agreed to disband the militia upon receiving an assur- ance from General George and other leading citizens that they would use their influence to maintain peace and secure a fair election.
397. The Election of 1875 .- In the meantime a political campaign was in progress. It was the most exciting and most momentous within the history of the State. Mem- bers of Congress, members of the legislature, a State treas- urer, and all county and local officers were to be elected. For the first time since 1868, the Democrats were strongly united. It will be remembered that with the exception of the feeble attempt to elect Judge Dent governor in 1869, they had made no effort to carry an election since the be- ginning of reconstruction. They now made a desperate effort to put an end to the corrupt rule of the carpet-bagger. Although there was a Republican majority of 30,000 to be overcome, they hoped to get the support of many Republi- cans in the State who were dissatisfied with the course of Governor Ames, and especially with the high taxes which his government had imposed.
On August 3d the Democratic State convention met at Jackson and was addressed by L. Q. C. Lamar, the idol of his party, who had just gained a national reputation by his splendid eulogy on Charles Sumner, delivered in the lower house of Congress a year previously. J. Z. George was
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chosen chairman of the State executive committee and . under his leadership the battle was fought and won. The campaign was one of vigor and enthusiasm. “ Mississippi demands," said the Macon Beacon, " that every man shall do his duty in the campaign." The Republicans were equally as active and alert. They organized the colored voters into clubs, instructed them how to register, how to approach the polls, and how to vote. They were told that if the Democrats succeeded the negroes would again be made slaves, the public school system would be destroyed, and they would lose their civil and political rights. This was the most effective argument of the white Republicans, but it was not successful. The Democrats promised the colored voters that none of their rights should be inter- fered with, that the public schools should be kept up, and that the rate of taxes should be reduced. They organized clubs, had parades, barbecues, torch light processions with brass bands and banners, and fired guns and cannons in the neighborhood of political meetings, while speakers, such as Lamar and Wiley P. Harris, went throughout the State addressing immense meetings here and there, and urging the Democrats to be vigilant and active. - It soon became evident to the Republicans that their prospects for victory were diminishing.
The election took place November 2d, and with the exception of a few disturbances passed off quietly. In many instances the negroes did not go to the polls; in others, they voted with the white people.
The result of the election was an overwhelming victory for the Democrats, who carried the State by a majority of over 30,000, and elected all the members of Congress except two. They also elected the State treasurer and a majority of both houses of the legislature. Sixty-two of the seventy-four counties of the State elected Democratic
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officials. This put an end to the rule of the carpet-bagger in Mississippi and marked the beginning of a new era in the history of the State. The result was an occasion of great rejoicing. To J. Z. George and L. Q. C. Lamar more than to any other men were the white people of Mississippi indebted for their political emancipation. Both of them were promptly rewarded for their valuable ser- vices, Mr. George becoming chief justice of the State and Mr. Lamar being elected to the United States Senate.
398. Impeachment of State Officials .- The legislature chosen in November met at Jackson January 4, 1876. It was composed of thirty- seven senators and one hundred and sixteen re- presentatives. There were but twenty-one colored members in. this body. Politically all the mem- bers were Democratic except about thirty. In his message Governor Ames declared that the legislature had been elected by fraud and vio- lence, and that it was M JenThenton. therefore an illegal body. The legislature was highly offended and re- It had been the general
turned his communication. understanding that in the event of Democratic success at the polls in November, Governor Ames and several other State officers would be impeached and removed from office. When the results of the election were known, editor Barks- dale of the Clarion boldly advocated the impeachment of the
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State officers. Soon after the reading of the governor's message General Featherston, a representative from Holly Springs, offered a resolution for the appointment of a com- mittee to learn whether there were good grounds for the impeachment of the governor.
A thorough investigation was made, extending through a period of thirty-eight days. Forty-five witnesses were examined and five volumes of testimony taken. February 22d the committee reported resolutions in favor of im- peachment and removal of the governor for official mis- conduct on eleven separate and distinct charges. Twenty- three articles of impeachment were exhibited by the man- agers. In the meantime the lieutenant-governor and the superintendent of education were being disposed of. On the 13th of March Lieutenant-Governor Davis denied the five articles of impeachment against him, was tried before the senate, convicted, and removed from office. A number of Republicans, white and colored, voted against him. Cardoza, the superintendent of education, was charged with official malfeasance in twelve instances. While the impeachment was impending he asked permission to resign and have the proceedings dismissed. His request was granted, and on the 22d of February his resignation was accepted by an almost unanimous vote. On March 16th the trial of Governor Ames began before the senate sitting as a high court of impeachment. He had eminent counsel from New York city and Washington, and was given five days to answer the articles of impeachment, twenty-one in number. On March 22d his answer and plea were filed. One week later he expressed a desire to resign should the articles of impeachment be dismissed. The house at once adopted a resolution dismissing the articles of impeachment, and on the same day he resigned his office and left the State. Governor Ames was a man
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of education and refinement, but unsuited for the office lie held, since he was a stranger to the people of Missis- sippi, had little respect for their habits and convictions, and was unacquainted with their needs and conditions. His early surroundings, his education, and his connection with the war gave him a strong bias, if not a prejudice, against the Southern white people. He had exaggerated notions of the rights of the colored race and an over-confidence in their ability to govern themselves. His want of confidence in the white people and his strong political prejudices were - the source of much of his unpopularity.
399. The Revolution Completed .- The legislature com- pleted the revolution by abolishing many offices and agen- cies that were useless. The salary of the commissioner of immigration was reduced from two thousand dollars per year to one hundred dollars; the special officers to look up shortages among county treasurers and tax-collectors were legislated out of office; the office of cotton weigher, the office of postmaster of the legislature, about ten chancellors and several circuit judges were also abolished. The pay of the militia when in actual service was fixed at five cents per day. The enormous fees of the public printer were cut down; the number of employees about the legislature was largely reduced ; the daily pay of trustees of all State insti- tutions was abolished; payment for printing the proceed- ings of the legislature in the daily newspapers was for- bidden ; county officers from henceforth were required to furnish their own stationery; a large reduction was made in the appropriation for the support of all State institutions, and the State tax was reduced from nine and one-fourth mills on the dollar to six and one-half.
Many other sweeping reforms were carried out in every department by this legislature, all of which bear the ear- marks of a revolution. Great corruption existed in the State
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government, and the most searching investigation was car- ried on in every department. It was, on the whole, one of the most important sessions of the legislature in the history of the State. Most of its reforms were wholesome and wise ; certainly they were economical, and had the effect of . restoring the confidence of the people in the government, as was shown by the rapid rise in the price of the State securi- ties. Warrants which were selling at seventy-three cents on the dollar in January, 1875, rose to ninety-nine cents before the end of the year 1876. The retirement of Chief- · Justice Peyton and Jus- tice Tarbell from the supreme court and the appointment of Camp- bell and Chalmers as their successors, and the return of a solid Demo- cratic delegation to Congress in November, 1876, completed the revolution.
400. Carpet - Baggers Leave the State .- After the. overthrow of the Republicans in 1875, M. P. LOWREY most of the Northern men who had come to the State since the close of the war left it and have never returned. A few of them were men of good character, but coming to the State in a time of strong passions and prejudices, and allying themselves with the colored people in order to get their political sup- port, they failed to secure the confidence and esteem of the white people among whom they came. Many of them were, on the other hand, destitute of principle and sought only
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the spoils of office, regardless of the results. A majority of the carpet-baggers who survive live in the Western States.
401. Blue Mountain Female College .- In 1869 General M. P. Lowrey, who had served so faithfully in the War between the States, began a work no less valuable to Mis- sissippi. In that year he founded the Blue Mountain Female College. Four years later (1873) this institution opened its doors for the instruction of the young women of the State. In 1877 it was granted a charter by the legislature.
Summary
1. Governor Ames was inaugurated in January, 1874. The legislature which convened at that time was overwhelmingly Republican.
2. In a special message he called attention to the extravagance of former legislatures, which had increased the rate of taxation for State purposes from one mill on the dollar in 1869 to fourteen in 1874, and recommended the reduction of expenses.
3. In Governor Ames' administration a large number of crimi- nals were pardoned by him and by the lieutenant-governor.
4. Governor Ames was charged with gaining improper control over the judiciary of the State through his appointing power.
5. Through the influence of carpet-baggers and ambitious negro leaders several race conflicts arose (in 1874 and 1875), the principal ones being at Vicksburg, Yazoo City, Friars' Point, Rolling Fork and Clinton.
6. A convention of tax-payers assembled at Jackson in January, 1875, ana prepared an address to the legislature setting forth their grievances. As this action was ignored by the legislature, tax-payers' leagues were organized in every part of the State.
7. Owing to the efforts of such leaders as L. Q. C. Lamar, the election of 1875 was an overwhelming Democratic victory.
8. Articles of impeachment were prepared against the gov- ernor, the lieutenant-governor and the superintendent of educa- tion, the first and third of whom resigned, and the second was tried, convicted and removed from office.
9. The legislature then abolished several useless offices and reduced salaries, and the carpet-baggers left the State.
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CHAPTER XXXIX
THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA
402. Administrations of Governor Stone (1876-1882) .- Unon the resignation of Governor Ames and the removal of Lieutenant-Governor Davis, Colonel John M. Stone succeeded to the office of governor. He was born in Tennessee, but had lived for several years in Tishomingo county, Mississippi. Val- iant service in the Army of Northern Virginia had led to his promotion from captain of a com- pany to colonel of his regiment-the Second JOHN M. STONE Mississippi. He was elected to the State senate in 1869, and again in 1873. In January, 1876, he was made president pro tem. of the senate, and under the constitution became governor upon the over- throw of the carpet-bag rule. He came into the office of governor at a most critical period in the history of the State, but he discharged his difficult duties with such abil- ity that at the next regular election he was made governor by vote of the people .* In his inaugural address (January,
* The following State officers were elected at the same time: W. H. Sims, lieutenant-governor; Kinloch Falconer, secretary of state; Sylvester Gwin, auditor; W. L. Hemmingway, treasurer; T. C. Catchings, attorney-general; J. A. Smith, superintendent of public education.
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1878,) he said: " No problem in politics was ever allotted to any people more difficult than that which the State of Mississippi, in common with her sister States of the South, is now called upon to solve. Upon one point all good men will agree-there must be absolute and perfect - protection to life, liberty and property. The government that fails to give this is unworthy of the name. The hum- blest citizen of the State, no matter how poor or how igno- rant, must feel that over his head the law throws its mantle, and that he who dares to wrong him will feel the vengeance of the law's ministers. There must be no toleration of wrong and injuries inflicted upon those who are too weak to defend themselves. It was for the defense of the weak · that governments were organized and laws enacted."
403. State Finances .- In less than a year after the carpet- bag government had been overthrown the warrants of the State had risen from seventy-five or eighty cents on the dollar to their par value. In 1876 the legislative and exec- utive expenses of the State government were $21,376.18 less than they had been the year before. Although the State debt was greatly reduced in 1876, the rate of taxation for State purposes was about one-third less in that year than in the year before. By the end of Governor Stone's full term (1882) the State treasury contained more than enough money to pay the total indebtedness of the State.
404. Judicial Changes .- In 1876 Governor Stone ap- pointed J. A. P. Campbell* to succeed Jonathan Tarbell on
*Judge Campbell was born in South Carolina and came to · Mississippi in early life. He served in the legislature before the war and was chosen speaker of the House of Representatives in 1859. In 1861 he was made delegate to the Montgomery Conven- tion, and thus became a member of the provisional congress of the Confederacy. He afterwards entered the Confederate army, and became lieutenant-colonel of the Fortieth Mississippi Regi- ment. After the war he served as circuit judge of his judicial district.
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the supreme bench. In the same year H. H. Chalmers was appointed to succeed E. G. Peyton. In 1879 James Z. George succeeded H. F. Simrall on the supreme bench and became chief-justice. In 1881 Governor Stone appointed Timothy E. Cooper to succeed James Z. George, who re- signed to enter the United States Senate as the successor of B. K. Bruce. These appointees of Governor Stone were noted no less for their high sense of honor and justice than for their profound knowledge of the law. The judges of
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MISSISSIPPI AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE
the inferior courts, who were appointed by Governor Stone, were also men of ability and integrity, and reflected great credit on the executive who appointed them as well as upon the people whom they served.
405. Yellow Fever Epidemic .- In 1878 the State was vis- ited by a very disastrous epidemic of yellow fever. The dis- ease first appeared in the State at Grenada, and before the people of that place had suspected that this terrible malady was in their midst the infection had well-nigh spread throughout the town. Most of the towns of the State adopted strict quarantine regulations, but the citizens of
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Holly Springs generously received into their midst the refugees from other places where the disease had made its appearance. As a result the disease soon appeared in this place, causing the death of many of its most useful people. Among these were Major Kinloch Falconer, secretary of state, who at the outbreak of the fever at that place left his official duties at the capital and returned to his home in order to relieve the sufferings of his people, and Colonel H. W. Walter, a promi- nent lawyer of the place, and his three sons. All of them displayed great heroism at this time.
406. Agricultural and Mechanical College .- In 1871 the fund contributed to the State by the Fed- eral government for the purpose of establishing an agricultural and me- chanical college was di- vided between an agri- STEPHEN D. LEE cultural department in the University of Mississippi and the Alcorn University. The agricultural department in the University of Missis- sippi did not prosper, and in response to the demand of the people of the State, the legislature established (1878) the Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical College. This institution was located near Starkville. Under the very successful administration of General Stephen D. Lee, its first president (1880-1899), this institution soon gained high rank among the agricultural and mechanical colleges of the United States .*
* See Mayes' History of Education in Mississippi, Chapter XI .; also, White's Establishment and Location of the Mississippi Agri-
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407. Creation of New Counties .- In 1876 Sharkey county was formed out of parts of Washington, Warren and Issa- quena counties, and in the year following Quitman county was formed out of parts of Coahoma, Tallahatchie and Panola counties.
408. Representatives in Congress .- According to the cen- sus of 1880 the State had a population of 1, 131,597, and was entitled to seven representatives in the lower house of Con- gress .*
409. Administration of Governor Lowry (1882-1890) .- In 1881 Brigadier-General Robert Lowry,t the Democratic nominee for governor, was elected over Benja- min King, the nominee of the Greenback party. He was born in South Carolina, and after spend- ing part of his life in Tennessee, removed with. his father to Tishomingo county, Mississippi. He afterwards lived with his uncle at Raleigh in Smith county. He enlisted as a private at the outbreak ROBERT LOWRY of the War between the States and soon became major and then colonel of his regi- ment-the Sixth Mississippi. In 1864 he was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general, which office he held until the end of the war.
cultural and Mechanical College, in Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society, Vol. III.
*For a list of the senators and representatives in Congress, see Appendix.
t The following officers were also elected on the ticket with
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Governor Lowry's first term of office was so satisfactory to the people of the State that he was nominated by accla- mation (1885) to succeed himself, and was reelected without opposition, there being no opposing candidate in the field .*
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410. Railway Commission .- For several years the rail- way service had not been satisfactory to the people of Mis- sissippi. The legislature therefore passed an act, regulating freight and passenger rates, and creating a railway com- mission with authority to require the roads to discharge their duties to the public.
411. Overflow of the Mississippi River .- In 1882 the great Delta region of Mississippi suffered from one of the most disastrous overflows in the history of the State. Millions of dollars' worth of property was destroyed and many lives were lost. The legislature appropriated $15,000 for the re- lief of the sufferers. This amount was greatly increased by private subscriptions from different parts of the Union.
412. Admission of Young Women to the University .- In response to a recommendation made by the State Teachers' Association and to a rapidly growing sentiment in favor of higher educational advantages for the women of the State, the trustees of the University of Mississippi opened the doors of that institution to women (June, 1883). In the following session twenty-three young ladies were en- rolled. This served to direct the attention of the public to the importance of establishing a State school for the edu- cation of women.
Governor Lowry: G. D. Shands, lieutenant-governor; H. C. Myers, secretary of state; W. L. Hemingway, treasurer; T. C. Catchings, attorney-general; J. A. Smith, superintendent of public education.
* The following State officers were elected on the same ticket: G. D. Shands, lieutenant-governor; George M. Govan, secretary of state; W. L. Hemingway, treasurer; W. W. Stone, auditor; T. Marshall Miller, attorney-general; and J. R. Preston, superin- tendent of public education.
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413. Industrial Institute and College .*- As early as 1856 Miss Sallie Eola Reneau of Grenada had advocated the establishment of a State institution for girls. Through her efforts two bills establishing such a school were passed by the legislature, but neither of them provided for the necessary appropriations. Miss Reneau made an unsuc- cessful effort to secure a gift of land from Congress for the support of a great university in Mississippi for women. During a period of more than twenty-five years she labored faithfully for the success of her cherished purpose. She .
INDUSTRIAL INSTITUTE AND COLLEG ..
finally gave it up as a hopeless undertaking and removed to Tennessee, where she died before the great desire of her life was realized.
The cause found a worthy advocate in Mrs. Annie C. Peyton of Copiah county, who published numerous news- paper articles on the subject over the title, "A Mississippi Woman." She was ably assisted by Mrs. John G. Hast-
* See Mayes' History of Education in Mississippi, Chapter XII.
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