GET OUT THE VOTE ~RECONSTRUCTION ERA BLACK POLITICIANS AND PROGRESS~

Donald Trump has a lot in common with former Confederates 120 years ago – urging his minions to go to “certain areas” on Election Day and “watch” who is voting - REMINISCENT OF THE TENSIONS WHICH LED TO THE NEW ORLEANS MASSACRE OF 1866

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At a recent rally in Pennsylvania – a must-win state – Trump digressed from his text to remind his mostly white audience of this danger, urging them to go to “certain areas” on Election Day and “watch” who was voting. The implication, of course, was that they should challenge anyone who appeared to be unqualified. Nor was this a random remark. The Trump campaign features a website where supporters can sign up to become a “Trump Election Observer” and “Stop Crooked Hillary From Rigging This Election!”

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VOTING RIGHTS TENSION LED TO THE NEW ORLEANS MASSACRE OF 1866:

The state Constitutional Convention of 1864 gave greater freedoms to blacks within Louisiana but did not provide for black voting rights. Free people of color had long been an important part of New Orleans; many owned property and were seeking the vote. Republicans had the goals of extending the suffrage to freedmen and eliminating the Black Codes.

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Alonzo Jacob Ransier

In 1866, Ransier attended South Carolina’s first Republican convention and traveled to Washington with a petition from a Charleston meeting of the Friends of Equal Rights. While in Congress he fought for a civil rights bill, supported strong tariff laws, opposed arbitrary salary increases for federal officials, advocated term limits for politicians and petitioned for funds to improve the maintenance of Charleston harbor.    

Ransier defended the record of Black soldiers who fought for the Union during the Civil War, recalling their support for President Grant in his 1872 reelection bid.