The Southern Farmers' Alliance grew rapidly, and it encouraged
the formation of the colored farmers' organizations with which
it was closely allied. In Georgia, Tom Watson led the attempt to
form a coalition between Negro and white farmers against the
interests of the conservative white aristocracy. Hopes for a
genuinely popular government and for a society free from racial
tension reached a high level.
Unfortunately, some Negroes continued to back the Democratic
party. House servants had always felt close to the gentry, and
many of them remembered that poor white farmers had always been
particularly prejudiced against them. In turn, conservatives
deliberately encouraged racial hatred in order to drive a wedge
between poor whites and Negroes within the rising
Populist movement. It became evident to both Democrats and
populists that the Negro vote had become the deciding vote in
many states. White farmers and white aristocrats both felt uneasy
over this state of affairs.
The result was widespread agreement to systematically and legally
eliminate Negroes from politics altogether.
Pages:
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182