I would like to add to Harold Forsythe's admirably lucid summary of the
complicated politics of the Readjuster era in Virginia (roughly 1879-1889)
the recommendation, for those interested in that period, of Jane Dailey's
Before Jim Crow: The Politics of Race in Postemancipation Virginia
(University of North Carolina Press, 2000).

To oversimplify her subtle argument, the Readjuster Party proposed a line of
separation between public and private spheres. In the public arena, a
liberal (nineteenth-century definition) political order required equal
participation of black and white men, with racial hierarchies retained in
private life. The Conservatives (later Democrats) argued that no such
separation could be maintained if there was political equality for black
men. The racial hierarchies would be undermined and "social equality" in
private life would follow. The Conservatives/Democrats eventually triumphed,
both politically and rhetorically, and generations of white Virginians came
to believe that voting by blacks would lead directly to intermarriage, etc.

Anyone looking for a grand lifetime project ought to consider a biography of
the Readjusters' leader, William Mahone, railroad magnate, Confederate
general, and political maverick. His papers, at Duke University, are the
single best (and largest by far) collection of materials on politics as it
was practiced then in the South.

John

John T. Kneebone [log in to unmask]
Director, Publications and Educational Services
Library of Virginia http://www.lva.lib.va.us

To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html