Webster's Weekly (Reidsville) tells of the conversion to the [North Carolina constitutional] amendment of Dr. S. A. Malloy, of Yanceyville, Caswell County.
It says:
"Dr. S. A. Malloy, of Yanceyville, who was brought up in the Republican faith, sends a message to his father, Colonel David Malloy, and his brothers, Messrs. Thomas S. and Robert M. Malloy, to the effect that he used to believe that there was nothing in the negro issue, but having lived in Caswell and seen with his own eyes negro magistrates and negro county commissioners, and negro politicians running Republican conventions, he has changed his mind and proposes to vote the straight Democratic ticket."
The Semi-Weekly Messenger (Wilmington, North Carolina), 3 July 1900.
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Dr. Stephen Arnold Malloy, M.D. (1872-1944)
Colonel David Morton Malloy (1833-1901): large enslaver and Confederate officer
Thomas Settle Malloy (1864-1941)
Robert Martin Douglas Malloy (1870-1908)
See: The Heritage of Rockingham County, North Carolina, Charles Dyson Rodenbough, Editor (1983) at 380-381 (Article #660, "Col. D. M. Malloy Family" by Celia L. Stockett).
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On August 2, 1900, North Carolina approved a constitutional amendment that required residents to pass a literacy test in order to register to vote. Under the provision, illiterate registrants with a relative who had voted in an election prior to the year 1863 were exempt from the requirement.
These provisions effectively disenfranchised most of the state’s African-American voting population. At the same time, the rules preserved the voting rights of most of the state’s poor and uneducated white residents—who were much more likely to have a relative eligible to vote in 1863, before the abolition of slavery and passage of the 14th and 15th Amendments. To the drafters and supporters of the amendment, this outcome was by design.
Sambo and White Supremacy Clubs
In 1900 the editor of The Semi-Weekly Messenger (Wilmington, North Carolina) fully supported the amendment to the North Carolina constitution that effectively disenfranchised black North Carolina citizens. While not alone in his support of the amendment, which passed, his editorials were laced with hatred and ignorance. Here are samples:
"If the amendment is adopted, as it must be, a great cloud will be lifted from the darkened North Carolina sky. The baleful, afflictive rule of Sambo will be gone. . . . The white men must shoulder their responsibilities, assert their manhood, and prove their claim to be considered worthy white citizens. . . . When political debauchery set in then began the negro craze for office and a 'little brief authority' and so on.
"The thing to do now is to restore to the people honest, economical (strictly) good government. It must be done. Civilization demands it. The cause of education demands it. The relief of the people demands it. The safety of pure womanhood demands it. . . .
"While there have been no specially notable demonstrations in the course of the constitutional amendment campaign hereabouts since the visit of Hon. Buck Kitchin to this city [Wilmington, NC] to deliver three campaign speeches early last week there is a lot of good quiet hard work being done by not only the leaders but by the rank and file of New Hanover democracy as well. Faithful work is being done by all the white supremacy clubs and it is safe to predict that very few white men will vote against the amendment. . . .
"On tomorrow, Monday night, there will be the regular weekly meeting of the First Ward White Supremacy Club at Lamb's hall corner. . . ."
Source: The Semi-Weekly Messenger (Wilmington, North Carolina), 3 July 1990.
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