The Negro Republican Party was one name used, in the period before the end of the civil rights movement, for a branch of the Republican Party in the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

, particularly

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, that was predominantly made up of

Black Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

. In the Republican Party in the South, during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

and

Reconstruction Era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...

as well as decades thereafter, there was a split in the party's constituency and organization. One faction consisted of conservative White moderates, who (either gleefully or with reluctance) accepted limits on African-American civil rights and generally excluded African Americans from party participation, especially in leadership; nationally, this faction was aligned with the contemporary Moderate Republicans, also known as " Half-Breeds" following the end of Reconstruction in the

Compromise of 1877 The Compromise of 1877, also known as the Wormley Agreement, the Tilden-Hayes Compromise, the Bargain of 1877, or Corrupt bargain, the Corrupt Bargain, was a speculated unwritten political deal in the United States to settle the intense dispute ...

. The other faction consisted of African Americans and so-called radicals who supported African-American civil rights and party participation; nationally, this faction was aligned with the contemporary

Radical Republicans The Radical Republicans were a political faction within the Republican Party originating from the party's founding in 1854—some six years before the Civil War—until the Compromise of 1877, which effectively ended Reconstruction. They ca ...

, including the "

Stalwart Stalwart may refer to: Ships * , several Royal Australian Navy ships * , several US Navy ships * ''Stalwart''-class ocean surveillance ship, a US Navy class ** , lead ship of the class * RSS ''Stalwart'', a Singapore Navy frigate Places * Sta ...

" faction of the party which subsequently materialized upon the Compromise of 1877 and succeeded the Radicals thereafter. One method of Black participation in the Republican Party at the time included involvement in the " Union Leagues," Republican political organizations formed in the South in 1867 during the Reconstruction Era to promote Black political activity and civil rights (named after the organizations of the same name formed in the North during the Civil War to promote activity in favor of the Union). After circa 1890 (when the factional division in the national Republican Party between the Half-Breeds and Stalwarts is generally understood to have ended), the pro-Black, racially inclusive faction of the Republican Party in the South became generally known as the

black-and-tan faction The black-and-tan faction was an American biracial faction in the Republican Party in the Southern United States from the 1870s to the 1960s. It replaced the Negro Republican Party faction's name after the 1890s. Southern Republicans were divi ...

, while the racially exclusive, White-centric faction became generally known as the

lily-white movement The Lily-White Movement was an anti-black political movement within the Republican Party in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a response to the political and socioeconomic gains made by African-Americans follo ...

. William F. Butler of

Jefferson County, Kentucky Jefferson County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 782,969. It is the most populous county in the commonwealth (with more than twice the population of sec ...

spoke at the first convention of the Negro Republican Party held in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

in November 1867 and became the president of the party. The religious leader Elisha Green was chosen vice-president of the Kentucky branch at the Lexington convention in 1867. He was a leading Baptist preacher in Maysville and

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until he died in 1889. Democrats opposed civil rights and voting rights for African Americans who were the majority of eligible voters in some states. In 1866, '' The Old Guard'' magazine accused the Democrats of using force and fraud to gain and retain power, and representing "but a despised faction of the American people". In the 1890s, the

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Times-Picayune ''The Times-Picayune , The New Orleans Advocate'' (commonly called ''The Times-Picayune'' or the ''T-P'') is an American newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ancestral publications of other names date back to January 25, 1837. The cu ...

'' published editorials in favor of disenfranchisement of Negroes on the basis that they were "unfit to vote, ignorant, shiftless, depraved and criminal-minded", and would be controlled by a "ring" of white politicians. In September 1895 after a "pow-wow" of the Negro Republican Party, the ''Picayune'' claimed that whites would be willing to accept subordinate positions in the party to control the Negro vote. In his 1920 book ''Children of the Slaves'', the British author

Stephen Graham Stephen Graham (born 3 August 1973) is an English actor and film producer. He began his career in 1990, with early notable roles in '' Snatch'' (2000) and ''Gangs of New York'' (2002), before his breakthrough role as Andrew "Combo" Gascoigne ...

mentions that in New Orleans the Negro Republican Party could not count for much in votes. African American males were allowed some voting rights in

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

until 1901, when the state functionally disenfranchised them although still technically letting them register. The Negro Republican Party in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

was organized in opposition to the lily-white Republican party, after that party prevented any of the twenty-five black delegates from taking part in its Birmingham convention. In

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, while the Democrats were typically against allowing blacks to vote at all, the Republicans wanted to give them this and other basic rights, but many did not want blacks to hold important political offices or to have frequent contact with whites. Their vote was important to the Republicans, however. In 1909, at a time when the Democrats were pushing for disenfranchisement in the state, the Republicans called on all members of the Negro Republican Party to turn out on voting day in every district.

See also

References

Further reading