South Carolina gubernatorial election, 1878

Elections in South Carolina
Federal government Presidential elections 1788-89 1792 1796 1800 1804 1808 1812 1816 1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 Presidential primaries Democratic 2004 2008 Republican 2000 2008 2012 United States Senate elections 1896 1902 1908 1912 1914 1918 1920 1924 1926 1930 1932 1936 1938 1942 1944 1948 1950 1954 1956 1960 1962 1966 1968 1972 1974 1978 1980 1984 1986 1990 1992 1996 1998 2002 2004 2008 2010 2014 2016 United States House elections 1788 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 Special elections Senate, 1897 7th district, 1901 4th district, 1915 Senate, 1918 6th district, 1919 7th district, 1919 Senate, 1941 4th district, 1953 1st district, 1971 2nd district, 2001 1st district, 2013 Senate, 2014 Others
State offices General elections 2006 2010 2014 Gubernatorial elections 1865 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1930 1934 1938 1942 1946 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 State Senate elections 2008 State House elections 2008
Ballot measures 2006 Amendment 1 2008 2010 2012 2014

Wade Hampton III

The 1878 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1878 to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. Wade Hampton III was renominated by the Democrats and ran against no organized opposition in the general election to win reelection for a second two-year term.

Campaign

Upon becoming Governor after a prolonged struggle against Daniel Henry Chamberlain in the gubernatorial election of 1876, Wade Hampton adopted moderate racial policies and favored many Republican proposals. For instance, the state modified the agriculture lien law and passed a law giving counties the ability to mandate the fencing of livestock. Hampton also appointed many blacks to government positions and provided for more funds to be spent educating black children than white children.

Republican convention

The state Republican Party held their convention in Columbia on August 7 and August 8. The white Republican leaders opposed fielding a slate of candidates for statewide offices and even proposed a resolution to endorse Hampton. They felt that any opposition to Hampton would only encourage the Democrats to mount an aggressive and unified campaign.^[1] Instead, they proposed for the party to concentrate its resources on contesting the local races in hopes that the Democrats would not vigorously contest those elections due to lack of competition at the state level.

However, many prominent black Republicans favored fielding a slate of statewide candidates and launch an all out campaign against the Democrats. The sentiment among the delegates favored this position, but party chairman, Robert B. Elliott, and other Republican leaders managed to convince the delegates the futility of fielding a statewide campaign. When a resolution was offered to pledge the Republican Party to field a state ticket, it was defeated by a vote of 85-35. The platform of the party adopted at the convention merely stated that a full slate was inexpedient because it was "impossible for Republican voters to organize and vote without incurring great personal danger".^[2] Thus, the campaign of 1878 for the Republicans was left up to the county organizations.

Fusion

An attitude of apathy and defeatism swept through the Republican camp and most were resigned to the inevitable destruction of the party. One leader commented that it was highly unlikely "that the Republicans could succeed without federal troops in 1878 where they had failed with them in 1876."^[3] Several Republican county organizations passed resolutions supporting Hampton's reelection for governor and even endorsed Democratic candidates for county offices. For example, in Marion County the Republicans placed five out of nine Democratic candidates on their ticket in a policy of fusion.^[4]

Democratic division

Throughout Hampton's first term in office, he appealed for political harmony between the races. Hampton carried out his pledge to ensure equal rights between the races and he appointed more black men to office than Chamberlain had during his term as governor.^[5] The more militant faction of the Democratic Party, led by Martin Gary, was entirely against any cooperation with blacks and instead sought to remove blacks completely from political life. The Edgefield County Democrats would not acknowledge any black Democratic clubs and they prevented blacks from participating in the primary elections. Hampton publicly refuted this policy and no other county followed suit.^[4] Nevertheless, new laws were enacted by the General Assembly in 1877 to make it harder for blacks to participate and vote in the electoral process.

General election

The general election was held on November 5, 1878 and Wade Hampton was reelected as governor of South Carolina with no organized opposition, although there was much more electoral fraud and violence than the election in 1876. For instance, on Edisto Island where 1,000 Republicans and 50 Democrats resided, the polls never opened. The Red Shirts in Fairfield County physically beat anyone who dared vote for a Republican. Combined with the lack of a Republican candidate and new prohibitive voting laws, turnout was not surprisingly much less than the 1876 election.

See also

• Governor of South Carolina
• List of Governors of South Carolina
• South Carolina gubernatorial elections

Notes

References

• Edgar, Walter (1998). South Carolina A History. University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 1-57003-255-6. 
• Jarrell, Hampton M. (1969). Wade Hampton and the Negro. University of South Carolina Press. 
• Holt, Thomas (1979). Black over White: Negro Political Leadership in South Carolina during Reconstruction. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-00775-1. 
• "Settling Down to Work". The News and Courier. 28 November 1878. p. 1. 
• "The Vote in 1876 and 1878". The News and Courier. 3 November 1880. p. 2. 
• "Election Returns." Reports and Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina at the Regular Session of 1878. Columbia, South Carolina: Calvo and Patton, 1878, p. 436.

External links

• SCIway Biography of Governor Wade Hampton III