Incumbent governor David P. Lewis was a former Democrat who representedLawrence County at thestate secession convention in the prelude to theAmerican Civil War, voting against secession but eventually serving as a legislator in theProvisional Confederate Congress; he would go on to be a delegate at the1868 Democratic National Convention for Alabama before his joining the Republicans.[1]: 241 [2] Having been an advocate for the re-enfranchisement ofscalawags who had served with the Confederacy[1]: 242–248 and being a longtime resident of Alabama, Lewis was picked as the Republican nominee for theprevious election.[2] However, during his tenure, existing tensions between the factions of the Republicans,[a] particularly over civil rights andReconstruction began to boil over, and the political violence of theKu Klux Klan began to target many of the party's voters.[3]
The Democratic nominee wasGeorge S. Houston, a former representative and Senator for the state who had been pro-Union at the time of secession, but remained in Alabama through the war, though he took no part in its fighting; he was chosen likewise in an effort to appeal to a broader coalition which included Unionists dissatisfied with Lewis' administration.[4] The Democrats presented themselves as "redeemers" who would restore White dominance and eliminate Republican corruption.[4]
Democrats used their comparative unity on the issues of civil rights and Reconstruction to their advantage; the dominance of these issues and the division of the Republicans on them, along with voter intimidation and fraud, handed Democrats the victory.[2][3] After this, the Republicans remained out of the gubernatorial office until1986, ending a period in which several elections had even been won by them and beginning a long period of Democratic dominance in the state.[3][1]: 240
One notable incident of electoral violence took place on election day nearEufaula inBarbour County before moving toSpring Hill, where ballots were then being counted; a similar incident took place inMobile County. In both cases many of the Black voters fled, and the Democrats won the counties.[5][6]: 97
The beginning of Democratic dominance in the state also led to the loss of the rights that had been gained by theBlack population, and the beginning ofsegregation in the state. Soon after the election, the state would pass a new constitution which mandated the effective racial separation of schools,[4] and established funding for each race's schools through thepoll tax, which led in many areas to a lack of any Black schools. Also required was the segregation of prisons, and laws prohibiting interracial marriage and sex remained in place; however, Black suffrage remained mostly intact.[9]: 193–194 By the 1880s, however, perceived threats to Democratic dominance from the ascendantPopulists led to a repeat of the terror and fraud like those against Republicans in prior years, only this time the target was Black and poor White citizens; further laws were passed to enforce segregation and white dominance, including stricter vagrancy and work contract laws.[9]: 194–196 In 1901, a new constitution had been created with the explicit aim of establishing, "within the limits imposed by the federal constitution", a system of white supremacy; this constitution effectively disenfranchised Blacks and many poor Whites by establishing, among other things, property requirements, literacy tests, and a cumulative poll tax.[10]: 295–296 [11]: 72–75
^Most notably consisting of antebellum Unionists, or scalawags; northerners who had moved south post-war, orcarpetbaggers; and the newly enfranchised population of former slaves, orfreedmen.[3]
^Dubin, Michael J. (2010).United States gubernatorial elections, 1861–1911: the official results by state and county. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. p. 36.ISBN978-0-7864-4722-0.
Alabama gubernatorial elections
