Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1864-05-12
Negro Suffrase---Demoeratie Precedents.


The Nashville Times reviyes some facts in
regard to negro suffrage in Tennessee. Up
to the year 1885 free negroes voted in that
state. A motion in the first constitutional
convention, to confne the right of suffrage to
6 free WHITE men, was voted down. The
Times says:
The politicians courted the free negro vote.
Candidates for Congress electioneered with
negro voters as laboriously and zealously as
they did in bar-rooms and doggeries with
white voters. The aged and venerable Major
VIM. l.. Lewis, Of this city, General Jacksons
confidential friend, and auditor IN the Treas
ury Department during his administration,
man of high social position, and slavehold-
en- informed US recently that the leaders OF
the various political parties manifested quite
as much soicitude to secure the votes of free
negroes as they did those Of white men,
The free negro vote once elected Hon. John
Bell to the national House of Representatives,
and no doubt the great Champion of " South
ern Rights" and the Union, Constitution and
enforcement of the laws" treated many sa-
bic friend to glass of pure old Robertson"
Andrew jackson received thousands OF free
negro votes, for they were very friendly to
the brave soldier On account OF the high COM
pliment he paid to his colored soldiers at Mo-
bile for their bravery, n public order, in
which he said: Il expected much of you. |
knew how well you loved your native coun-
try. You have done more than | expected.
In addition to the qualities before knew you
to possess, / found among you a noble e'dhuS,-
asha, uhich leads to tie performance Of great
THINGS" The negro is grateful being, and
he never deserted Old Hickory. Hon. Felix
Grumpy, United States Senator, and member
of the Cabinet, and Hon. Ephraim III. Foster,
United States Senator, and one of the lead
ing politicians of the State for many years,
were both great favorites at different periods
with the free negro voters. Foster at one
time was said to have unbounded influence
with the negroes and to carry their votes in
his pocket. That gallant old soldier and
upright man, Gen. VIM. B. Carroll, was also
very popular with the free negroes, and court
ed their votes very successfully IN his differ
cnt canvasses. At one hotly contested cleo
ton, one of his friends led a procession of
sixty negroes to the polls, who cast a solid
vote for General Carroll. Not the slightest
opposition was made to the polling of this
vote, and no one ever dared to modest ne
groes at the polls A physician in Southern
Kentucky, a gentleman of unimpeachable We
seen Hon. Care johnson, Postmaster General
upder Pau Buren,, IN his early political races
lead t0o negro UoteyS to tie polls, on election day,
one each arm. The instances which we have
enumerated are not exceptional cases; they
were of yearly occurrence for more than thir-
ty years, and doubtless our older citizens can
recall multitudes of like cases.
The Times gives the names of number of
negroes at Nashville who were formerly vot-
ers, ardent supporters Of JACKSON, and
straight out State-Rights Democrats. Free
negroes were also required to do military du-
ty the same as whites, and trained in the
same company with white men.
We do not reproduce these facts to urge
our State to follow the example of the dis
tinguished Democrats of Tennessee, but for
the benefit of our Democratic readers, that
they may know that 10 serious jeopardy to a
commonwealth attends upon such an extern
sion of the right of suffrage. For many years
large numbers Of negroes voted in Tennessee.
They were of sufficient consequence to have
their votes eagerly sought after. No
class of men were more ardent in
cultivating their good opinion or more
fraternal in their relations with them than
Democratic politicians. If there is any
peculiar odor exhaling from the free black
man, disagreeable to Democratic olfactories,
if was not sufficient to repel the Democratic
politician in search of votes. 1t is also i'm
portant to observe that no negro was, during
that period, elected Governor of the State, or
sent to either House of Congress, though we
are warned at the North that such are the ne
cessary results of colored suffrage. Nor is it
recorded that the tendency to miscegenation
was any more marked in the State of Tennes-
see during the thirty years and more while
negroes were permitted to vote, than since
that right has been taken from them.