Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1886-11-06
The Negro in Politics.

On Wednesday, Nov. IS, 1882, the
following article appeared in the South
ern Progress, a Republican organ pub
lished in Bowling Green in the interest
OF DIR. W. Godfrey Hunter during the
Halsell- Hunter campaign. We ven
ture the assertion that none OF the as
piring doctors organs will pay their re-
sdects to the colored voters during the
1886 canvass in the same language; let
many OF the colored citizens OF the die
trict have awful good memories and
they will not be apt to for what was
SAID about them in 1882:
ITO our mind it appears that the
time has come when the negre should
be an independent factor in politics.
From the day he became citizen until
now the Republican party has natural
ly claimed the suffrages OF the freedmen
as its own. That party gave the negro
all the rights he possesses to-day; it
took him from bondage and made him
free; it gave him equal protection un.
des the law: it gave to him the right OF
suffrage, and endowed him with citi-
zenship; il has elected him to Office,
chosen him as delegate to the party
conventions, put him on committees
and made him chairman, it has battled
for equal educational facilities for his
children, and in a word has carried him
through all the vicissitudes OF his
changed condition until now; what
could be more natural than had the Re-
publican party..should claim the sup
port OF the negro in maintaining it in
power? But notwithstanding the sac
rifices made by the party in his behalf,
the negro has been found utterly un-
reliable when called upon to assist il;
he has been weighed in the political
balance and found to be very unstable
quality. That the negro has been a
burden and hindrance to the party is
and incontrovertible fact. He has been
the greatest load the party has had to
carry, and has contributed more to the
party's defeat than all other causes COM
bined. In this State it has only been
necessary to appeal to race prejudice to
defeat the Republican candidates; but
we have borne defeat and endured the
sneers and jeers of our enemies, that
the men made free my us might be
strengthened and made competent to
take care OF their own interests. But
what is the result? No sooner are they
settled in their new relations than they
turn their backs upon the party that
has made them citizens and given them
all the rights they enjoy. They have
no gratitude, and the most OF them have
no higher estimate Of citizenship than
the price their votes will command at
the polls. There are some honorable
exceptions to the general rule, but as
class the negro has poor apprecia-
ton of his citizenship, and is not a
desirable quantity 10 to any
party. We do not write this with any
reference to the late canvass; what was
/ true in the recent election is true oI
every election since the negro became a
voter. Nor is it written without due
deliberation we have observed closely
the political course Of the negIo, and
have arrived at the conclusion that the
sooner the Republican party takes q
decided stand independent of the negro
race, the better it will be for the party
Let the negro choose his own party, lei
them organize party Of their own il
they wish; but we take the position that
the Republican party should pander to
them no longer, because when it comes
to voting, the side having the mos
money gets them, and the party thai
has bridged them over, suffers because
of them. When party is expected Oh
required to use money to retain its owr
voters, it is time that it cut loose from
from the uncertain quantity and assert
its independence. The principles o
the Republican party are sufficient t(
perpetuate its power If they are proper
ly administered.