Year: 1876

Gen Wade Hampton, the Democratic
candidate for Governor in South Carolina,


made a speech ut Chesterfield. Sept 2G,
to an immense throng Of people, white
and black After thanking his audience
for their enthusiastic and kindly GRE citing
the General said:


] am not given to eXaggeration, but
tell you have seen brave men enough
enrolled in the Democratic clubs up there
to carry this election, and told the peo-
pie Of the up-country that when return
ed to the lower country would tell the
people if they take any pleasure in pArHl-
ing about with music and cavalry would
Join with them; but it is unnecessary, for
the people Of the mountains have already
saved the State; and have votes enough
to carry out the pledges they have made
And it gives me infinite pleasure to ;,u-
nounre to the colored people that that
majority in the up country is largely made
M "f thnm At the mentin~ at llQnca
Path had the pleasure Of scelnE three
hundred joln the cayalcade and ride side
by side with their white brothers, and who
were pledged to vote for an hon est gov
prnment ! saw one club of hundred
composeu entirely Of cJlored men, who
Joined i'm the pr0cessou, at tended the
meeting and surrounded the stand, aId
there was no organization on that ground
that attracted more attention and gave
greater pleasure than that club Of honest
coiored tueH


VIII tell You what the people of the
mountain districts nave said and done.
lhev have shown our colored friends that
our cause Is theirs and our interest itlenti-


L.. o. .I,.
deep that no piummet Will ever reach
them. They have shown them that we
are sure of this election and invited them
to Join us. and those who viii come viii


be welcomed II, we will welcome every
honest man Of South Carolina who will
Join us not III a fight for mere party. but
the redemption Of our State. Cheers
We have told them that all over those
mountains, and in SOME of these counties
where there has been It c0lOred majority,
there viii hardly be a vote against us,
The people OF that country went round
to the black men; every man made him
sell Il Committee Of one To induce the
colored people to come and near us show
them the true issues and appeal to them
as Carotinians to support our efforts. We
who are Your standards bearers. in going
through that country, declared that there
must De no riots, no blood shed, no dis
turbancr. That we must recognize every
citizen of South Carolina, white and black
as equal before the law. And have never
heard one word OF contention nor seen an
angry gesture at any Of onr meetings; !;
but / have seen the white man and the
colored man marching on hand in hand
and shoulder to shoulder, to place them
selves upon that platform given to us by
the Convention on the 10th Of August


Now YOU can all do the same as these
people have done. | have been told since
coming upon this ground that the reason
there are SO few colored men present is
because they have been told that if they
attended these meetings they ran great
risks, and that trouble would come upon
them That, say, is UNANIMOUSLY false,
from beginning to end | assure YOU that
if We're ut a political meeting. and the
life OF n colored man should be in danger
uniustly. | would risk my own life to save
him. TCheers And have done this very
thing. Years ago, during the existence Of
slavery, happened to be in Mississippi


when it was II very lawless State and
there was a colored man who had COM





in ,all forty miles away, and y body of
men went to the jail, broke it open, took
him out, and had what they called a trial.
| heard of it and went over. The gentle
man who owned this colored man said he
had been told was opposed to the lynch
inc of the unfortunate man, and requested
me to speak in his behalf. | said = | will
do that, and | will do more than that. If
YOU will get us two more men and give
us all doubled -barrelled guns, | will take
him out of the hands of those men and put
him back in Jail, and give him ny life be-
fore he shall be subjected to lynch law


They told me if opposed the intentions
of those men they would lynch me | said
let them DO it, but would 90 and tell


them that if that man is lynched at their


hands, they would be guilty of murder |
did so, and would risk my life to sustain
| the laws of her citizens


| The colored people have been told that
| it will be dangerous for them to attend


these meetings At Walhalla, after had


asked if there was a Republican present,


one ragged poor colored man got up and


said, Il am Republican, and the people


raised yell of Indignation. | rose and


told them that had offered free speeches


wherever | went; that | recognized this


as land of free speech, tree thought. Il


free press, and Il land of free men, and


said hear that man. And the audience sat


down, and that colored man said that he


was Republican; those were his princi-


pies, and he expected TO vote the Republi-


can ticket, and when he made that an