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The 1876 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1876 to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. The election campaign was a referendum on the Radical Republican-led state government and their Reconstruction policies. Opponents disputed the challenger Wade Hampton III's victory, gained by a margin of little more than 1100 votes statewide. But he took office in April 1877, after President Hayes withdrew federal troops as a result of a national Democratic compromise, and the incumbent Daniel Henry Chamberlain left the state. Governor Chamberlain had been unable to preserve the peace in the months beforehand, reducing support for Republicans as white Democratic paramilitary groups attacked Republican blacks in numerous areas of the state, particularly the Piedmont, in violent incidents including the Hamburg Massacre, and riots at Ellenton and Cainhoy. Under this pressure, some blacks were discouraged from voting altogether; others had aligned with Democrats for a variety of reasons. White voters overwhelmingly supported the Democratic ticket in November. The turbulent atmosphere ended before election day, which was peaceful. Democrat Wade Hampton narrowly won with slightly more than 1100 votes statewide following the suppression of black voters, particularly in Edgefield County. The election was disputed and a prolonged contest ensued as both parties established separate governments. Chamberlain lost most of his support and in early 1877 was kept in office by Federal troops guarding the state capitol. When President Rutherford B. Hayes ordered the troops to stand down, Chamberlain left the state and Hampton was confirmed as the 77th governor of South Carolina. ==Background== South Carolina entered 1876 having had eight years of Radical Republican rule. Whites had resisted social and political changes after the war, and believed that the Reconstruction programs set up by the Republicans were used by corrupt politicians and carpetbaggers to their financial benefit. At the same time, many whites were angered by the passage of 13th, 14th, 15th amendments which guaranteed citizenship rights to former slaves. Former Confederates were not allowed to vote or hold office for several years until the passage of the Amnesty Act in 1872. Following that, Southern Democrats ran for office and sought to regain political control of the state. The elections were seasons of violence by white paramilitary groups against blacks to disrupt Republican meetings and reduce their vote. There were some divisions among freedmen and blacks who had been free before the war; many black citizens of the state began to question the efficacy of Republican rule and some former slaves later stated that life was better under slavery.〔Drago, p66〕 But, most blacks remained steadfastly loyal to the Republican Party because of the brutality of Southern whites. After the end of the Civil War, many whites had conducted a decade-long insurgency to maintain white supremacy and suppress black political power. Black citizens, however, constituted a sizable majority of the electorate, particularly in the Low Country and with narrow majorities in several Piedmont counties. The state Democratic Party was unorganized, not having contested a state election since 1868, when it was utterly defeated by the Republicans. The Democratic Party also divided on a strategy for contesting the general election. Most Democrats heading into the May convention decided to not oppose the governorship and other state offices because Governor Daniel Henry Chamberlain had implemented many favorable reforms. Known as fusionists, they also felt that any effort spent on state offices would be wasted and better served by trying to acquire a majority in the General Assembly. The more ardent Democrats, called the "Straighout Democrats", gained strength after the General Assembly elected former Governor Franklin J. Moses Jr. and William Whipper to circuit judgeships, as they were considered corrupt. The nominations were blocked by Governor Chamberlain, but the Straightouts believed that meaningful political reform would happen only when Democrats gained power. In their opinion, every race from governor to coroner had to be contested. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「South Carolina gubernatorial election, 1876」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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