Letter from George Washington Murray, Columbia, S.C., to William Lloyd Garrison, 5th April, 1877

Item Information

Title:
Letter from George Washington Murray, Columbia, S.C., to William Lloyd Garrison, 5th April, 1877
Description:
George Washington Murray writes William Lloyd Garrison to convey to the latter a first-hand account of the "political affairs" obtaining in South Carolina. Murray describes the recognition of Wade Hampton as governor of South Carolina as "unwarranted, humiliating, and brutal". Murray accuses Governor Daniel Henry Chamberlain of being "dazzled by the flattery and usual empty promises" of the Democratic Party, and charges Chamberlain with ultimate culpability for the revival of the Democratic Party in South Carolina. Murray asserts that "one Colonel Ferguson", purportedly from Mississippi, canvassed the state prior to the election forming "Sabre, Rifle and Artillery Clubs" to terrorize and surpress African-American and Republican voters. Murray describes the campaign of the "Red Shirts" paramilitary forces operating as the de facto armed wing of the Democratic party during the election, including the Hamburg Massacre organized by M. C. Butler, and recounts that the reported death toll from Hamburg was "far below" the actual total. Murray relates instances of electoral fraud and voter intimidation, writing that "my people have been driven from their own homes by the fierce assassins in their midnight raids, and in many cases they have been brutally murdered", and asserts that many have "died martyrs for the cause of their principle and liberty". Murray castigates President Rutherford B. Hayes for his inaction in the face of white supremacist terrorism and political violence, and opines that they may have been better off were Samuel Tilden elected.
Author:
Murray, George W. (George Washington), 1853-1926
Addressee:
Garrison, William Lloyd, 1805-1879
Date:
April 5, 1877
Format:
Letters/Correspondence
Manuscripts
Location:
Boston Public Library
Rare Books Department
Collection (local):
Anti-Slavery Collection
Subjects:
Antislavery movements--United States--History--19th century
Abolitionists--United States--19th century--Correspondence
Social reformers--United States--History--19th century
African American politicians--United States--History--19th century--Correspondence
African Americans--Suffrage--History--19th century
African Americans--Violence against--History--19th century
Equality before the law--United States--History--19th century
Freedmen--United States--History--19th century
Terrorism--Southern States--History--1865-1877
Paramilitary forces--Southern States--History--1865-1877
Voter intimidation--Southern States--History--19th century
Hamburg Massacre, South Carolina, 1876
Antislavery movements--United States
Abolitionists--United States--History--19th century
Social reformers--United States
African American politicians
Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877)
South Carolina--Politics and government--1865-1950
African Americans--Civil rights--History--19th century
African Americans--Suffrage
African Americans
Violence
Equality before the law--United States
Freed persons--United States
Terrorism--United States
Paramilitary forces
Voter intimidation
Republican Party (U.S. : 1854- )
Ku Klux Klan (19th century)
Murray, George W. (George Washington), 1853-1926
Hampton, Wade, 1818-1902
Butler, M. C. (Matthew Calbraith), 1836-1909
Tilden, Samuel J. (Samuel Jones), 1814-1886
Hayes, Rutherford B., 1822-1893
Democratic Party (U.S.)
Garrison, William Lloyd, 1805-1879
Chamberlain, Daniel Henry, 1835-1907
Places:
Southern United States (area)
South Carolina
Extent:
1 leaf (11 p.) ; 23.4 x 32.5 cm.
Permalink:
https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/5h73zz51f
Terms of Use:
No known copyright restrictions.
No known restrictions on use.
Place of origin:
Columbia, S.C.
Language:
English
Notes:
Holograph, signed.
Title devised by cataloger.
Manuscript addressed from "University of So. Carolina, Columbia, S.C."
Identifier:
5070969
Call #:
MS A.1.2 v.39, p.22
Barcode:
39999066763028