South Carolina gubernatorial election, 1878
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The 1878 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1878 to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. Wade Hampton III was renominated by the Democrats and ran against nominal opposition in the general election to be reelected for a second two-year term.
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[edit] Campaign
Upon becoming Governor after a prolonged struggle against Daniel Henry Chamberlain from the gubernatorial election of 1876, Wade Hampton adopted moderate racial policies and favored many Republican proposals. For instance, the state modified the agriculture lien law and passed a law giving counties the ability to mandate the fencing of livestock. Hampton also appointed many blacks to government positions and provided for more funds to spent educating black children than white children.
A policy of fusion was thus begun between the Democrats and Republicans in the counties of the Lowcountry where blacks were the overwhelming majority. The parties both agreed to not oppose the others candidate in the various local elections. There was even consideration among state Repulicans to endorse Wade Hampton in the gubernatorial election, but they ultimately decided on not contesting the governorship nor any other statewide office.
Directed by Hampton's former right-hand man, Martin Gary, the Edgefield County Democrats initiated the removal of blacks from political life in South Carolina by forbidding blacks from the party and not acknowledging black Democratic clubs in the county. In addition, new laws were enacted by the General Assembly in 1877 to make it harder for blacks to participate and vote in the electoral process.
[edit] General Election
The general election was held on November 5, 1878 and Wade Hampton was reelected as governor of South Carolina with minimal opposition, although there was much more electoral fraud and violence than the election in 1876. For instance, on Edisto Island the polls never opened where 1,000 Republicans and 50 Democrats lived and Red Shirts in Fairfield County beat anyone who dared vote for a Republican. Therefore, turnout was much less than the 1876 election, but also because there was not a Republican candidate on the ballot and the new laws that were passed to make it more difficult for blacks to vote.
| South Carolina Gubernatorial Election, 1878 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Wade Hampton III | 119,550 | 99.8 | +49.5 | |
| No party | Write-Ins | 213 | 0.2 | +0.2 | |
| Majority | 119,337 | 99.6 | +99.0 | ||
| Turnout | 119,763 | ||||
| Democratic hold | |||||
[edit] See also
- Governor of South Carolina
- List of Governors of South Carolina
- South Carolina gubernatorial elections
[edit] References
- Edgar, Walter (1998). South Carolina A History. University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 1-57003-255-6.
- "The Vote in 1876 and 1878", The News and Courier, 3 November 1880, p. 2.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by 1876 |
South Carolina gubernatorial elections | Succeeded by 1880 |
| South Carolina gubernatorial elections |
|---|
| 1865 • 1868 • 1870 • 1872 • 1874 • 1876 • 1878 • 1880 • 1882 • 1884 • 1886 • 1888 • 1890 • 1892 • 1894 • 1896 • 1898 • 1900 • 1902 • 1904 • 1906 • 1908 • 1910 • 1912 • 1914 • 1916 • 1918 • 1920 • 1922 • 1924 • 1926 • 1930 • 1934 • 1938 • 1942 • 1946 • 1950 • 1954 • 1958 • 1962 • 1966 • 1970 • 1974 • 1978 • 1982 • 1986 • 1990 • 1994 • 1998 • 2002 • 2006 • 2010 |
