| Readjuster Party | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1877 |
| Dissolved | 1895 |
| Succeeded by | Democratic Party |
| Ideology | Populism |
| Politics of the United States Political parties Elections |
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The Readjuster Party was a political coalition formed in Virginia in the late 1870s during the turbulent period following the American Civil War. Readjusters aspired "to break the power of wealth and established privilege" and to promote public education, a program which attracted biracial support. The party was led by Harrison H. Riddleberger of Woodstock, an attorney, and William Mahone, a former Confederate general who was president of several railroads. Mahone was a controlling force in Virginia politics from around 1870 until 1883, when his party, the "Readjusters", lost control to the "Conservative Democrats".
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In the 1870s, the politics of Virginia was divided over the issue of the state's pre-war debt. The debt primarily stemmed from infrastructure improvements overseen by the Virginia Board of Public Works, largely in canals, roads, and railroads. Prior to 1861, the State had purchased a total of $48,000,000 worth of stock in turnpike, toll bridge, canal, and water and rail transportation enterprises. Many of these improvements were heavily damaged or destroyed during the Civil War by Union forces. Much of those remaining were located in the portion of the state which became West Virginia and much of the debt was held by "northerners", making the issue of debt repayment complex. Those who supported a readjustment of the debt, were known as "Readjusters", whereas those in favour of funding the entire debt (plus interest), became known as "Funders".
After his unsuccessful bid for governor in 1877 as a Republican, Mahone became the leader of the "Readjusters". He formed a cross-party coalition of Democrats, and both European American and black Republicans. He sought reduction in Virginia's pre-war debt, and an appropriate allocation made to the former portion of the state which constituted the new State of West Virginia. For several decades thereafter, the two states disputed the new state's share of the Virginian government's debt. The issue was finally settled in 1915, when the United States Supreme Court ruled that West Virginia owed Virginia $12,393,929.50. The final installment of this sum was paid off in 1939.
The Readjuster Party promised to "readjust" the state debt, repeal the poll tax (which had suppressed voting by blacks and poor whites) and increase funding for schools and other public facilities. The Readjuster Party was successful in electing its candidate, William E. Cameron as governor, and he served from 1882-1886. Mahone served as a Senator in the U.S. Congress from 1881 to 1887. However, in Congress, he became primarily aligned with the Republican Party, as did fellow Readjuster Harrison H. Riddleberger, who served in the U.S. Senate from 1883-1889. Both Mahone and Riddleberger were replaced in the U.S. Senate by Democrats.
The Readjusters' effective control of Virginia politics lasted until 1883, when they lost majority control in the state legislature. In 1885 the Democrat Fitzhugh Lee was elected governor. The collapse of the party was precipitated in part by its appointment of two freedmen to the Richmond school board. The collapse of the biracial Republican coalition was related to a broader struggle, however, over the right of free marriage and state attempts to ban miscegenation. Freedmen wanted to protect equality of rights in marriage, in part to gain protection for previous common law marriages.[1]
Mahone stayed active in politics, but lost his bid for reelection as U.S. Senator, and as well as another bid for Governor (as a Republican). Riddleberger died in 1890, Mahone in 1895. After the Readjuster Party disappeared, Virginia's Democratic Party dominated. The legislature passed constitutional changes and legislation that effectively disfranchised all blacks and some poor whites, and created Jim Crow legalized segregation.