The Wilmington Coup of 1898: A Violent Effort to Restore White Supremacy and Overthrow a Biracial Government

1. The Rise of White Supremacy in North Carolina (1898)

Starting in 1898, North Carolina became a focal point of a white supremacy campaign aimed at restoring white dominance in the state. This movement was driven by white men who felt that African Americans should not share political power, despite having gained significant influence through Reconstruction. The campaign was primarily spearheaded by white supremacists and former Confederates, who sought to undo the political progress African Americans had made in the state after the Civil War.

Wilmington, the largest city in North Carolina and an important East Coast port, was central to this struggle. The city was known for its biracial government, where African Americans, largely members of the Republican Party (the party of Lincoln), worked alongside white men from the Populist Party to form a fusionist government. This government represented a significant challenge to the established white power structure, and white supremacists in North Carolina saw it as a threat to their control.

2. The 1898 Election and the Restoration of White Rule

In the 1898 election, a concerted effort was made to “restore white rule” in North Carolina, as white supremacists rallied to reclaim control of the state legislature. The election campaign included a variety of tactics aimed at suppressing African American voters, including voter intimidation, ballot stuffing, and other corrupt methods designed to disenfranchise Black men. Despite these efforts, the Democratic Party successfully regained control of the state government by November 1898.

The election results were not just a political victory for white supremacists, but also marked the beginning of a larger effort to dismantle the biracial government that had been formed through the fusion of African Americans and white Populists. The Democratic Party’s success was driven by a backlash against Reconstruction-era progress and a desire to restore the old racial order, which placed African Americans in a subordinate position.

3. The Violent Overthrow of Wilmington’s Biracial Government

In the aftermath of the 1898 election, a violent coup was staged in Wilmington to overthrow the biracial government. The white supremacists who had taken control of the state government quickly moved to eliminate the remaining fusionist leaders in Wilmington, the city’s last stronghold of African American political influence. Their tactics included a series of violent actions designed to intimidate and remove African American political figures from power.

One of the most significant actions taken by the white supremacists was the burning of the only Black daily newspaper in the city, which was a key source of information and political influence for the African American community. This act of violence was symbolic of the broader effort to silence Black voices and suppress African American political power.

4. The Forced Resignation of Fusionist Leaders

Following the violence and intimidation, white supremacists in Wilmington convened a meeting to strategize how they would replace the fusionist leaders with their own Democratic counterparts. This included forcing the fusionist leaders—many of whom were African American—out of office. Not only were these leaders forced to resign, but they were also driven out of the city entirely, as the white supremacist forces sought to erase any remnants of the biracial government that had once existed.

This marked a dramatic shift in Wilmington’s political landscape, as the city, which had been a symbol of biracial cooperation and progress, was transformed into a bastion of white supremacy. The coup and subsequent violence sent a clear message to anyone who might resist white rule, signaling that there would be severe consequences for those who opposed the white supremacist agenda.

5. The Legacy of the Wilmington Coup and the Backlash Against Progress

The events of 1898 in Wilmington are an example of the lengths to which white supremacists would go to maintain their power and prevent the advancement of African Americans. The coup and the violence that accompanied it were part of a broader effort to reverse the gains made during Reconstruction and to disenfranchise Black voters across the South. The Wilmington coup represents one of the most violent and extreme examples of this backlash.

The long-term effects of the coup were felt for decades, as African Americans in Wilmington and throughout the South were systematically excluded from the political process through laws and practices designed to limit their voting rights and participation in government. The violent overthrow of the fusionist government in Wilmington was not just a local event; it was part of a national pattern of racial violence and repression that helped entrench white supremacy in the South for much of the 20th century.

6. Conclusion: The Impact of the Wilmington Coup on African American Political Power

The coup in Wilmington in 1898 was a pivotal moment in American history, marked by the violent removal of fusionist leaders and the restoration of white supremacist control. This event not only reshaped Wilmington’s political landscape but also served as a model for the violent tactics employed by white supremacists across the South in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is a reminder of the lengths to which white supremacy was willing to go to maintain control, and it underscores the ongoing struggle for political and racial equality in the United States. The Wilmington coup represents one of the most violent and dramatic attempts to erase the gains of Reconstruction and reassert white dominance in American politics.