For more than 10 years after the close of the Civil War, South Carolina experienced unrest, disenfranchisement and military occupation under Republican Party rule. This book examines the gubernatorial election of 1876, in which the state’s most celebrated Civil War general created a united front in the Democratic Party and wrested control of politics from the Republicans. Of particular note are the ways in which the race, with its disqualified ballots, delays and wrangling, prefigured the 2000 election. For four months, the state endured two warring Houses of Representatives and teetered on the brink of civil war until Washington intervened.

Retired minister Jerry L. West is a local historian of York County, South Carolina. He has written three books on York County and numerous articles.

Jerry L. West

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 222
Bibliographic Info: 30 photos, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2011
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4889-0
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5984-1
Imprint: McFarland

Preface      1
Introduction      3

1. Redemption’s Nativity      11
2. Satan’s Rule      22
3. The Redeemer Cometh      55
4. All the Redeemer’s Men      87
5. Casting Out Satan      110
6. Redeemed!      133

Epilogue      167
Appendix 1. The Making of South Carolina      175
Appendix 2. Asbury Coward      178
Appendix 3. Lewis Mason Grist      182
Appendix 4. General Evader McIver Law      184
Appendix 5. Isaac Donnom Witherspoon, Jr.      186
Appendix 6. Diary of Dr. James Rufus Bratton      189
Notes      197
Bibliography      207
Index      209