oting precincts elections were as fair as
anywhere in the United States; but it may be safely said that in few
counties where the negroes approached or exceeded fifty per cent of the
total population were elections conducted with anything more than a
semblance of fairness. Yet in some sections the odds were too great, or
else the whites lacked the resolution to carry out such extensive
informal disfranchisement. For years North and South Carolina each sent
at least one negro member to the House of Representatives and, but for
flagrant gerrymandering, might have sent more. Indeed negro prosecuting
attorneys were not unknown, and many of the black counties had negro
officers. Some States, such as North Carolina, gave up local
self-government almost entirely. The Legislature appointed the justices
of the peace in every county, and these elected both the commissioners
who controlled the finances of the county and also the board of
education which appointed the school committeemen. Judges were elected
by the State as a whole and held courts in all the counties in turn. To
this day, a Superior Court judge sits only six months in one district
and then moves on to another. Other States gave up local government to a
greater or less extent, while still others sought to lessen the negro
vote by strict registration laws and by the imposition of poll taxes.

In many sections the negro ceased to make any attempt to vote, and the
Republican organization became a skeleton, if indeed it continued at
all. There was always the possibility of a revival, however, and after
1876 the North often threatened Federal control of elections. The
possibility of negro rule was therefore only suspended and not
destroyed; it might at any time be restored by force. The possibility of
the negro's holding the balance of power seemed dangerous and ultimately
led to attempts to disfranchise him by law, which will be considered in
another chapter.

The relation of the races was not the only question which confronted the
whites when they regained control of the state governments. The problem
of finance was equally fundamental. The increase in the total debt of
the seceding States had been enormous. The difference between the debts
of these States (excluding Texas) in 1860 and in the year in which they
became most involved was nearly $135,000,000.[1] In proportion to the
total wealth of these States, this debt was extremely high.

[Footnote 1: See W.A. Scott