Wilmington's Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy

Members of Wilmington’s wealthy Jewish community, such as J. N. Jacobi, participated in the White Supremacy Campaign by threatening to fire Black employees who registered to vote and refusing to sell guns to Black people. Many other white employers gave “similar ultimatums” (128) to their Black employees.

Despite the threats, many Black men still registered to vote. The Red Shirts, wearing white Ku Klux Klan-like caps, would beat and whip Black men who had registered or who were encouraging other Black men to register in a practice known as “white-capping.” One old Black man who was targeted, T. A. Graham, was attacked in his home and later refrained from voting in the election.

The Republican senator of North Carolina, Jeter Pritchard, requested that President William McKinley send federal marshals to protect Black voters. The president declined; the request was leaked and Daniels published it in the newspaper to whip up outrage. North Carolina Governor Russell declined to request federal marshals himself despite fearing for his life from Democratic attacks.

On October 28th, Democrats held a White Man’s Convention in Goldsboro, North Carolina. There, Simmons gave a rousing speech against “‘Negro domination’” (133) and advocated for the lynching of