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Articles in regional publications that pertain to a wide range of North Carolina-related topics.

The Senator and the Simmons Machine, Part I

Record #:
8572
Author(s):
Abstract:
Furnifold McLendel Simmons, known as “The Senator,” was born in New Bern in 1854. Although he did not attend law school, he passed both of his law examinations and practiced law in Jones County, New Bern, and Goldsboro. The seventeen-year period following Reconstruction was controlled by the Democratic Party, an era called the Bourbon Democracy. When people's cries for tax reform went unheeded, a new political party called the Populist Party was formed to run against both Democrats and Republicans in 1892. During this period of upheaval, Simmons accepted the position of chairman of the state Democratic party and helped to put Elias Carr in the governor's office, also in 1892. These activities were the beginning of what would be known as “the Simmons Machine.” In 1898, Simmons was again appointed chairman of the Democratic Party, which used the platform “Black Supremacy or White Supremacy in North Carolina?” and employed red-shirted horsemen to keep African Americans from voting. Democrats regained control of the General Assembly, and in 1899 Simmons proposed a suffrage amendment and grandfather clause to discourage African American voters. Simmons helped elect Charles Brantley Aycock, the Democratic nominee, to the governor's office in 1900, and from 1901-1931 Simmons served as a United States Senator.\r\n
Source:
The State (NoCar F 251 S77), Vol. 50 Issue 6, Nov 1982, p8-12, 31, il, por