Jonah Patel
Benjamin Ryan Tillman, former governor and senator of South Carolina, was a white supremacist who used his political platform to advocate for racial violence and the suppression of Black voices. In 1895, Tillman called a state constitutional convention to deny African Americans their voting rights. This new constitution, which took effect on December 4, 1895, introduced barriers to voting, such as an understanding clause and a poll tax, designed to prevent Black participation in government. The 1895 Constitution of South Carolina, driven by Tillman's efforts, has been described as legally disenfranchising the negroes and solidifying democracy for white people in the state.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of the constitution | Constitution of the State of South Carolina |
| Year of adoption | 1895 |
| Purpose | To deny African Americans their voting rights |
| Methods used to silence Black voices | Intimidation through violence and the suppression of legal rights |
| Voter registration requirements | "Intelligence" instead of "personhood" |
| Property requirements for voting | Individuals with at least $20 in property were permitted to vote |
| Impact | Gave the "common white man...a firmer hold on political power" and allowed the codification of Jim Crow laws |
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What You'll Learn
Benjamin Tillman's 1895 Constitution
Benjamin Tillman, born on August 11, 1847, was a populist politician who championed agrarian reform and white supremacy. He served as governor of South Carolina from 1890 to 1894 and as a U.S. senator from 1895 until his death in 1918. Known for his virulent oratory, particularly against African Americans, he was also known for his effectiveness as a legislator.
In 1895, Tillman called for a state constitutional convention in South Carolina, which assembled in Columbia in September of that year. The convention, which included 112 Tillmanites, 42 Conservatives, and six African Americans, was convened with the explicit purpose of disenfranchising African Americans and ensuring white Democratic Party rule. Tillman's efforts at disenfranchisement included a poll tax, educational and property requirements, and a subjective test concerning the Constitution, which allowed registration officials to pass whites and fail blacks.
The new constitution, ratified by the convention in December 1895, set a series of obstacles for prospective voters, such as residency requirements that disproportionately affected African Americans, who often worked as itinerant laborers. The poll tax also put a financial burden on African Americans, as it had to be paid six months in advance of the election, in May when laborers had the least cash.
The 1895 constitution had a significant impact on South Carolina and the nation. No African American was elected to Congress under this constitution until the civil rights movement, and none were elected to statewide or county office after 1900. The constitution also enabled the codification of Jim Crow laws, creating a race-based class system that was difficult to overcome.
Tillman's legacy in South Carolina and the nation remains controversial and disturbing, with his accomplishments being interpreted differently by white and black South Carolinians. While he is remembered as a national hero by white supremacists, African Americans have a very different view of him, with civil rights activist W.E.B. DuBois writing that "it can hardly be expected that any Negro would regret the death of Benjamin Tillman."
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Tillman's anti-African-American legacy
Benjamin Ryan Tillman's political career, which spanned from 1890 until his death in 1918, was marked by efforts to suppress Black voices in South Carolina and the nation more broadly.
Following the defeat of the Confederacy and the ratification of a new constitution in South Carolina in 1865, African Americans' freedom was restricted by Black Codes, which limited their civil rights. Despite this, African Americans made up the majority of South Carolina's population. Tillman, now the largest landowner in Edgefield County, continued to apply violence against his Black workers, stating that it was necessary to "drive the slovenly Negroes to work".
In 1890, Tillman was elected governor, unleashing what human rights activist Modjeska Monteith Simkins called "an era of lynching". During his time as governor, he called out the militia multiple times to prevent lynchings and passed along information and rumors to sheriffs. However, he also made statements in support of racial violence, such as his 1892 vow that "I would lead a lynching". By the end of the decade, at least 51 out of 53 men lynched in South Carolina were Black.
In 1895, Tillman called a state constitutional convention with the explicit purpose of denying African Americans their voting rights. The convention introduced an understanding clause and poll tax as barriers to voting, designed to prevent Black participation in government. Tillman also supported provisions that held counties where lynchings occurred liable for damages to be paid to the heirs of the victims.
Tillman's disfranchisement techniques included educational and property requirements and a subjective test concerning the Constitution, which allowed registration officials to pass whites and fail blacks. He also used his position to oust Black officials, even in areas where African Americans held a voting majority.
In a speech to the U.S. Senate in 1900, Tillman defended his actions, stating, "We of the South have never recognized the right of the negro to govern white men, and we never will".
Tillman's legacy is viewed differently by African Americans and white Americans, with the former seeing his accomplishments as "contradictory" and his efforts to disfranchise Black Southerners as disturbing. He has been described by historian Richard Maxwell Brown as "the best-known and most vitriolic Negrophobe in America".
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The 1895 Constitution's impact
Benjamin Tillman, also known as Ben Tillman, was a white Democrat who served as governor and senator of South Carolina. During his political career, which spanned from 1890 until his death in 1918, Tillman used two primary methods to suppress Black voices in South Carolina: intimidation through violence and the suppression of legal rights.
Tillman's efforts to disenfranchise African Americans through the state legislature and the 1895 Constitution have had a significant impact on the state and the nation. In 1895, Tillman called for a state constitutional convention with the explicit purpose of denying African Americans their voting rights. He implemented a range of disfranchising techniques, including a poll tax, educational and property requirements, and a subjective test concerning the Constitution, which allowed registration officials to discriminate against Blacks and prevent them from registering to vote.
The impact of the 1895 Constitution was profound and far-reaching. It effectively eradicated Black participation in government in South Carolina and solidified white control over politics in the state. The disenfranchisement of African Americans enabled local leaders to codify Jim Crow laws, creating a race-based class system that perpetuated racial segregation and discrimination.
The 1895 Constitution also had a lasting impact on the nation as a whole. Historian Richard Maxwell Brown described Tillman as "the best-known and most vitriolic Negrophobe in America." The constitutional convention of 1895 set a precedent for similar efforts to disenfranchise African Americans in other states, contributing to the widespread denial of civil rights and political representation for Blacks across the country.
Tillman's role in the 1895 Constitution was met with praise from some and condemnation from others. In 1940, a monument honouring Tillman was unveiled, with then-senator James F. Byrnes proclaiming that "the fight [Tillman] waged for the masses of the people is an abiding inspiration to all true lovers of democracy." However, the monument has also been a source of controversy, with many calling for its removal due to Tillman's advocacy for racial violence and the suppression of Black voices.
In summary, the 1895 Constitution, driven by Tillman's efforts, had a significant impact on South Carolina and the nation. It solidified white control over politics, enabled the codification of Jim Crow laws, and contributed to the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans, perpetuating racial inequality and injustice.
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Tillman's political career
Benjamin Ryan Tillman's political career spanned from 1890 until his death in 1918. Tillman was a white Democrat from South Carolina who sought to challenge other white political leaders by playing on the fear of a possible African-American resurgence at the polls.
Tillman's farmer's movement rivaled the Farmer's Alliance and effectively muted the political Populist movement in South Carolina. He supported an agrarian platform that included the free coinage of silver, a federal income tax, and railroad regulation. Tillman was elected governor in 1890, and his time in office was marked by an increase in racial violence and intimidation. He called out the militia multiple times to prevent lynchings and corresponded with sheriffs, passing along information and rumors of contemplated lynchings. In 1892, as governor, Tillman vowed that "I would lead a lynching". By the end of the decade, at least 53 men, 51 of whom were Black, were lynched in South Carolina.
Tillman was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1894, defeating the incumbent senator, Matthew Butler. As a senator, Tillman continued to advocate for the disfranchisement of African Americans. In 1895, he called a state constitutional convention to enact "the sole cause of our being here," which was to deny African Americans their voting rights. The 1895 Constitution introduced an understanding clause and poll tax as barriers to voting, designed to prevent Black participation in government. The new constitution also included a bill of rights, which mirrored the federal Bill of Rights, including freedom of speech, religion, and protection from double jeopardy.
Tillman's highlights as a U.S. senator included the passage of the Hepburn Bill in 1906, which regulated railroads, and the Tillman Act of 1907, which instituted campaign finance reform. In 1900, Tillman spoke in the Senate about the disfranchisement of African Americans, stating that "We of the South have never recognized the right of the negro to govern white men, and we never will." Tillman's efforts to disfranchise African Americans through the state legislature and the 1895 Constitution have had a significant impact on South Carolina and the nation.
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Previous South Carolina constitutions
South Carolina has had seven constitutions, including the current one, which took effect on December 4, 1895. The previous six were adopted in 1669, 1776, 1778, 1790, 1865, and 1868.
The first governmental framework for what is now South Carolina was the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina, written in 1669 by Anthony Ashley Cooper, the lead colonial proprietor, and his secretary, John Locke. Influenced by philosophers such as James Harrington, the document espoused religious tolerance (except for Catholics) and established a system of government based on land ownership. It placed the colony's eight proprietors at the head of its government, along with a bicameral parliament.
The temporary constitution of 1669 was replaced by a permanent one in 1777, which was adopted in March 1778 following consultation with South Carolinians. This new document formally recognized South Carolina's independence from Britain. The legislature retained the power to elect the executive, now called the Governor, along with the Lieutenant Governor and privy council, while the executive's power was substantially diminished. Religion played a much larger role in the 1778 constitution than in its predecessor. After a significant debate, the Church of England was unanimously disestablished in South Carolina, with support from Christopher Gadsden and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney.
The adoption of the United States Constitution in 1787 prompted South Carolinians to revise their constitution once more in 1790. This revision included provisions requiring the ownership of land and slaves to hold public office, and it formally achieved the separation of church and state. However, a form of religious establishment was created, amalgamating all pre-existing Protestant congregations into a single denomination while denying them financial support and forbidding ministers from serving in public office.
Due to the maintenance of an imbalanced apportionment scheme, many Upstate residents were dissatisfied with the 1790 constitution. As a result, the constitution was amended in 1808 to create an apportionment system based on the total white population, addressing many of the concerns. Further amendments were later adopted, including one in 1810 that granted suffrage to all white men over the age of twenty-one.
South Carolina held constitutional conventions in 1861 and 1865, and the 1865 convention resulted in a new constitution that recognized the abolition of slavery and further equalized legislative representation. Direct elections for the governor were implemented, and the governor received veto power. However, this equalization of legislative representation only recognized the white population, and only white men could be elected to the legislature. This constitution also included a bill of rights, which was absent from previous constitutions.
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Frequently asked questions
Benjamin Tillman was a white Democrat and U.S. senator who dominated South Carolina politics in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Benjamin Tillman did not write a new constitution. However, he called for a state constitutional convention in 1895 to deny African Americans their voting rights.
The 1895 convention was called with the purpose of disenfranchising as many African Americans as possible under the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments.
The convention introduced an understanding clause and poll tax as barriers to the vote, designed to prevent Black participation in government.
Benjamin Tillman used his platform as governor and senator to advocate for racial violence and the suppression of legal rights for Black people in South Carolina.
