tried by the fiery test of war, and have survived. It remains to
be seen whether the attempt to govern the country by the power of
a 'solid South,' unlawfully consolidated, can be successful....
The republic must be strong enough, and shall be strong enough,
to protect the weakest of its citizens in all their rights." And
so late as 1884, Mr. Sherman earnestly contended for the
principle of national intervention in the conduct of state
elections. "The war," he said, "emancipated and made citizens of
five million people who had been slaves. This was a national act
and whether wisely or imprudently done it must be respected by
the people of all the States. If sought to be reversed in any
degree by the people of any locality it is the duty of the
national government to make their act respected by all its
citizens."

Republican party platforms reiterated such opinions long after
their practical futility had become manifest. Indeed, it was a
matter of common knowledge that negro suffrage had been undone by
force and fraud; hardly more than a perfunctory denial of the
fact was ever made in Congress, and meanwhile it was a source of
jest and anecdote among members of all parties behind the scenes.
Republican members were bantered by Democratic colleagues upon
the way in which provision for Republican party advantage in the
South had actually given to the Democratic party a solid block of
sure electoral votes. The time at last came when a Southern
Senator, Benjamin Tillman of South Carolina, blurted out in the
open what had for years been common talk in private. "We took the
government away," be asserted. "We stuffed ballot boxes. We shot
them. We are not ashamed of it.... With that system--force,
tissue ballots, etc.--we got tired ourselves. So we called a