Supporters of white supremacy did not only use violence to influence the votes of African Americans. They also threatened to fire them if they voted for Grant and his allies.
In this article the Charleston Mercury says that it is the duty of white Southerners to refuse to employ African Americans who voted for the Republicans. The editorial appeared in the most prominent position in the newspaper:
Charleston Mercury
Thursday, Nov 05, 1868
Charleston, SC
Page: 1
Because the article is quite long, some paragraphs have been left out.
The editorial asks if Black and Republican employers should be required to hire members of the Ku Klux Klan. In an early use of the “reverse discrimination” claim, the author says that if it is okay for a black man to refuse to hire a Klanman, then it is equally okay for a white man to refuse to hir a Black Republican.
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