1898 North Caroline Election

Populists didn’t always align with Democrats. In the South, they often aligned with Republicans, most of whom were poor black farmers. Despite electoral successes in 1894 and 1896, this so called "Fusion" ticket was defeated by the Democrats in 1898. In this lesson, you will examine a Democratic newspaper, a letter from the governor, and a political cartoon in order to explore how Democrats used race and physical intimidation to defeat the “Fusion” ticket.