The original, aristocratic mindset of South Carolina’s founders that denied the right to vote to all but white men of “means” was also a mindset that believed in slavery. When blacks were slaves, they posed no threat to upper-class voting rights. After the Civil War, however, black enfranchisement suddenly threatened aristocratic hegemony and the “genteel” way of life. In the second half of the nineteenth century, the means whites employed to deny blacks the right to vote were the very antithesis of gentility. Killing, cheating, legislating, and lying were all used to prevent African Americans from exercising their right to cast a ballot.

        However, the story of white resistance to African American empowerment does have a counter-narrative. That narrative is of black citizens and their never-ending struggle to gain both the right to vote and the resulting influence that accompanies the franchise. Soon after the Civil War, blacks in South Carolina began to reclaim their right of citizenship. Since 1865, they have persisted in attempting to vote, run for office, and litigate in all available venues to defy the killing, cheating, legislating, and lying. Whites’ consistent opposition for 140 years to that persistence is truly sad and shameful. This Article explores that battle in South Carolina.