User:Jd20501/sandbox

Election Riot of 1874 added detail to events
On the eve of the 1874 election, approximately 1000 black Republicans were camped outside of Eufaula. While rumors spread across the white community that black Republicans would attempt an invasion. The White democrats acquired weapons from the militia storage above the polls   There are conflicting reports on whether the black Republicans were armed or not. On election day, an underage black Republican was caught attempting to vote. After being discovered by the white democrats, he was stabbed in an alleyway. The Democrats started shooting immediately after the stabbing. The polls were closed at 5:00 pm, and the poll official locked the doors to protect the ballots. Democratic election officials broke into the closed polling place and burned the ballots at around 6:00 pm. Due to the burning of the ballots and the riot, the election resulted in a Democrat sweep of the county.Eventually, the rioters stood in front of a grand jury and the grand jury blamed the “militant” black republicans for the tense atmosphere in Eufaula.