Colored Farmers' National Alliance and Cooperative Union
Encyclopedia
Colored Farmers' National Alliance and Cooperative Union was formed in the 1880s in the USA, when both black and white farmers faced great difficulties due to the rising price of farming and the decreasing profits which were coming from farming. At this time the Southern Farmers' alliance which was currently in place did not allow black farmers to join. A group of black farmers decided to organize their own alliance, to fill their need.
was founded in central Texas in 1877, through the efforts of farmers at self-protection from 'land sharks,' merchants, horse thieves and cattle ranchers. The constitution of the initial Texas order, drafted in 1882, denied membership to blacks on the grounds that the Alliance was a social organization ‘where we meet with out wives and daughters.’ However, leaders of the Alliance realized that it was impossible to establish a profitable agricultural system while a large black population served as potential competitors and a source of cheap, exploitable labor.
The Colored Farmers National Alliance and Cooperative Union was founded in Houston County, Texas
on December 11, 1886, on the farm of white Alliance member and Baptist missionary R.M. Humphrey. The alliance elected J. J. Shuffer as their first president. Although the orders' charter barred whites from membership, Humprey was elected honorary superintendent. As increasingly repressive Black Codes were enacted, Humphrey's role was to serve as a 'white spokesman who could openly express militancy and have access that would be denied to blacks.' By 1888 the alliance received a charter from the US Federal Government. They quickly after began to spread and make chapters in different states across the South. In 1890 they merged with a rival alliance, the National Colored Alliance. They also absorbed the Colored Agricultural Wheels in Arkansas
, western Tennessee
and Alabama
. By 1890, the Colored Farmers' Alliance claimed over 1,200,000 members.
The order’s statement of principals was in the vein of Booker T. Washington
, promoting economic self-sufficiency and racial ‘uplift’ through vocational training at the expense of demands for political equality. They tried to educate the farmers about better farming tactics and techniques, and set up exchanges in the ports of Norfolk
, Charleston
, Mobile
, New Orleans and Houston where members could go in order to purchase discounted items required for their farming. They advocated that members could avoid debt through hard work and sacrifice and suggested such things as owning their own homes. They collaborated with the white Farmers' Alliance in opposing the Louisiana State Lottery Company
and efforts to tax the production of cottonseed oil, an extremely valuable crop for black tenant farmers.
However, the two alliances split over a Federal Elections Bill introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Henry Cabot Lodge
in 1890, authorizing federal supervision of registration and voting. Designed to end the suppression of Southern Republican votes, particularly black votes, virtually all white Southerners, including the Farmers' Alliance, denounced it as a return to the policies of Reconstruction and the Democrats succecded in making it the central issue of the 1892 Presidential election in the South. Humphrey sought to downplay the issue, insisting that black suffrage would be protected through the Alliance movement. However, the majority of black Populists supported renewed federal intervention to preserve their civil rights.
, whose membership in the South included large numbers of landowners employing sharecroppers, were the most vehement opponents of the proposed strike. The Progressive Farmer, paper of Farmers Alliance President Leonidas L. Polk
, urged “our farmers to leave their cotton in the field rather than pay more than 50 cents per hundred to have it picked.”
The leadership of the Colored Alliance lacked the resources to mobilize the vast majority of sharecroppers who were illiterate or semi-literate and lacked alternative sources of income. The Georgia chapter of the Colored Alliance, with a large contingent of landowners, refused to support the strike, viewing it as detrimental to the interests of black farmers who owned or rented their land. A minor strike attempted in the Arkansas Delta
was crushed by local vigilantes, resulting in the death of fifteen strikers, including several who were lynched.
By the end of 1891, with the failure of the cotton-pickers strike, the Colored Farmers' Alliance began to decline in both membership and political influence. The Texas branch continued to be active by the spring of 1892. Alex Asberry, a black Republican state legislator from Robertson County was elected state president and founded a newspaper, the Alliance Vindicator. However, by the end of 1892 the Texas Colored Farmers' Alliance had largely disappeared. And by extension the National Colored Farmers' Alliance disappeared after 1896 with the demise of the Populist Party, from where its members were generally recruited.
in Omaha
.
The Populists hoped to bypass black Republican politicians, who they viewed as corrupt, by directly appealing to black farmers via the Colored Alliance. However, the Colored Alliance was in rapid decline and black Republican politicians and newspapers were largely critical of the Southern Populists, whose claims of support for black civil rights were largely rhetorical and disingenuous.
In most Southern states, the stronghold of Populism was in the old yeoman-dominated hill-country white belt regions, whose inhabitants played a leading role in the rebellions against Reconstruction, only to be marginalized by the old black belt planters allied with Northern capital and corporate interests, especially the railroads. The Populists opposed the convict lease
system and denounced Democratic reliance on threats of 'Negro domination.' At the same time, they steadfastly maintained that they did not support 'social equality' between the races and often sought to counter allegations that they compromised white racial solidarity by insisting that they were the true party of white supremacy.
A number of Southern Populists sought to rid the South of blacks by promoting emigration, either back to Africa or to the West. Polk formulated a plan to create a separate all-black state in the West, preferably Texas. Populist Congressman Tom Watson
of Georgia is often cited as the main example of the initial racial liberalism of Southern Populism, acknowledging blacks as an integral part of Southern economy and society. However, he had an antagonistic relationship with the leadership of the states' Colored Alliance, and, after being defeated through Bourbon Democrat
manipulation of the black vote, gradually became an advocate of black disenfranchisement.
Origins
The Farmers' AllianceFarmers' Alliance
The Farmers Alliance was an organized agrarian economic movement amongst U.S. farmers that flourished in the 1880s. One of the goals of the organization was to end the adverse effects of the crop-lien system on farmers after the American Civil War...
was founded in central Texas in 1877, through the efforts of farmers at self-protection from 'land sharks,' merchants, horse thieves and cattle ranchers. The constitution of the initial Texas order, drafted in 1882, denied membership to blacks on the grounds that the Alliance was a social organization ‘where we meet with out wives and daughters.’ However, leaders of the Alliance realized that it was impossible to establish a profitable agricultural system while a large black population served as potential competitors and a source of cheap, exploitable labor.
The Colored Farmers National Alliance and Cooperative Union was founded in Houston County, Texas
Houston County, Texas
Houston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2000, the population was 23,185. Its county seat is Crockett. Houston County is named for Samuel Houston, a president of the Republic of Texas and Governor of Texas...
on December 11, 1886, on the farm of white Alliance member and Baptist missionary R.M. Humphrey. The alliance elected J. J. Shuffer as their first president. Although the orders' charter barred whites from membership, Humprey was elected honorary superintendent. As increasingly repressive Black Codes were enacted, Humphrey's role was to serve as a 'white spokesman who could openly express militancy and have access that would be denied to blacks.' By 1888 the alliance received a charter from the US Federal Government. They quickly after began to spread and make chapters in different states across the South. In 1890 they merged with a rival alliance, the National Colored Alliance. They also absorbed the Colored Agricultural Wheels in Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, western Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
and Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. By 1890, the Colored Farmers' Alliance claimed over 1,200,000 members.
The order’s statement of principals was in the vein of Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
, promoting economic self-sufficiency and racial ‘uplift’ through vocational training at the expense of demands for political equality. They tried to educate the farmers about better farming tactics and techniques, and set up exchanges in the ports of Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, Mobile
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
, New Orleans and Houston where members could go in order to purchase discounted items required for their farming. They advocated that members could avoid debt through hard work and sacrifice and suggested such things as owning their own homes. They collaborated with the white Farmers' Alliance in opposing the Louisiana State Lottery Company
Louisiana State Lottery Company
The Louisiana State Lottery Company was a private corporation that in the mid-19th century ran the Louisiana lottery. It was for a time the only legal lottery in the United States, and for much of that time had a very foul reputation as a swindle of the state and citizens and a repository of...
and efforts to tax the production of cottonseed oil, an extremely valuable crop for black tenant farmers.
However, the two alliances split over a Federal Elections Bill introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Henry Cabot Lodge
Henry Cabot Lodge
Henry Cabot "Slim" Lodge was an American Republican Senator and historian from Massachusetts. He had the role of Senate Majority leader. He is best known for his positions on Meek policy, especially his battle with President Woodrow Wilson in 1919 over the Treaty of Versailles...
in 1890, authorizing federal supervision of registration and voting. Designed to end the suppression of Southern Republican votes, particularly black votes, virtually all white Southerners, including the Farmers' Alliance, denounced it as a return to the policies of Reconstruction and the Democrats succecded in making it the central issue of the 1892 Presidential election in the South. Humphrey sought to downplay the issue, insisting that black suffrage would be protected through the Alliance movement. However, the majority of black Populists supported renewed federal intervention to preserve their civil rights.
Demise
In 1891, after the split over the elections bill, the Colored Alliance called a general strike of black cotton-pickers to demand a wage increase from 50 cents to $1 per hundred pounds of cotton. The white Farmers' AllianceFarmers' Alliance
The Farmers Alliance was an organized agrarian economic movement amongst U.S. farmers that flourished in the 1880s. One of the goals of the organization was to end the adverse effects of the crop-lien system on farmers after the American Civil War...
, whose membership in the South included large numbers of landowners employing sharecroppers, were the most vehement opponents of the proposed strike. The Progressive Farmer, paper of Farmers Alliance President Leonidas L. Polk
Leonidas L. Polk
Leonidas Lafayette Polk , or L.L. Polk, was an American farmer, journalist and political figure.He was born in Anson County, North Carolina. L.L...
, urged “our farmers to leave their cotton in the field rather than pay more than 50 cents per hundred to have it picked.”
The leadership of the Colored Alliance lacked the resources to mobilize the vast majority of sharecroppers who were illiterate or semi-literate and lacked alternative sources of income. The Georgia chapter of the Colored Alliance, with a large contingent of landowners, refused to support the strike, viewing it as detrimental to the interests of black farmers who owned or rented their land. A minor strike attempted in the Arkansas Delta
Arkansas Delta
The Arkansas Delta is one of the five natural regions of the state of Arkansas. It runs along the eastern border of the state next to the Mississippi River. It is part of the Mississippi River alluvial plain, itself part of the Mississippi embayment...
was crushed by local vigilantes, resulting in the death of fifteen strikers, including several who were lynched.
By the end of 1891, with the failure of the cotton-pickers strike, the Colored Farmers' Alliance began to decline in both membership and political influence. The Texas branch continued to be active by the spring of 1892. Alex Asberry, a black Republican state legislator from Robertson County was elected state president and founded a newspaper, the Alliance Vindicator. However, by the end of 1892 the Texas Colored Farmers' Alliance had largely disappeared. And by extension the National Colored Farmers' Alliance disappeared after 1896 with the demise of the Populist Party, from where its members were generally recruited.
Colored Alliance and the Populist Party
At the 1892 St. Louis convention of the Southern and Northern Farmers' Alliances, Humphrey secured the vote of the Colored Farmers' Alliance for the creation of an independent third-party, helping override considerable opposition from the white Southern Alliance delegates. He packed the Colored Farmers' Alliance delegation with pro-third party white men in a series of proxy deals that were contrary to the organization's charter. The black delegates from Georgia Colored Farmers' Alliance, whose leadership opposed the formation of a third party, walked out of the convention in protest over this action. Only four black delegates were in attendance at the founding convention of the People's Party on the 4th of JulyIndependence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
in Omaha
Omaha
Omaha may refer to:*Omaha , a Native American tribe that currently resides in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Nebraska-Places:United States* Omaha, Nebraska* Omaha, Arkansas* Omaha, Georgia* Omaha, Illinois* Omaha, Texas...
.
The Populists hoped to bypass black Republican politicians, who they viewed as corrupt, by directly appealing to black farmers via the Colored Alliance. However, the Colored Alliance was in rapid decline and black Republican politicians and newspapers were largely critical of the Southern Populists, whose claims of support for black civil rights were largely rhetorical and disingenuous.
In most Southern states, the stronghold of Populism was in the old yeoman-dominated hill-country white belt regions, whose inhabitants played a leading role in the rebellions against Reconstruction, only to be marginalized by the old black belt planters allied with Northern capital and corporate interests, especially the railroads. The Populists opposed the convict lease
Convict lease
Convict leasing was a system of penal labor practiced in the Southern United States, beginning with the emancipation of slaves at the end of the American Civil War in 1865, peaking around 1880, and ending in the last state, Alabama, in 1928....
system and denounced Democratic reliance on threats of 'Negro domination.' At the same time, they steadfastly maintained that they did not support 'social equality' between the races and often sought to counter allegations that they compromised white racial solidarity by insisting that they were the true party of white supremacy.
A number of Southern Populists sought to rid the South of blacks by promoting emigration, either back to Africa or to the West. Polk formulated a plan to create a separate all-black state in the West, preferably Texas. Populist Congressman Tom Watson
Thomas E. Watson
Thomas Edward "Tom" Watson was an American politician, newspaper editor, and writer from Georgia. In the 1890s Watson championed poor farmers as a leader of the Populist Party, articulating an agrarian political viewpoint while attacking business, bankers, railroads, Democratic President Grover...
of Georgia is often cited as the main example of the initial racial liberalism of Southern Populism, acknowledging blacks as an integral part of Southern economy and society. However, he had an antagonistic relationship with the leadership of the states' Colored Alliance, and, after being defeated through Bourbon Democrat
Bourbon Democrat
Bourbon Democrat was a term used in the United States from 1876 to 1904 to refer to a member of the Democratic Party, conservative or classical liberal, especially one who supported President Grover Cleveland in 1884–1888/1892–1896 and Alton B. Parker in 1904. After 1904, the Bourbons faded away...
manipulation of the black vote, gradually became an advocate of black disenfranchisement.