Wilmington's Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy

The Democratic newspapers of Wilmington reported the events as a necessary and lawful uprising against unjust Black rule. Some of the newspapers admitted that the attack had been planned in advance. Waddell wrote in Collier’s Weekly, a magazine that was read in the North, that the burning of the Record office was “‘accidental’” and elided any mention of violence. Northern newspapers largely supported the coup, but they found the bloodshed “‘disgraceful’” (268). The Black newspapers condemned the slaughter of Black people and rallies were organized in protest throughout the country.

On November 15th, Daniels organized a “Victory, White Supremacy, and Good Government” celebration at the state capitol in Raleigh to commemorate Democratic rule. At the event, Simmons gave a speech to spread the message that as long as Black people knew their place, they had nothing to fear from Democrat rule.

On November 13th, Black families slowly began to return to Wilmington from the nearby swamps. Many returned only to arrange travel north. Thousands left by April. All Black and Fusionist city workers were fired and replaced with white Democrats. Many working-class jobs were likewise given to white people, even though in some cases they were less-skilled than the Black workers they replaced.