Free Suffrage

Free suffrage was a political concept heatedly discussed among North Carolinians in the mid-nineteenth century. The ownership of 50 acres of property or the payment of taxes had been a prerequisite for voting in certain instances since the colonial period [3]. In the gubernatorial campaign of 1848, however, candidate David S. Reid [4] accepted the proposal of leaders of his Democratic [5] Party that this limitation on the franchise be removed, making free suffrage a key issue in his campaign against Whig [6] candidate Charles Manly [7]. Although Manly won a narrow victory, free suffrage had become important to many North Carolinians. In the 1850 governor's race, Reid won handily over Manly and the Democrats captured control of the state legislature. A free suffrage constitutional amendment continued to be debated in the General Assembly [8] for several sessions until it finally became a reality in 1857 [9], when it won in a popular referendum by a wide majority of 50,007 to 19,397. Estimates from the era indicate that 125,000 North Carolinians gained the right to vote with the state's adoption of free suffrage.

 

 

Additional Resources:

1857 Session Laws, North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources Digital Collections: http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=%2Fp249901coll22&CISOPTR=177740&CISOOP1=exact&REC=0&CISOBOX=vote [9]

Image Credit:

Govenor David S. Reid, ca.1861, in front of State Capitol, was instrumental in the free suffrage movement. Image courtesy of the North Carolina State Archives; N-55-10-16. Available from http://www.flickr.com/photos/north-carolina-state-archives/2432212442/ [2] (accessed September 20, 2012).