Remembering America's deadliest election

Diane Rehm: On My Mind

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🗓️ 26 September 2024

⏱️ 31 minutes

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Summary

The Louisiana gubernatorial election of 1872 might not take up prime real estate in most U.S. history books, but it holds the title as the deadliest the country has ever seen.

In the late 1860s, a new South was emerging from the wreckage of the Civil War. The passage of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments promised an era of multiracial equality in the region. As the 1870s began, white Southern resistance was on the rise and the nation’s political parties became deeply divided. Then came the election of 1872.

Though tensions flared throughout the South, in Louisiana chaos ensued – two governors claimed office, warfare broke out in the streets of New Orleans, and hundreds were killed in political violence.

Dana Bash, CNN anchor and chief political commentator, says these events changed the course of politics in our country -- and provide a cautionary tale for today. She and her co-writer David Fisher tell the story in a new book titled “America’s Deadliest Election.”

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi it's Diane on my mind of Erica's most vile election in thes, a new South was emerging from the wreckage of the Civil War.
0:19.5	It was the time when black men got the vote, white southern resistance was on the rise, and the
0:26.8	nation's political parties were deeply divided. Then came the election of 1872. In Louisiana, chaos ensued. Two governors claimed
0:41.9	office.
0:42.8	Warfare broke out in the streets of New Orleans
0:46.7	and hundreds were killed in political violence.
0:51.3	CNN's Dana Bash says these events change the course of politics in our country and provide a cautionary tale for today.
1:04.0	I wish I knew about this before covering the 2020 election,
1:07.0	never mind January 6, 2021.
1:10.0	She tells the story in a new book titled America's Deadliest Election.
1:16.7	Dana, you begin your story with a man named Henry Warmeth.
1:22.0	Tell us about him. Henry Warmith, tell us about him.
1:23.0	Henry Warmith was a character.
1:28.0	He was somebody who had tremendous charisma. He was written about back in the in his time as
1:37.0	somebody who was handsome. He was incredibly power hungry, was really blatant about it. He is somebody who knew
1:48.8	how to manipulate the levers of government in order to help him keep his power. He garnered so much love
1:58.8	from the people who loved him and so much contempt from the people who did not love him.
2:05.0	Sound familiar?
2:07.0	How does he help set the stage then for the violence that happened in 1872.
2:14.4	What happened was Henry Mormouth was a carpet bagger
2:17.5	and like actually went down from the north to Louisiana
2:22.4	after the Civil War with his carpet bag, which of course is how we got that term.
	...

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