MN Republicans Fight for Black Voting Rights and Win... 150 Years Ago
Voters approved enfranchisement for African Americans on election day in 1868
Voting rights were a hot topic on election day in Minnesota one hundred and fifty years ago. In 1868, Minnesota’s Republican party focused its political strategy on access to the polls. But in this case, the party of Lincoln was pushing to enfranchise African-American males. William Green, Augsburg history professor, scholar and author on Civil Rights in Minnesota in the 19th century, describes how Republican candidates told their constituents that "a vote for black suffrage was a vote for him, for the Union, and the memory of Abraham Lincoln, their martyred leader.”
After failing in two previous efforts, the state’s ruling party won the right to vote for Black men and, in doing so, improved their own political lot.
A century and a half later, access to the polls and voting rights is, again, at the center of partisan politics. The party of Lincoln's take on voting rights might be described as a 180 from 1868. Reflecting on the state’s political profile and legacy might offers up curious context for Minnesotans of all political persuasions.
This story is made possible by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.
