Election Massacre of 1874
The Election Massacre of 1874, or Coup of 1874, took place on election day, November 3, 1874, near Eufaula, Alabama in Barbour County. Freedmen comprised a majority of the population and had been electing Republican candidates to office. Members of an Alabama chapter of the White League, a paramilitary group supporting the Democratic Party's drive to regain political power in the county and state, used firearms to ambush black Republicans at the polls.
| Election massacre of 1874 | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Reconstruction Era | |
| Location | Eufaula, Alabama |
| Date | November 3, 1874 |
| Target | Republican voters, and county officials |
Attack type |
|
| Deaths | At least 7 Black Republicans and 1 son of a Republican judge were killed |
| Injured | at least 70 |
| Perpetrators | White League |
In Eufaula, members of the White League killed an estimated 15-40 black voters and wounded 70, while driving away more than 1,000 unarmed black people at the polls. In attacking the polling place in Spring Hill, the League effectively hijacked the elections. They turned all Republicans out of office and Democratic candidates took a majority of offices up for election.