Republicans and the Black Vote

n 1870, African American men in Circleville, Ohio attempted to vote in municipal elections. Despite the recent ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment, pollsters refused their votes on the basis that state law forbade them from receiving the ballots. The Second Baptist Church was the site of a meeting of 147 African American men seeking redress. Together with Republican leaders these men produced petitions that were sent to the United States Senate and House of Representatives. These petitions gave the Republican party the grounds to introduce bills to enforce the Fifteenth and Fourteenth Amendments. The passage of the Enforcement Act of 1870 imposed criminal penalties for interference with the right to vote and also helped to shift power and authority from the independent state legislature to the centralized Federal government.

Historical Marker located in Circleville, Pickaway County, Ohio at the location of the said Baptist Church.

Don't you agree that the Republican Party of Ohio should be trumpeting this message at about the October push for votes each election campaign?

I thought you ought to know and to be proud of our Party for its history of standing for voting rights in the United States of America for descendants of those who came from Africa.