Furnifold M. Simmons was a Democratic politician having served in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. Simmons was a staunch white supremacist and segregationist who contributed significantly to inflaming Wilmington’s white citizens into believing that “Negro domination” was an inevitable future should the local political offices continue to be occupied by Populists and Black Republicans.
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This lesson explores the Wilmington Massacre and Coup d’état of 1898 by examining the events and political environment leading up to and the people and groups involved in the massacre and coup.
