The Eufaula Voting Massacre of 1874

During Reconstruction, Black voters in Eufaula, Alabama, threatened white supremacist control of local government. On November 3, 1874, armed white Democrats opened fire on Black Republicans gathered at the polls, killing at least six people and wounding dozens more.

Hundreds fled before casting their ballots. That evening, in nearby Spring Hill, another white mob destroyed more than 700 ballots and fatally wounded the teenage son of a Republican election official.

No white perpetrator was convicted. The violence helped Democrats regain control of Alabama.

By 1876, Black voter participation in Eufaula had collapsed from 1,200 to just ten. Today, the National Park Service preserves the history of this struggle at Reconstruction Era National Historical Park in Beaufort, South Carolina, where the fight for Black citizenship and violent resistance to equality remain central to the American story.

The Joy Trip Project celebrates the enduring legacy of American history. The Unhidden Minute is part of the Unhidden Podcast Project supported through a National Geographic Explorer Grant from the National Geographic Society , with the cooperation of the National Park Service .

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