Wilmington Massacre - Franklin Research Center - Teaching with Primary Sources

Summary

This module is authored by Tealore Marsh, John Hope Franklin Research Center Intern, 2020-2022.

The event in Wilmington, North Carolina, on November 10th, 1898, has been described as a Coup d'etat, massacre, and race riot. For the purposes of this guide, the term massacre will be used.

In the 1890s, the Republicans held the majority of the North Carolina General Assembly. Resentful Democrats would regain control of the NC General Assembly on November 8th, 1898. Returning the white men of state to what they thought to be their respective place in society. The election of 1898 was thought to have solved North Carolina's "negro question." Effectively beginning a movement to disenfranchise Black North Carolinians, especially in areas like Wilmington, where there were rumors of "Negro majorities."

Alex Manly, the publisher of the Black newspaper, the Wilmington Record, had a history of condemning white Wilmingtonians for the conditions of Black people in New Hanover County. Thus earning him some enemies among white conservatives. In 1898, a white Georgia woman called for protecting white women from "negro rapists." Manly wrote a response article pointing out "that white women were not any more particular in the matter of clandestine meetings with Negro men than white men with Negro women." This article's response was used as ammunition for the necessity of a white conservative Democratic takeover.

A result of the election of 1898 was the demand for Manly to leave the city and for Black officeholders to step down and leave the city. The secret nine, a white citizens' organization, intended to stop the believed "negro domination" they thought would result from the election. The white citizens' organization created a list of demands for prominent Black citizens in Wilmington to leave by 7:30 am November 10th, for the Wilmington Record and Alex Manly to cease, and that they respond to the letter within 24 hours. The list of demands was called the Declaration of White Independence. The appearance of an armed mob resulted from the Black citizens' refusal to leave town and oblige to the list of commands.

At 8 am on the 10th, Alfred M. Waddell and a mob of men went to the armory, where Waddell guided them to Manly's office, where they burned it down. Black people throughout the town were accosted, beaten, hunted, and killed for resisting or being a part of the prosperous Black community. From there, the massacre spread throughout the city. There is speculation about the number of Black people killed, but there are guesses as low as 11 to 30; however, it is believed that the death rate is higher due to the number of Black bodies dumped into the Cape Fear River. Moreover, Alfred Waddell would become the Mayor of Wilmington along with other democrats becoming aldermen and other officeholders.

This is a general summation of the political environment leading up to the massacre and the event. For a detailed account of the event, see the book recommended below

The Negro and Fusion Politics in North Carolina, 1894-1901 by Helen G. Edmonds
ISBN: 0807855499
Publication Date: 2003-10-31

Learning Objectives

The primary sources used in this guide are a few of the many archival materials housed in the Rubenstein Library. The materials below help recount the 1898 Wilmington Massacre. The guide also incorporates a secondary source to help students understand the political atmosphere in North Carolina that led up to the event. The primary sources are from John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture collections.

Objectives

Teaching students how to analyze an event through different newspapers and first-hand accounts
Discuss how descriptive words of an event define the narrative
Show students varying perspectives of an event

Guiding Questions

From primary source #1, why might there be a need for women to protest the event?
Who does each source point to as the villain?
From these sources, what descriptive word best describes what happened in Wilmington: Coup D'etat, Massacre, or Race riot? If more than one of the terms describes what happened, explain why?
What are some differences in the recollection of the event after some time had passed?
What are some commonalities between race riots?
Are newspapers biased? If so, how?
How do primary sources skew the narrative?
Whose side of the story is missing from these sources?
What other sources could be used to help recount this event?

Historical Period

1898

#1

Cronley Family Papers, 1806-1944 --Account of the race riot in Wilmington, 1898

Context/Summary: Personal Account of the event in Wilmington in November of 1898, believed to be written by Margaret Cronly.

Citation: Cronly Family Papers, 1806-1944, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University

Cronley Family Papers, 1806-1944 --Account of the race riot in Wilmington, 1898

Context/Summary: Personal Account of the event in Wilmington in November of 1898, believed to be written by Margaret Cronly.

Citation: Cronly Family Papers, 1806-1944, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University

Cronley Family Papers, 1806-1944 --Account of the race riot in Wilmington, 1898

Context/Summary: Personal Account of the event in Wilmington in November of 1898, believed to be written by Margaret Cronly.

Citation: Cronly Family Papers, 1806-1944, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University

Cronley Family Papers, 1806-1944 --Account of the race riot in Wilmington, 1898

Context/Summary: Personal Account of the event in Wilmington in November of 1898, believed to be written by Margaret Cronly.

Citation: Cronly Family Papers, 1806-1944, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University

Cronley Family Papers, 1806-1944 --Account of the race riot in Wilmington, 1898

Context/Summary: Personal Account of the event in Wilmington in November of 1898, believed to be written by Margaret Cronly.

Citation: Cronly Family Papers, 1806-1944, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University

Cronley Family Papers, 1806-1944 --Account of the race riot in Wilmington, 1898

Context/Summary: Personal Account of the event in Wilmington in November of 1898, believed to be written by Margaret Cronly.

Citation: Cronly Family Papers, 1806-1944, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University

#2

Thomas W. Clawson Papers, 1942-1944

Context/Summary: Colonel Thomas Clawson's first-hand account of the November 10, 1898 event. This source includes a copy of the article written three months before the regarding Manly's article and "Recollections and Memories" written by Clawson circa 1942.

Citation: Thomas Clawson, David M. Rubenstein Rare Books & Manuscript Library, Duke University