Sandford Martin, editor of the Journal, spoke on the unwritten history of North Carolina at the meeting of the History Club, Wednesday night. Mr. Martin stated that the marvelous progress of North Carolina in the last 25 years was summed up in three words: education, education, education.
The meeting opened by Sarah Herndon reading a short review of the current events. Flora Binder, acting president of the History Club, introduced Mr. Martin by telling of his journalistic and political experience that fitted him to speak on the history of the State. Besides being editor of the Journal, Mr. martin was Secretary of Governor Bickett.
Mr. Martin in opening his address said he wished to discuss the New North State, not the Old North State. Beginning with an account of the deplorable economic condition of the State in 1870, he traced its development through these successive happenings, the Farmers Alliance, uncontrolled negro suffrage, the White Supremacy Act, universal education, prohibition, and industrial prosperity. The whole story hinges on education. The White Supremacy Act gave an impetus to education while moral reform and industrial prosperity were direct outgrowths of education. Mr. Martin predicted that the next issue in State politics would be whether or not the educational program be extended. He expressed himself as confident that the authoritative voice of the mothers and teachers would say, “Go forward.”
To understand the improvement in the condition of North Carolina, it is necessary to go back to the time when the farmers rebelled against the low prices and organized a Farmers Alliance. They demanded that banks supported by the State and nation be established in every locality to lend money to the farmer.
The new party joined with the Republicans and in 1895 they defeated the Ex-Confederate soldiers who were the Democrats of that day. They had no funds to start banks, but they tried to bring reform by allowing 120,000 ignorant negroes to vote. In some communities, white teachers were employed by negro superintendents and white men were arrested by negro policemen to be tried before negro judges. There was sure to be rebellion against this rule.
In the next election the Democrats made a determined stand against the Republicans. The State wide cry of the Red Shirts on the night of November 11, 1898, “To your tents, O Israel, to your bullets today, and to your ballots tomorrow” expressed the spirit of rebellion. Although the Democrats were defeated in 1898,they were successful in 1900. The leading man was Charles B. Aycock, the new governor. The year of his election the White Supremacy Act was passed—a law that allowed to vote only those who could read and explain the American constitution. However, there was a “grandfather” clause to this Act which gave the ballot to all whose ancestors had voted prior to 1867. It was also during Gov. Aycock’s term of office that the foundation was laid for the State’s educational program. For four years a schoolhouse was built nearly every day. The popular vote for prohibition and the industrial prosperity of the State are the result of this education.
North Carolina used to be described as a poor strip of land over which the aristocrats of Charleston had to pass in order to visit the aristocrats of Virginia. Even its own citizens called it a vale of humility between two mountains of conceit, but now North Carolina is a State good schools and good roads. It ranks first in the manufacture of tobacco and second to Massachusetts in the manufacture of cotton, and has the lowest tax-rate of any State in the union. North Carolina owes this to no discovery of gold or coal or oil, but to education alone. Governor Aycock and Governor Bickett contributed largely to the educational program of the State.
From the front page of the Salemite, student newspaper, Salem College, Winston-Salem, N.C., Feb. 16, 1924
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