Stone and 25 of 29 African Americans elected during the post-American Civil War Reconstruction Era were prohibited from taking office by their white colleagues.
[citation needed] Stone was elected to represent Jefferson County, Georgia.
[2] After federal intervention, African Americans were able to hold office following the 1870 election in Georgia.
[citation needed] But Ku Klux Klan activity, Jim Crow laws, poll taxes, and voter intimidation intensified as the Reconstruction era ended.
[citation needed] Stone was accused of graft while in office, but was cleared of charges he was bribed to oppose Reconstruction measures.