Lily-white movement

It was a response to the political and socioeconomic gains made by African-Americans following the Civil War and the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which eliminated slavery and involuntary servitude ("except as punishment for a crime").

The Lily-White Movement proved successful throughout the South and was a key factor in the growth of the Republican Party in the region.

[4] Immediately following the war, all of the Southern states enacted "Black Codes," laws intended specifically to curtail the rights of the newly freed African Americans.

Groups such as the Union League and the Radical Republicans sought total equality and complete integration of Black People into American society.

Meetings were generally held in a black church or school.During the 19th century, a small number of African Americans were elected to the United States Congress; all were members of the Republican Party.

The more numerous Black-and-tan element typically won the factional battles; many Scalawags joined the opposing lily-whites or switched to the Democrats.

[13] While black Americans were a minority overall in Texas, Cuney's rise to this position caused a backlash among white conservative Republicans in other areas, leading to the Lily-whites becoming a more organized, nationwide effort.

[14] Some authors contend that the effort was coordinated with Democrats as part of a larger movement toward disenfranchisement of Black people in the South by increasing restrictions in voter registration rules.

[22] Leonidas C. Dyer, a white Republican Representative from St. Louis, Missouri, worked with the NAACP to introduce an anti-lynching bill into the House, where he gained strong passage in 1922.