Literary Note: Alabama's Republican Governors of Reconstruction

A literary note should be made that there were two Republican governors during Reconstruction. Both William “Skedaddle” Smith (1868-1870) and Daniel “Beechnut” Lewis (1872-1874) had been Huntsville residents with significant connections to Nickajack Unionism during the War. They were Scalawags both with Whig backgrounds. The post-war Republican control of Alabama had only a brief Democratic interregnum under Democratic “Whig” Robert Lindsay (1870-1872) until the election of George “Bourbon” Houston of Athens (1874-1878), which brought the conservative Democrats permanently back in power and ended Alabama Reconstruction. These “Greeks,” termed Bourbons, remained generally in power until Wilsonian-style populism (and populist racism) gained in the next century. A Republican would not be elected governor again for more than 110 years until the landslide victory of Guy Hunt in 1986.

 
For literary purposes I may be folding both the Lewis and Smith administrations into a single Republican gubernatorial politician, preferably under “Skedaddle” Smith, who seemed somewhat petty and therefore far more interesting. Furthermore I would forgo mentioning Lindsay’s Democratic interregnum at all, which would otherwise be interesting for the flare up in Klan activity before his election. This will prevent confusion and ease the flow of this non-sequential, anthological and quasi-historical narrative. Thank you all for enjoying this series. Your kind and encouraging comments have brought good tidings to me, and I am grateful you all enjoy this series as much as I enjoy weaving it