The Alabama Republican Party was esablished in the midst of Congressional Reconstruction in 1867. Its members included those native whites who saw the party as a new political alternative to the discredited Democratic Party, former slaves, ex-Whigs and Unionists, and "carpetbaggers" who re-settled in Alabama after the Civil War. For the first few years of its existence, the party was led by the Northerners, but white Alabamaians soon filled most of the leadership positions and supplied most of the candidates for office. Although the party was dependent on the votes of former slaves, blacks had little dierct influences on major policy decisions and never dominated party leadership. In fact, between 1867 and 1871, only 76 blacks were elected to the state legislature, the three black Congressmen each served only one term, and no blacks were elected to a major state office. The first post-war Alabama legislature elected former Northerner George E. Spencer and Willard Warner as Republican members of the U.S. Senate. Warner served only until 1871, when he lost his re-election bid. Spencer held office until 1897. In the 1867 elections, the Republicans also captured five of the six Alabama Congressional seats. Charles W. Buckley of Montgomery, who had come south to serve as Superintendent of Education for the Freedman;s Bureau, held his office until 1873. Thereafter, he held federal patronage positions. John Benton Callis of Huntsville served one term and then returned to his native Wisconsin. Dr. Thomas Haughey of Decatur, a United States Army Surgeon, also served one term before being assassinated while campaigning for re-election. Francis W> Kellogg of Mobile, a former Congressman from Michigan, also held office for two years. Benjamin W. Norris of Elmore, formerly of Maine, was elected to a single term while he was also party chairman. After 1867, most of the Republican candidates for major office were Southerners, black and white. Republican Governor William Hugh Smith, a native Alabamian, served from 1868 to 1870. Smith fought with Sen. Spencer for most of his term over the disposition of federal patronage. He also opposed radicalism and resisted the calling-out of federal troops to control lawlessness in the state. The 1868 elections saw the Republicans lose one seat in Congress. Only Congressman Buckley was re-elected. Newly seated Alfred E. Buck of Mobile and Robert S. Heflin of Opelika were to serve one term each. Charles Hays of Eutaw triumphed in the first of four successful election bids. By 1870 the party was beginning to show signs of the split that would become the split between black and white in the 1890s. The two factions were led by Sen. Spencer and Gov. Smith. Some whites were offended by the inclusion of a black on the 1870 state ticket. The party dissention led to losses at the polls. As a result, the party lost control of the state legislature by allowing Democtrats domination of the state House of Representative while the Republicans still retained control of the state Senate. This split allowed a Democrat to be elected as U.S. Senator. The Republican congressional delegation was cut to three members as only Congressmen Buckley and Hays were re-elected. The first black Congressman, Benhamin S. Turner of Selma, was the winner of the race for his only term in office. In 1872 both political parties in Alabama were divided. The Spencer faction controlled the Republican Party. As a result of this, no blacks were members of the state committee of candidates on the state ticket. The squabbles in both parties led to mixed election results. Republican David P. Lewis of Madison County won the governorship while the party held slim control of the state legislature after Gov. Lewis refused to recognize the election of a Democratic-controlled legislature and instead recognized a rival Republican-dominated legislature. Jamed T. Rapier of Montgomery, Fredrick Bromberg of Mobile, Charles Pelham of Talledega, Alexander White of Selma, and Charles C. Sheats of Decatur won election to their only term in the Congress. Cong. Hays was elected once again. By 1874 the split in the Alabama Republican Party was worsening, Radical Republicans had lost national support, the economy of the South was in chaos, and home-rule demands were increasing. The dominant white conservative Spencer-Hays-White faction was opposed to a black and white group, led by Adam Felder, that still sought black voting support. The 1874 elections were a disaster for the party. Democrats gained control of both houses of the legislature and captured the governorship. In addition, only Congressman Hays and freedman Jeremiah Haralson of Selma won there races for Congressional seats. Although the 1874 elections did not destroy the party, they considerably weakened it. The factionalism continued and intensified in bitterness. In 1876 athe two factions held seperate conventions and nominated their own gubernatorial candidates. A temporary reconcilliation later united the party behind Independent Noahdiah Woodruff's candidacy for governor. Woodruff and all Republican congressional candidates lost badly. After 1876, many prominant Republicans left the party. Sen. Spencer did not run for re-election in 1878, becoming the last Republican Senator for a century. No Republican congressmen were elected from 1876 until 1890, when John V. McDuffie successfully contested the 1888 election of Lous Turpin. McDuffie served one term. The state legislature and governorship has been dominated by Democrats up to the present time. Despite its problems, the party recovered somewhat in the late 1880's. The "Lily-Whites," led by Dr. Robert A. Moseley, Jr. enjoyed party dominance and was the recipient of most of the federal patronage. The "Black and Tans" were led by black politician William Stevens, who pressed for a larger role for blacks in arty leadership. The white faction generally favored fusion state tickets with Populists in the 1890's, while the Steven's group favored seperatestate Republican tickets. In 1892 the white faction fused with the Populists behind Reuben Kolb. In 1894 the Moseley faction fused again, while the Stevens' faction opposed this. Bitterness towards Populists eventually led the Black and Tans to support Democrat W.C. Oates for governor. That same year, brothers William F. and Truman H. Aldrich successfully contested the elections of their Democratic opponents in the races for Congess. Truman Aldrich of Birmingham was to serve only one term. William F. Aldrich of Shelby County, editor and publisher of the Birmingham "Times," served until 1901, after having twise more contested the elections of his opponents. After 1896, Moseley lost control of the party to William Vaughan. A Vaughan-led delegation was eated at the Republican National Convention over a Moseley-led delgation. 1896 was also the last year for Populist-Republican fusion. After massive defeats in November elections, several Populist leaders, including Joseph C. Manning, joined the Republican party. Later, Populists Oliver Day Street, A. P. Longshore, and John C. Fonville were to follow. As the movemenet for disfranchisement of blacks grew stronger in Alabama, the Republican Party's white faction, in seeking to expand its base among white Alabamians, favored expelling blacks from the party. In 1902, the "Lily-Whites" did not allow blacks in their convention. In reaction to this, President Theodore Roosevelt made a "Black and Tan" leader, Joseph O. Thomson of Birmingham and Tuskegee, patronage administrator for Alabama. Still, blacks played an increasingly small role in the party. Paatronage became the main reason for the continued existence of the party in the first three decades of the twentieth century. As party leadership between 1902 and 1962 changed from patronage Republicans to the urban businessman, it still remained in the hands of a few. Long time party chairman Oliver D. Street of Birmingham, a frequent candidate for a state and congressional office, National Committeeman from 1916 to 1936. Judge Charles B. Kennamer of Montgomery was Secretary-Treasurer from approximatly 1912 to 1936. Dr. Joseph C. Swann of Mobile was Chairman from approximatly 1928 to 1942. National Committeewoman Pearl Wates served eight years beginning in 1936. Her successor, Myrtle Pitts held her post from1944 to 1950. He was replaced by Claude D. Adkins, who had been Secretary-Treasurer since 1936. Claude O. Vardaman, a Young Republican leader from 1936 to 1942, served as Chairman from 1942 until 1962. Between 1902 and 1962, the party occasionally ran candidates for state and congressional seats. Many of the candidates were members of the Executive Committee of the party. The occassional legislative race victories came primarily in the "mountain counties" of northern Alabama. Attempts were made peridoically to broaden the party's base and attract new candidates and workers, but little immediate success followed party efforts even after Herbert Hoover narrowly lost the state presidential vote in 1928 and Dwight Eisenhower recieved record vote totals in 1952 and 1956. Republican state candidates ran well behind the presidential candidates. A concerted effort was made, beginning in 1962, to finally re-establishe a two party system in Alabama. In 1962, a former Young Republican leader, John E. Grenier, became party chairman. The party increased its organizational efforts, hired its first Director of Organization, Manyon M. Millican, re-vitalized county organizations, stepped-up fundraising efforts, and established the Alabama Federation of Republican Women. These efforts and the national political sitaution played a large role in the success of the party's candidates at the polls in 1962 and 1964. Increasing white discontent with national Democratic social and racial polices helped Barry Goldwater become the first Republican presidential candidate to win the election in Alabama in the twentieth century. This discontent also helped Bill Dickinson, John Bucanan, Glenn Andrews, James Martin, and Jake Edwards win 1964 congressional elections and helped Martin to almost defeat Sen. Lister Hill in 1962. Still, after the victories in 1964, the party was unable to generate grass roots support. The party was hard-pressed to win state and local races, and Martin and Andrews each served only one term. The party organization, which would grow to include and over-150-person executive committee, a party chairman, three district vice-chairmen, a women's vice-chairman, a secretary, a treasurer, an attorny, an executive director, several sub-committees, he Federation of Republican Women, and Young Republican groups seemd to have little impact on the voting habits of Alabamaians The cost of the organizational effort led to a havey party debt. In reaction to this and the victory of the conservative wing of the party over the moderates, the party retrenched in 1967 under the chairmanship of Alfred W. Goldwaite. The party organization was reduced and party headquarters was moved from Birmingham to smaller quarterds in Montgomery. In the early 1970s, under the leadership of J. Richard Bennett, the party once again made a strong effort to field candidates in many state and local races. The first state Republican primary was held in 1977. Attempts to broaden the party's base of support were made among blacks and workers. By the end of the decade, despite a still small number of victories at state and local levels, the party continued its drive to institute a two party system in Alabama. In 1980, a national election once again helped party efforts as Admiral Jeremiah Denton defeated Jim Folsom, Jr. to become the first Republican Senator from Alabama since 1879.