Thomas Payce Beard (December 28, 1837 – December 4, 1918) was a leader in the African American community, a Republican Party organizer, and part of a contested election in Georgia during the post-

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Reconstruction Era The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...

. He contested the election of his Democratic Party opponent

Stephen A. Corker Stephen Alfestus Corker (May 7, 1830 – October 18, 1879) was an American, lawyer, and American Civil War , Civil War veteran on the Confederate side who served briefly as a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from Georg ...

to the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

citing voter intimidation including violent attacks, local police and election official interference, vote rigging, and voter fraud. Beard helped organize African American voters in the Republican Party after the American Civil War.

1870 election

The elections results given by the Georgia Secretary of State were 14,678 for Corker and 9,112 for Beard. The results were contested by Beard. Beard reported that Republicans were compelled through threats of violence to vote for Corker against their wills, that there were numerous incidents of voting fraud, and that Republicans had been beaten, shot at, and maltreated prior to and during the election. Corker denied the allegations and countered that the Republicans were not united behind Beard. Corker presented his credentials to Congress and was seated on January 24, 1871 pending the results of the Elections Committee. A Federal investigation into election began soon afterwards. Testimony was taken by witnesses of the election in the middle of February 1871. One witness, Washington Dawson, recalled Republican voters being threatened with being attacked by the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

if they did not vote the Democratic ticket. Other witnesses reported the election to have been peaceful and fair, and that some blacks had voted willingly for Corker. The case never came before the Elections Committee. Corker served until the end of his term on March 3, 1871 for a total of thirty-nine days.

Legacy

Beard is buried at Cedar Grove Cemetery in Augusta, Richmond County, Georgia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beard, Thomas P. 1837 births 1918 deaths African-American state legislators in Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century African-American people