Black civic engagement flourished during Reconstruction: Composition of registered voters in select Southern states, by race, 1868

State White registration Black registration
Louisiana 35% 65%
South Carolina 37% 63%
Alabama 37% 63%
Florida 43% 57%
Mississippi 43% 57%
Georgia 50% 50%
Virginia 53% 47%
Texas 55% 45%
North Carolina 59% 41%
Arkansas 61% 39%

Notes: Registration data refer to men aged 21+. Figures for Arkansas and Mississippi are estimates since no demographic data were collected by the Union army's Fourth Military District.

Source: Analysis of data compiled by Russ 1934. See also S. Exec. Doc. No. 40-53 (1868).

View the underlying data on epi.org.