First there was war. Then defeat. Then came an infestation of carpetbaggers.

Wade Hampton told President Rutherford B. Hayes while awaiting the outcome of the 1877 contested election, “The first thing that would happen if I were elected would be that every radical Reconstructionist tax collector in the state would be hanged within 24 hours.”

One eyewitness said, “It must be conceded that many officials of the radical government were ignorant, others unscrupulous and their administrations extravagant and corrupt. School funds were embezzled, tax rates quadrupled and the state debt increased by as much as 1,400%.”

When officials were charged with corruption and bribery, committees were appointed to investigate only to exonerate the offending officials and have their contingent (slush) fund increased.

To ensure a radical majority on key bills Conservative members of the legislature were arrested and detained. That is why legislators today can escape a traffic ticket if speeding to a legislative session.

Jobs were created for political allies of the scalawags with higher unmerited compensation. They went so far as to create new counties for their cronies. When the SC House Speaker lost $1,000 on a horse race, the legislature compensated him.

Carpetbaggers came to make a killing on the South’s agony. One carpetbagger stated, “I was appointed Register in Bankruptcy and am making it pay.”

Thievery was practiced on a grand scale. Bonds were sold for the construction of railroads that were never built.

Farmers’ lands were confiscated as they fled to cities where they were forced into poverty while radicals ran the state’s debt into the millions. Lexington County suffered along with the rest.

And there was the issue of the elections and voting that kept these rascals in power.