Charles Caldwell was born to enslaved parents and as an adult in Mississippi was a skilled blacksmith, a job very much in demand, and this gave him high status. During the Reconstruction era, more than 400 Black artisans like him served in public office. Caldwell was the most accomplished politically of the 16 Black men who participated in Mississippi's Constitutional Convention in 1868. With his support, this Convention established an integrated public school system, legalized interracial marriages, and granted the vote to all adult men, regardless of property and race.
During this Convention’s debates. Caldwell testified that Black people had no protections from their property being seized by Whites. He persuaded them to include such protections in the Mississippi state constitution, but the constitution narrowly failed to pass in the later referendum that was reportedly plagued by fraud and violent intimidation of Black voters.
The Ku Klux Klan was active and violent, killing hundreds of Black people.
Caldwell was arrested for shooting a White man but was acquitted when the judge learned that the White man fired first and Caldwell shot in self-defense. This was noted as the first time a Black man was allowed to go free after killing a White man.
While opponents of Reconstruction had made it clear that they would use violence to have their way in the election of 1875, Caldwell took a stand to ensure the integrity of the Constitutional process, and tried, but failed, to calm the violence. Meanwhile, a mob of Whites robbed and vandalized Caldwell’s home while he was away, and killed several of his neighbors, telling his wife they would be back to kill Caldwell no matter how long it took.
After multiple White riots that killed dozens of Blacks, Governor Ames endeavored to disarm the paramilitary bands behind the violence. He also established a State Militia of two White companies and five Black companies. Vocal Whites complained that they were terrified of the Black companies, so Ames quickly disbanded them. Without the militias, violence and fraud prevailed in the election.
Christmas Day 1875, Caldwell met a friend named Cabell in a tavern at Cabell’s invitation — apparently a setup. As they raised their classes in a toast, at the clinking of the glasses, a marksman standing outside the window shot Caldwell in the back of his head.
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