Bourbons were conservative Democrats who came to power in North Carolina after Reconstruction, which officially ended in 1877. They were also sometimes known as "Redeemer" …

Oct 6, 2025 · The origin of the term is obscure; however, it seems to be most often associated with the reactionary Bourbon Dynasty of France that attempted to undo what was done by the French …

The post-Reconstruction elite held a "barbecue" of sorts for the corporate interests, to be sure, but the fare was relatively meager and the hosts more frugal than in the past.

George Henry White, the last Southern Black of the post-Reconstruction period to serve in Congress, retired in 1901, leaving Congress completely White until 1929. In the 1890s, William Jennings Bryan …

With Louisiana under Republican rule during Reconstruction, the Bourbons recognized their own political weakness and forged an uneasy alliance with fellow conservatives who sought Louisiana’s …

In the 1890s, the Redeemers and Bourbon Democrats faced their biggest challenge with the Populists, when their control of the South was threatened by the Farmers Alliance, the effects of Bimetallism …

Bourbon Democrats frequently ran on anticorruption platforms, publicly denouncing graft at all levels of government. They were famously among the first influential groups to expose and condemn the …

The term Bourbon originated during the Reconstruction Era and was used by the Radicals to label their Democratic opponents as anti-progressive and ultraconservative. The term has been adopted …

During Reconstruction, the term "Bourbon" would have had the connotation of a retrogressive, reactionary dynasty out of step with the modern world. Everyone knew that bourbon whiskey was a …

My thoughts go back to the 1940s when I first began to investigate seriously the post-Reconstruction era in Alabama. At that time no study focused on the years between “Redemption” and the turbulent …