Robert Miller Patton had been elected the previous month as the twentieth governor of Alabama, its first elected since hostilities ended. His inauguration speech reminded Alabamians of their long history and stated that the state's acceptance of President Johnson's policies now entitled Alabama to be "the political equal" of any other in the Union. But he also reminded black Alabamians that they must understand that "politically and socially, ours is a white man's government." (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
"Alabama," The American Cyclopedia and Register of Important Events of the Year 1865 ... (New York: D. Appleton and Co., 1869), 19.
Record Data
Date Certainty
Exact
Type
Campaigns/Elections
