In November 1870, aldermen Frederick Kramer of the first
ward and Asa Richmond of the third ward ran for re-election to the Little Rock
city council. Both were supported by the regular republicans (the “minstrels”),
a faction headed by Gov. Powell Clayton, but were opposed by the anti-Clayton
reform republicans (the “brindle-tails”) who viewed them as barriers to controlling
the council. One brindle-tail leader, Little Rock Mayor A. K. Hartman,
especially wanted Kramer, a fellow Prussian and an implacable foe, off the
council. To that end, Hartman helped carry out a brindle-tail plot to usurp the
ward 1 polling place, replacing the regular election judges and ballot box with
their own. The plot’s results were not what Hartman or the other brindle-tails expected.
The story of the usurpation attempt and its aftermath is told in my paper, "Mayor A.K. Hartman and the Brindle-tails Usurp Little Rock's 1870 Election, To No Avail."
To read or download the paper, go to one of these links:
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Microsoft Word
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