Editing Jeter C. Pritchard (section)

==Congressional service==

Pritchard was elected as a Republican to the [[United States Senate]] in 1894 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of [[United States Senator]] [[Zebulon Baird Vance]].<ref name="auto1"/> He was reelected in 1897 and served from January 23, 1895, to March 3, 1903.<ref name="auto1"/> The victory of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]-[[People's Party (United States)|Populist]] alliance (or "fusion") in the 1894 legislative elections, and their subsequent domination of the [[North Carolina General Assembly]] was the key factor in Pritchard's initial election and subsequent reelection.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=273816|title=Our Campaigns - NC US Senate - Special Election Race - Jan 23, 1895|website=www.ourcampaigns.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=273407|title=Our Campaigns - NC US Senate Race - Jan 20, 1897|website=www.ourcampaigns.com}}</ref> He was Chairman of the Committee on Civil Service and Retrenchment for the [[54th United States Congress|54th]] and [[55th United States Congress]]es and Chairman of the Committee on Patents for the [[56th United States Congress|56th]] and [[57th United States Congress]]es.<ref name="auto1"/>

On October 21, 1898, Pritchard sent a letter to President [[William McKinley]], requesting federal marshals to protect black voters in the upcoming election. He warned that Democrats were stockpiling weapons and threatening black voters, and said that Democrats' claims of "Negro domination" were without basis. The letter was discussed by McKinley and his cabinet on October 24, but federal marshals were not sent as Governor [[Daniel Lindsay Russell]] had not made the request. As a result, intimidation by [[Red Shirts (United States)|Red Shirts]] kept black voters away from the polls, resulting in a sweeping Democratic victory. On the day following the election, the [[Wilmington insurrection of 1898]] broke out.<ref>Zucchino, pp. 132-134</ref>

Pritchard began reversing his views on civil rights in 1900, becoming a [[Lily-white movement|lily-white]] and opposing black officeholders.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ncpedia.org/lily-white-politics|title=Lily-White Politics - Encyclopedia of North Carolina}}</ref>