CRITTENDEN, JOHN JORDAN). In 1850 the Democrats, who had before then elected a few governors and United States Senators, secured control of the entire administration—a control unar rested, except in 1863, until the last decade of the i9th century. Although it was a slave State, the majority of the people of Delaware opposed secession in 186i, and the legislature promptly answered President Lincoln's call to arms.
In 1865, 1867 and 1869, respectively, the legislature refused to ratify the i3th, 14th and i5th amendments to the Federal Constitution. The provision of the State Constitution that re stricted suffrage to those who had paid county or poll taxes and made the tax lists the basis for the lists of qualified voters, opened the way for the disfranchisement of many negroes by fraudulent means. Consequently the levy court of New Castle county was indicted in the United States circuit court in 1872, and one of its members was convicted. Again in 188o the circuit court, by virtue of the Federal statute of 1872 on elections, ap pointed supervisors of elections in Delaware. The negro.vote increased in importance until i9oo, when it was approximately one-fifth of the total vote of the State; since then it has declined, because of decrease in the percentage of negro population. In 19ot the legislature ratified the three Federal amendments con cerning the status of the negro rejected in former years. Another political problem has been that of representation. According to the Constitution of 1831 the unit of representation in the legisla ture was the county; inasmuch as the population of New Castle county has exceeded since 187o that of both Kent and Sussex, the inequality became a cause of discontent. This was partly eradi cated by the new Constitution of 1897, which reapportioned representation according to electoral districts, so that New Castle has 7 senators and 15 representatives, while each of the other counties has 5 senators and io representatives.
In 1889 the Republicans for the first time since the Civil War secured a majority in the legislature ; Anthony J. Higgins (Republican) was elected to the United States Senate. Internal dissensions in the Republican Party, arising out of a struggle between the so-called Regular Republicans and a personal "machine" built up by J. Edward Addicks, a Wilmington capital ist, prevented the legislature from electing a Senator in 1895. The next election brought the Democrats into power, and the vacancy was filled by Richard R. Kenney. The struggle between the Republican factions continued, and with the expiration of Senator Gray's term in 1899 an election was again prevented. The State was wholly without representation in the United States Sen ate from the expiration of Senator Kenney's term in i9o1 until 1903, when a compromise was effected whereby two Republicans, one of each faction, were chosen. Again in 19o5 the legislature adjourned without being able to fill a vacancy in the Senate. The deadlock, however, was broken at a special session of the legisla ture called in 1906 when in June of that year Henry A. du Pont was elected Senator.
Since i9o1 the Republicans have maintained their control of the State executive offices. Much of the time, however, the Democrats controlled the House of Representatives; and after the biennial elections of 1922 and 1924 they controlled the Senate also. In 1922 the Democrats elected Thomas F. Bayard to the United States Senate, the fifth successive member of that family to serve the State with credit in that body. In 1924 Gen. T. Coleman du Pont, also of a distinguished family long prom inent in the State, was elected to the Senate by the Republicans to succeed Dr. L. Heisler Ball. In 1928 Coleman du Pont resigned because of ill health, being followed by Daniel O. Hunting wno continued United States senator until 1937, his successor being J. H. Hughes, a Democrat. In the presidential election of 1912 the Democrats carried the State; in 1916, 192o, 1924, 1928 and 1932 the Republicans won by a considerable margin and not until 1936 did the Democrats succeed in overpowering them. Since 1910 the State's history has been mainly characterized by progres sive legislation. In this period there were two progressive gov ernors, Charles R. Miller and John G. Townsend. In the adminis tration of the latter a number of important statutes were enacted, including a child labour law (1917), a workmen's compensation act (1917), laws for the regulation of labour for women, an income tax law (1917), a direct inheritance law (1917) and a thorough revision of the school laws, known as the New School Code (1919). In 1923 the child welfare commission and the tuberculosis commission were combined with the State health and welfare commission, and in 1931 a State old-age welfare commis sion was created. The State also passed in 1923 statutes providing for the sterilization of the feeble-minded, epileptic and insane and of those who had thrice been convicted of felonies resulting from mental abnormality. Increasing interest was shown by public spirited citizens in the advancement of education and the building of highways. The work of Pierre S. du Pont for education in Delaware had its counterpart in the building of a highway by Gen. T. Coleman du Pont, upon which he- expended upward of $4.000,000, and which he formally presented to the State on July 4, 1924. To complete further the improved highway system and furnish work for the State's unemployed the legislature appropriated in 1931 $1,400,000, of the State's funded debt, totaling $3, 215, 500 in 1932. $2,905,000 was for highways.