John Strode Barbour Jr. was a slave owner, U.S. Representative and a Senator from Virginia, and fought against the United States in the Confederate Army. He took power in Virginia from the short-lived Readjuster Party in the late 1880s, forming the first political machine of "Conservative Democrats", whose power was to last 80 years until the demise of the Byrd Organization in the late 1960s.
John S. Barbour Jr.
The Readjuster Party was a bi-racial state-level political party formed in Virginia across party lines in the late 1870s during the turbulent period following the Reconstruction era that sought to reduce outstanding debt owed by the state. Readjusters aspired "to break the power of wealth and established privilege" among the planter elite of whites in the state and to promote public education. The party's program attracted support among both white people and African-Americans.
Readjuster Party
South Side Railroad Depot on Rock Street in Petersburg; it served as the office of William Mahone when his Readjuster Party dominated Virginia politics.
1882 broadside produced by the Readjuster Party
William Mahone, the driving force behind the Readjusters, was elected to a term in the United States Senate from 1881 to 1887.