Imperium in Imperio

Bernard returns to Norfolk and, now that he is a politician, decides that he must do whatever he can to get people to love him. He does legal work for free, gives money to the poor, attends services for all denominations despite being Catholic, and searches out a woman “that would most increase his popularity” (34).

Bernard meets Viola Martin, a beautiful Black woman who is admired by everyone. Bernard pursues her over the course of a couple years, deciding he should be elected to Congress to win Viola over.

The narrator gives a review of the history of politics in Virginia. When Democrats won the state election, they “determined to forever hold the state government if they had to resort to fraud. They resorted to ballot box stuffing and various other means to maintain control” (37). Eventually, they set up a state electoral commission consisting of three Democrats that could set up Electoral Boards, appoint judges, and appoint a voting constable at voting booths—all of which allowed them to control elections. When Bernard, a Republican, runs for Congress, he wins by a vote of 11,823 to 4,162, but the commission says that his opponent received a majority. However,