The Marrow of Tradition

This story is a fictional account of the rise of the white supremacist movement, specifically as it contributed to the "race riots" that took place in Wilmington, North Carolina in 1898. Critics argue over what would be a more proper term; some favor "massacre" while a North Carolina state commission ruled that it was a coup d'etat, the only overthrow of a legitimately elected government in United States history. Whites attacked and killed blacks in the city and overthrew the county government, establishing white supremacists in power.
Chesnutt anticipated the book would "become lodged in the popular mind as the legitimate successor of Uncle Tom's Cabin... as depicting an era in our national history".