After Black voters helped elevate Black politicians to power in US politics, tensions over race started to flare up. Black men were called various disrespectful terms, and messages were put out in the media that stoked fear and guilt. In 1898, white citizens seized control of the government in North Carolina, and initiated the only successful American coup, by overthrowing the elected government in Wilmington, NC. In those days, the Democratic party openly promoted laws that benefited white citizens and wanted to take control and keep it. After the insurrection, the Democrats in power passed poll taxes and literacy tests to disenfranchise Black voters further.