Many states developed what were in effect two Republican parties, the "Black and Tans" and the "Lily Whites," which vied for nominations and for credentials at GOP conventions. By 1928, when Herbert Hoover cast his lot solidly with the Lily White delegations, the Black and Tans were virtually powerless. Of course, by then the issue was practically moot: Starting in 1890 many Southern states stripped African-Americans of the vote altogether.

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