Murphy J. Foster

Murphy J. Foster
United States Senator from Louisiana
In office March 4, 1901 – March 3, 1913
Preceded by	Donelson Caffery
Succeeded by	Joseph E. Ransdell
31st Governor of Louisiana
In office May 10, 1892 – May 8, 1900
Lieutenant	Charles Parlange Hiram R. Lott Robert H. Snyder
Preceded by	Francis T. Nicholls
Succeeded by	William Wright Heard
Member of the Louisiana State Senate from the 10th district
In office 1880–1892
Personal details
Born	Murphy James Foster (1849-01-12)January 12, 1849 Franklin, Louisiana
Died	June 12, 1921(1921-06-12) (aged 72) Franklin, Louisiana
Political party	Democratic
Spouses	Florence Daisy Hine Foster ​ ​ (m. 1877; died 1877)​ Rose Routh Ker Foster ​ ​ (m. 1881)​
Children	10
Parent(s)	Thomas J. and Martha P. Murphy Foster
Relatives	Mike Foster (grandson)
Alma mater	Washington and Lee University Cumberland College (BA) University of Louisiana (LLB)
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Murphy James Foster (January 12, 1849 – June 12, 1921) was the 31st Governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana, an office he held for two terms from 1892 to 1900.^[1] Foster supported the Louisiana Constitution of 1898, which effectively disfranchised the black majority, who were mostly Republicans. This led to Louisiana becoming a one-party Democratic state for several generations and excluding African Americans from the political system.

Louisiana followed Mississippi (1890) and other southern states in adopting a new constitution with devices to disfranchise blacks, then a majority in the state, chiefly by making voter registration more difficult. This situation of discriminatory political exclusion was not corrected until after enforcement of constitutional rights by the federal government under the Voting Rights Act of 1965.