With the election on everyone’s mind, it’s a good moment to revisit a consequential election from the past. No, we’re not talking about 2016. Let’s go way further back—to what’s considered the only successful coup d’etat in US history. jQuery(document).ready(function(){prx("https:\/\/play.prx.org\/e?uf=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.revealradio.org%2Frevealpodcast&ge=prx_149_29f43ef5-9320-4229-8c92-ecf0d3f5702a", "prx-0", "shortcode")});Subscribe to Mother Jones podcasts on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app. In the late 1800s, Wilmington, North Carolina, was a city where African Americans thrived economically and held elected office.