a total 136,608. During his time in office, Klan violence reached an all-time high, while simultaneously the federal government was attempting to withdraw force from South Carolina so as to return the state to "normalcy," this combination left Scott in an untenable position. The majority of those voting for Scott in both of his elections were newly freed African-American Freedmen, South Carolina whites remained overtly and overwhelmingly hostile to him during his entire time in office. His political allies such as African-American leader Benjamin F. Randolph were assassinated by the Klan. Governor Scott took the step of arming African-Americans. He formed militias to defend the Republican government of the state and the militias were legally opened to anyone, however, South Carolina whites refused to join them, as a result they in effect became "black militias." In most of these militias the officers were white officers who had fought in the Union Army during the war, and in some cases were educated African-Americans from northern states who had moved to the state to work in the Freedmen's Bureau after the war. Scott got support from President Ulysses S. Grant, however the rest of the military and northern ambivalence in general hampered his efforts. In Colleton County, Charleston, Columbia, Georgetown County and Beaufort County (which at the time included what is today Jasper County as well) Scott had enough federal troops to effectively police the situation, keep the Klan and general white violence at bay, and ensure free and fair elections. However, in Upstate South Carolina and a large handful of other rural areas he did not. Judge Richard B. Carpenter testified in an 1872 congressional hearing that voter fraud was involved in Scott's re-election, but Scott remained in office. Ironically, Carpenter not only owed him money at the time, but also continued to ask for more with the promise of political favors in return. Franklin J. Moses, Jr., the first governor after him, claimed Scott "fraudulently signed state bonds in the St James Hotel in New York under the joint influence of alcohol and burlesque queen Pauline Markham," known as one of "The British Blondes." He also regularly borrowed money from Scott. Wade Hampton III, the third governor after Scott, who came to power as a result of a racist terrorist campaign led by the Red Shirts militia, indicted him for allegedly "fraudulently issuing three warrants for $48,645 to non-existent payees