Category: White Terror
Louisiana’s Opelousas/St. Landry Massacre of Sept. 1868 The Opening Round of Terror
The Opelousas Massacre of September 1868 was a multi-day event in which scores of African Americans and white Republicans were attacked, beaten, kidnapped, and killed….
“The Murder of Negroes is a Daily Occurrence” Louisiana Political Violence & the Election of 1868
In my research I came across this report from the Louisiana General Assembly on racial and political violence in the state during the lead-up to…
Ben Butler Warns that Delaying Conclusion of the Impeachment Trial Plays Into the Hands of Ku Klux Klan
After Generals Thomas and Sherman testified in the Impeachment Trial of Andrew Johnson, the president’s lead counsel Henry Stanbery took ill. The defense requested a…
New Pavilion to Victims of Lynching from 1865 to 1877 Opened in Montgomery, Ala.
The Equal Justice Initiative (EIJ) has attracted a lot of attention over the last several years for its marking of lynching sites throughout the United…
Woodrow Wilson Home in South Carolina to Include Story of Reconstruction and Jim Crow
The Woodrow Wilson Home in Columbia, South Carolina, is reopening after a years-long retoration. The home was once used as a shrine to the late…
Ku Klux Kristmas: The Last Attacks of 1868
1868 was the worst year for Ku Klux violence so far. Christmas-time saw continued attacks, even though the total number declined after the 1868 elections….
When Grant Literally Decapitated Seymour (at least Cartoon Grant did)! Nov. 1868
By the evening of November 3, 1868 it was pretty clear to most informed observers that Ulysses S. Grant had been elected president. If you…
Grant Advisor Horace Porter Reports on Political Violence in Arkansas in the Later Part of 1868
Grant’s aide Horace Porter visited Arkansas in December 1868 to determine the conditions there. The state had experienced severe political violence in 1868. This is…
African Americans Organize to Expel Klan from Their Town in Tennessee June 1868
African Americans frequently organized themselves to counter Klan terrorism. This article describes an attack by the Klan in Chapel Hill, Tn. on a black man…
The First Historical Marker Commemorating a Lynching in Missouri
The Equal Justice Inititative is installing community remembrance markers at the sites of places where African Americans were lynched. This is the first such marker…