Posted in Memory of Reconstruction White Terror

Elaine Massacre of 1919 Memorialized in Arkansas Recalling Mass Killing of Black Families

1919 was a year of extreme racial violence in America. The “Red Summer” of that year saw what may have been the largest massacre of…

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Posted in Ku Klux Klan White Terror

Ku Klux Soda Fountain in Pulaski Tenn. August, 1868

Pulaski, Tn. is usually considered the birthplace of the Ku Klux Klan. In the hottest days of 1868, as a campaign of White Terror was…

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Posted in Refugees White Supremacy White Terror

In May 1869 Republican Refugees Fled to Atlanta

Increasing violence in 1868 and 1869 led some white Republicans to flee the Southern countryside for the protection of Federal garrisons. This story recounts the…

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Posted in African Americans Emancipation & Reconstruction White Supremacy White Supremacy Apologetics White Terror

Resource-After Slavery: Race, Labor, and Politics in the Low Country Carolinas

I recently learned about this free on-line resource After Slavery: Race, Labor, and Politics in the Low Country Carolinas. You can access it here. This…

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Posted in Immigrants White Terror

The Memphis Massacre of 1866: A Race Riot Pits Immigrants Against Freed Slaves

John C. Creighton had emerged as an important figure in Irish American politics in Memphis in 1866. He was elected recorder for the city and…

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Posted in African Americans Emancipation & Reconstruction Freedmen's Bureau Immigrants White Terror

Prelude to a Reconstruction Riot: Irish and Blacks in Memphis in 1866

Immigrants lived in much of the United States at the start of the Civil War, but their numbers were not evenly distributed. Roughly 90% of…

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Posted in White Supremacy White Terror

The Knights of the White Camellia: Louisiana’s Klan

May 22, 1867 is the traditional anniversary of the founding of the The Knights of the White Camellia by, among others, Confederate Colonel Alcibiades DeBlanc. While…

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Posted in White Terror

Free Version of The Encyclopedia of Race Riots Online

Here is a link to a free version of The Encyclopedia of Race Riots. It includes many entries on the Civil War Era, Reconstruction and…

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Posted in Andrew Johnson Immigrants Ku Klux Klan White Supremacy White Terror

Carl Schurz Warned That a “System of Terrorism” Was Taking Hold in the Post-War South in 1865

Carl Schurz arrived in South Carolina in the middle of July, 1865. He had been sent by new president Andrew Johnson to investigate the condition…

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Posted in African Americans Emancipation & Reconstruction Andrew Johnson Army Occupation End of War White Supremacy White Terror

German General Carl Schurz Begins His Investigation of the Post-War South

Union General Carl Schurz began his inspection tour of the South just a month after the last Confederate forces surrendered. Schurz, a German refugee, embarked…

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