In 1868 the Republican Campaign Song Promised That Grant Would “Make the Ku Klux Klan Shiver”
While modern political campaigns typically employ popular music at rallies as walk-on music for candidates, in the 19th Century most campaigns came armed with a…
Around the Web October 2020: Best of the Blogs on The Civil War and Reconstruction
This is a new feature here at the The Reconstruction Era Blog: Each month I will highlight a few new articles from other blogs that…
How Terror Succeeded in Louisiana: Racial Violence and the Election of 1868 in One State
One of the few bright spots for Democrats in the 1868 Presidential Election was the State of Louisiana. 71% of votes tallied were for the…
Woodrow Wilson’s Home Renamed “Museum of Reconstruction at the Woodrow Wilson Family Home”
Woodrow Wilson was infamous for his support of Jim Crow. While the progressive president had real accomplishments, his record on race was abysmal, even by…
The Size of the Army During Reconstruction: 43,000 at the End of 1868
One of the most persistent myths of Reconstruction is that a massive Federal military presence overawed and oppressed the white Democrats of the South. In…
A KKK Death Threat to a Black Office Holder 1868
Gilder Lehman has a threat notice from the KKK issued against a Black officeholder in 1868. In addition to trying to suppress the Black vote…
Defending the Right of Whites to Fire Blacks Who Voted Republican to Prevent Mongrelism- South Carolina Nov. 1868
Supporters of white supremacy did not only use violence to influence the votes of African Americans. They also threatened to fire them if they voted…
General Meade Outlaws Ku Klux Propaganda April 1868
On April 7, 1868 New York Times reported on an effort by General George Gordon Meade to halt pro-Klan propaganda efforts . Meade had commanded…
Civil War Monuments and the Militarization of America Video Talk by Thomas Brown
Our friends over at the Journal of Civil War History have posted another great Zoom program. This one is on Civil War monuments. Professor Thomas…
Murder of Judge Inconveniences Young People Hoping to Marry-KKK Attack October 1868
The Pulaski Citizen was the first newspaper to express sympathy for the Ku Klux Klan. Its pages provided the original impulse for the expansion of…