Ku Klux Klan

     Between 1868 and 1872, southern Republican regimes were threatened by secret societies like the Ku Klux Klan, who focused their efforts on restoring the supremacy of the white race by terrorizing blacks who wanted to explore their newly-found political rights. The Ku Klux Klan was the most prominent and infamous group of all these secret societies. They were founded in 1866, in Tennessee, where they then quickly spread to many other states, all the while resorting to more reckless and violent forms of action. Unfortunately, the Klan gathered much support from whites of all social classes and grew larger, as their group thrived on local initiatives, rather than large, showy public acts. It was extremely difficult to handle, as the group was exceedingly secretive and had quite a lot of support from the public. Immediately as blacks gained the right to vote, hooded Klan members, known as "night riders" paid visits to the cabins of known black republicans, where they threatened and terrorized their victims. Some of the more unlucky were whipped and beaten, at times, even to the point of death. Then, prior to elections, these same "night riders" would intimidate African Americans to prevent them from voting. As a matter of fact, these method of discouragement and fear were effective in influencing the presidential election of 1868. Grant lost favor in Louisiana (where more than 1,000 live we're taken) and Georgia due to Klan activities. In Arkansas, he still managed to carry through, despite the 200 lives that were lost (including one congressman). From then on, Klan activity concentrated on the Republican state governments. By 1870, Democrats were able to gain power in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia, after Republican control was lost to the power of the Klan.  

     The following is a link to a personal eyewitness account given by a slave named Ben Johnson, around 1848: http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/kkk.htm .

     A few Klan members donning their signature regalia of a long white cloak with pointy, tall, white hood covering entire face but leaving eyeholes.

     A politican cartoon drawn up by political cartoonist, Thomas Nast that was published in in Harper's Weekly on October 24, 1874, called "Worse than Slavery." I believe that the cartoon suggests that this abuse of the blacks simply because they earned their much-deserved right to have a say in the way their government is run is an act even more despicable than slavery and the exploiting of their work and abilities, to which I agree. There should not be a hierarchy of skin pigment. Blacks deserve the same rights as what is given to the whites.