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Failures of the southern reconstruction
Failures of the southern reconstruction
Southern reconstruction era
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Joe Moore THEY CALLED THEMSELVES THE KKK INTRODUCTION “They Called Themselves the KKK,” was written by Susan Cambell Bartoletti in 2010. In the story, she writes about the birth of the American Terrorist Group, the KKK. In the story, she introduces the reader to people who lived after the Civil War, the time known as the Reconstruction. She gathered the information or the book from a variety of sources: interviews with Klu Klux Klansmen and their victims, congressional testimony, interviews, and historical journals, diaries, and newspapers. Bartoletti did not censor the interviews or newspaper articles and photographs; therefore, some people find the book to be racially offensive.
Another way the reconstruction failed was by giving way to white supremacy groups. One white supremacy group that was created was the Ku Klux Klan in 1865. The Ku Klux Klan was created by six Confederate army veterans and it was appealing to many because it provided them a way to get rid of their anger for losing the war. The Klan's goal was to use violence such as riots and the killing of black Americans to reestablish white supremacy in the South. One of their main targets were African Americans and Freedman Bureau who was trying to help the African Americans by providing them homes and money.
However, all acts of reconstruction were cut short when the South ultimately killed it. People like the Ku Klux Klan helped to ensure that reconstruction would be stopped and the South would regain its power. The Ku Klux Klan was one of the main groups of people that destroyed reconstruction because of their extreme ways. They used violence as a way to achieve their goal of destroying reconstruction. They killed many people just because of the color of their skin.
Although, the North is often portrayed as the “good guys” when it comes to the fall of Reconstruction but in actuality they were equally as guilty as the south was. According to Document C In the 1870s, the people of the north were beginning to grow indifferent to the events happening in the south because their focus shifted to the scandals going on around them, such as the Panic of 1873.The government at this time in the North was ran by “carpetbaggers” or a political candidate who sought election in an area they had no local connections to. The North began to grow tired of this type of government and they also began to become tired of fighting against discrimination in the south because of this. Increased anger about government corruption lead to less interest in Reconstruction. Racism still existed in the North and contributed to the fall as well, for example many people believed that people of color were unfit to be government officials.
As a result of this, racist organizations were founded to wreaked havoc on former slaves. Secret societies in the southern united states, such as the Ku Klux Klan and the Knights of the White Camellia used violence against the blacks. Their goal was often to keep blacks out of politics. Our textbook states, “In other states, where blacks were a majority or where the populations of the two races were almost equal, whites used outright intimidation and violence to undermine the Reconstruction regimes” (Brinkley 368). The people involved in such organizations were using violence to take away the fifteenth amendment right from the former slaves.
The KKK was a white nationalized group that included former veterans, which created the first branch of the group. The Klansmen founded in 1865, in Pulaski, Tennessee, is now known as the birthplace of the KKK. This group dedicated themselves to a campaign of violence to Republican leaders and voters. The KKK targeted many people based on their race or sexuality , including, Gays, Immigrants, African Americans, and Catholics(KKK history). Jim Crow laws,
The KKK used terrorism, including physical harm and murder, against groups and people that would not agree with the Klan. All three movements have been called the "purification" of American society by the Klan. This felt to the Klan like they had conquered the world, had supreme power, and they had did it. They have erased blacks from our country politically and socially in their
The Ku Klux Klan first emerged in Pulaski, Tennessee following the Civil War. As we know today, the mere mention of the Klan triggers fear as the KKK is known for its various tactics of violence that came in the form if lynchings, murders, and mutilations. Following their emergence, the KKK were quickly symbolized and portrayed as the protectors of the South, following the defeat of the Southern states in the Civil War and the beginning of the period of Reconstruction by the federal government (Gurr, 1989, p. 132). During the 1920s, the KKK achieved its greatest political success and growth outside of the South. During this period, the membership of the Klan heavily expanded to the states of Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Oregon, to which the KKK obtained two to two and one-half million members at its apex.
The Civil War left traumatized people and many destroyed cities, which led to the Reconstruction. The Reconstruction was the process of trying to rebuild the South after the Civil War. The North and South had an interesting past in the year of 1876. The election of 1876 was a very controversial election, it was the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. In 1870, Hiram Revels was the first black senator.
The Death of Reconstruction With the Civil War finally over, the United states can now introduce the Southern citizens back into their society. 1876 just so happened to be the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Sixteen African-American politicians were elected into Congress which is a huge step from where they were a less than a year ago. However, Reconstruction was killed by the North because Grant was too wrapped up in his reputation, racism towards blacks, and the Panic of 1873. 1876 was an exciting year for America because the Declaration of Independence’s 100th anniversary was happening.
Most of the KKK were first class people like doctor, and lawyers (Colby 513). Even the government didn’t try to stop the KKK because since they were first class people that had all of the power. Since the KKK were first class citizens that had all of the power the South killed Reconstruction because the KKK was in control of almost everyone in the
The Reconstruction era was a period in the United States that took place after the Civil War, from approximately 1865 to 1877. During this time, the federal government sought to incorporate both the Confederate states and newly freed black people into American society. This process was marked by a series of political and social changes, including the passing of the Reconstruction Amendments, which abolished slavery, granted citizenship rights, and voting rights to black Americans. Additionally, the Freedmen's Bureau was established to aid newly freed black people in areas such as education, housing, and land ownership. The era was also marked by the rise of racist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, which aimed to maintain white supremacy and
After the freeing of the slaves began the rise of the Ku Klux Klan. The Ku Klux Klan, better known as the KKK, is a major terrorist group based off the idea of an all white nation. White supremacists, open and closeted, have been the leading cause of the deaths and incarceration of black men. The fall slavery of became the rise of segregation. Blacks were separated, tormented, and were treated as lesser.
The KKK used many ways to scare and threaten African Americans such as physical abuse, verbal abuse, and torturing them in horrifying ways. The KKK was first known as a group who fooled around in the woods and get drunk until they started scaring and torturing African Americans as their daily entertainment, ¨Attacking under cover of night, the nineteenth- century klan whipped, robbed, murdered, and raped their victims.¨ (¨Ku Klux Klan¨1). It is sad how innocent African Americans became part of the KKK´s everyday torturing entertainment. Not only did the KKK whipped, robbed, murdered, and raped their victims, they also burned crosses on their victim´s lawn because of their hatred against many religions. The KKK's main goal was to limit the rights
Frederickson argues African Americans simply did not have the time or preparation to oppose racist forces. Using paramilitary forces, southern redeemers easily made threats to reconstruction forces as seen through the emergence of the violent Ku Klux Klan during the election of 1866. The opportunity for African Americans to gain a stance in society was short lived by the racist efforts of democrats in the south and impartial ideals from