Reasons Why South Killed Reconstruction

“... the slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back toward slavery” (Dubois 505). “1876 was an exciting year for America” ( Background Essay 505). 1876 was the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The first college football game happened a couple year before and a year later in 1877 a easter egg hunt was on the White house lawn. It looked like there would be enough opportunities that every American could pursue their hopes, but it was the election of 1876 that would crush the dreams for millions of black Americans in the South. The South killed Reconstruction because of the terrorist organization known as the Ku Klux Klan, the lawlessness and fear and the South, and that the North was weary of the complaints

The KKK is a terrorist organization that want to have control over voting and opposed Reconstruction. People were sometimes killed if they didn’t listen to the KKK. The KKK wouldn’t just kill someone, they would torture them. People were also killed if they voted for something that the KKK didn’t like or if they supported Reconstruction. State Senator John W. Stephens was one of the many people that were killed by the KKK (Tougree 511). The KKK was now targeting Republicans. There were other people that the KKK was targeting like scalawags, freedmen, carpetbaggers and Radical Republicans. The KKK attacked these people because the scalawags, carpetbagger, freedmen, and radical republicans were all people who supported Reconstruction. Whenever the KKK would kill someone they would make sure that everyone knew what they were doing. They would sometimes kill people out in the open, making sure that everyone saw. The KKK originated from the South which meant that the South killed

There was much fear in the South also because of the KKK. The KKK would threaten people with guns out in the open (Colby 513). Large crowds of people would gather around to see the KKK threaten people. Some of the people were angry at the KKK and others liked what the KKK was doing. Everyone was afraid that the KKK might kill them or attacked them is they stood up for the people that were being threatened that they didn’t stand up for the people that were getting hurt or being threatened. 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