violence
Soon after the reconstruction, the abolitionists became disinterested in ethnic equality and stopped protecting the African Americans from injustice at the height of racial intolerance, which ironically occurred after slavery was banned. Since the thirteenth amendment had abolished slavery, many white Southerners had turned towards violence to assert their dominance. Their powers lay in size; the white supremacists joined mobs and formed race groups to organize lynching and race riots. Lynching of African Americans increased starting the 1880’s; it was an execution taken into the hands of a mob of people, with no decision from the legal system. Another form of violence was race riots, which targeted a broader range of African Americans. [1] Those who were not attacked still viewed the violence as threats to their new found freedom.
During the post-Reconstruction era, the federal government did not interfere with any acts of racial aggression. White southerners took it upon themselves to preserve the social hierarchy. Even though the freedmen were granted their freedom, many of them were threatened by physical violence, which made it difficult for them to survive independently in society. Before the 1880s, white Americans were the original targets of lynching (due to criminal acts, etc.), but as racial tensions escalated, innocent African Americans became the main victims of lynching. [2] Starting from 1887, the number of African American's lynched exceeded the number of white American's lynched by 20 people. [3] Lynching was widely associated with and performed by the Ku Klux Klan.
The Ku Klux Klan originated in Tennessee, founded by six members of the Confederate army, and largely comprised of Confederate veterans. They brought the war back from the battlefield and into the black Southern society. The Ku Klux Klan attempted to develop its own political system, but its members ran independently by murdering African Americans on their own whims. Violence had escalated to the point where white supremacists would terrorize African Americans who exercised their rights as freedmen. For example, they stripped black Americans of their rights to education by whipping professors from freedmen schools and by burning down the schools [4]. They feared that with proper education, the African Americans would begin stealing white men’s jobs, and then they would lose the power they originally held over them.
During the post-Reconstruction era, the federal government did not interfere with any acts of racial aggression. White southerners took it upon themselves to preserve the social hierarchy. Even though the freedmen were granted their freedom, many of them were threatened by physical violence, which made it difficult for them to survive independently in society. Before the 1880s, white Americans were the original targets of lynching (due to criminal acts, etc.), but as racial tensions escalated, innocent African Americans became the main victims of lynching. [2] Starting from 1887, the number of African American's lynched exceeded the number of white American's lynched by 20 people. [3] Lynching was widely associated with and performed by the Ku Klux Klan.
The Ku Klux Klan originated in Tennessee, founded by six members of the Confederate army, and largely comprised of Confederate veterans. They brought the war back from the battlefield and into the black Southern society. The Ku Klux Klan attempted to develop its own political system, but its members ran independently by murdering African Americans on their own whims. Violence had escalated to the point where white supremacists would terrorize African Americans who exercised their rights as freedmen. For example, they stripped black Americans of their rights to education by whipping professors from freedmen schools and by burning down the schools [4]. They feared that with proper education, the African Americans would begin stealing white men’s jobs, and then they would lose the power they originally held over them.
A significant white supremacist group that arose in 1874 was the "White League". They were a paramilitary force that organized the Colfax Massacre of April 13, 1873, in order to secure racial and political supremacy. [5] After many small occurrences of violence caused by conflicting political views around the election of 1872, the Colfax Massacre of 1873 had erupted. Eric Foner described the Massacre as “The bloodiest act of violence during Reconstruction”. [6] The White League opposed Republican Freedmen and Louisiana's African American State militia in battle that resulted in numerous casualties. The loses resulted unevenly; only three white Americans died, as compared to the loss of a hundred soldiers on the African American militia's force. Half of the African American deaths had occurred only after the black Americans had already surrendered [6]. The relentless white soldiers' attacks demonstrated the impossibility of a peaceful coexistence between the two races in the south.
Less common than lynching were race riots, which began in the late nineteenth century. On November 1898, the citizens of Wilmington undertook in a race riot. A group of white southerners demanded that the Committee of Colored Citizens shut down Alexander Manly’s newspaper operation. Manly was the chief editor of “Daily Record”, which was Wilmington’s only black-owned newspaper. [7] When the white supremacists received no response, they torched Daily Record’s headquarters, and rallied thousands of Southerners to pillage African American neighborhoods [8]. The Wilmington Light Infantry and federal Naval Reserves were instructed to control the riot, but instead, they shot at the defenseless African Americans. Even in trial, the white Americans remained unscathed by the law. Even after the efforts of the Reconstruction, African Americans still had a difficult time assimilating to society.
In the late 19th century, white supremacists went outside the judicial system and began using physical violence to assert their dominance. Their crimes varied from the lynching of individuals to the slaughter of thousands. Oppressive crimes like these “united” white Southerners over a common cause, while defining the lines between white Americans and black Americans even further.
[1]Gibson, Robert A. "79.02.04: The Negro Holocaust: Lynching and Race Riots in the United States,1880-1950." 79.02.04: The Negro Holocaust: Lynching and Race Riots in the United States,1880-1950. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Oct. 2013. <http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1979/2/79.02.04.x.html>
[2]Zangrando, Robert L. "About Lynching." About Lynching. Houghton Mifflin Co., 1991. Web. 03 Oct. 2013 <http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/g_l/lynching/lynching.htm>.
[3]"Lynching Statistics by Year." Lynching Statistics by Year. Tuskegee Institute, n.d. Web. 03 Oct. 2013 <http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/shipp/lynchingyear.html>.
[4]Somers, Dale A. Journal of southern history. Vol. 40. Ser. 1. Georgia: Southern Historical Association., 1974.
[5] "Colfax Massacre." Encyclopedia of Louisiana History, Culture and Community. Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. 05 Oct. 2013 <http://www.knowla.org/entry/758/>.
[6] Foner, Eric. Give me liberty!: An American history. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012, 578.
[7] Nicholas, Graham. "The North Carolina Election of 1898 - History." The North Carolina Election of 1898 - History. June 2005. North Carolina Collection. 07 Oct. 2013 <http://www2.lib.unc.edu/ncc/1898/history.html>.
[8]"1898 Wilmington Race Riot - Final Report, May 31, 2006." 1898 Wilmington Race Riot - Final Report, May 31, 2006. 31 May 2006. North Carolina Office of Archives & History. 03 Oct. 2013 <http://www.history.ncdcr.gov/1898-wrrc/report/report.htm>
[9]"War is Peace." War is Peace. 03 Oct. 2013 <http://warispeace.tumblr.com/post/2448623151/today-in-history-on-december-24-1865-several>.
[10] Charles, Lane. "The Day Freedom Died: The Colfax Massacre, the Supreme Court, and the Betrayal of Reconstruction." Latinamericanstudies.org. 7 Oct. 2013 <http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/african-americans/BHE-Summer-2008.pdf>.
[11] "Wilmington 1898." Wilmington 1898. 26 Apr. 2013. WordPress. 05 Oct. 2013 <http://dhpress.renci.org/wilmingtonraceriot/?attachment_id=2374>.
Header Photo Credits:
Eagleson, J. "America’s Coup d’etat: The 1898 Wilmington Race Riot." US History Scene. 05 Nov. 2012. 03 Oct. 2013 <http://www.ushistoryscene.com/uncategorized/1898wilmingtonraceriot/>.
"Opelousas Lynchings." 3 Oct. 2013 <http://shantology.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/01-public-lynching-2-usa-reduced.jpeg?w=640>.
Umfleet, LeRae. "The Wilmington Race riot - 1898." Wilmington Race Riot. 2010. NC Office of Archives and History. 03 Oct. 2013 <http://ncpedia.org/history/cw-1900/wilmington-race-riot>.
In the late 19th century, white supremacists went outside the judicial system and began using physical violence to assert their dominance. Their crimes varied from the lynching of individuals to the slaughter of thousands. Oppressive crimes like these “united” white Southerners over a common cause, while defining the lines between white Americans and black Americans even further.
[1]Gibson, Robert A. "79.02.04: The Negro Holocaust: Lynching and Race Riots in the United States,1880-1950." 79.02.04: The Negro Holocaust: Lynching and Race Riots in the United States,1880-1950. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Oct. 2013. <http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1979/2/79.02.04.x.html>
[2]Zangrando, Robert L. "About Lynching." About Lynching. Houghton Mifflin Co., 1991. Web. 03 Oct. 2013 <http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/g_l/lynching/lynching.htm>.
[3]"Lynching Statistics by Year." Lynching Statistics by Year. Tuskegee Institute, n.d. Web. 03 Oct. 2013 <http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/shipp/lynchingyear.html>.
[4]Somers, Dale A. Journal of southern history. Vol. 40. Ser. 1. Georgia: Southern Historical Association., 1974.
[5] "Colfax Massacre." Encyclopedia of Louisiana History, Culture and Community. Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. 05 Oct. 2013 <http://www.knowla.org/entry/758/>.
[6] Foner, Eric. Give me liberty!: An American history. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012, 578.
[7] Nicholas, Graham. "The North Carolina Election of 1898 - History." The North Carolina Election of 1898 - History. June 2005. North Carolina Collection. 07 Oct. 2013 <http://www2.lib.unc.edu/ncc/1898/history.html>.
[8]"1898 Wilmington Race Riot - Final Report, May 31, 2006." 1898 Wilmington Race Riot - Final Report, May 31, 2006. 31 May 2006. North Carolina Office of Archives & History. 03 Oct. 2013 <http://www.history.ncdcr.gov/1898-wrrc/report/report.htm>
[9]"War is Peace." War is Peace. 03 Oct. 2013 <http://warispeace.tumblr.com/post/2448623151/today-in-history-on-december-24-1865-several>.
[10] Charles, Lane. "The Day Freedom Died: The Colfax Massacre, the Supreme Court, and the Betrayal of Reconstruction." Latinamericanstudies.org. 7 Oct. 2013 <http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/african-americans/BHE-Summer-2008.pdf>.
[11] "Wilmington 1898." Wilmington 1898. 26 Apr. 2013. WordPress. 05 Oct. 2013 <http://dhpress.renci.org/wilmingtonraceriot/?attachment_id=2374>.
Header Photo Credits:
Eagleson, J. "America’s Coup d’etat: The 1898 Wilmington Race Riot." US History Scene. 05 Nov. 2012. 03 Oct. 2013 <http://www.ushistoryscene.com/uncategorized/1898wilmingtonraceriot/>.
"Opelousas Lynchings." 3 Oct. 2013 <http://shantology.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/01-public-lynching-2-usa-reduced.jpeg?w=640>.
Umfleet, LeRae. "The Wilmington Race riot - 1898." Wilmington Race Riot. 2010. NC Office of Archives and History. 03 Oct. 2013 <http://ncpedia.org/history/cw-1900/wilmington-race-riot>.