The clan rose during a period of time known as the second phase of reconstruction. In response to Andrew Johnson's democratic leaning policies, Republicans in the House and Senate passed the Reconstruction Act, overruling the presidential veto, which required different quotas and goals for guiding reconstruction. A notable one was the requirement to pass the 14th Amendment, granting universal citizenship and due process.
The KKK retaliated to the Republican acts with greater threats and declarations of terrorism. Once blacks won the right to vote and be elected to legislative bodies, around 10% in 1867-1868 suffered some form of violence from the KKK, 7 of whom were killed. Often, southern value entrenched states even assisted the killing and terrorism of black populations. In Memphis, one fight between blacks and whites led to a police assisted rampage, causing the death of 46 and the destruction of various churches. Similar events occurred later in the year in New Orleans. Killings, however, were primarily targeted for political reason, and to scare voters away fro them republican party. Prior to the 1868 election, which would have determined the continuing or ending of heavily democratic reformative policies, over 2000 politically related murders occurred in Kansas alone. These murders had the intention of terrorizing voters away from voting Republican, despite this, the inauguration of Ulysses S. Grant meant the end of the KKK.
Following his election, many Northerners despised the actions of the South against many blacks during the election, which led to the enforcement of tighter restrictions. Many of these restrictions were targeted against the actions of the KKK during the election, such as the Enforcement Acts, prohibiting the interference in elections to any degree. Later, direct restrictions were put upon the KKK, such as the Ku Klux Klan act, allowing for government action against terrorist organizations, as well as a decision from the US Supreme Court, which declared the group unconstitutional. Such acts were early examples of enforcement against hate speech and, even though not popularly enforced due to financial panics, still represented early steps against organized
hate speech and terrorism.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/grant-kkk/
https://www.history.com/topics/reconstruction/ku-klux-klan
I thought it was super interesting that you talked about how the KKK actually inspired laws that make terrorism and terrorist groups illegal and unconstitutional. I never knew about this. A pattern that's been repeating interestingly enough is how a lot of the laws that protect our rights came from the oppression of others. For example the 14th Amendment may not have been created so early on had the South not been so inflammatory after the War. It seems like despite the brutal manifestations of racism they seem to also have helped shape the rights we cherish. This shows that our government (Congress) did have a good system to check back on oppression which indicates that despite the racist beliefs of our founding fathers, they did pave the path so that these beliefs would be exterminated.
ReplyDeleteI found it informative how you went into the rise of the KKK and several examples that illustrated their atrocities. To add on, one thing I found particularly interesting from the class lecture is that they were not the only group perpetrating crimes like these. There were many other paramilitary and white supremacist groups like the Red Shirts and the White League that committed extreme violence against African-Americans and white Republicans.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading this article about hate speech, it made me begin to wonder about what is protected under the first amendment. Generally, hate speech is protected under the first amendment unless it invites violence or danger of some kind. For example, yelling "bomb" at an airport would not be allowed because it ultimately creates chaos and danger for other people. In addition, hate speech such as anti antisemitism is allowed, as long as it is not interpreted as a call to action to hurt said race. Some other obvious examples that are not protected under the first amendment include child pornography, libel and slander, copyright regulations, and obscenity. Basically, anything is allowed as long as it does not invite violence, retaliation, or hurt other people.
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hate_speech_in_the_United_States
https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/educational-resources/about-educational-outreach/activity-resources/what-does
https://www.business2community.com/social-media/7-things-the-first-amendment-doesnt-protect-0129234
I found it interesting how you pointed out that the inauguration of Ulysses S. Grant meant the end of the KKK. Although it disbanded after Reconstruction, the KKK reemerged in the 1920s after World War I to direct its hatred not just against African Americans, but also against Catholics, Jews, and immigrants. One event your post reminded me of was the Leo Frank affair in 1913, in which a Jewish factory superintendent named Leo Frank was accused of murdering a thirteen-year-old girl working for him (although it is widely believed that he didn’t) and subsequently lynched. This event is believed to have contributed to the resurgence of the KKK, but as we know of it, even without the prominence of the KKK, there was still cultural and religious discrimination throughout America. One of the most recent horrific crimes committed against the Jewish community was the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting in 2018. It saddens me that even after a century-and-a-half of emancipation, even after half a century of desegregation, these horrific events of hate speech and hate crime are still occurring.
ReplyDeleteSources:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/flood-klan/
https://stmuhistorymedia.org/the-reemergence-of-terror-ku-klux-klan/
https://www.americanheritage.com/fate-leo-frank