The Klan

    The Ku Klux Klan started as a social club in Pulaski, Tennessee in the year 1865. In the summer of 1867 there was a meeting that took place where several of the newly cemented Klansmen referred to the Klan as the "Invisible Empire of the South". The Klan's mission was to reverse the new way of life that was established by the reconstruction. Because of this, they targeted any symbols of black autonomy. These symbols were mostly black schools, churches, as well as various black owned businesses. At least 10% of black legislators elected during the this era became victims of violence. Seven of these legislators were even slaughtered. 

By 1870, the Klan had branches in almost each of the southern states. Klan activity especially flourished in areas where blacks were the small minority and whites were an overwhelming majority. The so called "hot spot" for Klan members was in South Carolina especially. In 1871 masked Klansmen attacked the Union County jail in South Carolina and lynched eight of the black prisoners. This is only one example of the countless exhibitions of hate during this time. The Klan vehemently rejected the policies of President Andrew Johnson. One of these policies divided the south into 5 different military districts and required each state to approve the 14th amendment. 

When most people think of the Klan, they think of poor, southern whites. This claim was true for a percentage of Klansmen but not all. No, the Klan consisted of closeted racists. These included but not lim

ited to lawyers, doctors, judges, as well as local law enforcement. In fact, the local law enforcement that weren't even associated with the Klan decided that it'd be in their best interest of they just stayed out of the conflicts of the Klan altogether. This led to a point in time where blacks were subjected to ungodly amounts of hate with not a should to turn to. 

Around 1870 republican state governments were trying to turn to the federal government tp throw them a bone and this the then led to the Ku Klux Klan act of 1871. This act included the right to the suffrage of Black men and also included tighter policies around the shenanigans of the Klan. The act made it a federal offense to prohibit one's rights granted to them by the constitution such as the right to serve on a jury as well as holding public office. The Klan's mass reign of terror came to a grinding halt once Ulysses S. Grant took hold of executive office and used the newly expanding power of the federal government to crush Klan activity in the south. After this white supremacy gradually receded (at least the practice of it in the open).

EOTO Reaction/Analysis

 

During our EOTO I was able to learn about a range of topics during the antebellum era. One of the topics that I had the privilege to learn about was the secession of South Carolina. After
observing some of the facts mentioned in the presentation, I think that it’s fair to say that this momentous occasion was the catalyst for the later events that followed in the both illustrious and animated history of the United States. 

To be able to understand why South Carolina performed the actions that took place it’s important that we take a look at the history of the state a bit. So, with that said, South Carolina was settled in the year 1670 by English settlers and was the eighth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution in 1788. The early economy of the state was very much made up of its agricultural prowess. Famers during this time and in this place heavily relied on the production of slaves by way of the slave trade in order to maximize their margins. By the year 1730 African people made up about two thirds of the colony’s population. 

With all of that said, in order to come to the realization of why South Carolina seeded from the Union, we must also take a look at the political climate during the antebellum era. During this time period, we saw a president take hold of the executive office who was a republican. Now this was before the “party switch” so this particular president, Abraham Lincoln, was against the institution of slavery as it stood. His campaign was largely centered around taking power away from the south and allocating that power so that it was then spread at least semi evenly amongst
the states as a whole. The idea that they would lose power and wealth because of Lincoln’s lack of support for slavery obviously upset the premise of a path forward in the union for South Carolina. So, South Carolina then decides that they’re better off without the union and that they can run the government better as a collective south rather than allowing the northern states, the union, to have a say over what they could and couldn’t do. 

This “we can do it on our own” mindset then spread to the other southern states which then led to their subsequent secessions as well. The Union however did not agree with this obviously, and waged war on this newly formed confederacy. The reason why I truly do believe these specific moments to be pivotal in, not just this time period, but even today’s time, is because the events and mindset still is engrained in modern society. The very policies that the south was so adamant in maintaining affect us as a nation. This way of thought still allows certain
groups of people to be disenfranchised in order for other groups to rise or more importantly, maintain a stronghold of power that is not to be shared with the rest of the general population under any circumstance. This idea, this institution, this stream of thought, presents itself in a way that is almost invisible to the naked eye but if brought into the light with the right context shows a pattern of certain groups of people being used to help other groups climb the so called “social ladder”, if you will, and then pulling out that very ladder the second one group gets to the top.

Gone with the Wind

 Oftentimes when we think of white people in the south during the civil war era, we imagine a life inebriated with sunshine and rainbows. This, however, is not the harsh reality that citizens of the south were forced to live through. We oftentimes see those in the south during this period of time as demagogues and untouchables. After watching Gone with the Wind I was enlightened to what was previously unbeknownst to me, and that was the fact that, no matter what these people who I previously saw in one lens, can be seen completely different if given the opportunity to peak through another lens. 

Observing this film offered up that new perspective. I was previously one of those people whose one-sided way of thinking clouded my ability to distinguish between the actual truth and my previous fallacies that I thought to be the truth regarding the south. The main catalyst in this change of thought was a character by the name of Scarlett O’Hara. Throughout the course of the movie viewers such as myself were privy to an otherwise unseen way of life in the south for white people. I learned that even though wealthy whites in the south may have had a previously “easy” life before the civil war, this was not the case during and after the war. The devastation that hit the south in this movie was something that I had never even heard of before. These were not just people going through tough circumstances, this was instead peoples’ entire way of life being altered or otherwise destroyed. People were displaced, disenfranchised, and otherwise discontinued on numerous levels. 

State V Mann

 

State V Mann

The concept of race has evolved over time. The terms “white” and “slave” were all used by Europeans in the 1500s and these terms were brought to the U.S. During this time, race was seen as a categorical term rather than one separating different classes of people. This way of thinking evolved over the late 17^th century and into the late 18^th 

century into a principle much more sinister. The belief amongst many philosophers at the time was that there were natural laws that governed the world and one of these natural laws (unfortunate for blacks) was that those with a lighter pigment of skin were superior to those with a darker pigmentation. This way of thinking made its way to Europe and became the justification for slavery in Europe. Now, the argument that slavery has been around since the don of time can be, and probably will be made by the defense. This claim couldn’t be further from the truth. While slavery existed in ancient societies such as Greece, Rome, and Egypt; it was based on geography or religion NOT on race. In some of these cultures the so called “slaves could even earn a days wage. Around this time, this idea that certain races of HUMAIN BEINGS were lesser than other HUMAIN BEINGS started to take a chokehold of the newly established North American colonies. This “elite” race of humans established that other racial groups were to be considered subhuman and some even savages. 

    What we see now across our beautiful country are debates of whether or not slavery should be legal in the U.S. These debates aren’t because the people voting in favor of abolition actually care about the human beings that just so happen to be slaves. These debates are because the legislators, that we as the people appoint, see all of us, most importantly, the slaves as pawns in a larger more sinister game of chess. And in this game we’re all the same whether certain groups of us want to accept that fact or not IT IS TRUE. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we’re not asking that this man be put to death we just want him to be held accountable. This woman that this, excuse my language, scum of a human decided to shoot is somebody’s daughter. This woman is someone’s mother. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury please put your bias’s aside and realize that this woman, no matter what, race, creed, or religion this woman may be a part of, is at the end of the day a fellow human being who was shot by another human being. This woman was almost killed. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury all I’m standing here asking you today is how much is your life worth? All we’re asking for today is FIVE DOLLARS…