- Joined
- Dec 21, 2015
As an offshoot of @Pat Young's collection of 1868 newspaper articles on the KKK, a question came up by @Gladys Hodge Sherrer as to why the KKK was so active in Tennessee. I thought it better to expand on the subject apart from Pat's collection, so as to not spoil the effect of the anthology. Most of this information has been posted before, however, separately and without footnotes. @nitrofd adds that Parson Brownlow , & @Harvey Johnson brings up ex-Confederate disenfranchisement both as contributing to KKK activity. I invite them to contribute.
I am not an expert on Tennesse or the topic of Reconstruction in general, thus, I rely upon the expertise of others.
Civil War Reconstruction Tennessee
It is no accident that the KKK took hold and flourished in Tennessee. Due to the fact that Tennessee was re-admitted as a state before the Military Reconstruction Acts of 1867, thus it was exempt from military oversight/leadership (leading to in-fighting a la Brownlow & insurgence). Add to it the stifling decision of United States v. Cruikshank, and Civil Rights becomes nearly impossible to protect down the road. Furthermore, it must be understood that there were many moving parts involved during Reconstruction, thus, it is impossible to evaluate Reconstruction as a single entity, thus, examining the unique experiences of each state might be helpful.
Tennessee rapidly ratified the 14th amendment (in July 1866) and was thus readmitted to the Union before Congress imposed a more stringent reconstruction plan in March 1867. In a technical sense, Reconstruction in Tennessee had formally ended, only slightly more than one year after Lee's surrender at Appomattox.[1]
Military Reconstruction explanation (Tennessee exempted)
With the Radical Republicans fully in control of Congress after the mid-term elections of 1866, they quickly passed the Military Reconstruction Acts of 1867. These acts divided the south into five military districts. Each district was placed under military leadership and new elections were held with voting only allowed by Congress' approved voters, which were mostly former slaves. Each state was also required to ratify the 13th and 14th Amendments after drafting new state constitutions. This could only be done after new public officials were elected that had pledged their loyalty to the Union. Most of these were either poor whites or former slaves. This new influx of voters led to the Republican control of a traditionally Democratic south. [2]
Ending Reconstruction
United States v. Cruikshank (expanded)
Federal charges were brought against several members of the white insurgents under the Enforcement Act of 1870, which prohibited two or more people from conspiring to deprive anyone of their constitutional rights. Convictions were appealed to the Supreme Court. Among these charges including hindering the freedmen's First Amendment right to freely assemble and their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. In its ruling, the Supreme Court overturned the convictions of the white men, holding that the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment applies only to state action, not to actions by individual citizens. It said that the plaintiffs had to rely on state courts for protection, although at the time and for decades after these courts never convicted white men for murder of blacks.[3] The Justices stated "The right to bear arms is not granted by the Constitution; neither is it in any manner dependent upon that instrument for its existence. The Second Amendment means no more than that it shall not be infringed by Congress, and has no other effect than to restrict the powers of the National Government."[3]
Federal troops were withdrawn from the South in 1877, and elections afterward were often fraught with fraud and violence as white Democrats struggled to suppress black Republican voting. From 1890 to 1908, the southern states passed new constitutions or amendments that resulted in disfranchisement of most black people and many poor whites, to prevent the type of Populist coalition that had gained temporary power in the 1880s. This status of political exclusion lasted until after passage of federal civil rights legislation in the 1960s.[4]
[1] http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=1112
[2]http://study.com/academy/lesson/military-reconstruction-act-history-summary-quiz.html
[3]92 U.S. 542 (Full text of the decision courtesy of Findlaw.com)
[4]Wiki
I am not an expert on Tennesse or the topic of Reconstruction in general, thus, I rely upon the expertise of others.
Civil War Reconstruction Tennessee
It is no accident that the KKK took hold and flourished in Tennessee. Due to the fact that Tennessee was re-admitted as a state before the Military Reconstruction Acts of 1867, thus it was exempt from military oversight/leadership (leading to in-fighting a la Brownlow & insurgence). Add to it the stifling decision of United States v. Cruikshank, and Civil Rights becomes nearly impossible to protect down the road. Furthermore, it must be understood that there were many moving parts involved during Reconstruction, thus, it is impossible to evaluate Reconstruction as a single entity, thus, examining the unique experiences of each state might be helpful.
Tennessee rapidly ratified the 14th amendment (in July 1866) and was thus readmitted to the Union before Congress imposed a more stringent reconstruction plan in March 1867. In a technical sense, Reconstruction in Tennessee had formally ended, only slightly more than one year after Lee's surrender at Appomattox.[1]
Military Reconstruction explanation (Tennessee exempted)
With the Radical Republicans fully in control of Congress after the mid-term elections of 1866, they quickly passed the Military Reconstruction Acts of 1867. These acts divided the south into five military districts. Each district was placed under military leadership and new elections were held with voting only allowed by Congress' approved voters, which were mostly former slaves. Each state was also required to ratify the 13th and 14th Amendments after drafting new state constitutions. This could only be done after new public officials were elected that had pledged their loyalty to the Union. Most of these were either poor whites or former slaves. This new influx of voters led to the Republican control of a traditionally Democratic south. [2]
Ending Reconstruction
United States v. Cruikshank (expanded)
Federal charges were brought against several members of the white insurgents under the Enforcement Act of 1870, which prohibited two or more people from conspiring to deprive anyone of their constitutional rights. Convictions were appealed to the Supreme Court. Among these charges including hindering the freedmen's First Amendment right to freely assemble and their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. In its ruling, the Supreme Court overturned the convictions of the white men, holding that the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment applies only to state action, not to actions by individual citizens. It said that the plaintiffs had to rely on state courts for protection, although at the time and for decades after these courts never convicted white men for murder of blacks.[3] The Justices stated "The right to bear arms is not granted by the Constitution; neither is it in any manner dependent upon that instrument for its existence. The Second Amendment means no more than that it shall not be infringed by Congress, and has no other effect than to restrict the powers of the National Government."[3]
Federal troops were withdrawn from the South in 1877, and elections afterward were often fraught with fraud and violence as white Democrats struggled to suppress black Republican voting. From 1890 to 1908, the southern states passed new constitutions or amendments that resulted in disfranchisement of most black people and many poor whites, to prevent the type of Populist coalition that had gained temporary power in the 1880s. This status of political exclusion lasted until after passage of federal civil rights legislation in the 1960s.[4]
[1] http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=1112
[2]http://study.com/academy/lesson/military-reconstruction-act-history-summary-quiz.html
[3]92 U.S. 542 (Full text of the decision courtesy of Findlaw.com)
[4]Wiki
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Bringing the