The south combats repbulican regimes The Ku Klux Klan

Resentment Leads to Racism With Radical Republican Rule in the south, many southern whites become resentful Feel governments run by carpetbaggers, scalawags and freed blacks do not represent them In particular, southern whites began to resent freed slaves as they made their way into politics via organizations like the Union League.

The Invisible Empire of the South Secret organizations begin to grow in the south as a resistance movement to Republican Rule Most notably, founded in 1866 was the Ku Klux Klan. The sole purpose of this organization being to keep blacks “in their place” via intimidation techniques.

Intimidation Techniques Scare Tactics The hoods of the Ku Klux Klan were originally intended to give the appearance of ghosts. Its reported that members would ride to the home of an uprising black and ask for water. After drinking, the member would declare that it was his first drink since being killed in a Civil War battle.

Intimidation Turns to Violence While intimidation was enough for some, the Klan felt it needed to grow more extreme to be effective. Targets grew to include carpetbaggers and scalawags, not just rising blacks. The Klan intended to keep all 3 groups out of their local and state governments by intimidating candidates and voters alike. Those who still resisted were often whipped, mutilated or even murdered. In 1868, the Klan reportedly killed over 200 people in Louisiana within 2 days of an election.

Impact Congress, learning of these actions, conducted a special study in 1871 to learn of the threat of the Ku Klux Klan After hearing several testimonies, it passed the Force Acts of 1871, allowing federal troops to move into the south and stamp out the majority of these groups. However, it became impossible to detect everyone within the secret societies, and many of the techniques continued.