Black Resistance to the Ku Klux Klan in the Wake of Civil War

The end of the Civil War left a fearful and resentful South struggling to understand the changes the war had wrought. Southerners seeking a focus for their anger quickly drew a bead on recently emancipated Black people.

Former slaves became targets of violence, and chief among the perpetrators was the newly formed Ku Klux Klan. Focusing on the years of the Reconstruction, this volume examines the actions of the Ku Klux Klan between the years of 1865 and 1899.

The text explores how the organization sponsored and promoted violence, and how those actions eventually led to:

• The formation of armed defensive units by victims
• Instances of retaliatory action and armed resistance
• Attempts by both sides to build a society reflecting their own sense of justice and morality

The author considers both the history and the sociology behind these events. To provide a deeper historical context, the appendices include excerpts from a variety of primary sources:

• Contemporary newspaper articles
• Private correspondence
• Personal diaries

This study provides an essential look at the cycle of violence and defense that defined one of the most volatile periods in American history.