History That Doesn't Suck - 76: Reconstruction (Part 4): The Battle of Liberty Place and the Mississippi Plan

Episode Date: October 26, 2020

“Hang Kellogg! We’ll fight!” This is the story of the end of Reconstruction. Voter fraud and intimidation has made Louisiana’s 1872 Gubernatorial election a mess. So, when a Federal judge and Republican President Ulysses S. Grant uphold the Republican candidate, the stage is set for more partisan and racial violence in the Bayou State. The outcome is Reconstruction’s worst episode of violence and murder (the Colfax Massacre), and a full-on street battle in New Orleans between the paramilitary White League and the racially integrated state and municipal police (the Battle of Liberty Place).  Meanwhile, Democrats have grown sick of what they see as Federal overreach imposing Republican policies to rule over them. Starting in Mississippi, they come up with a new plan to disenfranchise Republicans in order to reestablish “home rule.”  But will the federal government allow this to happen? With Ulyss leaving the White House, the 1876 presidential election’s voter fraud and backroom dealings create a compromise that ensures Republicans retain the presidency, while Democrats regain control of the South. Reconstruction is over. Welcome to the era of Jim Crow. ____ Connect with us on HTDSpodcast.com and go deep into episode bibliographies and book recommendations join discussions in our Facebook community get news and discounts from The HTDS Gazette  come see a live show get HTDS merch or become an HTDS premium member for bonus episodes and other perks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Red One... We're coming at you. ...is the movie event of the holiday season. Santa Claus has been kidnapped? You're gonna help us find him. You can't trust this guy. He's on the list. Is that Naughty Lister? Naughty Lister?

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Let's save Christmas. There it is. Only in theaters November 15th. The French Revolution set Europe ablaze. It was an age of enlightenment and progress, but also of tyranny and oppression. It was an age of glory and an age of tragedy. One man stood above it all. This was the age of Napoleon. I'm Everett Rumage,

host of the Age of Napoleon podcast. Join me as I examine the life and times of one of the most fascinating and enigmatic characters in modern history. Look for the Age of Napoleon wherever you find your podcasts. Welcome to History That Doesn't Suck. I'm your professor, Greg Jackson, and as in the classroom, my goal here is to make rigorously researched history come to life as your storyteller. Each episode is the result of laborious research with no agenda other than making the past come to life as you learn. If you'd like to help support this work, receive ad-free episodes, bonus content, and other exclusive perks, I invite you to join the HTDS membership program. Sign up for a seven-day free trial today at htdspodcast.com

slash membership, or click the link in the episode notes. This episode contains stories of racial violence that some listeners may find disturbing. Listener discretion is advised. It's 2 o'clock in the afternoon, Monday, September 14, 1874. Countless men are working as fast as they can to build barricades in New Orleans downtown and French Quarter. They grab anything they can get their hands on. Barrels filled with iron, lumber, freight from the Mississippi waterfront. They're even commandeering and toppling horse-drawn streetcars, and in some cases, pulling up the pavement before them to create a trench

any opposing force would have to descend into before attacking. Along Poitras Street, these barricades are quickly coming to occupy nearly every intersection between the riverfront and St. Charles Street, near Lafayette Square, six or so blocks to the west. More can be found just a couple of blocks to the north, dotting the wide west-to-east running thoroughfare that is Canal Street. And as the barricades take shape, thousands of armed men, intent upon overthrowing the state government, stand behind them. This is the White League. Okay, time for a bit of brief background. Two years ago, the results of Louisiana's

gubernatorial election were muddied by voter fraud and intimidation. Both candidates claimed victory in the aftermath. President Ulysses S. Grant and the federal government sought to settle the issue by recognizing Republican William Pitt Kellogg as the winner. But now, in 1874, Democrat John McEnery is still yet to accept this. Many of his fellow Democrats feel the same way, and collectively, these Dems responded by immediately setting up their own alternative state government and, as of this year, by organizing this paramilitary group, the White League. Things came to a boiling point in the past few weeks,

though. The White League is particularly upset that the racially integrated Metropolitan Police recently seized a large secret shipment of guns and munitions intended for them. That's the immediate cause that has these militarized Democrats in the streets demanding control of the Pelican state's government this September afternoon. It's now nearly 4 p.m. The Republican governor has taken refuge just a few blocks away from the White League's barricades at the impressive four-story granite-built custom house on Canal Street. Any hope he has of retaining his governorship rests in the hands of the faithful Republican commander at the head of both the

Louisiana State Militia and the Metropolitan Police Force. This is also the same man Robert E. Lee used to call his old warhorse. Yeah, you heard that right. If you went through the Civil War with me, you know him well. I'm talking about the Civil War with me, you know him well. I'm talking about the ex-Confederate General turned Radical Republican, General James Old Pete Longstreet. Now in his 50s with a receding hairline, a little extra weight, and a salt and peppered beard, Old Pete rides, likely down Charters Street, toward the custom house in which the governor is hunkering down. As he does so, Old Pete Longstreet leads a force of black and white police officers, equipped with some light artillery

and newer weapon capable of rapid fire called the Gatling gun. Old Pete's men take positions just in front of the custom house on Canal Street. He's still hoping to defuse this thing. No blood has been shed yet, and the old war horse sees no need for that to change. He rides along the street,

calling to the barricaded white leaguers. Disperse and go home! They don't budge. The only answer he gets from the white league and spectating citizens are jeers. Meanwhile, police Sergeant Taylor takes eight to 10 of his men farther up the street, delivering the same message to the active participants

and onlookers. They make it one block to the barricade at the intersection of canal and camp streets before they get their answer. The warning shot rings out over the sound of the booing crowd. The sergeant and his men fall back. But as this is playing out, companies of white leaguers are advancing from Poitras toward Canal Street, along the cross streets closer to the waterfront. Seeing this, Old Pete's forces shift their position

to receive the advancing rioters? Insurrectionists? Army? What exactly are they dealing with? How organized is this? Is war really about to break out in New Orleans?

Sources conflict on whether the advancing white leaguers or Old Pete's men fire first. But once it starts, it doesn't stop. I have heard that yell before, General Longstreet mutters.

Oh, indeed, old Pete has. It's the same blood-curdling, spine-tingling scream that his Confederate soldiers once used to instill sheer terror in the hearts of blue-clad Union soldiers during the Civil War. And now, nearly a decade since Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox, and with black men under his command, the old warhorse finds himself on the other side of that horrific battle cry. It's the famous Rebel Yow. Welcome to History That Doesn't Suck. I'm your professor, Greg Jackson, and I'd like to tell you a story.

It would be difficult to grasp how the Battle of Liberty Place came to be without understanding the tension building during Reconstruction. To be frank, Reconstruction is coming apart at the seams. Today, I'll show you that by focusing on two states, Louisiana and Mississippi. Though keep in mind, the disputed elections and racial violence you'll hear about are commonplace in most Southern states. After giving you a background of Reconstruction in Louisiana,

I'll tell you about the deadliest events in this era, the Colfax Massacre. Then we'll find out how the Battle of Liberty Place ends. From there, I'll take you to Mississippi, where white Democrats have a plan to keep any Republican from casting a ballot. And when state officials ask for federal help keeping the elections fair and safe, they won't get it. All of this violence and voter fraud carries over into the election of 1876. That disputed election will signal the end of Reconstruction. You won't find any happy endings here. I'm telling you straight up, this is a heavy episode. But these are stories that need to be told. So with that, let's head back a few years and examine the Reconstruction era in Louisiana. Rewind.

So, Reconstruction Louisiana. To say the power dynamics in the Bayou State experienced massive, violent fluctuations during these years is a gross understatement. And thanks to a number of Civil War episodes, as well as the past three episodes, you're probably already nodding and connecting a lot of those dots. But let's make this crystal clear. Here's a quick recap and a few more details on Louisiana's path to its turbulent 1872 election. Starting in 1862, Admiral David Farragut more or less puts an end to Louisiana's Confederate ambitions by capturing New Orleans. The next year, on December 8, 1863, the first experimental step in Reconstruction begins as President Lincoln's proclamation of

amnesty and Reconstruction gives secessionists a way back to the Union, which is to have 10% of a given rebel state's 21 years and older white male population take a loyalty oath. The next year, 1864, reconstructing Louisiana crafts a new constitution. It bans slavery. It doesn't give black men the vote. It also permits state laws that will only apply to black citizens, known as black codes. VP-turned-president Andrew Johnson doesn't push back on these efforts to relegate blacks to a form of second-class citizenship. This, in turn, only emboldens those ex-Confederates seeking to restore, in all but name, the old society and slave economy they knew before the war. Thus, when some black Americans living in the Big Easy push

for civil rights, they're answered with violence, as you undoubtedly recall from the deadly 1866 New Orleans massacre that opened Episode 73. All right, now thanks to Episode 75, we know how U.S. Congress responds to the violence in Black Code laws trying to cement this two-tiered citizenship system across the South. It steps in with the Reconstruction Acts of 1867. Along with Texas, Louisiana becomes part of the newly formed 5th Military District. If the Bayou State wants back into the Union, it'll have to hit restart on its reconstruction process by ratifying the Citizenship Protecting 14th Amendment and holding a new constitutional convention

with the delegates elected by the state's white and black men. It does so in early 1868. Ninety-eight delegates, 49 white and 49 black, report to this convention. Their work produces a Louisiana state constitution with a bill of rights, ensuring that black men have the vote. It also takes the vote from unrepentant Confederate leaders. Those who held a military or political office in the CSA for a year or more, produced Confederate newspapers, basically anyone who played a significant leadership role shall not, quote, vote or hold office until he shall have relieved himself by voluntarily writing and signing a certificate setting forth that he Okay, so the 1868 Constitution has significantly changed the state's eligible electorate. I mean, sure, someone could take the oath without meaning

it, but making ex-Confederate leaders publicly renounce secession and their role in it in order to vote or run for office is a hard pill to swallow. The most adamant former Rebs won't be willing to do so. Meanwhile, all black men now have the right to vote. That combo makes the state a full-on republic for all adult males, black and white, minus only those few who will not acknowledge the Civil War as an act of treason. Suddenly, the Republican Party is viable in Louisiana, and the state's government sees significant changes. Racially segregated services and stores don't end overnight, but they're getting challenged.

Meanwhile, Louisiana black men are only voting. They're getting elected to office. Take, for instance, Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback, or PBS, or Pinch, as he's generally known. He's one of Reconstruction Louisiana's three black lieutenant governors and will even serve as acting governor between December 1872 and January 1873.

These precious few weeks will make him the first and only black American to serve as any state's executive until the late 20th century when Virginia elects Douglas Wilder in 1989. But the rise of men like Pinch is such a radical change for former slave state Louisiana that some ex-Confederates refused to accept it. In their minds, the Republican Grant Administration, Congress, the U.S. military, Northern carpetbaggers, and Southern, quote-unquote, turncoat scalawags like James Old Pete Longstreet,

and black Republicans, are oppressing white Southerners. Seeing that they can no longer get their way through the vote, these ex-rebels turn to extra-legal violence and voter intimidation. To quote the eminent Civil War and Reconstruction historian Eric Foner, In Reconstruction Louisiana, every election between 1868 and 1876 was marked by rampant violence and pervasive fraud. Close quote. You've got to look into this already in the last episode with the Ku Klux Klan. Yes, they spread to Louisiana, but a similar paramilitary slash terrorist group called the Knights of the White Camellia is ahead of it in the state during the late 1860s. Congress's 1870 Enforcement Acts counter the Knights

just as they do the Klan, but the results aren't perfect. Louisiana's 1872 election will be rife with voter fraud and intimidation. It will serve as a catalyst for some of the worst violence of the Reconstruction era as another group called the White League takes shape. It will serve as a catalyst for some of the worst violence of the Reconstruction era as another group called the White League take shape.

If any of the terms or events I just flew through felt unfamiliar or less familiar than you'd like, feel free to revisit a few older episodes, specifically 50 and 72 through 76. But I'm hoping you were more like the Karate Kid post-Mr. Miyagi's wax-on, wax-off exercise, pleasantly surprised to realize just how much you've learned. And with that setup, our background on Louisiana's 1872 election is set. It's time to see the violence and murder this political contest unleashes. It's 1872, and the Republicans are split. Citing the corruption currently playing out in Ulysses S. Grant's administration,

the famous New York Tribune editor Horace Greeley is challenging Ulysses for the U.S. presidency. Ulysses is going to eat Horace's lunch, but the race nonetheless highlights a serious split in the Republican Party. On the one hand, we have the newspaper editors, liberal Republicans, who say they want to fight corruption and that Reconstruction is done, or at least it's time to stop enforcing it in the South. On the other, we have those Republicans loyal to Ulysses and the idea of continuing to push Reconstruction. This intra-party conflict over Reconstruction is making odd bedfellows in Louisiana's gubernatorial conflict. The Republican candidate is William Pitt Kellogg. The dark yet thin-haired and

thick-bearded Northern Transplant, or Carpetbagger as Democrats call him, wants to keep enforcing Reconstruction. He has the support of other Louisiana Republicans standing with the former Union General now serving as U.S. president, like the scalawag former Confederate general turned radical Republican James Olpete Longstreet, as well as most black voters. His opponent is Democrat John McEnery, a thick-browed and bearded, born-and-bred Southerner. John has the support of his party and the local liberal Republicans, who are also sick of Reconstruction. This includes the outgoing Republican governor, Henry Warmuth. In other words, staunch Republicans versus Democrats and allied Republicans on a fusion ticket. I told you, this is an odd election. The outcome is

completely muddled. Thanks to voter fraud, it's difficult to say who the genuine winner is. Republican William Kellogg or Democrat John McEnery? Okay, fine, we can deal with this. The question goes to the election's returning board. Hmm, problem here though. The returning board is appointed by the governor, and again, the outgoing governor, though Republican, is a vocal supporter of the fusion ticket nominee. This casts doubt on the returning board's conclusion that Democrat John McEnery is the winner and leads the legislature to impeach the governor, opening the way for his black lieutenant governor, PBS pinchback, to serve in his stead, while those on the board supporting

Republican William Kellogg defect form their their own board, and declare him the winner. Wow. The state looks like it's headed for civil war. This is where the federal court judge Edward Durrell comes in. Under his injunction, federal troops enforce the pro-Reconstruction Republican William Kellogg's claim as governor. President Ulysses Grant notes that this election is less than certain, but he will stand by the judge and recognizes the Kellogg administration as Louisiana's de facto government. But John McInerney and his followers reject this. After all, they argue, it's no wonder the Republican president supports his own. Further, who is

this federal judge to reject the ruling of the first returning board? And so, John sets up a second competing government of Louisiana. On the same day in mid-January, 1873, both men take the oath of office as Louisiana's governor. Federally supported Republican William Kellogg does so at the Mechanics Institute. Democrat John McEnery takes his oath before a large crowd at Lafayette Square. Now, competing state governments would be a problem under any circumstances. I know, understatement of the year right there. Or at least it would be in any year other than 2020. But the issue is compounded by an 1871 state law that gives the governor the job of appointing offices at the county level, or parish level to use the Louisiana term. This means hundreds of office seekers from around the

state flood into New Orleans, seeking the blessing of both governors. The idea of Democrats filling these offices is simply unacceptable to Grant Parish's black state militia captain, William Ward. And he's ready to fight back. decisions with your money? Well, I've got the podcast for you. I'm Sean Piles, and I host NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast. On our show, we help listeners like you make the most of your finances. I sit down with NerdWallet's team of nerds, personal finance experts in credit cards, banking, investing, and more. We answer your real-world money questions and break down the latest personal finance news. The nerds will give you the clarity you need by cutting through the clutter and misinformation in today's world of personal finance. We don't promote get-rich-quick schemes or hype unrealistic side hustles.

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We're Jen and Jenny from Ancient History Fangirl. We tell you true stories and tall tales of the ancient world. Sometimes we do it tipsy. Sometimes we have amazing guests on our show. Historians like Barry Strauss, podcasters like Liv Albert, Mike Duncan, and authors like Joanne Harris and Ben Aronovich. We take you to the top of Hadrian's Wall to watch the Roman Empire fall at the end of the world. We walk the catacombs beneath the Temple of the Feathered Serpent under Teotihuacan. We walk the sacred spirals of the Nazca Lines in search of ancient secrets. And we explore mythology from ancient

cultures around the world. Come find us at ancienthistoryfangirl.com or wherever you get William Ward's a fighter. Born a slave in Virginia, he escaped at the age of 23 in the midst of the Civil War and joined the U.S. Army. He became a sergeant and continued in the Army after the war until tuberculosis forced him from the service in 1870. He then moved to the newly organized Central Louisiana parish named after the president, Grant Parish. The Civil War vet quickly made a name for himself here. That same year, radical Republicans made William Ward captain of the Louisiana State Militia in Grant Parish.

Captain Ward, and I'm going to stick with that title just to keep us from confusing him with the Republican governor, drills and trains his entirely black unit. He doesn't hesitate to enforce the law either. Following the September 1871 murder of the radical Republican candidate for parish recorder, Delos White, Captain Ward has no problem putting a federal warrant to use by arresting eight of his suspected murderers. And when a local state judge tried to prevent a federal marshal from taking the men, Captain Ward and his men marched into the court with bayonets fixed to escort the prisoners to

federal captivity. The judge began to push back. Damn the court, Captain Ward hollered at the judge. The militia then saw to it that the marshal got all of his prisoners on the New Orleans-bound steamer. And soon, Captain Ward also gets elected to the state legislature. The Virginia veteran is doing all right for himself in the Pelican State." But Ward's also making plenty of enemies.

Frankly, Democrats find this black military man who arrests white men and speaks back to judges stretching their authority terrifying. They begin to speak of Ward's, quote-unquote, reign of terror. And with nearly equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats in the parish, that makes the prospect of two governors, each of which might appoint a sheriff and other local officials favorable to one party or the other, especially dangerous. Captain-slash-state representative Ward will leave nothing to chance. One night in March, 1873, two months after both governors

separately took the oath of office, Ward and his militia quietly move on Grant Parish's courthouse in the small town named for the president's first VP, Colfax. They break into the unoccupied courthouse and lay claim to it on behalf of Judge R.C. Register and Sheriff Daniel Shaw. Oof. Okay, so the Democrats' candidates for the same positions have been intermittently asserting their power over the courthouse. And sure, the Republicans who recognize the same governor as the federal government have a stronger claim to these offices. But this rash and characteristically Captain Ward move has unquestionably upped the ante in this very politically split parish. Under the leadership of a planter and

alleged Ku Klux Klan leader, James Hadnott, Democrats start talking about how to take back the courthouse. Things only escalate from here. The two parties, political, military, take your pick, try to hold a peace conference on April 5th. It's off to a good start. Then a black messenger arrives with word that, four days earlier, a mob of white men killed local black farmer Jesse McKinney. Jesse was a man utterly removed from politics. He wanted nothing more than to avoid trouble. But, reported the messenger,

a gang of white men rode up to Jesse as he was working on his fence and, in the presence on his fence and, in the presence of his wife and six children, shot him in the head. They then mocked as his family desperately attempted to help their mortally wounded husband and father before feeding their horses with their murdered victim's supplies. Amazingly, the peace conference doesn't end in bloodshed. It does end, though, immediately. Meanwhile, terrified blacks in the area flock to the Colfax Courthouse,

swelling the camp numbers to around 400. As they drill and prepare for a potential battle, white residents in the town increasingly become fearful they'll get caught in a race war and flee. Claims that the black men at the courthouse intend to kill all the white men and children and keep only the white women for breeding fly through the parish. But I'll remind you that, as I mentioned in the last episode, the KKK deeply fears race mixing and often uses this idea to stir up support. These claims certainly have that sort of ring to it. The parish's black residents gathered at Colfax try to appeal to the state for help.

A prominent white friend of Captain Ward's, the wealthy planter-turned-radical Republican happily living in a biracial family, Willie Calhoun, tries to get a letter to Republican Governor William Kellogg. He's caught en route and held prisoner. Needing medical attention for his worsening tuberculosis anyway, Captain Ward takes a steamer to New Orleans a few days later and plans to petition the federally recognized governor himself. It's a good effort, but he's too late. It's late morning on Easter Sunday, April 13th, 1873. Former Confederate officer and Democratic pick for sheriff, Christopher Columbus Nash, rides with a white flag toward Colfax Courthouse.

He's here for a parlay. Benjamin J. Allen, or Lev, as most know him, rides out to meet him. Old man, go away and save yourself if you can. Lev hollers. Lev, what do you Negroes want there in Colfax? What do you depend on doing in there? The self-proclaimed sheriff asks. We're doing nothing more than we were before.

We want that courthouse. We sent an answer to Mr. Hadnot by Mr. Calhoun. Lev answers, referring to the note that the captured Willie Calhoun carried. Didn't you receive it? Mr. Hadnot doesn't command this company, Chris replies. They're at an impasse. This will be a fight.

The Democratic claimant to sheriff tells Lev he'll give the women and children 30 minutes to clear out. Then, he and his posse of some 300 will attack. The fusion ticket-slash-Klan army begins its siege by firing iron slugs with a cannon. One of these slices Adam Kimball's stomach right open. His intestines fall out on the courthouse floor as rifles crack at the courthouse. Entrenched black militia return fire briefly, then fall back. Some run to the river or the road, while others try to take cover

in the courthouse. The Fusion Clan army makes short work of rounding up the black defenders. Then, at gunpoint, they force one black man to set the roof of the courthouse on fire as the last remaining Black Defenders take refuge in it. Unwilling to shoot one of their own, the courthouse's occupants are soon forced to flee the burning building. Roughly 50 Black men are dead. The White paramilitary has suffered three deaths. The Fusion Clan Army now has a large number of prisoners.

They aren't sure what to do with them. As the sun sets and the rain begins to fall, the would-be sheriff, Chris Nash, considers his options. He wants to set them free. Now boys, if I take you all and send you home to your cotton, will you go to work? By God, Nash, interrupts one of his followers. You send these goddamn Negroes home, you won't live to see two weeks. Another is even more direct with Chris. Unless these n****s are killed, we will kill you. First, they shoot the wounded.

They tell the other prisoners they are only killing those with severe wounds to keep suspicions down. Then the paramilitary men individually choose the black men against whom they hold personal grudges so they can personally shoot them dead. Black men run, hobble, or otherwise scramble for their lives. Screaming wives watch from the woods as their husbands are shot like it's a sport. They can hear the fusion clansmen, militants,

laughing and joking while executing their men. I can't tell you how many black men they've killed. No one really can. But between the battle and these cold-blooded executions, well over 100 is a very fair, acceptable estimate. The highest I've seen is 280. The Colfax Massacre is the single deadliest moment in Reconstruction history. And it's a breaking point. Black Americans and white Republicans now fully grasp the length to which ex-rebel paramilitary white terrorist groups are willing to go. Hard as it is to move from that scene of

violence, we aren't done with the bloodshed tied to the Bayou State's contested 1872 election. It's time to find out what's happening with James Old Pete Longstreet. So jump in a steamer with me. We're heading back down to New Orleans. It's now 1874. Nearly a full two years have passed since the gubernatorial election, and Democrat John McEnery still maintains that he is the rightful governor.

His supporters haven't let up either. They too assert that Republican William Kellogg is a usurper, mismanaging the state's funds, as well as holding and exercising power corruptly. And they've formed a new group to help right their perceived wrong, the White League. Growing out of Grant Parish,

where the Colfax Massacre happened last year, the White League is, like the Knights of the White Camellia, or the KKK, another paramilitary white supremacist outfit. Now, this is not how the White League represents itself. The Crescent City White League, which formally takes shape on July 1st, 1874, proclaims in its constitution that, quote, the object of this club is to assist in restoring an honest and intelligent government to the state of Louisiana. To drive incompetent and corrupt men from office, close quote. But that's hard to square with the White League being suspected of carrying out a massacre on August 30th, 1874. In the northern

Louisiana town of Cushatta, that results in half a dozen Republican officeholders and somewhere between 5 and 20 black citizens dead. Meanwhile, the Crescent City's White League is buying arms in bulk. Well, the Republican governor isn't dumb. He looks at these two things side by side and, with the support of federal troops from President Ulysses S. Grant, declares martial law. You know, because he isn't interested in an armed insurrection. And on September 8th, so only a week after that last massacre, New Orleans police find a furniture wagon at the corner of Camp and Canal Streets, transporting 72 guns and all the

ammo needed to keep those firing. The munitions are all taken as evidence against their White League-affiliated owners of planning an attack on the government. But that's nothing compared to what the racially integrated Metropolitan Police find a few days later when the city of Dallas-Steamer makes birth in New Orleans. Sources conflict on the word,

but it has six cases labeled with either hardware or machinery. They aren't listed on the ship's manifest. Inside of them, more arms intended for the White League. The embattled Republican governor, William Kellogg, has them seized. The White League calls this an unfair attack on their constitutional right to bear arms. The Bulletin newspaper writes on September 13th, quote, it is evident Superintendent Algeron Badger of the Metropolitan Police intends to seize every

white man's gun and pistol while the Negroes openly parade theirs, close quote. The paper is referring to black officers with guns. Feeling hemmed in, the White League wants to act. The same day as this article, Democratic claimant to the lieutenant governorship and acting governor, according to the White League, Davidson Penn and other White League leaders publish a call to all New Orleanians angered by the Republican governor who has, quote, dared even to deny you the rights so solemnly guaranteed by the very Constitution of the United States to keep and bear arms, close quote, to meet tomorrow at 12 noon by the large Henry Clay statue, located at this point in time where Royal turns into Charles Street as it intersects with Canal Street. If the meeting gets a crowd, then, and only then, Davidson figures, they'll attempt to move against the Republican administration.

It's Monday morning, September 14th. Thousands have gathered well in advance of the announced time at the Henry Clay statue. By 1130, there are 5,000 men. Mr. R.H. Maher reads to the tightly packed throng. Whereas John McEnery was elected governor by a majority of nearly 10,000 over his opponent, William Pitt Kellogg. Whereas by fraud and violence, these defeated candidates seized the executive chair. Whereas by false and infamous representations of the motives of our people, he has received the promise of aid from the federal army. And whereas this mockery of a Republican government has even dared to deny that right so solemnly guaranteed by the Constitution, that the right of the people to bear arms shall

never be infringed, be it resolved that W.P. Kellogg is a mere usurper. Therefore, we demand of William Pitt Kellogg his immediate abdication. After quick discussion, it's decided that Mr. Maher and a few others will go and demand the Republican governor's resignation. They report back to the crowd at the Henry Clay statue by 1 p.m. with word that the governor will not acquiesce. Mr. Maher asks what they should do. Hank Kellogg will fight! The crowd screams. Marr tells the men to grab their guns. By two o'clock, barricades are going up as the White League seizes City Hall. A full-on coup d'etat

has begun in the Bayou State. This brings us to where we left off in today's Open. Governor William Kellogg takes cover in the granite-built Custom House. General James Ol' Pete Longstreet leads a racially integrated combined force of state militia and metropolitan police down to Canal Street. They try to get the crowd to disperse. The barricaded White League fires a warning shot. And then, we hear the rebel yell. The main fight only lasts 15 minutes. It's near the Mississippi Riverfront,

on the east side of New Orleans downtown. White League sources claim Old Pete's force is fired first, but other sources say it's hard to tell. Mostly ex-Confederates, the White Leaguers advance, firing, along Front and Fulton Streets, toward the state's force on Canal Street. White League General Frederick Nash Ogden's horse is shot from underneath him, but he continues on. Metropolitan Superintendent of Police Algernon Badger is shot in multiple spots and falls by the Iron Building near the waterfront. The advancing White Leaguers spare him.

It's possible he made a Masonic sign that secured his life with some of the insurrectionists, but it's hard to say. He's taken prisoner, as is, eventually, James Longstreet.

Frankly, I wonder if his forces ever stood a chance against these roughly 3,500 ex-Confederate soldiers turned white leaguers. With only 15 minutes of hard fighting and roughly 30 deaths total, the White League has won.

For a few days, at least, President Ulysses S. Grant sends 5,000 federal troops and three gunboats to restore the Crescent City's Republican administration, to restore the Bayou State's Republican administration, which they do on September 16th. So Republicans are back in power, but truly only at the point of federal bayonet. Within the next two years, the Republicans will lose any meaningful power in the Bayou State. We've dug pretty deep into the rise and fall of Reconstruction in Louisiana at this point. I think it's time for us to head across the state border to Mississippi. Here too, Reconstruction is drawing its last breaths. Many Mississippians hear about violence in Louisiana, and they are sympathetic to the

desires of their white neighbors. White Democratic Mississippians want to fight back against federal policies, keep black Americans under their thumbs, and restore what they call, quote-unquote, home rule. As the Magnolia State Governor, Adelbert Ames, explains, quote, The South cares for no other question.

Everything gives way to it. They support or oppress men, advocate or denounce policies, flatter or murder, just as such action will help them as far as possible to recover their old power over the Negro. Close quote. Damn, that is a harsh, unflinching conclusion, Adelbert. But looking around, it's not far off the mark. In August 1874, Vicksburg is about to hold municipal elections. No big deal, right? I'm sure the most important issue is the bond to update the city's sewer system.

You know too much about reconstruction at this point to believe that. No, white Vicksburg residents have been worried, for a while, about the large number of black Republicans moving to their state. Democrats fear that their state is becoming, quote, a receptacle of the colored men generally in the South and that they would resort to that state as their home, close quote. This phenomenon would, quote unquote, republicanize the whole state. A few white residents decide to take action to prevent that from happening in the Vicksburg elections. They form their own white league and patrol the streets in armed gangs on election day. The intimidation tactic succeeds in keeping many black and white Republicans from casting a ballot. Unsurprisingly, Democrats sweep the city elections. But these guys are just getting warmed up.

See, black sheriff of Warren County, Peter Crosby, wasn't up for re-election this year. Nonetheless, many white Vicksburgians want to oust him from office. In November, a local paper writes an article that accuses Sheriff Pete of fraud and abuse of power. That puts several white league clubs into action. Right now, the KKK is defunct thanks to the Enforcement Acts, but white league clubs, as you've already heard, have taken its place and are bent on ridding their area of, quote,

all bad and leading Negroes, and controlling more strictly our tenants and other hands. Close quote. So, using the newspaper article as cause, armed white league members march on Peter's office and demand that he resign. Peter, a Civil War vet and native Mississippian, refuses. The men won't take no for an answer.

An armed mob soon occupies the Warren County courthouse and Peter's office, forcing him to flee the city. But Peter won't just give in to this violent coup. He goes to Jackson and asks Governor Adelbert Ames for help. Now, here's where things get murky. Adelbert doesn't have much by way of state militia to help restore Peter to his rightful office. So he advises Peter to get a group of armed black men together and march on the courthouse. That probably happened. Some of Albert's political enemies claim that he then tells the overthrown sheriff,

I and other white men have faced the bullets to free the colored people, and now, if they are not willing to fight to maintain that freedom, they are unworthy of it. But most historians agree that Albert never uttered such unsympathetic words. In either case, Peter is basically on his own to take back his office. So, he gathers a few hundred black men from the countryside. Peter prints a leaflet that reads, Let us, with united strength, oppose this common enemy who, by all the base subterfuges of political tricksters are trying to ruin the prospects and tarnish the reputation of every Republican, colored or white.

Many respond to this call, armed with whatever they have on hand. On December 7th, the poorly armed Motley group marches west of Vicksburg. And of course, there are different accounts of what happens when Peter Crosby's men reach the outskirts of town. According to ex-Confederate Colonel Horace Miller,

Peter has 400 well-armed men ready to kill every white man in town and burn the place to the ground. Horace has only about 100 brave souls willing to defend themselves. Witnesses on Peter's side claim that he has 125 or so men, most without guns, wanting to help Peter take back his office. Peter's force and the Vicksburg defenders meet near the Pemberton Monument, the place where General John C. Pemberton surrendered Vicksburg to General Ulysses Grant back in 1863.

Some accounts claim that white Union veteran Andrew Owen, who's here with Peter, parlays with Horace. Others say that Horace captures Peter and forces the black man to talk. The results of the conversation seem to be about the same. The black forces agree to peacefully retreat. But that's not what happens. According to a later investigation of this event, the Vicksburg forces fire on, quote, unresisting and retreating men who in good faith were carrying out the agreement to depart. It was a simple massacre, an utterly disgraceful to all engaged in it, close quote. At least seven of Peter's supporters are killed immediately.

Many more are chased down and shot in the woods and fields that surround the area. The congressional investigation puts the total death at 29. But the violence around Vicksburg continues. The White League harasses and kills Blacks, murdering as many as 300 people across the next few weeks. Governor Adelbert requests federal help to get the bloody situation in Vicksburg back under control. President Ulysses Grant complies. On December 21st, the president issues a proclamation which states, quote, the disorderly and turbulent persons must disperse and retire peaceably within five days, close quote. Ulysses backs up the statement with federal troops to restore peace. The troops also help Peter Crosby peacefully reclaim his office on January 18,

1875. After the Vicksburg Melee, some Mississippians who were looking to restore rather than reconstruct their state, decided to take a less violent, though still not subtle, approach. A few leading Democrats come up with the Mississippi Plan as a way to achieve, quote, a white man's party to rule a white man's country, close quote. James Z. George and Ethelbert Barksdale, the two leading authors of this plot, figure out a way to intimidate black and white Republicans into submitting to white democratic rule in a way that won't arouse the attention or indignation of northern civil rights advocates or politicians. This plan calls for several simple ideas which can be carried out on a local level.

For example, Democrats put on quote-unquote rifle club parades of armed white men throughout the countryside in the days leading up to elections. They also encourage every white man to intimidate, bribe, or otherwise disenfranchise at least one black man. These tactics could demoralize entire groups of black voters and keep them from the polls. And there are definitely more sinister parts of the plan. South Carolina copies the Mississippi plan, and one of their tenants specifically states, quote, Never threaten a man individually if he deserves to be threatened. The necessities of the times require that he should die.

A dead radical is very harmless. A threatened radical is very often troublesome, sometimes dangerous, always vindictive. Close quote. Damn. The Mississippi Plan plays out exactly as its original strategists intend. As the fall elections of 1875 approach, Mississippi Governor Adelbert can see that he's going to need federal aid to carry out fair and peaceful elections. But Attorney General Edwards Pierpont refuses.

He knows the North won't support sending troops into the South. Again. In September, Edwards explains to Adelbert, I suggest that you take all lawful means and all needed measures to preserve the peace by the forces in your own state and let the country see that the citizens of Mississippi have the courage and manhood to fight for the rights. But Edwards doesn't know how determined many white Democrats in Mississippi are to restore home rule. The election numbers of 1875 prove the effectiveness of their plan. In counties which had shown a majority of black Republican votes just one or two years earlier, Democratic ballots now outnumber Republicans by a large margin. The worst case is in Yazoo County. In 1873, there were 2,500 Republican votes and 411 Democratic. In 1875, those numbers have flipped to over 4,000 Democratic votes and only 7 Republican.

Oh, and side note, there's more ballots than people who actually live in the county. Oof, that's quite the display of voter fraud and intimidation. After this election, Democrats have enough government seats to oust their Republican carpetbagger governor, Albert Ames, and his black lieutenant governor, Alexander Davis. Mississippi legislators impeach Alexander on trumped-up charges in January 1876, then force Albert to resign. In one fell swoop, quote-unquote home rule has been restored in the Magnolia State. Through intimidation, fraud, and show of force, white Democrats have succeeded in ending Reconstruction in Mississippi. Other states take notice of the brutally effective Mississippi Plan. As I mentioned a minute ago, South Carolina follows suit and, in 1876, goes so far as to write out a 33-point plan to wipe out any Republican votes from Charleston to Spartanburg. This plan, as well as violent, deadly riots in Hamburg, Ellington, and other places, will give white Democratic South Carolinians a majority of the vote in their 1876 elections.

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Our team of scientists digs into the research and breaks it down into a short, entertaining explanation jam-packed with science facts and terrible puns. Subscribe to MinuteEarth wherever you like to listen. Many Black Southerners fight back against this home rule, and many more just leave their homes and head west to seek opportunities for themselves. There are so many Blacks leaving at this time, they become known as exodusters. Thousands of black families across the 1870s pack what little they have and move away from the violence and terror that has become so commonplace in the South. One Louisiana and

former slave and Civil War vet, Henry Adams, puts together a report of the crimes and threats made against blacks in his home state. He sends the report to the Justice Department in Washington, D.C. In the document, Henry states that he and many other black families have made up their minds, quote, to go anywhere on God's earth, we didn't care where. We said we was going if we had to run away

and go into the woods, close quote. Some white Southern Democrats noticed the massive exodus of blacks. They've had to be blind not to, really. But they come to the wrong conclusion about its cause. A few Democratic leaders believe that this is a plot to strengthen the Republican vote in places like Kansas, or maybe to lower the population in the Southern states and decrease their sway in Washington. But Frederick Douglass, along with most Northerners, can see that the real cause

is the restoration of home rule and its attendant intimidation and violence. He sarcastically writes that Black Republican Southerners have just decided to implement their own, quote-unquote, Mississippi plan. Another newspaper editor harshly criticizes the myopic view of many white Southerners regarding the exodusters. Quote, The Southern white man is inconservably fixed in the belief that the Negro is incapable of any such thing as an independent, self-assertive movement. Close quote.

So, 1876, a presidential election year, opens with racial violence and political tension on the rise in the South. And though this election's candidates will try to ignore the problems on Reconstruction in the former Confederate states, those issues will catch up to them eventually. Let me give you the whole story. As you know, President Ulysses Grant wants a third term in the White House about as much as your mom wants your band to keep practicing in her garage. In other words, not at all. So the Republican Party nominates a rising star, Ohio Governor Rutherford B. Hayes.

Bearded Rutherford fought in the Civil War and has pretty moderate political views. Both of these things make the 50-something gray man attractive to Republican Party bigwigs and voters alike. Rutherford's running against Democrat Samuel Tilden. Clean-shaven Sam did not serve in the Civil War. Instead, Sam made a name for himself politically during and after the war by cleaning up corruption in his home state of New York, and, in 1876, he's governor of the Empire State. Reconstruction issues don't factor into the campaign much.

In fact, both Democrats and Republicans in the North are growing weary of Reconstruction. They're tired of quelling the racial violence in the South. Like you just heard when Republican Attorney General Edwards Pierpont refused to help the Mississippi governor hold fair elections. Rutherford sees this hands-off approach as a good thing. He tells a Southern friend, quote, the let alone policy seems now to be the true course. At any rate, nothing but goodwill now exists towards you, close quote. The presidential campaign stays focused on economic issues until election night when a Civil War amputee hanging out in the Republican Party National Headquarters kicks a hornet's nest in three key southern states.

On November 7, 1876, Republican campaigner Dan Sickles heads to his party's national headquarters in the Fifth Avenue Hotel in NYC. Dan, who lost a leg in the Civil War, has a checkered past, to put it mildly. Before the war, Dan actually shot and killed his wife's lover. And then he successfully used the temporary insanity defense in court. But Dan's tried to put that behind him. He just wants to see if Rutherford has won the election or not. When the dark-haired Civil War vet walks into the office, it's not looking good.

The place is deserted, with only one clerk packing up papers. Dan asks the clerk where everyone has gone, but the young guy can only reply that Sam Tilden's won the election and the Republican Party chairman, Zach Chandler, has gone to bed to drown his woes in whiskey and sleep. Dan wants to see for himself. He later recalls, after careful scrutiny, I reached the conclusion that the contest was really very close and doubtful, but by no means hopeless. Here's what Dan's discovered. Sam definitely has New York,

New Jersey, Connecticut, Indiana, and probably the entire South. This puts him 250,000 votes over Rutherford and gives him potentially 203 electoral votes. Since he only needs 185, it looks like Democrat Sam has the election sewn up. Nonetheless, Dan sees a light at the end of the tunnel for Rutherford. If the Republican can win the Pacific Coast, which hasn't turned in results yet,

and if he can retain control of South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana, Rutherford can take the Pacific Coast, which hasn't turned in results yet. And if he can retain control of South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana, Rutherford can take the White House. Without the party chairman's knowledge, Dan dashes off a telegram to the Republican-controlled state election return boards in South Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida. It reads, quote,

with your state sure for Hayes, he is elected. Hold your state. Close quote. These states, along with Oregon, will give Rutherford exactly 185 electoral votes and drop Sam Tilden below the threshold. The election officials in the three southern states follow Dan's directions.

The next morning, Zach Chandler announces, Hayes has 185 electoral votes and is elected. But isn't that voter fraud? Do these election return boards just steal Democratic votes and give them to Republicans? That's harder to answer than you might think. Like I've been telling you, elections in the South have been rife with voter fraud and violence for years now.

To give you an example, in South Carolina, 101% of eligible voters cast ballots. That seems unlikely to be true. In other states, white leagues use threats and violence to keep black voters from the polls. So as these return boards officially see it, they are simply throwing out likely fraudulent Democratic votes and counting as many Republican votes as they can. It takes days to sort through the ballots in the South. In the end, Republican pressure on election return boards officially gives the electoral votes of South Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida to Rutherford. But Democrats won't give up that easily. As it stands on December 6th, weeks after election day,

Sam Tilden has 184 votes and Rutherford Hayes definitely has 165. But they both claim the remaining 20 votes. According to the 12th Amendment, the President of the Senate has to open the disputed votes in front of both houses and, quote, the votes shall then be counted, close quote. But by whom? Republican President of the Senate Thomas Ferry? Rutherford weighs in on the matter. My judgment is that neither House of Congress nor both combined have any right to interfere in the count. It is for the VP to do it all. His action is final. There should be no compromise of our constitutional rights. But there's no way Democrats are going to let the Republican president of the Senate count alone and give the disputed votes over to the party of Lincoln. The Republicans don't want to let Democrats be a part of the counting process

and turn the whole mess into a week's long quagmire of decisions and delays. In the end, Congress decides that this unprecedented situation requires a never-before-used solution, a specially created electoral commission. In late January, 1877, nearly three months out from the actual election

and only weeks from inauguration day, the commission gets to work. Now this 15-man commission should have five representatives, five senators, and five Supreme Court justices, divided among seven Republicans, seven Democrats, and one Independent. But like everything else in this election, that's not going to work out. Independent Supreme Court Justice David Davis resigns when he unexpectedly gets elected as a senator. That leaves Republican Supreme Court Justice Joseph Bradley to fill out the commission. And you can probably guess that the now imbalanced commission will vote on party lines. In a series of eight Republican to seven Democratic votes, the commission decides to give

the disputed electoral votes to Rutherford B. Hayes. One outraged Democrat rails, we have been cheated, shamefully cheated. Democrats start calling this affair the stolen election, and some even threaten to block Rutherford from being inaugurated. Only political maneuvering of the highest caliber can resolve this issue. On February 26th, four Southern Democrats meet with five Ohio Republicans at the Warmly House in Washington, DC.

I can't tell you what they say. The men here aren't exactly taking notes for posterity. All we know is they start bargaining. Southerners want federally imposed reconstruction to end. They want to restore home rule, you know, non-interference from the feds in their state affairs. One Southern newspaper writes, quote, it matters little to us who rules in Washington

if South Carolina is allowed to have home rule. Close quote. Republicans capitulate. They just want their man in the White House. The men hammer out a few details regarding internal improvement projects and reach a deal. The Compromise of 1877, as this agreement comes to be known, ensures that Democrat Sam Tilden will walk away quietly and Republican Rutherford B. Hayes will peacefully become president. It also sounds the death knell for Reconstruction. The election of 1876 may have one winner, but it has two losers. Reconstruction and the Black Americans,

its policies are designed to aid and protect. For this reason, many historians mark Rutherford Hayes' inauguration Reconstruction, and the Black Americans, its policies that are designed to aid and protect. For this reason, many historians mark Rutherford Hayes' inauguration as the end of Reconstruction. And that date makes for a nice, clean answer to your monthly trivia night. But it's not the whole picture. Like I said, Reconstruction has been on the outs for a while, and it will take a long time to die out completely. After all, the progressive laws and amendments that have been put on the books since the end of the Civil War have a lot of strength. Let me remind you of a few of them. The 14th Amendment made all African Americans citizens of the U.S., in effect reversing the Dred Scott decision. The 15th Amendment gave all men,

no matter their race or previous enslavement, the right to vote. The Enforcement Acts and the KKK Act gave the federal government power to prosecute people who violate these rights. And the Civil Rights Act of 1875 prohibited racial discrimination in many public places. On top of these federal laws, many southern states adopted very progressive constitutions that ensured Blacks equal treatment under the law. But by 1877, there are already cracks showing up in this foundation. For instance, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, one of the leading women's suffrage activists, doesn't like the 15th Amendment because it leaves out women. When the amendment passed back in 1870, it created a break in the civil rights movements of black rights and women's rights that had been working together. Elizabeth shows her dark side, using racist language to express her anger at having all men receive the vote while women are left out in the cold. She writes, The amendments get attacked from within the government as well.

Supreme Court decisions narrowly interpret the language of the 14th and 15th Amendments and limit the power of these progressive laws. In 1876, the high court heard U.S. v. Cruikshank. This case came out of the brutal Colfax Massacre. Only three of the participants in that murder spree were convicted of violating the Enforcement Act of 1870, but they appealed the decision. The Supreme Court overturned their convictions and then went on to rule that the 14th and 15th Amendments gives the federal government authority over states that violate black civil rights, not individual people. In one fell swoop, this ruling kills the Enforcement Act and takes the teeth out of the 14th Amendment. It's a devastating blow to Reconstruction.

In 1883, the Supreme Court will hand down five more decisions that dismantle the Civil Rights Act of 1875. Sticking with the Compromise of 1877, neither of the other two federal branches will fight these rulings, and President Rutherford Hayes will slowly pull federal troops out of southern states, starting with South Carolina and Florida. This retreat from Reconstruction will open the door for southern states to write laws and even redo their constitutions to effectively disenfranchise black voters and many poor white voters as well. These court rulings and law changes usher in the era of Jim Crow that will grip the South for decades. It's truly a heart-wrenching, regressive end to an era

that began with so much hope and promise. But as historian Eric Foner states, quote, Reconstruction was a revolution that went backward, close quote. In fact, some historians argue that Reconstruction was a revolution that was forced backward by white supremacist violence. James Hogue writes, quote, Reconstruction as a revolutionary process was not so much unfinished like, for example, a house that never got a roof or a chimney, as it was destroyed, more like a house, or perhaps even more appropriately, a church, that was burned to the ground and whose inhabitants were massacred, exiled, or terrorized into submission. Close quote. In the face of the overtly criminal actions which disenfranchise and oppress Black Americans, Northern Republican

voters and congressmen turn away from Reconstruction across the 1870s. It marks, as Eric Foner claims, quote, a decisive retreat from the idea, born during the Civil War, of a powerful national state protecting the fundamental rights of American citizens. In this case, Black American citizens. Americans watching the dying Reconstruction era can see what it means for Black Americans in the South and across much of the country. The newspaper The Nation reports, The Negro will disappear from the field of national politics. Hence newspaper The Nation reports, quote, the Negro will disappear from the field of national politics. Henceforth, the nation, as a nation, will have nothing more to do with him,

close quote. This dire prophecy comes from a desire to let go of Reconstruction and get on with, as the article puts it, quote unquote, legitimate politics. But Black Americans will not let themselves disappear. The years after Reconstruction ends, the Jim Crow years, are marked by the efforts of African Americans forcefully fighting for their rights and loudly voicing their discontent. But, as this is our final episode on Reconstruction, those are a story for another day.

HTDS is supported by premium membership fans. You can join by clicking the link in the episode description. for another day. Thank you. and Zach Jackson.