Colfax massacre
The Colfax Massacre, occurring on April 13, 1873, in Colfax, Louisiana, stands as a significant and tragic event during the Reconstruction era in the United States. It represents the bloodiest instance of racial violence during this period, fueled by intense political disputes following the controversial 1872 election results that led to dual governments in Louisiana. The White League, a white supremacist group, aimed to suppress African American political participation, culminating in a violent confrontation with African American militia and former slaves in Colfax. Following the surrender of the African American forces, more than sixty individuals were brutally killed, with reports of horrific acts including flogging, mutilation, and sexual violence against women. The massacre underscored the violent backlash against the Reconstruction efforts aimed at integrating African Americans into political life and the pervasive racial tensions of the time. Despite petitions for federal intervention, justice for the victims was ultimately denied, reflecting the challenges and struggles faced during this tumultuous period in American history. The Colfax Massacre remains a poignant reminder of the historical context of racial violence and its long-lasting implications on societal dynamics in the United States.
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Colfax massacre
The terrorist group known as the White League formed across Louisiana during the Reconstruction (1863–1877) to keep African Americans out of the political arena. The league’s activities led to the Colfax massacre, the bloodiest single instance of racial violence in the Reconstruction period in all the United States. Disputes over the 1872 election results had produced dual governments at all levels of politics in Louisiana. Fearful that local Democrats would seize power, former slaves under the command of African American Civil War veterans and militia officers took over Colfax, the seat of Grant Parish, Louisiana.
On Easter Sunday, April 13, 1873, a series of brutal acts were carried out by the White League in Colfax, resulting in the deaths of more than sixty African Americans. After the African American men had laid down their weapons and surrendered, many were flogged, mutilated, and murdered, and African American women were also raped and murdered. A pile of more than twenty bodies was found half-buried in the woods. Monroe Lewis, an elderly black gentleman, was dragged from his bed, forced to say his prayers, and then shot. After being forced to cook food for a party of more than ninety white men, Charles Green was executed. Petitions to President Ulysses S. Grant requesting that justice be rendered were ignored.
Bibliography
Gates, Jr., Henry Louis. "What Was the Colfax Massacre?" Root. Slate Group, 29 July 2013. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.
Keith, Leeanna. The Colfax Massacre: The Untold Story of Black Power, White Terror, and the Death of Reconstruction. New York: Oxford UP, 2008. Print.
Kennedy-Nolle, Sharon D. Writing Reconstruction: Race, Gender, and Citizenship in the Postwar South. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina P, 2015. Print.
Lane, Charles. The Day Freedom Died: The Colfax Massacre, the Supreme Court, and the Betrayal of Reconstruction. New York: Holt, 2008. Print.
Summers, Mark W. The Ordeal of the Reunion: A New History of Reconstruction. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina P, 2014. Print.