The Colfax massacre the untold story of Black power, White terror, and the death of Reconstruction - Keith, LeeAnna (Oxford University Press, 2008)
Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002
Includes bibliographical references (pages 201-209) and index
Introduction: on bones and their markers -- Alabama fever -- The philosopher -- The fall -- Led by a damned puppy -- A town called Fight -- Carnival of the animals -- Battle of the Colfax courthouse -- Voyage of the Ozark -- Getting away with murder -- The legacy of Cruikshank
On Easter Sunday, 1873, in the tiny hamlet of Colfax, Louisiana, more than 150 members of an all-black Republican militia were slain by rampaging white supremacists. The deadliest incident of racial violence of the Reconstruction era, the Colfax Massacre unleashed a reign of terror that all but extinguished the campaign for racial equality. This is the first full-length book to tell the history of this decisive event. Drawing on a huge body of documents, including eyewitness accounts of the massacre, as well as newly discovered evidence from the site itself, author Keith explores the racial tensions that led to the fateful encounter, and its reverberations throughout the South. In 1875, disregarding the testimony of 300 witnesses, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned a conviction of eight conspirators, virtually nullifying the Ku Klux Klan Enforcement Acts of 1870 and 1871 and clearing the way for the Jim Crow era.--From publisher description
Keywords: Reconstruction (United States : 1865-1877); Geschichte 1850-1900; Geschichte 1873; 1800 - 1899; Geschichte 1800-1900; HISTORY / State & Local / General; Massaker; Rassenbeziehung; Unruhen; African Americans / Crimes against; Contested elections; Massacres; Political science; Race relations; Racism; Violence; Geschichte; Politische Wissenschaft; Schwarze. USA; Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877) -- Louisiana -- Colfax; Massacres -- Louisiana -- Colfax -- History -- 19th century; Violence -- Louisiana -- Colfax -- History -- 19th century; Racism -- Louisiana -- Colfax -- History -- 19th century; African Americans -- Crimes against -- Louisiana -- Colfax -- History -- 19th century; Contested elections -- Louisiana -- Grant Parish -- History -- 19th century