The Ku Klux Klan: Property crime and the plantation system in reconstruction Alabama

Agricultural History

Volumn 71, Issue 2, 1997, Pages 186-205

  Fitzgerald, Michael W ^a,b  

^a ST OLAF COLLEGE   (United States)

^b NONE

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 9544244810     PISSN: 00021482     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (68)

1. Michael Perman, "Counter Reconstruction: The Role of Violence in Southern Redemption," in The Facts of Reconstruction: Essays in Honor of John Hope Franklin, ed. Eric Anderson and Alfred A. Moss Jr. (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1991), 129; Allen Trelease, White Terror: The Ku Klux Klan Conspiracy and Southern Reconstruction (New York: Harper & Row, 1971), xlvii.
2. Michael Perman, "Counter Reconstruction: The Role of Violence in Southern Redemption," in The Facts of Reconstruction: Essays in Honor of John Hope Franklin, ed. Eric Anderson and Alfred A. Moss Jr. (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1991), 129; Allen Trelease, White Terror: The Ku Klux Klan Conspiracy and Southern Reconstruction (New York: Harper & Row, 1971), xlvii.
3. Jonathan M. Wiener, Social Origins of the New South: Alabama, 1860-1885 (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1978), 61. See also J. A. C. Stagg, "The Problem of Klan Violence: The South Carolina Up-Country, 1868-1871," Journal of American Studies 8 (December 1974): 303-18; Eric Foner, Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877 (New York: Harper & Row, 1988), 425, 428-30, 433. See the discussion of the Klan and labor discipline here, which does not mention theft as a motive at all.
4. Jonathan M. Wiener, Social Origins of the New South: Alabama, 1860-1885 (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1978), 61. See also J. A. C. Stagg, "The Problem of Klan Violence: The South Carolina Up-Country, 1868-1871," Journal of American Studies 8 (December 1974): 303-18; Eric Foner, Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877 (New York: Harper & Row, 1988), 425, 428-30, 433. See the discussion of the Klan and labor discipline here, which does not mention theft as a motive at all.
5. Jonathan M. Wiener, Social Origins of the New South: Alabama, 1860-1885 (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1978), 61. See also J. A. C. Stagg, "The Problem of Klan Violence: The South Carolina Up-Country, 1868-1871," Journal of American Studies 8 (December 1974): 303-18; Eric Foner, Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877 (New York: Harper & Row, 1988), 425, 428-30, 433. See the discussion of the Klan and labor discipline here, which does not mention theft as a motive at all.
6. Charles L. Flynn Jr., White Land, Black Labor: Caste and Class in Late Nineteenth Century Georgia (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1983), 29-56; and Flynn, "The Ancient Pedigree of Violent Repression: Georgia's Klan as a Folk Movement," in The Southern Enigma: Essays on Race, Class and Folk Culture, ed. Walter J. Fraser Jr. and Winifred B. Moore Jr. (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1983), 189-98.
7. Charles L. Flynn Jr., White Land, Black Labor: Caste and Class in Late Nineteenth Century Georgia (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1983), 29-56; and Flynn, "The Ancient Pedigree of Violent Repression: Georgia's Klan as a Folk Movement," in The Southern Enigma: Essays on Race, Class and Folk Culture, ed. Walter J. Fraser Jr. and Winifred B. Moore Jr. (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1983), 189-98.
8. For the specifics of this argument on postbellum economic change, see Michael W. Fitzgerald, The Union League Movement in the Deep South: Politics and Agricultural Change during Reconstruction (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1989).
9. J. F. Wadell to Maj. S. Greene, 14 January 1868, Letters Received by the Assistant Commissioner for Alabama, M809, reel 15, RG 105, National Archives (hereafter M809, NARG 105).
10. W. H. Hunter to Sheppherd, 15 May 1868, Letters Received by the Assistant Commissioner for Alabama, reel 14, M809, NARG 105; Grove Hill (Ala.) Democrat, 16 April 1868.
11. W. H. Hunter to Sheppherd, 15 May 1868, Letters Received by the Assistant Commissioner for Alabama, reel 14, M809, NARG 105; Grove Hill (Ala.) Democrat, 16 April 1868.
12. James Mallory Diary, entry for 4 May 1868, Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C. (hereafter Southern Historical Collection); John H. Parrish to Henry Watson, 16 April 1868, Watson Papers, Duke University, Durham, N.C. (hereafter Watson Papers).
13. Steven Hahn, The Roots of Southern Populism: Yeoman Farmers and the Transformation of the Georgia Upcountry, 1850-1890 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1983); but see also Shawn Everett Kantor and J. Morgan Kousser, "Common Sense or Commonwealth? The Fence Law and Institutional Change in the Postbellum South," Journal of Southern History 59 (May 1993): 201-41; U.S. Congress, Testimony Taken by the Joint Select Committee to Inquire into the Condition of Affairs in the Late Insurrectionary States, 42nd Cong., 2nd sess., 1872, H. Rept. 22, 9: 1313 (hereafter KKK); Mobile Advertiser and Register, 3 February 1866.
14. Steven Hahn, The Roots of Southern Populism: Yeoman Farmers and the Transformation of the Georgia Upcountry, 1850-1890 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1983); but see also Shawn Everett Kantor and J. Morgan Kousser, "Common Sense or Commonwealth? The Fence Law and Institutional Change in the Postbellum South," Journal of Southern History 59 (May 1993): 201-41; U.S. Congress, Testimony Taken by the Joint Select Committee to Inquire into the Condition of Affairs in the Late Insurrectionary States, 42nd Cong., 2nd sess., 1872, H. Rept. 22, 9: 1313 (hereafter KKK); Mobile Advertiser and Register, 3 February 1866.
15. Steven Hahn, The Roots of Southern Populism: Yeoman Farmers and the Transformation of the Georgia Upcountry, 1850-1890 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1983); but see also Shawn Everett Kantor and J. Morgan Kousser, "Common Sense or Commonwealth? The Fence Law and Institutional Change in the Postbellum South," Journal of Southern History 59 (May 1993): 201-41; U.S. Congress, Testimony Taken by the Joint Select Committee to Inquire into the Condition of Affairs in the Late Insurrectionary States, 42nd Cong., 2nd sess., 1872, H. Rept. 22, 9: 1313 (hereafter KKK); Mobile Advertiser and Register, 3 February 1866.
16. Steven Hahn, The Roots of Southern Populism: Yeoman Farmers and the Transformation of the Georgia Upcountry, 1850-1890 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1983); but see also Shawn Everett Kantor and J. Morgan Kousser, "Common Sense or Commonwealth? The Fence Law and Institutional Change in the Postbellum South," Journal of Southern History 59 (May 1993): 201-41; U.S. Congress, Testimony Taken by the Joint Select Committee to Inquire into the Condition of Affairs in the Late Insurrectionary States, 42nd Cong., 2nd sess., 1872, H. Rept. 22, 9: 1313 (hereafter KKK); Mobile Advertiser and Register, 3 February 1866.
17. J. A. Yordy to C. W. Pierce, 22 May 1868, Letters Received Sub Assistant Commissioner at Demopolis, Ala., NARG 105; KKK, 9: 1313.
18. J. A. Yordy to C. W. Pierce, 22 May 1868, Letters Received Sub Assistant Commissioner at Demopolis, Ala., NARG 105; KKK, 9: 1313.
19. W. O'Berry to Cameron, 26 November 1868, Cameron Family Papers, Duke University, Durham, N.C.; Thomas J. Smith to Ben Wade, 26 March 1868, Benjamin Wade Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; J. A. Yordy to C. W. Pierce, 22 May 1868, Letters Received by Sub Assistant Commissioner at Demopolis, Ala., NARG 105; KKK, 8: 121; 9: 1131; and 10: 1839.
20. W. O'Berry to Cameron, 26 November 1868, Cameron Family Papers, Duke University, Durham, N.C.; Thomas J. Smith to Ben Wade, 26 March 1868, Benjamin Wade Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; J. A. Yordy to C. W. Pierce, 22 May 1868, Letters Received by Sub Assistant Commissioner at Demopolis, Ala., NARG 105; KKK, 8: 121; 9: 1131; and 10: 1839.
21. W. O'Berry to Cameron, 26 November 1868, Cameron Family Papers, Duke University, Durham, N.C.; Thomas J. Smith to Ben Wade, 26 March 1868, Benjamin Wade Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; J. A. Yordy to C. W. Pierce, 22 May 1868, Letters Received by Sub Assistant Commissioner at Demopolis, Ala., NARG 105; KKK, 8: 121; 9: 1131; and 10: 1839.
22. W. O'Berry to Cameron, 26 November 1868, Cameron Family Papers, Duke University, Durham, N.C.; Thomas J. Smith to Ben Wade, 26 March 1868, Benjamin Wade Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; J. A. Yordy to C. W. Pierce, 22 May 1868, Letters Received by Sub Assistant Commissioner at Demopolis, Ala., NARG 105; KKK, 8: 121; 9: 1131; and 10: 1839.
23. Bureau of the Census, Compendium of the Ninth U.S. Census, 1870, 707; E. T. Tayloe to W. H. Tayloe, "Records of Ante-Bellum Southern Plantations," ed. Kenneth M. Stampp, 19 November 1866, #104, 29 December 1867, #139, and 7 January 1868, #145, series M, pt. 1, reel 20; KKK, 10: 1518-19, 1530, 1810.
24. Bureau of the Census, Compendium of the Ninth U.S. Census, 1870, 707; E. T. Tayloe to W. H. Tayloe, "Records of Ante-Bellum Southern Plantations," ed. Kenneth M. Stampp, 19 November 1866, #104, 29 December 1867, #139, and 7 January 1868, #145, series M, pt. 1, reel 20; KKK, 10: 1518-19, 1530, 1810.
25. Bureau of the Census, Compendium of the Ninth U.S. Census, 1870, 707; E. T. Tayloe to W. H. Tayloe, "Records of Ante-Bellum Southern Plantations," ed. Kenneth M. Stampp, 19 November 1866, #104, 29 December 1867, #139, and 7 January 1868, #145, series M, pt. 1, reel 20; KKK, 10: 1518-19, 1530, 1810.
26. Bureau of the Census, Compendium of the Ninth U.S. Census, 1870, 707; E. T. Tayloe to W. H. Tayloe, "Records of Ante-Bellum Southern Plantations," ed. Kenneth M. Stampp, 19 November 1866, #104, 29 December 1867, #139, and 7 January 1868, #145, series M, pt. 1, reel 20; KKK, 10: 1518-19, 1530, 1810.
27. Bureau of the Census, Compendium of the Ninth U.S. Census, 1870, 707; E. T. Tayloe to W. H. Tayloe, "Records of Ante-Bellum Southern Plantations," ed. Kenneth M. Stampp, 19 November 1866, #104, 29 December 1867, #139, and 7 January 1868, #145, series M, pt. 1, reel 20; KKK, 10: 1518-19, 1530, 1810.
28. Octavia Otey Diary, entries for 22 March and 6 April 1867; 6, 7 February, 10 April, 9 May, 29 November, and 3, 6 December 1868; 19 January and 1 February 1869, Wyche and Otey Family Papers, Southern Historical Collection.
29. Alabama General Assembly, Acts of the Session of 1865-1866, of the General Assembly of Alabama (Montgomery, 1866), 334.
30. Bureau of the Census, Manuscript Agricultural Schedules for Alabama, 1870, Tallapoosa County, Southern Historical Collection. The 1870 manuscript census for Tallapoosa County shows Youngsville precinct as having a total wealth of $39,795 in land and $38,140 in livestock. This is atypical of the county as a whole, where landed wealth generally predominated. There is evidence of a similar pattern in the vicinity of Klansmen in Limestone and Fayette Counties as well. It should also be noted that of the Klan suspects from the state as a whole that could be located in the agricultural census, over a third had livestock worth as much as or more than their land. This could understate the reality because nonlandowners were often left off the agricultural schedules.
31. KKK, 9: 689, 868.
32. Compendium of the Ninth U.S. Census, 25; Peter Kolchin, First Freedom: The Responses of Alabama's Blacks to Emancipation and Reconstruction (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1972). 15; Scottsboro (Ala.) Herald, quoted in Montgomery (Ala.) Journal, 17 February 1871; Hahn, The Roots of Southern Populism; KKK, 10: 1756-57.
33. Compendium of the Ninth U.S. Census, 25; Peter Kolchin, First Freedom: The Responses of Alabama's Blacks to Emancipation and Reconstruction (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1972). 15; Scottsboro (Ala.) Herald, quoted in Montgomery (Ala.) Journal, 17 February 1871; Hahn, The Roots of Southern Populism; KKK, 10: 1756-57.
34. Compendium of the Ninth U.S. Census, 25; Peter Kolchin, First Freedom: The Responses of Alabama's Blacks to Emancipation and Reconstruction (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1972). 15; Scottsboro (Ala.) Herald, quoted in Montgomery (Ala.) Journal, 17 February 1871; Hahn, The Roots of Southern Populism; KKK, 10: 1756-57.
35. Compendium of the Ninth U.S. Census, 25; Peter Kolchin, First Freedom: The Responses of Alabama's Blacks to Emancipation and Reconstruction (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1972). 15; Scottsboro (Ala.) Herald, quoted in Montgomery (Ala.) Journal, 17 February 1871; Hahn, The Roots of Southern Populism; KKK, 10: 1756-57.
36. Compendium of the Ninth U.S. Census, 25; Peter Kolchin, First Freedom: The Responses of Alabama's Blacks to Emancipation and Reconstruction (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1972). 15; Scottsboro (Ala.) Herald, quoted in Montgomery (Ala.) Journal, 17 February 1871; Hahn, The Roots of Southern Populism; KKK, 10: 1756-57.
37. Brian Steel Wills, A Battle from the Start: The Life of Nathan Bedford Forrest (New York: Harper Collins, 1992), 341, 356; KKK, 13: 6-7, 15, 25, 27, 30; Ryland Randolph to Walter L. Fleming, 15 October 1901, box 3, Fleming Papers, New York Public Library, N.Y. For the purposes of this essay, all instances of disguised nightriding in areas of reported Klan activity will be the basis of discussion, whether of real or spurious Klan groups.
38. Brian Steel Wills, A Battle from the Start: The Life of Nathan Bedford Forrest (New York: Harper Collins, 1992), 341, 356; KKK, 13: 6-7, 15, 25, 27, 30; Ryland Randolph to Walter L. Fleming, 15 October 1901, box 3, Fleming Papers, New York Public Library, N.Y. For the purposes of this essay, all instances of disguised nightriding in areas of reported Klan activity will be the basis of discussion, whether of real or spurious Klan groups.
39. Brian Steel Wills, A Battle from the Start: The Life of Nathan Bedford Forrest (New York: Harper Collins, 1992), 341, 356; KKK, 13: 6-7, 15, 25, 27, 30; Ryland Randolph to Walter L. Fleming, 15 October 1901, box 3, Fleming Papers, New York Public Library, N.Y. For the purposes of this essay, all instances of disguised nightriding in areas of reported Klan activity will be the basis of discussion, whether of real or spurious Klan groups.
40. Joseph Lee to General Crawford, 22 July 1869, Governor William H. Smith Papers, Alabama State Department of Archives and History, Montgomery, Ala.
41. William Warren Rogers and Ruth Pruitt, Stephen S. Renfroe: Alabama's Outlaw Sheriff (Tallahassee, Fla.: Sentry Press, 1972), 6-7; John L. Hunnicutt, Reconstruction in West Alabama: The Memoirs of John L. Hunnicutt, ed. William Stanley Hoole (Tuscaloosa, Ala.: Confederate, 1959), 37-40.
42. William Warren Rogers and Ruth Pruitt, Stephen S. Renfroe: Alabama's Outlaw Sheriff (Tallahassee, Fla.: Sentry Press, 1972), 6-7; John L. Hunnicutt, Reconstruction in West Alabama: The Memoirs of John L. Hunnicutt, ed. William Stanley Hoole (Tuscaloosa, Ala.: Confederate, 1959), 37-40.
43. These names were culled from Congressional testimony, newspaper accounts of trials, or from the records of the federal district attorney. All were either indicted, directly identified by eyewitnesses, or named by fellow Klansmen as members. Geographically, the names are from diverse areas across northern Alabama, with significant concentrations in Tallapoosa, Jefferson, Limestone, and Sumter Counties. In addition to these individuals, whose identification is highly probable, another twenty-one individuals were identified with a somewhat lesser degree of certainty. These men - who were probably Klansmen - were slightly poorer than the first group, but the general pattern is similar.
44. Bureau of the Census, Manuscript Agricultural Schedules for Alabama, 1870, Tallapoosa County, Southern Historical Collection. I have identified eight individuals as planters or clearly related to planter families, as well as several others who might be related, based on surnames.
45. KKK, 9: 1015, 1127, 1139.
46. Ibid.: 1127, 1132, 1136-37, 1139; Compendium of the Ninth U.S. Census, 24; Swayne to Whipple, 12 February 1867, Letters Received, Dept. of the Tennessee, box 5, file A43,1867, series 4720, pt. 1, RG 393, National Archives; J. A. Minnis to A. Akerman, 6 February 1871, Letters Received by the Department of Justice for the State of Alabama, 1871-1884, microfilm file M1356, reel 1, #147, National Archives (hereafter M1356); Bureau of the Census, Manuscript Agricultural Schedules for Alabama, 1870, Tallapoosa County, Southern Historical Collection. 24. Minnis to Akerman, 2 May 1871, reel 1, #170, M1356; Bureau of the Census, Manuscript Agricultural Schedules for Alabama, 1870, Southern Historical Collection. The 1870 agricultural census shows an unusual concentration of livestock value near Hugh and George Hudson and their Klansman tenant, Ruff Ray. These figures diverge slightly from those reported in the population schedules; KKK, 9: 649, 656, 677.
47. Ibid.: 1127, 1132, 1136-37, 1139; Compendium of the Ninth U.S. Census, 24; Swayne to Whipple, 12 February 1867, Letters Received, Dept. of the Tennessee, box 5, file A43,1867, series 4720, pt. 1, RG 393, National Archives; J. A. Minnis to A. Akerman, 6 February 1871, Letters Received by the Department of Justice for the State of Alabama, 1871-1884, microfilm file M1356, reel 1, #147, National Archives (hereafter M1356); Bureau of the Census, Manuscript Agricultural Schedules for Alabama, 1870, Tallapoosa County, Southern Historical Collection. 24. Minnis to Akerman, 2 May 1871, reel 1, #170, M1356; Bureau of the Census, Manuscript Agricultural Schedules for Alabama, 1870, Southern Historical Collection. The 1870 agricultural census shows an unusual concentration of livestock value near Hugh and George Hudson and their Klansman tenant, Ruff Ray. These figures diverge slightly from those reported in the population schedules; KKK, 9: 649, 656, 677.
48. Ibid.: 1127, 1132, 1136-37, 1139; Compendium of the Ninth U.S. Census, 24; Swayne to Whipple, 12 February 1867, Letters Received, Dept. of the Tennessee, box 5, file A43,1867, series 4720, pt. 1, RG 393, National Archives; J. A. Minnis to A. Akerman, 6 February 1871, Letters Received by the Department of Justice for the State of Alabama, 1871-1884, microfilm file M1356, reel 1, #147, National Archives (hereafter M1356); Bureau of the Census, Manuscript Agricultural Schedules for Alabama, 1870, Tallapoosa County, Southern Historical Collection. 24. Minnis to Akerman, 2 May 1871, reel 1, #170, M1356; Bureau of the Census, Manuscript Agricultural Schedules for Alabama, 1870, Southern Historical Collection. The 1870 agricultural census shows an unusual concentration of livestock value near Hugh and George Hudson and their Klansman tenant, Ruff Ray. These figures diverge slightly from those reported in the population schedules; KKK, 9: 649, 656, 677.
49. KKK, 9: 477, 781, 785, 1212; Trelease, White Terror, 246.
50. KKK, 9: 477, 781, 785, 1212; Trelease, White Terror, 246.
51. Parrish to Watson, 16 April 1868, Watson Papers; W. O'Berry to Paul Cameron, 6 April 1868, Cameron Papers, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C. (hereafter Cameron Papers); J. Wemyss to H. Watson, 24 November 1868, Watson Papers; A. C. Jones to Watson, 23 January 1869, Watson Papers; A. C. Jones to Paul Cameron, 6 October 1869, Cameron Paper; G. Hugins to Cameron, 27 March 1869, Cameron Papers; Bureau of the Census, Manuscript Agricultural Schedules for Alabama, 1870, Hale County, Southern Historical Collection.
52. KKK, 9: 787, 924, 1363. (Montgomery) Alabama State Journal, 11 August 1871.
53. KKK, 9: 787, 924, 1363. (Montgomery) Alabama State Journal, 11 August 1871.
54. Octavia Otey Diary, entry for 21 November 1868, Wyche and Otey Family Papers, Southern Historical Collection; William White to "Uncle William," 8 January 1868, White Family Correspondence, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.; KKK, 9: 947.
55. Livingston (Ala.) Journal 24 June 1870, quoted in Trelease, White Terror, 250; KKK, 9; 1338; Demopolis (Ala.) Exponent, quoted in (Montgomery) Alabama State Journal 19 May 1871.
56. Livingston (Ala.) Journal 24 June 1870, quoted in Trelease, White Terror, 250; KKK, 9; 1338; Demopolis (Ala.) Exponent, quoted in (Montgomery) Alabama State Journal 19 May 1871.
57. Livingston (Ala.) Journal 24 June 1870, quoted in Trelease, White Terror, 250; KKK, 9; 1338; Demopolis (Ala.) Exponent, quoted in (Montgomery) Alabama State Journal 19 May 1871.
58. Livingston (Ala.) Journal 24 June 1870, quoted in Trelease, White Terror, 250; KKK, 9; 1338; Demopolis (Ala.) Exponent, quoted in (Montgomery) Alabama State Journal 19 May 1871.
59. Tuscaloosa Monitor, 1 February 1870; Bureau of the Census, Manuscript Agricultural Schedules for Alabama, 1870, Southern Historical Collection. Of twenty-three identifiad Klansmen who appeared in the 1870 agricultural census schedules, eleven reportedly paid some wages and another four had tenants. However, since tenants frequently do not appear in the agricultural census, one suspects that the Klansmen as a group were far less likely than this sample to have employed laborers.
60. Minnis to Akerman, 8 September 1871, reel 3, #419, M1356; Clipping from Fayetteville (Ala.) Watchuman, induded in Minnis to Attorney General, 28 December 1871, reel 3 # 498, M1356; Compendium of the Ninth U.S. Census, 25.
61. KKK, 10: 1748.
62. Minnis to Akerman, 2 September 1871, reel 1, #221, M1356; Minnis to Attorney General, 28 December 1871, reel 3, #500, M1356; KKK, 9: 1174.
63. KKK, 10: 1757; (Montgomery) Alabama State Journal, 26 May, 9 June 1871.
64. KKK, 10: 1757; (Montgomery) Alabama State Journal, 26 May, 9 June 1871.
65. KKK, 10: 1536, 1530-1.
66. KKK, 8: 668; Tuscaloosa Monitor, 22 February 1870, 3 May 1871; Greensboro Beacon, 8 July 1871.
67. KKK, 8: 668; Tuscaloosa Monitor, 22 February 1870, 3 May 1871; Greensboro Beacon, 8 July 1871.
68. KKK, 8: 668; Tuscaloosa Monitor, 22 February 1870, 3 May 1871; Greensboro Beacon, 8 July 1871.