OppressionApril 13, 1873
The Colfax Massacre
A white militia murders scores of Black freedmen in Louisiana, a turning point against Reconstruction.
Resources
Articles·2
Article
The 1873 Colfax Massacre That Crippled Reconstruction
Smithsonian Magazine
The massacre and the Supreme Court ruling that gutted Reconstruction enforcement.
Article
The Colfax Massacre Turns a Courthouse Into Carnage (1873)
Jerry Mitchell
The bloodiest Reconstruction massacre and the ruling that gutted civil-rights enforcement.
The web
Connections to other moments, systems, and investigations — the links rarely drawn together.
- responded to (incoming)·EventUnited States v. Cruikshank
The Court threw out the Colfax massacre convictions, signaling the federal retreat.