1868

The 14th Amendment, ratified July 9, 1868, established birthright citizenship, due process, and equal protection of the laws, and reduced congressional representation for states that disenfranchised male citizens. Its Section 1 repudiated Dred Scott. However, the Amendment's promises were systematically undermined by Supreme Court decisions: the Slaughterhouse Cases (1873) narrowly defined 'privileges or immunities,' US v. Cruikshank (1876) held the federal government could not protect citizens from private violence, and the Civil Rights Cases (1883) struck down the Civil Rights Act of 1875 — rendering the Amendment largely inoperative for Black Americans for nearly a century.

Between 1868 and 1876, more than 1,500 Black men held elected or appointed public office in the South — a representation never matched again until the 1970s. This included 2 U.S. senators (Hiram Revels and Blanche Bruce, both from Mississippi), 14 U.S. representatives, and dozens of state legislators, judges, sheriffs, and local officials. Black officeholders generally served effectively and advocated for public education, civil rights, and infrastructure. The systematic violent removal of Black officeholders from 1873 through the 1890s — through murder, intimidation, legal manipulation, and gerrymandering — represented a deliberate destruction of Black political power.

In the lead-up to and aftermath of the 1868 presidential election, the KKK conducted a coordinated terrorism campaign across the South. In Georgia alone, 336 murders and acts of violence were documented in congressional testimony. In Louisiana, over 1,000 people were killed between April and November 1868 to suppress Black voting. In Arkansas, KKK-allied groups killed over 200 people. Documented murders included the assassination of Arkansas Congressman James Hinds (Oct. 1868) — the first sitting U.S. Congressman murdered — and the killing of hundreds of named Black voters, teachers, and ministers.

In October 1868 in St. Landry Parish, LA, white Democrats attacked Black Republican meetings, killing an estimated 200 Black people. In November the parish reported zero Republican votes despite 1,000+ registered Black voters. Similar massacres in Bossier and other Louisiana parishes killed over 1,000 Black people total around the 1868 election.

Alabama began systematic convict leasing in 1868, contracting predominantly Black prisoners to Sloss Iron and Steel and Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company. Annual mortality in Alabama coal mines under leasing regularly exceeded 10 percent. Black Codes' vagrancy provisions fed the prisoner supply. Prisoners were buried on mine property; no private company faced prosecution for convict deaths.

In October 1868 in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, white Democrats attacked Black Republican meetings, killing an estimated 200 Black people in what became known as the St. Landry massacre. In the November election, the parish reported zero Republican votes despite having over 1,000 registered Black voters. Similar massacres in Bossier and other Louisiana parishes collectively killed over 1,000 Black people in the months around the 1868 election, suppressing the Republican vote across the state.

Alabama began systematic convict leasing in 1868, contracting predominantly Black prisoners to coal mines, iron foundries, and railroads. The Sloss Iron and Steel Company and the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company became major lessees. Annual mortality rates in Alabama coal mines under leasing regularly exceeded 10 percent, with documented cases of prisoners worked to death and buried on mine property. Black codes' vagrancy provisions fed a steady supply of prisoners.

On September 28, 1868, in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, white Democrats attacked a Republican political meeting, launching a massacre that lasted several days. Estimates of Black deaths range from 150 to over 300, making it one of the deadliest massacres of the Reconstruction era. The violence was specifically designed to suppress Black voter turnout: in the subsequent November election, the parish reported zero Republican votes despite having thousands of registered Black voters. No perpetrators were prosecuted. The massacre was part of a coordinated Democratic strategy to 'redeem' Louisiana through terror.

Between 1865 and 1877, hundreds of Freedmen's Bureau-affiliated schools and Black churches used for education were burned by white supremacists across the South. The Bureau documented dozens of school burnings in Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. Teachers — particularly Northern white women — were attacked, threatened, and driven out. The Memphis massacre's burning of 12 schools was among the most dramatic examples of a systematic campaign to deny Black children education as a tool of social co

Georgia established convict leasing in 1868, initially contracting prisoners to the Western and Atlantic Railroad and later the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway. Over 90 percent of leased convicts were Black men convicted of minor crimes or vagrancy. The state received lease fees while paying nothing toward prisoner welfare; companies controlled discipline, food, and housing. A Georgia grand jury in 1870 documented prisoners worked in chains in filth and extreme deprivation.

Georgia established convict leasing in 1868, initially contracting prisoners to the Western and Atlantic Railroad, then the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway. Over 90% of leased convicts were Black men convicted of minor offenses or vagrancy. A Georgia grand jury in 1870 documented prisoners worked in chains in filth and severe deprivation. The state received lease fees while paying nothing toward prisoner welfare.

South Carolina's Reconstruction constitutional convention of 1868, dominated by Black delegates, established the state's first universal free public school system. Within five years the system enrolled over 50,000 students of both races. Reconstruction governments across the South similarly built public education systems largely from scratch, creating the institutional infrastructure that would persist even after Redeemer governments took control and dramatically cut funding for Black schools.

South Carolina's Reconstruction constitutional convention of 1868, dominated by Black delegates, established the state's first universal free public school system. Within five years it enrolled over 50,000 students of both races. Reconstruction governments across the South similarly built public education from scratch — infrastructure that survived even as Redeemer governments cut Black school funding.

Between 1865 and 1877, hundreds of Freedmen's Bureau schools and Black churches used for education were burned by white supremacists. The Bureau documented dozens of school burnings in Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. Northern white female teachers were attacked and driven out. The Memphis massacre's burning of 12 schools was the most dramatic example of a systematic campaign to deny Black children education.

On September 3, 1868, the Georgia state legislature voted to expel all 27 of its Black members, arguing that the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteed voting rights but not the right to hold office. The expulsion stripped Georgia's Black citizens of all representation. Congress responded by returning Georgia to military rule; when the state was readmitted in 1870 the expelled members were restored. The episode revealed how hostile state actors could hollow out constitutional protections through legali

On September 3, 1868, the Georgia state legislature voted to expel its 33 Black members on the grounds that the state constitution did not explicitly give Black men the right to hold office. The expulsions were followed immediately by Klan massacres at Camilla (September 19, 1868) where white mobs killed 9 and wounded 30 Black Republicans at a political rally. Congress re-seated the members in 1869.

Ulysses S. Grant won the 1868 presidential election with the slogan 'Let Us Have Peace.' Approximately 500,000 Black votes in Southern states were decisive in his victory. Grant won the popular vote by only about 300,000, demonstrating Black voting's political importance. His administration would initially take strong action against Klan violence before federal will weakened under Liberal Republican pressure and Northern fatigue with Reconstruction.

Grant won the 1868 election with ~500,000 Black votes in Southern states decisive to his margin — he won the popular vote by only ~300,000. His administration initially prosecuted the Klan vigorously. But under Liberal Republican pressure, Northern fatigue, and economic depression after 1873, federal protection of Black rights systematically weakened throughout his two terms.

The House impeached President Andrew Johnson on February 24, 1868, primarily for violating the Tenure of Office Act by removing Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, who was protecting Reconstruction policy implementation. The Senate trial ended in acquittal by one vote on May 16, 1868. The impeachment struggle was fundamentally about control over Reconstruction: Johnson had systematically undermined military commanders, restored ex-Confederate state authority, and blocked Black rights at every opport

Citizenship and equal protection are written into the Constitution.

For the first time, a Black-majority convention (73 of 124 delegates) writes a state constitution — among the most democratic of its day.