1875
The Supreme Court's ruling in U.S. v. Cruikshank (1876, argued 1875) arose from the Colfax Massacre prosecutions. The Court ruled that the 14th Amendment only prohibited state action, not private violence, stripping federal authority to prosecute white supremacist attacks on Black citizens. The decision effectively ended federal prosecution of Klan violence and emboldened white paramilitary groups across the South.
A federal ban on racial discrimination in public accommodations — later gutted by the courts.
Zoom in — months
Key events
- March 27, 1875U.S. v. Cruikshank Guts Federal Power to Protect Black Rights
The Supreme Court's ruling in U.S. v. Cruikshank (1876, argued 1875) arose from the Colfax Massacre prosecutions. The Court ruled that the 14th Amendment only prohibited state action, not private violence, stripping federal authority to prosecute white supremacist attacks on Black citizens. The decision effectively ended federal prosecution of Klan violence and emboldened white paramilitary groups across the South.
- 1875Mississippi Plan: Shotgun Policy Destroys Black Voting
Mississippi Democrats developed the 'Mississippi Plan' or 'Shotgun Policy' in 1875: armed white men would disrupt Republican meetings, murder or drive off Black leaders, and position armed riders near polling places on election day. The strategy reduced Black voter turnout from over 80 percent to single digits in targeted counties. A U.S. Senate investigation documented the intimidation, but Grant declined to send troops. Democrats won Mississippi and took a model they exported to South Carolina
- March 1, 1875The Civil Rights Act of 1875
A federal ban on racial discrimination in public accommodations — later gutted by the courts.
- September 4, 1875The "Mississippi Plan"
A coordinated Democratic campaign of fraud and massacre — beginning at Clinton — overthrows biracial government in Mississippi.