The 1873 Colfax Massacre Crippled the Reconstruction Era

"The Reconstruction period that followed America's Civil War was one of the worst, most violent eras in American history. During that time, thousands of African-Americans were killed by domestic terrorists like the Ku Klux Klan who tried to reinforce antebellum policies of white supremacy. For many historians, one of the worst examples of this violence occurred 143 years ago today: the Colfax Massacre of 1873.

Immediately after the end of the Civil War, different factions began fighting over power. Bitter over the Confederacy’s loss, many white Southern Democrats tried their best to continue disenfranchising and restricting the rights of former slaves. At the same time, insurgent, white supremacist groups terrorized African-Americans throughout the South. In Louisiana, the fight over the postwar government was particularly bloody, as PBS’ American Experience series explores.."

Colfax Massacre