Ku-Klux: The Birth Of The Klan During Reconstruction

401 Pages·2015·3.729 MB·English

by  Elaine Frantz Parsons

Ku-Klux
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Ku-
Klux
the birth of the klan
during reconstruction
Elaine Frantz Parsons
The University of North Carolina Press Chapel Hill
This book was published with the assistance of the
Anniversary Endowment Fund of the University of North Carolina Press.
© 2015 The University of North Carolina Press
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Designed by Alyssa D’Avanzo
Set in Quadraat by codeMantra, Inc.
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and
durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity
of the Council on Library Resources.
The University of North Carolina Press has been a member of the
Green Press Initiative since 2003.
Jacket illustration: Courtesy of the North Carolina Museum of History
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Parsons, Elaine Frantz, 1970– author.
Ku-Klux: the birth of the Klan during Reconstruction / Elaine Frantz Parsons.
pages cm
“This book was published with the assistance of the Anniversary Endowment Fund
of the University of North Carolina Press.”
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-1-4696-2542-3 (cloth : alk. paper) — isbn 978-1-4696-2543-0 (ebook)
1. Ku Klux Klan (19th century) 2. Domestic terrorism—United States—History—
19th century. 3. Racism—United States—History—19th century. 4. United States—
Race relations. I. Title.
hs2330.k63p37 2015
322.4'20973—dc23
2015026763
Portions of this work appeared earlier in somewhat different form in
Elaine Frantz Parsons, “Klan Skepticism and Denial in Reconstruction-Era
Public Discourse,” Journal of Southern History 77 (February 2011): 53–90, and is
reprinted here by the permission of the publisher.
To my parents,
Janet Elizabeth Frantz and Carl Daniel Frantz,
who taught me what I need to know
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Contents
Introduction 1
one
The Roots of the Ku-Klux Klan in Pulaski, Tennessee 27
two
Ku-Klux Attacks Define a New Black and White Manhood 72
three
Ku-Klux Attacks Define Southern Public Life 109
four
The Ku-Klux in the National Press 144
five
Ku-Klux Skepticism and Denial in Reconstruction-Era
Public Discourse 181
six
Race and Violence in Union County, South Carolina 215
seven
The Union County Ku-Klux in National Discourse 264
Conclusion 303
Acknowledgments 309
Notes 315
Bibliography 361
Index 377
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Illustrations and Figures
“Midnight Rangers” carte de visite 33
Replicas of Robert J. Brunson’s Ku-Klux Klan robe and hood, 1866 42
Hood/mask associated with John Campbell Van Hook Jr.,
of Roxboro, North Carolina 80
Bonnet/mask that may have been a Klan costume piece 82
Robe and hood said to have belonged to Joseph Boyce Steward
of Lincoln County, Tennessee 83
Playbill for a production of Dupres and Green’s Original New Orleans
and Metropolitan Minstrels, 1864 89
Tennessee Ku-Klux Klan rider on horseback and in
full regalia, c. 1868 113
Image purportedly representing a Yale College initiation ceremony 126
Members of Watertown (N.Y.) Division 289 of the
Ku-Klux Klan, c. 1870 200
Frontispiece of the Klan-themed sensationalist novel
The Masked Lady of the White House, 1868 204
figure 1 The number of articles in which “ku-klux,” “kuklux,” or
“klan” appeared per month in four major newspapers, 1868–1872 150
figure 2 A visualization of the connections between
William Faucett and his closest associates in Union, S.C. 225
figure 3 A visualization of the connections between
William Faucett and identifiable Union County residents claiming at
least $5,000 total property on the 1870 census 229
figure 4 A visualization of the connections between
William Faucett and identifiable Union County residents arrested
under the Enforcement Acts 300