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Section33 The Last YearsYears ofof Reconstruction As you read, look for: • efforts by white Democrats to regain political control, • the end of Reconstruction in the South, and Below: Violence sometimes • vocabulary terms anarchy and White League. erupted when both parties claimed victory in an Early in this period, Governor Warmoth recorded in his diary that another election. The so-called Republican said “he [Warmoth] intended to beat the rebels and keep them from Colfax Riot in Grant Parish power [even] if in doing so he destroyed the state government and produced was one example. Over fifty anarchy for twenty years.” This promise was almost fulfilled. Anarchy is an people were killed in the absence of government or a state of lawlessness. Louisiana came very close to fighting. anarchy during the last years of Reconstruction. 360 Chapter 11 Louisiana’s Reconstruction Era: Riots and Rebuilding Violence Because of voter intimidation in the South, Congress passed the Enforcement Act in 1870 making it a crime to interfere with the rights of a citizen. But federal laws did not stop the vio- lence and political fighting in Louisiana. The state spiraled out of control. One bitter clash took place in Colfax. Grant Parish was one of the new parishes formed by the Republican government during Reconstruction. The parish was named for President Grant. Colfax, the new parish seat, was established at the site of a former plan- tation. The old stable became the parish courthouse. After the 1872 election in Grant Parish, a conflict developed. The black Republican candidate and the white Democrat both claimed the office of sheriff. The events of April 13, 1873— Easter Sunday—became known as the Colfax Riot. Both sides armed themselves and fought for control of the courthouse. At least fifty blacks died in the fighting. Some unarmed farmers who had come to the courthouse for refuge from the whites were also killed. The Unification Movement Only one real attempt was made to seek a peaceful solution to the strife. Above: Former Confederate Some businessmen realized that economic recovery was blocked by the politi- General P. G. T. Beauregard cal conflict. They decided that only compromise could save the state. was the leader of the This group, called the Unification Movement, met in New Orleans in 1873. Unification Movement, Former Confederate General P. G. T. Beauregard, who had led the troops that which sought to bring racial fired on Fort Sumter, was the chairman of this group. One of the influential cooperation to Louisiana free men of color who also joined was Homer Plessy, who later became famous during the Reconstruction because of his Supreme Court case against the Jim Crow laws. period. The group planned to push for the right to vote for freedmen and to de- velop some arrangement between whites and blacks for sharing political of- fices. However, it was soon obvious that no one could bring so many conflicting opinions together. The radical Republicans opposed the idea because they would Lagniappe lose power. The Redeemer Democrats did not even want to consider allowing the freedmen to vote. The freedmen themselves did not trust the group’s in- tentions. So this effort failed. And the economy continued to suffer because of The parish seat of Grant the political unrest. Parish was named for Grant’s vice president, The White League Schuyler Colfax. Whites began to organize to reclaim control of the state government. One newspaper, The Caucasian, was established in Rapides Parish to “unite the white people.” Reporting on a mass meeting, it described one speaker “carried away by the power of his arguments and the heat of passion . [who] advocated the murder of the Republican candidates and offered to lead the mob.” Section 3 The Last Years of Reconstruction 361 In 1874, the White League was es- tablished. Its stated purpose was “the LagniappeLagniappe protection of our own race against the increasing encroachment of the Ne- Eleven new parishes were gro” and the removal from office of established during those who “lord it over us.” Working the Reconstruction period whites did not want blacks to take any from 1865 to 1876. jobs from whites. The White League intended to restore political power to the white Democrats, and justified using violence to do so. They used the term bulldozing to describe their tactics. Bulldozing was enough to drive Republicans out of office in some parishes; in others, violence erupted. Red River Parish saw some of the ugly violence of the time. Red River Parish was one of the new parishes set up during Reconstruction. Marshall Twitchell, a carpetbagger, came to Louisiana as an official with the Freedmen’s Bureau. He soon married the daughter of a local family and estab- lished himself in the area. He then brought many of his relatives from Ver- mont to join him. Soon Twitchell and his family were politically powerful and prosperous. He arranged for Red River Parish to be created from several exist- Below: Members of the ing parishes. White League did not Conflict soon flared, as it did in other parishes where radical Republicans hesitate to use violence. controlled the government. After hearing rumors of an uprising by the freed- Here, White Leaguers are men, a huge mob of White Leaguers gathered in Coushatta, the parish seat of manning a streetcar Red River Parish. Accused of encouraging an uprising, the white Republican barricade in New Orleans. officeholders were shot. 362 Chapter 11 Louisiana’s Reconstruction Era: Riots and Rebuilding Violence also struck New Orleans. The Metropolitan Police had been created Above: The Battle of by Republican Governor Warmoth. They served as the military arm of the radi- Liberty Place took place in cal Republicans and were used to maintain order. The Redeemer Democrats New Orleans when the claimed that the Metropolitan Police were also used to ensure that the Repub- Metropolitan Police tried to licans remained in power. keep a shipment of arms By September 1874, Louisiana was almost at the point of civil war. The White from the White League. The League had ordered a large shipment of weapons. The leader of the Metropoli- White League seized the tan Police was former Confederate General James Longstreet, who moved to New Orleans City Hall and seize those weapons. A full-scale battle broke out between 4,000 Metropolitan forced Governor Kellogg to Police and 8,000 members of the White League. This “Battle of Liberty Place” flee. Federal troops finally gave the White League the opportunity to seize New Orleans City Hall and the restored order. State House. President Grant had to send federal troops and six navy warships to restore order. The 1876 Elections The 1876 election to elect Louisiana’s governor was as controversial as the 1872 one had been. The violence and attempts to control voters made the re- sults questionable. The Republicans claimed that their candidate, Stephen B. Packard, had won. The Democrats said the fair winner was their candidate, Francis T. Nicholls. Once again the Republicans appealed to Washington for help. But this time the answer was different. President Grant did not want to send troops again to protect the Republican governor. He sent a letter saying that national public Section 3 The Last Years of Reconstruction 363 opinion no longer favored using fed- eral military force to keep an unpopu- SSSSSSSSSTheThe Art ofof PoliticsPolitics lar state government in power. In Washington, the Republicans’ SSSSSSSSS real concern was keeping the presi- dency in their party. The recent presi- SSSSSSSSS dential election had the politicians in confusion. Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio was the Republican candidate, SSSSSSSSS and Samuel J. Tilden of New York was the Democratic candidate. The returns SSSSSSSSS in three southern states (Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina) were SSSSSSSSS disputed. The electoral votes were close enough that the votes from SSSSSSSSS these states would decide the winner. Finally, a compromise was reached. The Republicans agreed to end mili- SSSSSSSSS tary Reconstruction and remove fed- eral troops from Louisiana and the SSSSSSSSS rest of the South. In return, the state’s electoral votes and those of the other SSSSSSSSS two states were counted for the Re- publican, Rutherford B. Hayes. The compromise meant that the SSSSSSSSS national Republicans would no longer This political cartoon, entitled the “Great Acrobatic Feat of Ruther- help keep the Louisiana Republicans SSSSSSSSSford B. Hayes,” refers to the disputed 1876 presidential election. in power. In 1877, President Hayes Democrat Samuel Tilden won the popular vote. The results in three withdrew the last federal troops from SSSSSSSSSsouthern states, including Louisiana, were questioned. Amidst the South; Reconstruction was finally allegations of fraud, the electoral votes of those three states went over. The Redeemer Democrats soon SSSSSSSSSto Republican Rutherford B. Hayes, giving him the victory. took control of the state government in Louisiana. Check for UnderstandingUnderstanding ✓✓ 1. What event led to the Colfax Riot? 2. What was the goal of the Unification Movement? 3. What two groups fought in New Orleans in September 1874? 4. How did the 1876 presidential election lead to the end of Reconstruction? 364 Chapter 11 Louisiana’s Reconstruction Era: Riots and Rebuilding.
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