Document II

A year after the massacre at Thibodaux, blacks in gathered to address the “reign of terror” of the Ku Klux Klan, police, and employers against . Here is their declaration.

Reverend Ernest Lyon et al., Open Letter from the Mass Meeting (August 22, 1888)

To the people of the :

We, citizens of New Orleans, as well as of neighboring parishes, from which we have been driven away without warrant or law, assembled in mass meeting at New Orleans, La., on Wednesday, August 22 [1888], at Geddes Hall, declare and assert: That a reign of terror exists in many parts of the state; that the laws are suspended and the officers of government, from the governor down, afford no protection to the lives and property of the people against armed bodies of whites, who shed innocent blood and commit deeds of savagery unsurpassed in the dark ages of mankind.

For the past twelve years we have been most effectively disfranchised and robbed of our political rights. While denied the privilege in many places of voting for the party and candidates of our choice, acts of violence compel us to vote against the dictates of our conscience for the Democratic party, and the Republican ballots casted by us have been counted for the Democratic candidates. The press, the pulpit, the commercial organizations, and executive authority of the state have given both open and silent approval of all these crimes. In addition to these methods, there seems to be a deep laid scheme to reduce the Negroes of the State to a condition of abject serfdom and peonage.

It is being executed by armed bodies of men, styling themselves as regulators, all of whom are white, except when a Negro is occasionally forced to join them to give color to the pretense that they represent the virtue of their communities in the suppression impartially of vicious and immoral persons. With that pretense as a cloak these lawless bands make night hideous with their unblushing outrages and murders of inoffensive colored citizens. They go out on nightly raids, order peaceable citizens away never to return, whip some, fire into houses of others – endangering the defenseless lives of women and children – and no attempt is being made to indict them. No virtuous element in the State is found among the whites to rise up in their might and sternly repress these outrageous crimes.

These acts are done in deliberate defiance of the Constitution and laws of the United States, which are so thoroughly nullified that the Negroes who bore arms in defense of the Union have no protection or shelter from them within the borders of Louisiana. During the past twelve months our people have suffered from the lawless regulators as never before since the carnival of bloodshed conducted by the Democratic party in 1868 ….

Fully aware of their utter helplessness, unarmed and unable to offer resistance to an overpowering force which varies from a “band of whites” to a “sheriff’s posse ” or the “militia, ” but which in reality is simply the Demo cratic party assembled with military precision and armed with rifles of the latest improved patents, toilers forbidden to follow occupations of their choice, compelled to desist from discussing of labor questions, and being whipped and butchered when in a defenseless condition.

In the instances where the Negroes have attempted to defend themselves, as at Pattersonville and Thibodeaux, they have been traduced in a spirit of savage malignity, the governor of the State, with scarce an observance of the forms of law has hastened his mercenaries or militia to the scene with cannon and rifles ostensibly to preserve the peace, but actually to re-enforce the already too well fortified Negro murderers falsely assuming to be lawful posses.

A single volume would scarcely afford sufficient space to enumerate the outrages our people have suffered, and are daily suffering at the hand of their oppressors. They are flagrantly deprived of every right guaranteed them by the Constitution; in many parts of the State they are free only in name; they cannot assemble in place to indicate and discuss an equitable rate of wages for their labor; they do not feel safe as property holders and tax-payers, and are permitted to enjoy but a very few public conveniences ….

We have exhausted all means in our power to have our wrongs redressed by those whose sworn duty it is to impartially execute the laws, but all in vain, until now, because of our murdered fellow-citizens, and apprehensive for our own safety, we appeal to the awakened conscience, the sense of justice and sympathy of the civilized world, and of the American people in particular, to assist us with such moral and material support, as to secure the removal of our people, penniless as many of them are under the feudal system under which they live, to the public lands and other places of the northwest where they can enjoy some security for their persons and property.

To this end we have organized a bureau of immigration ….

To our people we advise calmness and a strict regard for law and order. If your homes are invaded expect no mercy, for none will be shown, and if doomed to die, then die defending your life and home to the best of your ability. If convinced that you will not be permitted to live where you are in peace and perfect security [,] quietly go away. If you are without other means to travel take to the public roads or through the swamps and walk away. Steamboats and railroads are inventions of recent years; your forefathers dared the bloodhounds, the patrollers, and innumerable obstacles, lived in the woods on roots and berries in making their way to Canadian borders.

Invoking the guiding favor of Almighty God and the sympathy of mankind, we are your brethren in affliction and the common bond of humanity.

END OF DOCUMENT II

EXAMPLE OF A+ PAPER FOR “Reverend Ernest Lyon et al., Open Letter from the New Orleans Mass Meeting” (August 22, 1888)

In Their Own Words

The late 1800’s marked an era of American history filled with political and economic turmoil. This letter was written as a result of the “reign of terror” against African Americans during the Gilded Age and the Jim Crow Era. Since it was drafted during the 1888 New Orleans Mass Meeting, it is a primary source.

Written by Reverend Ernest Lyon, the letter was used as a way to channel the unheard voices of his people, describing the struggles they faced each day fighting for the civil and political rights they deserved. This letter does not contain biases, because the individuals are simply writing to communicate a harsh reality.

One of the major points of this document is to bring to light the severe mistreatment of blacks. Lyon seems to be articulating his observations, and making an argument against these appalling observations simultaneously. He does this effectively by using descriptive language to communicate with his readers.

For instance, while he is describing the plight of his people, he tries to persuade the “still civilized world” to stand up and defend liberty for all. Here, Lyon cleverly hints at whether or not there are actually any civilized individuals left in the world, since these heinous actions seem to continually go unpunished.

Throughout his letter, Lyon employs the use of imagery to persuade the public to take action. For instance, he describes the events during the reign of terror as “unblushing outrages and murders of inoffensive colored citizens.” By using the word unblushing, Lyon suggests that the racists were not even slightly embarrassed by their gross actions. Taking the lives of the innocent did not result in a grain of shame. Another way in which Lyon uses imagery to build his case against white suppression is when he writes that the “armed bodies of whites shed innocent blood and commit deeds of savagery unsurpassed in the dark ages of mankind.” Initially, the “shedding of innocent blood” immediately grasps the reader’s attention, enveloping them in Lyon’s plight. However, Lyon then compares these terrible deeds to those that occurred in the “dark ages” of mankind. This is effective because the “dark ages” can also refer to

Europe’s Medieval Period, where individuals were too, punished cruelly and lawlessly. Lyon’s letter also depicts these horrors as a type of newfound slavery, that “there seems to be a deep laid scheme to reduce the Negroes of the State to a condition of abject serfdom and peonage.” This further emphasizes the helplessness of his people, and demonstrates to readers that democracy has failed. All citizens did not have equal rights, and Lyon’s letter, written to garner support for his people, made this apparent.

Another example of powerful imagery is when Lyon describes the 1868 massacre as a “carnival of bloodshed.” A “carnival” is supposed to be a happy occasion, yet Lyon uses the word in a metaphorical way to emphasize how the Democratic Party had a field day while executing ruthless murders. These examples of imagery contribute to establishing the argument and tone of Lyon’s letter, and although his words are words of strength, the document remains melancholy so that it reveals the true suffering of blacks.

This letter is historically significant because of two main reasons. Primarily, it serves as a firsthand account of people living through these conditions, which provides modern readers with a true glimpse into the brutalities of 1888. Lyon’s use of figurative language make for a well-structured primary source, and this letter can be used as an essential puzzle piece for understanding the Gilded Age and the Jim Crow

Era. Although we are aware of the terrible crimes committed against blacks, it is often not fully realized until it is read directly from a primary source.

However, this letter is also significant because it essentially illustrates the fallacy of white supremacy.

Lyon’s letter successfully refutes the “white” idea that blacks were savages, because at a time when neither law enforcement agents, nor the state offered genuine protection against white supremacists, blacks remained pacifists, exuding “calmness and a strict regard for law and order.” No matter the hardships, they remained civil and refused to retaliate physically. Instead, Lyon encouraged blacks to take part in an Exodus from Louisiana, an action demonstrating exceptional character. Although the “silent approval of all these crimes” was no longer an option, blacks still would not resist by physical means, but simply by leaving. They were not violent, and because blacks did not retaliate by resorting to physical aggression, Lyon’s letter successfully turns the idea of the “black savage,” or black dominance, on its head.