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Vigilante Intimidation Forced Votes In 1876
- White vigilante groups in 1876 terrorized Black voters with threats, lynching attempts, and forced promises to vote Democrat.
- Scene in Lake City, Florida: six armed men nearly hang a young Black laborer's brother until he vows to vote Democrat under threat of death.
Supreme Court Removed Federal Protection After Colfax
- The Supreme Court in United States v. Cruikshank limited federal power to prosecute private racial violence by ruling Enforcement Acts applied only to state actions.
- That 1876 ruling left Black victims dependent on hostile local authorities unwilling to punish white mobs like Colfax's.
Hamburg Massacre Showed Organized Election Violence
- The Hamburg Massacre on July 4, 1876 saw Redshirts attack an all-Black militia, killing and executing prisoners and ransacking Black homes.
- Attackers chanted "this is the beginning of the redemption of South Carolina" and defenders begged federal help.