Following Kamala Harris’ loss in the 2024 elections and the Republican Party’s significant congressional victories, many Democrats are grappling with frustration, anger, and fear. Donald Trump’s return to the presidency has reignited concerns, particularly over his ability to secure a conservative Supreme Court for years to come. Moreover, his proposed policies—such as revoking broadcast licenses of critical media, penalizing states and politicians that opposed him, and his infamous declaration of intending to act as “a dictator on day one”—have sparked widespread alarm.
While troubling, such threats are not unprecedented. They echo actions taken by conservatives after the Civil War. During Reconstruction, ex-Confederates employed claims of election fraud, launched voter suppression campaigns, and even destroyed ballots to undermine political opposition. However, their most devastating tactic in 1868 was exploiting racial prejudices, a force that continues to influence American politics today.
The election of 1868 remains the most violent in U.S. history. Following the passage of the Reconstruction Acts and the 14th Amendment, Black Americans gained the right to vote. However, suffrage rights did not shield them from threats of violence. Despite federal troops in some Southern areas, regions like St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, lacked sufficient protection.
In that election, conservatives supported Horatio Seymour against Ulysses S. Grant, basing their campaign on the promise to disenfranchise Black voters. Their rhetoric incited violence, with the Ku Klux Klan conducting widespread attacks across the South. By Election Day, Klan violence had resulted in at least 2,000 deaths in Louisiana alone, with many more victims across the region. The Klan burned homes, assassinated Black officials, and destroyed voter registries, using terror to suppress Black voters. Contemporary estimates suggest tens of thousands of Black women, men, and children were victims of this violence.
