Untitled Reconstruction Project

Amos T. Akerman

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Did you know that the Department of Justice was created in 1870, and its first big effort was to prosecute the hell out of the Ku Klux Klan?

Before that, being an Attorney General was a part-time job. The first person who was made official AG of the newly created governmental department was Amos T. Akerman (the portrait here was taken by Matthew Brady, Civil War photographer extraordinaire). Akerman was born and raised in New Hampshire. He moved to Georgia in adulthood, and achieved the rank of Colonel in the Confederate Army. He owned slaves. After the war, he joined the Republican party. While at first concerned about allowing black people to vote, he thought about it and realized that it made sense.

President Grant and others thought Akerman was a good choice for AG because he had a Northern background but a Southern sort of loyalty. I think they were correct, but weren't prepared for what that would mean.

Unlike Grant and other Northerners, who were hesitant to impose further military efforts after the war, Akerman did not believe that the Klan was to be tolerated. "He cautioned against any appeasement or 'attempt to conciliate by kindness that portion of the Southern people who are still malevolent. They take all kindness on the part of the government as evidence of humility and hence are emboldened to lawlessness by it.'"

The efforts of Southern black politicians, especially Joseph Rainey and Robert Brown Elliott, as well as Akerman and others, pushed Grant to sign the Ku Klux Klan Act on April 20, 1871. Passing this law meant that the President could suspend the writ of habeas corpus if people were suspected of a conspiracy to obstruct equal rights protection of citizens--arguing that this was "rebellion against the government of the USA."

On October 12, Grant did so in 9 counties of South Carolina. This allowed Akerman and U.S. Marshals to throw thousands of K*K members in jail and prosecute them in Federal courts. After all, the Southern Courts were useless, since they were run by the Klan or Klan sympathizers.

It's rumored that 2,000 Klansmen fled South Carolina in this time. 1,500 suspected Klansmen were arrested. 168 were convicted of a crime.

By Christmas of 1871, Akerman was asked to resign. He made strict rulings against the railroad, which was expanding out west. Interior Secretary Columbus Delano, who was closely tied up with rail barons, didn't want him around. Secretary of State Hamilton Fish was irritated that Akerman insisted on constantly talking about the atrocities perpetrated by the K*K at cabinet meetings, apparently because it was too upsetting. So Akerman quit after 18 months.

In light of the awful events in Charlottesville this weekend, I am reflecting on our government's tepid responses to stopping white supremacy. I'll quote this paragraph, from "Capitol Men" by Philip Dray:

"In the prolonged debate leading up to the Ku Klux Klan Act, astute white Southerners had observed that Washington, as well as the Northern press and public, was conflicted about the obligation to protect the freedmen. The Klan's blatant misbehavior had forced the government's hand, and whites in the South recognized that future efforts to restore white rule would likely fare better if pursued with greater subtlety."

The North, and, as time passes, people like Northerners--people who want to think they haven't got a part in this, people who just want the ugliness to go away, who don't want to hear about it at cabinet meetings, who want to move on and hope if it's not too obviously bad maybe they can just ignore it, who say "well they're nice people"--are going to continue to hear about it. At least from me.

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**This performance is free and open to the public. Reserve a ticket with us so that we know you're coming. Please note, however, that if you are not at the venue by showtime, we may release your seats to other patrons. Since there are a limited number of reserved tickets, if we sell out online, do not hesitate to join us at the library and we will do our best to accommodate everyone (fire code permitting).**

Untitled Reconstruction Project Untitled Reconstruction Project is a performance based on the 1871 testimony of Spartanburg County residents who were terrorized by the Ku Klux Klan. The show combines historical text, original writing by the cast, and discussion facilitated by Speaking Down Barriers. Our ensemble is made up of acto...