The Rise of the Klan & The Knights of the

White Camellia
*
*
*27 Sep 1867 Turner and his group marched to
Amite City, LA to vote.
*They were armed but stopped by federal
officers outside the city and forced to conceal
their weapons before entering town.
*Allowed to vote and set up an encampment
outside the town after voting.
*
*Many whites were offended that Turners group was
allowed to bring their guns to town and allowed to
vote.
*Problem was Turner had boasted he was authorized to
hang whites. The whites of Amite City were not going
to allow Turner and his group to be men and citizens
just like whites.
*The whites of Amite City stated that they would
defend themselves against barbarians.
*What the whites of Amite City did not understand was
that Turners actions were in response to the violence
and racism perpetrated against the black community.
*
*Formed in the Winter of 1867 in LA & FL.
*The elections of 1867 proved to be the impetus
for the increase of these organizations.
*Said they were there to combat black
assertiveness.
*Real reason was to main white supremacy.
*The groups that fulfilled this mission was The
Knights of White Camellia and the Ku Klux
Klan.
*
*Groups were separate with different purposes.
*Formed in 1866 in TN. The Klan was originally a
social club for Confederate Veterans.
*By 1867, Klan decided to become regulators .
Dens existed in LA, FL & MS.
*Believed in white supremacy and contempt for
blacks and white Republicans in the South.
*Klan used murder, arson, intimidation and
secrecy to spread their terror and influence.

*
*Originated in Louisiana
*Agenda was white supremacy through political
and economic ends.
*Were also against blacks and white
Republicans.
*Difference between White Camellia & the Klan
was the use of terror
*Used economic intimidation and persuasion to
achieve their political objectives.
* Open about their affiliation
* No violence
* Political officeholders
* Movers and shakers of the
white communities
* Used murder
* Willing to die if ever
revealed membership of
others.
* Secret organization
* From a lower social class
*
*
*Promote White Supremacy
*Vote only for white men
*Defend the white race from the aggression and
encroachment of an inferior race.
*Protect females and widows
*Schism developed between White Camellia and the
Klan. White Camellia main objective was the return
of political control to conservative whites.
*Blacks endured violence and white attempts to keep
them as close as they could in slavery in Florida.


*
*Election based on intimidation between Louis St.
Martin(D) & J. H.Sypher(R) both ran campaigns of
intimidation and fraud.
*White Camellia issued protection papers to blacks
who voted Democratic.
*If blacks did not vote Democratic then they would
not have access to the local mill and lumber
companies.
*Many blacks voted Democratic to keep their jobs
and to eat. In Florida anyone who voted Republican
paid a heavy price.
*
*Used terror to eliminate black leadership and
put fear into Republican opponents.
*The Klan used threats of death to Republican
opponents.
*As the election neared the Klan made raids
onto Republicans properties.
*Blacks were told to vote Democratic or die.
*Those blacks who did not vote Democratic
were seen as a threat .
*
*The Klan used intimidation and violence on the day of
the election murdering local Republican candidates
and black Republican leaders.
*The Klan murder prominent Republican office holders
and black activists in their attempt to win the
election.
*Black voters were under pressure by both Republicans
and Democrats to vote for them. The Klan threatened
their lives and the Republicans threatened to take
away their promise of land and mules.
*204 black and white Republicans died statewide in LA
during elections.
*
*Rowdy Democrats crowded the precincts and
tried to intimidate anyone who voted
Republican.
*Only precincts guarded by federal troops had
Republican votes.
*In eastern LA, a majority Democratic victories
were found in the parishes due to voter
intimidation and suppression.
*
*The election of 1868 changed Louisiana and
Mississippi. Voter intimidation was used to gain
political victories.
*Violence and Republican bashing became
important and a social activity.
*The nightriders of the Klan had more impact on
society .
*The old planter elite who sent the country into
civil war had regained its power through fear,
intimidation and promoting racial fears.