Ku Klux Klan: Its Origin, Growth and Disbandment Part 6

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Matters grew worse and worse, till it was imperatively necessary that there should be interference on the part of the Government. In September, 1868, the Legislature of Tennessee, in obedience to the call of Governor Brownlow, a.s.sembled in extra session and pa.s.sed a most stringent and b.l.o.o.d.y anti-Ku Klux statute.[51] This was the culmination of a long series of the most infamous legislations which ever disgraced a statute book.

It began in 1865, as we have seen, in the pa.s.sage of the alien and sedition act, and grew worse and worse till the pa.s.sage of the anti-Ku Klux statute in 1868. Sixteen years have pa.s.sed since then, and many into whose hands this book will come have never seen the "Anti-Ku Klux Law." We quote it entire, to show the character of the legislation of those times as well as for the sake of its bearing on the matter in hand:

SEC. 1. _Be it enacted, by the General a.s.sembly of Tennessee_, That if any person or persons shall unite with, a.s.sociate with, promote or encourage any secret organization of persons who shall prowl through the country or towns of this State, by day or by night, disguised or otherwise, for the purpose of disturbing the peace, or alarming the peaceable citizens of any portion of this State, on conviction by any tribunal of this State, shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars, imprisoned in the penitentiary not less than five years, and shall be rendered infamous.

SEC. 2. _Be it further enacted_, That it shall be the duty of all the courts in this State, before the impaneling of any grand jury or pet.i.t jury in any cause whatever, to inquire of the juror, on oath, whether he shall be a.s.sociated in any way obnoxious to the first section of this act; and if such juror shall decline to give a voluntary answer, or shall answer affirmatively, such persons shall be disqualified as a juror in any case in any court in this State.

SEC. 3. _Be it further enacted_, That, for the purpose of facilitating the execution of the provisions of this act, it shall be the duty of the Prosecuting Attorneys of this State or grand jurors, or either of them, to summons or cause to be summoned, any persons he shall have a well-grounded belief has any knowledge of such organization as described by the first section of this act, and if any person shall fail or refuse to obey such summons, or shall appear and refuse to testify, such persons so summoned shall suffer the penalty imposed by the first section of this act; and if such witness shall avoid the service of said subpoena or summons, the sheriff, or other officer, shall return such fact on said process, when the court shall order a copy of said process to be left at the last place of residence of such persons sought to be summoned; and if such person shall fail to appear according to the command of said process, said court shall enter a judgment _nisi_ against such person for the sum of five hundred dollars, for which _sci. fa._ shall issue, as in other cases of forfeiture of subpoena.

SEC. 4. _Be it further enacted_, That no prosecutor shall be required on any indictment under the provisions of this act; and all the courts of the State shall give a remedial construction to the same; and that no presentment or indictment shall be quashed, or declared insufficient for want of form.

SEC. 5. _Be it further enacted_, That it shall be the duty of all the courts of this State, at every term, for two years from and after the pa.s.sage of this act, to call before it all the officers thereof, who shall be sworn, and have this act read or explained to them; and the court shall ask said officers if they shall have any knowledge of any person of the State, or out of it, that shall be guilty of any of the offenses contained in this act, and that, if at any time they shall come to such knowledge, or shall have a well-grounded belief that any person or persons shall be guilty of a violation of this act or any of its provisions, that they will immediately, inform the Prosecuting Attorney for the State thereof; and if such Prosecuting Attorney, upon being so informed, shall fail, refuse, or neglect to prosecute such person or persons so informed on, he shall be subject to the same penalties imposed by the first section of this act, and shall be stricken from the roll of attorneys in said court.

SEC. 6. _Be it further enacted_, That if any officer, or other person, shall inform any other person that he or she is to be summoned as a witness under any of the provisions of this act, or any other statute or law of this State, with the intent and for the purpose of defeating any of the provisions of this act, or any criminal law of this State; or if any officer, clerk, sheriff or constable shall refuse or fail to perform any of the duties imposed by this act, upon conviction, shall suffer the penalties by the first section of this act, and shall be disqualified from holding office in this State for two years.

SEC. 7. _Be it further enacted_, That if any person shall voluntarily inform on any person guilty of any of the provisions of this act, upon conviction such informant shall be ent.i.tled and receive one-half of the fine imposed; and if any officer, three-fourths.

SEC. 8. _Be it further enacted_, That if any person, guilty of any of the provisions or offenses enumerated in this act, that shall appear before any jury or prosecuting officer of the State, and shall inform him or them of any offense committed by any person or persons against the criminal laws of this State, such person or witness shall not be bound to answer to any charge for the violation of any provisions of any law about which such person or witness shall be examined; and the court shall protect such witness from any prosecution whatever.

SEC. 9. _Be it further enacted_, That where any process shall be issued against the person of any citizen in any county of this State, for any violation of the provisions of this act, and such shall be returned not executed, for any cause whatever, by the sheriff or other officer, to the court from which it was issued, with an affidavit appended thereto, plainly setting forth the reason for the non-execution of such process, then it shall be the duty of the clerk, without delay, to issue an _alias capias_ to the same county, if the home of the defendant shall be in said county, either in part or in whole, when said sheriff or other officer shall give notice to the inhabitants of said county by posting such notice at the court-house of said county, of the existence of said capias; and if the inhabitants of such county shall permit such defendant to be or to live in said county, in part or in whole, the inhabitants shall be subject to an a.s.sessment of not less than five hundred dollars, nor more than five thousand dollars, at the discretion of the court, which said a.s.sessment shall be made in the following manner, to-wit: When the sheriff or other officer shall return his _alias capias_, showing that said defendant is an inhabitant of said county, in part or in whole, and that the citizens thereof have failed or refused to arrest said defendant, which every citizen is hereby authorized to do or perform. Said court shall order _sci. fa._ to issue to the proper officer to make known to the chairman, judge, or other presiding officer of the County Court, to appear and show cause why final judgment should not have been entered up accordingly; which, if any County Court fails or refuses to do and perform, any judge, in vacation, shall grant a _mandamus_ to compel said County Court to a.s.sess and collect said a.s.sessment, to be paid into the State treasury for the benefit of the school fund; provided, said a.s.sessment shall not be made of the sheriff or other officer, upon the return of the original, or _alias_ writs, show cause why the same cannot be executed, which may be done by his affidavit and two respectable witnesses known to the court as such.

SEC. 10. _Be it further enacted_, That all the inhabitants in this State shall be authorized to arrest any person defendant, under the provisions of this act, in any county in this State without process.

SEC. 11. _Be it further enacted_, That if any person or persons shall write, publish, advise, entreat or persuade, privately or publicly, any cla.s.s of persons, or any individual, to resist any of the laws of this State calculated to molest or disturb the good people and peaceable citizens of the State, such persons shall be subject to the penalties of the first section of this act; and if an attorney at law, he shall be stricken from the roll of attorneys and be prevented from practicing in any court in this State.

SEC. 12. _Be it further enacted_, That if any person shall make threats against any elector or person authorized to exercise the elective franchise, with the intention of intimidating or preventing such person or persons from attending any election in this State, they shall be subject to the penalties inflicted by the first section of this act.

SEC. 13. _Be it further enacted_, That if any person or persons shall attempt to break up any election in this State, or advise the same to be done, with a view of preventing the lawful or qualified citizens of this State from voting, they shall be subject to the penalties prescribed by the first section of this act; and the attorney of the State in all convictions under the provisions of this act, shall be ent.i.tled to a tax fee of one hundred dollars, to be taxed in the bill of costs, and to be paid by the defendant. And the attorney prosecuting for the State shall keep all information given him a secret, unless it shall be necessary, in the opinion of the court, that the same should be made public.

SEC. 14. _Be it further enacted_, That it shall be the duty of all the judges in this State to read this act to the grand juries, and give it especially in charge to said juries.

SEC. 15. _Be it further enacted_, That the treasurer of this State shall not be authorized to pay any judge in this State any salary, or to any clerk, sheriff, or attorney, any fee or bill of costs that may accrue to such parties under the provisions of this act, until such judge or other officer shall have filed with the comptroller or treasurer an affidavit plainly setting forth that he has fully complied with the provisions of this act.

SEC. 16. _Be it further enacted_, That if any person or citizen of this State shall voluntarily feed, or lodge, or entertain, or conceal in the woods, or elsewhere, any offender known to such person to be charged with any criminal offense under this act, such person shall suffer the penalty prescribed by the first section of this act; provided, that this section shall not apply to persons who, under the ancient law, might feed or conceal the party charged.

SEC. 17. _Be it further enacted_, That if any person, guilty of any of the offenses enumerated in this act, shall have, own or possess any real estate held by deed, or grant, or entry, or by fee, or entail in law, or equity, the same shall be bound for costs, fines or penalties imposed by any of the provisions of this act; and a lien is hereby declared to attach to all estates in law or equity, as above, dating from the day or night of the commission of the offense, which fact may be found by the jury trying the cause, or any other jury impaneled for that purpose; and if in the opinion of the court the defendant has evaded the law, the jury shall find such fact, and the estate of the defendant shall be made liable for the costs of the State; and there shall be no limitation to the recovery of the same.

SEC. 18. _Be it further enacted_, That if any person or persons shall be guilty of a violation of any of the provisions of this act, to the prejudice or injury of any individual, the jury trying the defendant shall, or may find such fact with the amount of injury sustained, which shall be paid to the injured party or person ent.i.tled to the same, by the laws of descent of this State, with all costs, and who shall have the same lien on the property of the defendant that is possessed or given to the State by this act.

SEC. 19. _Be it further enacted_, That if any person shall knowingly make or cause to be made, any uniform or regalia, in part or in whole, by day or night, or shall be found in possession of the same, he, she or they shall be fined at the discretion of the court, and shall be rendered infamous.

SEC. 20. _Be it further enacted_, That in addition to the oath prescribed by the const.i.tution and oath of office, every public officer shall swear that he has never been a member of the organization known as the Ku Klux Klan, or other disguised body of men contrary to the laws of the State, and that he has neither directly nor indirectly aided, encouraged, supported, or in any manner countenanced said organization.

SEC. 21. _Be it further enacted_, That the attorneys or prosecuting officers for the State, shall be ent.i.tled to and receive five per cent, on all forfeitures or a.s.sessments made by this act, on compensations to be paid by the defendant.

SEC. 22. _Be it further enacted_, That the standard of damages for injuries to individuals shall be as follows: For disturbing any of the officers of the State or other person, by entering the house or houses, or place of residence of any such individual in the night, in a hostile manner, or against his will, the sum of ten thousand dollars; and it shall be lawful for the person so a.s.sailed to kill the a.s.sailant. For killing any individual in the night twenty thousand dollars; provided, such person killed was peaceable at that time. That all other injuries shall be a.s.sessed by the court and jury in proportion; and the court trying said causes may grant as many new trials as may, in his opinion, be necessary to attain the end of justice.

SEC. 23. _Be it further enacted_, That all persons present, and not giving immediate information on the offenders, shall be regarded as guilty of a misdemeanor against the law, and shall be punished accordingly.

SEC. 24. _Be it further enacted_, That it shall not be lawful for any persons to publish any proffered or pretended order of said secret, unlawful clans; and any person convicted under any of the provisions of this act, shall not claim, hold, or possess any property, real or personal, exempt from execution, fine, penalty or costs, under this act; provided, that nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to prevent or exempt any person heretofore guilty of any of the offenses herein contained from prosecution under the law as it now stands. This act to take effect from after its pa.s.sage.[52]

The same legislature pa.s.sed a bill authorizing the Governor to organize, equip and call into active service, at his discretion, a volunteer force, to be known as the Tennessee State Guards; to be composed of one or more regiments from each congressional district of the State; provided always that said Tennessee State Guards shall be composed of loyal men.

And it was further provided by the "Militia Law," that upon the representation of "ten Union men, or three Justices of the Peace in any county in the State," that the presence of these troops were needed, that the Governor might declare martial law in such counties, and send thither troops in such numbers as, in his judgment, were necessary for the preservation of peace and order. And it was provided that the expense of these troops to the State should be collected from the counties where they were quartered.

The reader has now some insight into the character of the legislation direct against the Ku Klux. He will not only note the general severity and harshness of it, but the following features in particular:

(1). The anti-Ku Klux statute was _ex post facto_, as expressly declared by Section 24 of it. (2). It presented no way in which a man could relieve himself from liability to it, except by turning informer, and as an inducement to do this a large bribe was offered.

(3). It encouraged strife, by making every inhabitant of the State an officer extraordinary with power "to arrest without process" when he had ground to suspect. (4). It must be remembered that in those days in Tennessee "to be loyal" had a very limited meaning. It meant simply to be a subservient tool and supporter of Governor Brownlow. If a man was not that, no matter what his past record, or what his political opinion, he was not "loyal." (5). While the law professed to be aimed at the suppression of all lawlessness, it was not so construed and enforced by the party in power. The "Union" or "Loyal" League was never molested, though this organization met frequently, and its members appeared by day and by night, armed, threatening and molesting the life and property of as peaceable and quiet citizens as any in the State. No attempt was ever made to arrest men except in Ku Klux disguises. But as before remarked there is no instance on record of a Ku Klux being arrested, tried and convicted. Invariably the party arrested while depredating as Ku Klux turned out to be, when stripped of their disguises, "loyal" men.

In some sections of the State a perfect reign of terror followed this anti-Ku Klux statute. The members of the Klan were now in the att.i.tude of men fighting for life and liberty. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of them were not lawbreakers, and did not desire to be. There had been no law against a.s.sociation with the Klan; they had conceived and done no wrong during their connection with it. They had had no partic.i.p.ation in or knowledge of the excesses in which some of the Klan had indulged or were charged with having indulged in. But now their previous connection with the Klan was made a penal offense; and they had no hope except on terms which to men of honor and right principle were more odious than death.

These men were made infamous, made liable to fine and imprisonment, exposed to arrest without process by any malicious negro or mean white man; and even their wives and children were outlawed and exposed to the same indignities; and it is no strange thing if they were driven to the very verge of desperation. It is not denied that they did many things for which the world has been exceedingly slow to accept apology or excuse. But history is challenged to furnish an instance of a people bearing gross wrong and brutal outrage perpetrated in the name of law and loyalty with patience, forbearance or forgiveness, comparable to that exhibited by the people of the Southern States, and especially of Tennessee, during what is called the "Reconstruction period," and since.

There may be in their conduct some things to regret, and some to condemn; but he who gets a full understanding of their surroundings, social, civil and political, if he is not incapable of n.o.ble sentiment, will also find many things to awaken his sympathy and call forth his admiration.

FOOTNOTES:

[47] See Major Crowe's statement on p. 22.

[48] "At this late day (1901) I am gratified to be able to say that my company did much good service to Tuscaloosa county. Had these organizations confined their operations to their legitimate object, viz: Punishing impudent negroes and negro-loving whites, then their performances would have effected only good. Unfortunately, the Klan began to degenerate into a vile means of wreaking revenge for personal dislikes or personal animosities, and in this way many outrages were perpetrated, ultimately resulting in casting so much well-deserved odium on the whole concern that about the year 1870 there was almost a universal collapse; all the good and brave men abandoning it in disgust. Many outrages were committed in the name of Ku Klux that really were done by irresponsible parties who never belonged to the Klan."--_Ryland Randolph._

[49] I have been told that in Tennessee several members of the Klan were executed by its orders for committing evil deeds under name of the Klan.--_Editor._

[50] Some of the "Dens" disbanded in 1868. "As soon as our object was effected, viz., got the negroes to behave themselves, we disbanded."--_Ryland Randolph._

[51] Most of the carpetbag and negro legislatures of the other Southern States pa.s.sed similar laws, and Congress enacted a series of three "Force Laws" in 1870-1871. See Burgess' "Reconstruction and the Const.i.tution," pp. 253, 262; Fleming's "Civil War and Reconstruction in Alabama," p. 695.--_Editor._

[52] This is a good specimen of the "Force Laws" which were meant to uphold the Radical governments in the South against popular disaffection.--_Editor._

CHAPTER V.

DISBANDMENT.

On the 20th day of February, 1869, Governor Brownlow resigned his position as Governor to take the seat in the United States Senate, to which he had been elected. The last paper to which he affixed his signature as Governor of Tennessee, proclaimed martial law in certain counties, and ordered troops to be sent thither. This proclamation was dated February 20, 1869. In a short while it was followed by a proclamation from the "Grand Wizard of the Invisible Empire" to his subjects.

This proclamation recited the legislation directed against the Klan, and stated that the order had now, in large measure, accomplished the objects of its existence. At a time when the civil law afforded inadequate protection to life and property, when robbery and lawlessness of every description were unrebuked, when all the better elements of society were in constant dread for the safety of their property, persons and families, the Klan had afforded protection and security to many firesides, and, in many ways contributed to the public welfare. But greatly to the regret of all good citizens, some members of the Klan had violated positive orders; others, under the name and disguises of the organization, had a.s.sumed to do acts of violence, for which the Klan was held responsible. The Grand Wizard had been invested with the power to determine questions of paramount importance to the interests of the order. Therefore, in the exercise of that power, the Grand Wizard declared that the organization heretofore known as the Ku Klux Klan was dissolved and disbanded.

Members were directed to burn all regalia and paraphernalia of every description, and to desist from any further a.s.semblies or acts as Ku Klux.[53] The members of the Klan were counseled in the future as heretofore, to a.s.sist all good people of the land in maintaining and upholding the civil laws, and in putting down lawlessness. This proclamation was directed to all Realms, Dominions, Provinces and "Dens" in "the Empire." It is reasonably certain that there were portions of the Empire never reached by it. The Klan was widely scattered and the facilities for communication exceedingly poor. The Grand Wizard was a citizen of Tennessee. Under the statute just now quoted newspapers were forbidden to publish anything emanating from the Klan. So that there was no way in which this proclamation could be generally disseminated.

Where it was promulgated, obedience to it was prompt and implicit.

Whether obeyed or not, this proclamation terminated the Klan's organized existence as decisively and completely as General Lee's last general order, on the morning of the 10th of April, 1865, disbanded the army of Northern Virginia.