Republicans outlawed the Ku Klux Klan

For decades after the Civil War, the Ku Klux Klan was the terrorist wing of the Democratic Party.  Klansmen murdered hundreds of Republican activists and office-holders, including U.S. Representative James Hinds (R-Arkansas). 

On this day in 1871, the Republican-controlled 42nd Congress passed and the Republican President, Ulysses Grant, signed into law the Ku Klux Klan Act.  The law banned the KKK and other Democrat terrorist organizations.  President Grant then deployed federal troops to crush a Klan uprising in South Carolina.

Eleven years later, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned most provisions of the Act.  Though legalized, this original version of the Ku Klux Klan faded.  Why?  Because as Democrats regained control over southern state governments, they could oppress African-Americans openly, without need of white sheets.

Michael Zak is a popular speaker to Republican organizations around the country, showing office-holders, candidates and activists how they would benefit tremendously from appreciating our Party's heritage of civil rights achievement.  Back to Basics for the Republican Party is his acclaimed history of the GOP from the Republican point of view.  Each day, his Grand Old Partisan blog -- http://grandoldpartisan.typepad.com -- celebrates 154 years of Republican heroes and heroics.  See www.republicanbasics.com for more information.

Comments

[Michael Zak]

Thanks you for the interesting comments, but most are false, too many in fact to address fully. You are the victim of Democrat spin -- here are some corrections:

1) During the Civil War, there were also many racists in the North, called "Democrats."

2) The Confederates did not join the Democratic Party at the onset of the war; in fact, nearly all were already members of the Democratic Party in 1861.

3) The South became the Solid (Democrat) South in the 1850s, well before the Civil War. In the areas that became the Confederacy, the GOP received ZERO votes in 1860.

4) Not all southerners were Confederates -- the blacks and the Unionists remained loyal to the U.S. Government and became the mainstay of the Republican Party after the war

5) The Dixiecrats did not establish their own party; they remained Democrats even as they set up a presidential ticket of their own

6) Strom Thurmond did not become a Republican until 1962. He was, in fact, just about the only prominent segregationist Democrat to become a Republican. The others -- Sam Ervin, William Fulbright, Lester Maddox, Orval Faubus, Al Gore, Richard Russell, etc.) remained Democrats.

7) Two years AFTER Thurmond joined the GOP, Republicans supported the 1964 Civil Rights Act much more than did the Democrats.

Cheers,

Michael Zak

[an Educated, Hispanic-American]

This is a foolish article, full of lies and deceit. The Republican party of Abraham Lincoln is the party that went to war with the RACISTS of the south and to abolish slavery.

The Confederate RACISTS joined the Democrat party only to oppose the "hated" Republicans. The "Paramilitary, terrorist" component of the Democrat party WAS the Southern RACISTS themselves!!.

They remained in the Dem. party but after WWII, as the Democrats spoke more and more of Civil Rights and voting rights for Blacks the RACISTs within the party became more and more unhappy.

Finally, during the DNC Democratic convention of 1948 the RACISTS blew up and stormed out the convention as the Democrats were decidedly moving towards Civil rights and the rights of minorities.

The RACISTS were now without a party, so they established the DIXIECRATS which directly represented the agenda of the RACIST South. (as they marched to DIXIE).

Therefore there was now; *the Republicans, *the Democrats and the *RACISTS..I mean.. the Dixiecrats.

However, after years of going nowhere the Racicrats never became a bona-fide party. They could never return to the Democrat party. so, STROM THURMOND joined the Republican party and soon was heralding the rest of the RACISTS: "Hey, it's Ok to join the Republican Party, c'mon over."

The Racists abandoned and discarded the DIXIECRAT party. So, ANYTHING Lincoln's Republican party ever did in Civil rights or whatever, prior to Thurmond joining the party, does NOT count for the credit of today's epublican party.

So the lines: "our Party's heritage of civil rights achievement." and "154 years of Republican heroes and heroics" mean absolutely NOTHING for today's Republican party and they can only claim credit for the time since Thurmond's joining which is nothing more than Racist actions and agenda.

And that... Ladies and Gentlemen is the TRUTH and the FACTS.

[Michael Zak]

Critics of Grand Old Partisan -- http://grandoldpartisan.typepad.com -- are welcome to point out any factual errors on the blog. I'm not as interested in recitations of Democrat talking points.

[markg8]

Senator Byrd long ago apologized for his membership in the Klan. The modern Republican party is racist. It has been for decades, since at least 1968 and Nixon's Southern Strategy. McCain can go to Alabama, hug a few poor black kids and pretend it isn't but that's not going to fool anyone.

[laughing at the lipstick you put on the GOP pig]

What a ridiculous farce your attempt to present the GOP as the party of civil rights is. Anyone with more than a shred of historical knowledge knows that the GOP of Lincoln has long since switched sides and is now the party far more likely to support ideas and policies attarctive to Klansmen and their ilk. Not that democrats are perfect -- far from it -- but in the realm you seek to claim for the GOP, today's Republicans are the ones most likely to promote racism, prejudice, and favoritism for the rich who control this country. To claim otherwise is to reveal yourself as a fool and a fraud, and to invite disdain for your general enterprise.

BTW, yes, I have a PhD in U.S. History, not that that is required to know how false your attempt to mislead people into taking pride in the GOP is. If you want to laud Lincoln and anti-slavery, fine, but to do so while trying to claim some mantle of superior morality that extends to today's Republicans is a sad, sick joke.

[John G]

You guys are so right. Every time I see a "South shall rise again" bumper sticker, or a big ol' Confederate flag on a truck, I just KNOW that the driver is an ultraliberal.

Why, if you follow one of those trucks, you're sure to see the driver pull up to a coffee house, bust out his Macbook, and check the latest news at the Huffington Post. Then he'll get his daily marching orders from moveon.org and grab some inspiration from his well-worn copy of the Communist Manifesto. Right before hopping back into the truck and heading to the local Obama rally. My God, have you ever seen the parking lot at one of those things? You can't throw a rock without hitting the ol' stars and bars.

I'm so busted. You've figured us out!

Man, it must be tough defending a position that flies so directly in the face of reality.

If the year were 1871, I'd be a Republican and proud of it. Believe it or not, in 137 years, things change. Are you guys going to deny that massive party switching, from Democratic to Republican, has occurred in the South? Why do you suppose Strom Thurmond changed parties? (And before you bring him up, I wish Robert Byrd had been right behind him.) Why do you suppose all 43 members of the Congressional Black Caucus are Democrats? I'm gonna go out on a limb and suggest that they chose a party based on the parties' positions as of today, not 137 years ago.

[DKN]

Gosh John G, what town would that be? For almost fifty years I've lived in big cities to small towns, from Virginia to deep, deep in Georgia, and have yet to see a truck such as you describe.

On the other hand, a black co-worker once told me he preferred the Klan over white liberals because "with the Klan you know where you stand, but liberals will call you friend, and then stab you in the back."

[William Teach]

Excellent article which includes stuff Democrats hate: facts.

I am going to assume John G. is one of those Democrats, since he starts off with a bigoted and inflammatory comment, which he surely does not understand.

As far as "The South Shall Rise Again" goes, the purpose is to highlight not slavery, which, guess what, John, happened in Northern states, too, but to highlight the proud heritage of people who would not stand for the continuous intrusion of the federal government into their lives. The Constitution never meant for that the Feds to be so strong.

[John G]

Every Redneck in this town that has a "South shall rise again" bumper sticker on one side his truck has a "W" sticker on the other.

Gee, why do you think that is?

[Chief RZ]

Outstanding article. Thank you for reminding us of this fact.
I learned about revisionism in history about ten years ago. The professor tried to say that it was a recent idea. Now I know different.

I found your link from SA. Yes, credit should have been given.

[Topsecretk9]

There would be no place in the modern Republican Party for Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses Grant.

But there's a spot for Senator Byrd in the Democrat Party.

[markg8]

There would be no place in the modern Republican Party for Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses Grant.

[moderationist]

An absolutely terrific article.