When the Ku Klux Rode

The narrative, written by an Alabama resident who observed Reconstruction firsthand, recounts the immediate postwar transition from provisional to military governments and the clash between Presidential and Congressional policies. It examines the imposition of Republican and carpetbag administrations, the activities of the Freedmen's Bureau and the Union League, and alleged corruption and mismanagement attributed to those regimes. Local white resistance, the emergence of the Ku Klux Klan, and a campaign of riots, killings, and political intimidation across several counties are described in sequence. The account concludes with the rollback of Reconstruction authorities and the reestablishment of prewar racial and political dominance as the author interprets those events.