Tag Archives: post civil war

02/14/11

The Return of KKK

In 1865, American Civil War has ended, but the racial war has just started a new chapter.  Although the nation is once again unified, but the difference between racial perspective hasn’t been changed until many years later.  The lost of war did not make southerners give up their believe in slavery.  Many veterans of Confederate Army have organized and committed brutal crimes against white and racial republicans.  Although Ku Klux Klan is organized originally at local area, many other groups across the southern states have adopted the name.  The image above shows three members of Ku Klux Klan under arrest at Tishomingo county, Mississippi on September 1871 for attempt murdering a family.  In 1870, Government passed Force Act to fight the crimes and place soldiers to protect racial republicans and peoples.

This picture above shows a gathering of KKK members Gainesville, Florida at December 31, 1922.  With Government’s involvement, the scale of Ku Klux Klan gets smaller as more members of KKK is prosecuted under the law.  In 1920s, KKK re-emerges when racial conflicts is incorporated with religious conflicts.  The member of KKK become more organized and openly practiced.  The Klan fades away at 1940s because of criminal acts committed by the head of the organizers.

02/5/11

not a choice, slavery must be abolished!

Civil War should be remmebered not only by its devastating affect to the country, but also be remembered with heroic soldiers who sacrificed their life to win the war and save the union despite of their race. From the David Blight’s passage, I understand many causes of descrimination in post civil war era. There were 50,000 African American soldiers who fought in the war while  only white soldiers were being monumented and remembered which showed aspects of white supremacy. Segregation will eventually take place which was the affect of white supremacy. I think the book is interesting because civil war was a war where the succesion of southern states from the union resulted in a battle that really fought over issues of slavery. I also think it will be interesting to understand how African Americans were treated after the war, if they were honored as much as the whites. Historical memory should be rememebered in the right way.

What I find ironic about later passage is that President Wilson, being a peace maker by mentioning to form a League of Nation during his fourteen points speech, he actually supported slavery by supporting the existence of Ku Klux Klan. I think it is important that history should be rememebered and told to the future generation in an unbiased form. The Vietnam war was a historical event that was being rememebered in a different way or somehow biased. It was viewed as a successful war at somepoint because the US had contained the spread of communism from South Vietnam to North Vietnam. It was also considered a failed mission because US had lost massive amount of soldiers in Veitnam, and the war lasted many years that did not unify Vietnam into a democratic country. I think with political left and right wing manipulating the American government system, there is always two sides with one side always trying to attack the oppostion in the hope of gaining more control over the other in this most democratic country.