Democrats first tried to win black voters away from the Republican party, but when that failed they used legal means to keep blacks from voting or taking office. Whites turned to violence when that failed. The most infamous secret society dedicated to violence against the African Americans was the Ku Klux Klan. The Klansmen did their work at night, dressed in long, hooded robes and armed with guns and swords. They threatened black voters and officeholders. The African Americans that did not heed their threats were beaten, tarred and feathered, and even murdered.
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