Description
In 1870, Reverend H.W. Pierson authored "A Letter to Hon. Charles Sumner, with 'Statements' of Outrages Upon Freedmen in Georgia, and an Account of my Expulsion from Andersonville, GA. by the Ku-Klux Klan." While serving as a pastor and teacher in Georgia, he collected interviews from freedmen and documented the violence and discrimination they faced. This particular account from George Smith speaks to the terror instilled by the Ku Klux Klan in the South as a means to assert power to oppress and brutalize people of color and white people who were willing to stick up for African Americans in their community.
Transcript of George Smith's Statement on the Ku Klux Klan
Source-Dependent Questions
- Based on George Smith’s account, what was one of the main purposes of the Ku Klux Klan during Reconstruction? Use evidence from the text to support your position.
- Use evidence from Smith’s account to explain the effectiveness of the Ku Klux Klan.
Citation Information
Pierson, H.W., "Lawlessness in Georgia. A Letter to Hon. Charles Sumner, with 'Statements' of Outrages upon Freedmen in Georgia, and an Account of My Expulsion from Andersonville, Ga., by the Ku-Klux Klan," pp. 8-9, 1870. Courtesy of Library of Congress