Louisiana White League Platform (1874)
The White League was a paramilitary group responsible for widespread violence against black and white Republicans in Louisiana and Mississippi. The group’s platform from 1874 is articulated here.
![Book cover of American flag with faces over it.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Reconstruction_cover_large.jpg?h=51bee232&itok=yY8xN3AK)
Names and Freedom
Historians Douglas Egerton and Leon Litwack explain the process of freedpeople adopting new surnames.
![A group of African Americans soberly observe Juneteenth in their hats, canes and bonnets in Austin, TX, 1900.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Emancipation_Day_celebration_-_1900-06-19%20%281%29.jpg?h=6ea8326e&itok=2mUmYjCx)
Names and Freedom (en español)
In Spanish, historians Douglas Egerton and Leon Litwack explain the process of freedpeople adopting new surnames.
![A group of African Americans soberly observe Juneteenth in their hats, canes and bonnets in Austin, TX, 1900.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Emancipation_Day_celebration_-_1900-06-19%20%281%29.jpg?h=6ea8326e&itok=2mUmYjCx)
A Nucleus of Ordinary Men
Consider the role that secrecy and fear play in mob violence with W. E. B. Du Bois’ analysis of the Ku Klux Klan’s power.
![A portrait of W.E.B. Du Bois, head-and-shoulders, facing slightly right.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/3a53178u.jpg?h=87584735&itok=bgkKYE0Q)
A Nucleus of Ordinary Men (en español)
In Spanish, consider the role that secrecy and fear play in mob violence with W. E. B. Du Bois’ analysis of the Ku Klux Klan’s power.
![A portrait of W.E.B. Du Bois, head-and-shoulders, facing slightly right.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/3a53178u.jpg?h=87584735&itok=bgkKYE0Q)
Presidential Reconstruction
Investigate aspects of President Andrew Johnson’s plans for Reconstruction that outlined how to bring former Confederate citizens and states back into the Union.
![A photograph of Andrew Johnson.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/03751u.jpg?h=8c44f663&itok=SOBBoTvF)
Reconstructing Mississippi
Learn about the accomplishments of the first interracial legislature in Mississippi from the account of John Roy Lynch, a freedman who served in the state’s House of Representatives.
![Photograph shows a montage of seventy-five portraits of members of the Mississippi State Legislature (1874-1875)](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/mississippi-legislature-1874-75.jpg?h=6c376ef6&itok=NdPaXqS1)
Reconstructing Mississippi (en español)
In Spanish, learn about the accomplishments of the first interracial legislature in Mississippi from the account of John Roy Lynch, a freedman who served in the state’s House of Representatives.
![Photograph shows a montage of seventy-five portraits of members of the Mississippi State Legislature (1874-1875)](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/mississippi-legislature-1874-75.jpg?h=6c376ef6&itok=NdPaXqS1)
The Reconstruction Acts of 1867
This reading examines measures of the Reconstruction Acts of 1867, which enacted the plan that became known as Radical Reconstruction.
![An image of the document “The policy of Congress in reference to the restoration of the Union”](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/reconstruction_act.jpg?h=ff0754a0&itok=gvvtIEwi)
A Right to the Land
Freedman Bayley Wyatt advocates for freedpeople's rights to their land at a public meeting.
![A photo of Black children and young adults on their porch.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/8a16176v.jpg?h=bb50dc57&itok=J6eq8ZB_)
A Right to the Land (en español)
In Spanish, Freedman Bayley Wyatt advocates for freedpeople's rights to their land at a public meeting.
![A photo of Black children and young adults on their porch.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/8a16176v.jpg?h=bb50dc57&itok=J6eq8ZB_)