When Political Violence Faces No Accountability

The Colfax Massacre and the Court that Said Nothing Could Be Done About It

A disputed election result.

From Governor down to local offices, such as Sheriff and state representative.

At first, amid long-simmering tensions in the small town and surrounding area, it looked like the slate of Democratic candidates had won. But allegations of election fraud cast doubt on that initial outcome, and ultimately, Republicans were declared the official winners.

When Democrats refused to accept that result, tensions boiled over.

Republicans and their supporters occupied the local courthouse, physically claiming the offices they had been told they had won. They armed themselves to defend their position.

Democrats gathered up supporters from the surrounding area, mustered even more arms—including an old cannon—and ultimately surrounded the courthouse before setting in on fire.

What followed was one of the bloodiest massacres over an election outcome in American history, and according to historian Eric Foner, “the bloodiest single act of carnage in all of Reconstruction.” (Eric Foner, Reconstruction, page 530)

And a key pivot point in American history and democracy.

This class of my Voting Rights Academy is about this horrific massacre, the Supreme Court case that declared there was nothing the federal government could do about even violence on such a massive scale, and the tragic consequences of that decision.

One clear and highly relevant lesson of it all: political and racist violence must face swift and decisive accountability, or the violence only continues. And wins.

The massacre is also another example of how the victors rewrite history—and in this case, those victors buried the truth about what really happened at Colfax for close to a century.

That truth is a history all Americans should know. And once you know it, you’ll never forget it…