Ramtin Arablui

Nobody knew his name.

And he had fought for the Confederacy.

So what made Grant think that Ackerman was the best choice to enforce Reconstruction laws that most former Confederate soldiers saw as not only a humiliating reminder of their defeat, but also a huge overreach of federal powers?

In early March 1871, the Ku Klux Klan arrived at Jim Williams' house in York County.

He was there with his wife, Rose, and their children.

Jim Williams' company was actively engaged in resisting Klan activities.

They were one of the only lines of defense the Black community had against the Klan.

And so it was only a matter of time before Jim became a target.

Rose Williams hid in her house all night with her children.

It was only once the sun rose that she was able to go outside.

Her husband's body was discovered that next morning.

He had been lynched by the Klan.

The governor of South Carolina, a pro-Reconstruction Republican, even sent a desperate telegram to President Grant.

In South Carolina, the Klan held a lot of power in local communities.

From business owners to physicians to legislators, white South Carolinians from all kinds of backgrounds had ties to the Klan.

This made it really hard to enforce the law.

That it was an actual organization with leaders and members, meetings and plans that they carried out to inflict terror on Black people.

Looking back from our vantage point, it seems obvious.

We know today that the Ku Klux Klan was a real organization.

But back then, this was a group shrouded in rumor and mystery.