The Day Freedom Died: The Colfax Massacre the Supreme Court and the Betrayal of Reconstruction
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About this book
The untold story of the slaying of a Southern towns ex-slaves and a white lawyers historic battle to bring the perpretators to justice Following the Civil War Colfax Louisiana was a town like many where African Americans and whites mingled uneasily. But on April 13 1873 a small army of white exConfederate soldiers enraged after attempts by freedmen to assert their new rights killed more than sixty African Americans who had occupied a courthouse. With skill and tenacity The Washington Posts Charles Lane transforms this nearly forgotten incident into a riveting historical saga. Seeking justice for the slain one brave U.S. attorney James Beckwith risked his life and career to investigate and punish the perpetratorsbut they all went free. What followed was a series of courtroom dramas that culminated at the Supreme Court where the justices verdict compromised the victories of the Civil War and left Southern blacks at the mercy of violent whites for generations. The Day Freedom Died is an electrifying piece of historical detective work that captures a gallery of characters from presidents to townspeople and re-creates the bloody days of Reconstruction when the often brutal struggle for equality moved from the battlefield into communities across the nation.
