Throughline The Man Who Took On The Klan
Feb 5, 2026
Kidada Williams, historian of Reconstruction-era terror and survival. Bernard Powers, scholar of slavery and Black political life in South Carolina. Guy Gugliotta, author on Amos Akerman and Klan prosecutions. They trace Akerman’s surprising turn from Confederate to federal enforcer. They explore Klan terror in rural South Carolina, legal fights using the 14th Amendment, raids and trials, and the political fallout that weakened enforcement.
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Tom Roundtree's Lynching
- Tom Roundtree, a Black cotton farmer, returned from selling cotton with $200 and was surrounded by 60–70 Klansmen at 1 a.m.
- They shot into his house, dragged him out, shot him, and cut his throat while burning turpentine to draw attention.
A Southerner Who Enforced The Law
- Ulysses S. Grant sent Amos T. Ackerman, a former Confederate and slaveholder, to enforce federal law in South Carolina.
- Ackerman prioritized using the Justice Department to eradicate the Ku Klux Klan.
Use Federal Law When States Fail
- Use the 14th Amendment to treat violent Klan acts as federal civil-rights crimes when states fail to protect citizens.
- Convert local crimes into federal prosecutions to bypass hostile or complicit state authorities.
