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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC07202.03 |
| From Archive Folder | Charles Sumner-related items |
| Title | Death threat from Ku Klux Klan to Charles Sumner |
| Date | ca. 1866 |
| Author | Klu Klux Klan |
| Recipient | Sumner, Charles |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Content Description | A vitriolic death threat signed with initials: "Your infamous equal rights bill if passed will secure your death inside of 8 months. The spirit of 76 is not dead yet & the Land which my & our forefathers fought for shall never be compelled to submit to the motion of a petifoger, or the filthy arm of an alien Black ignoramous nor shall her [2] sons & daughters be made to bow their heads, & grovel in the earth at the command of an Alien. So beware I sware & I never sware falsely your life shall be the penalty." Signs the letter, "Yours with extreme disgust." Writes a post script stating: "Perhaps you are working for a negro son in Law we will all award you one." |
| Subjects | Segregation Ku Klux Klan African American History Reconstruction Congress Law American Statesmen Government and Civics Women's History Sexuality Revolutionary War |
| People | Sumner, Charles (1811-1874) |
| Place written | s.l. |
| Theme | Reconstruction; Women in American History; African Americans; Government & Politics; Law |
| Sub-collection | The Gilder Lehrman Collection, 1860-1945 |
| Additional Information | In 1866, Charles Sumner and the Radical Republicans began pushing a civil rights bill, legislation designed to protect freed slaves from Southern Black Codes. It was reintroduced in 1873. After Sumner's death, the bill became the Civil Rights Act of 1875, outlawing racial discrimination in public places. The Supreme Court overturned the law in 1883. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945 |