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former slaves who comprised the overwhelming
majority of Republican voters in the southern regions.
Republicans from the north (known as “carpet baggers”)
along with former slaves were elected to prominent
positions in state and local governments across the
south. However, these gains were short lived.
Soon hostility against the harsh realities of
reconstruction grew to a boiling point. Southern
Democrats, many of whom were former confederate
officers, organized violent groups to insure their quick
return to power. To seize power and control, they
organized violent groups such as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).
These groups donned hoods of disguise and began
widespread efforts to terrorize citizens (former slaves
and those sympathetic to the plight of former slaves) in
order to stop them from voting, running for public
office, or serving on juries. History records many of the
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unfathomable acts of cruelty that the KKK inflicted .
These developments were key factors that eventually
led the Republican Party to initiate impeachment
proceedings against President Andrew Johnson. His
actions had helped empower former Confederates in
their quest to regain power and exert the reign of terror
across the south. Congressional Republicans, which now
had veto-proof domination of congress, quickly enacted
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