the Ku Klux Klan established a local chapter in 1868 to assert dominance. Federal troops were stationed in the area and the Freedman's Bureau had an office in the county. They were not successful in protecting freedmen, but the bureau established schools in the area.

Determined to crush Populist efforts and alliances with Republicans that resulted in victories in 1896 and 1898, White Democrats formed what became the White Man's Union, a secret, oath-bound organization that