1876 Pt 1 - Hamburg, South Carolina

There are those  who will tell you that "We have never been more divided." As I have long said,  they know nothing of American History. In the summer of  1876, a mere six years since the 15th Amendment had been ratified, a political movement known as the Bourbon Democrats set its sights on repeating their success the previous year in Mississippi. This time their target was South Carolina. In keeping with their ideology, there were absolutely no limits on the lengths to which they would go to restore their power in the  State. Their candidate for Governor was one  Wade Hampton III, the former Confederate General. Among the first places that an opportunity presented itself to show that they would stop at nothing to terrorize Freedmen took place from July 4-9, 1876, on the banks of the Savannah  River. Eight men would lose their lives to political terrorism. With a single exception, they would be all but erased from history. Even when finally officially acknowledged in 2006, their memorial would not be placed where it belonged, but rather in the middle of a park named for a secessionist firebrand. It started with a small parade drill in the dusty streets of Hamburg, SC... ADDITIONAL SHOW  NOTES: The South Carolina Picture Project Hamburg Massacre Prince Rivers