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The Man Who Took On The Klan
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Thursday, February 5, 2026

In 1871, Ku Klux Klan violence in South Carolina got so bad that the governor sent a telegram to President Ulysses S. Grant warning that he was facing a state of war. Grant sent him Amos Akerman: a former Confederate soldier and slaveholder who became the U.S. government’s most zealous warrior ag...
In 1871, Ku Klux Klan violence in South Carolina got so bad that the governor sent a telegram to President Ulysses S. Grant warning that he was facing a state of war. Grant sent him Amos Akerman: a former Confederate soldier and slaveholder who became the U.S. government’s most zealous warrior against the KKK.
Guests:
Bernard Powers, director of the Center for the Study of Slavery in Charleston at the College of Charleston in South Carolina
Guy Gugliotta, author of Grant's Enforcer, Taking Down the Klan
Kidada Williams, professor of history at Wayne State University and author of I Saw Death Coming, A History of Terror and Survival in the War Against Reconstruction
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Guests:
Bernard Powers, director of the Center for the Study of Slavery in Charleston at the College of Charleston in South Carolina
Guy Gugliotta, author of Grant's Enforcer, Taking Down the Klan
Kidada Williams, professor of history at Wayne State University and author of I Saw Death Coming, A History of Terror and Survival in the War Against Reconstruction
To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
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