Browse Items (75 total)

Four versions of the flag of the Confederate States of America are shown on this print from 1896. Standing at the center are Stonewall Jackson, P. G. T. Beauregard, and Robert E. Lee, surrounded by bust portraits of Jefferson Davis and Confederate…

The first national flag used by the Confederate States of America from March 4th, 1861 to May 26th, 1863. Nicknamed "the Stars and Bars".

The third national flag of the Confederate States of America, known as "the Blood Stained Banner" has been used since March 4th, 1865.

Masked Ku Klux Klan member riding in car, holding noose outside window during a parade through an African American neighborhood of Miami on the night before a primary election.

Black and white photograph depicting large meeting of Ku Klux Klan members in a field at night beneath burning cross.

This photograph depicts an early KKK of 1870, Division 289 from Watertown, New York. At this point of the KKK existence, members did not always hide their identity.

After the war ended, the thousands of African American freedmen who fought for both the North or the South had trouble finding support for equal rights.

KKK recruitment pamphlet stating goals and ideals as well as requirements for joining.

Photograph shows shrouded members of the Klan in the background with the candidates kneeling before them, an American flag, and a cross with three bright lights; one Klansman holds an American flag.

KKK Membership Pamphlet, mission and goals, statements of purpose.

Three Ku Klux Klan members arrested in Tishomingo County, Mississippi, September 1871, for the attempted murder of an entire family "History of the Ku Klux Klan - Preach the Cross". preachthecross.net. Accessed 11/30/15.

KKK Nathan Bedford Forrest, Leader of the KKK.
Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821 – October 29, 1877). . http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/Confederate_Generals.htm, accessed 11/30/15, picture in public domain.

KKK Pamphlet cover
This pamphlet was by Colonel William Joseph Simmons, Imperial Wizard and Emperor of the Invisible Empire, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. Original pamphlet located in the MASC collections in Holland Library, Washington State…

Thomas D. Rice was the man who became the most famous for the creation of Jim Crow.

Field hospital at Savage Station, Virginia. This was taken in 1862, and shows how disorganized early hospitals were. We can see how easy it was for disease to spread.

Civil War hospital in Washington D.C. This hospital was cleaner and more organized than hospitals developed at the start of the Civil War.

These combined posters represent primary sources from the Civil Rights Movement.

This picture depicts one of the separate drinking water that enforces segregation between African Americans and Whites.

Photograph of Oliver Wendell Holmes, eventual lieutenant of the 20th Massachusetts Regiment of Volunteers, found in "Touched with Fire: Civil War Letters and Diaries of Wendell Holmes Jr, 1861-1864" edited by Mark De Wolfe Howe.

Soldier Samuel Decker, standing next to the artificial arms he designed for himself after losing both of his arms.

Autopsy report describing evidence of brain injury that can be linked to PTSD symptoms.

Reunion of members of both the Grand Army of the Republic and the United Confederate Veterans in Gettysburg, 1913.

"Jump Jim Crow" song sheet with lyrics of the song popularly performed by white comedians, including Thomas Dartmouth Rice.

Morton McMichael declines to state whether or not he is in support of allowing freed slaves to ride in the City passenger railway cars. Daniel M. Fox states that he is in opposition of such privileges.

The members of the United States Supreme Court in 1896-1897. Under Chief Justice Melville Fuller, the Court established the separate but equal rule following the pivotal Plessy v Ferguson Case.

Citizens were required to pay a poll tax to register to vote. These fees restricted poor African Americans from voting. This receipt is from Birmingham, Alabama in 1896. The poll tax was for the entire year.

The Songbook showcases the early depiction of a minstrel show character, Jim Crow. It wasn't until the late 1800s that the expression "Jim Crow" was used to describe the laws and customs aimed at segregating society, restricting social contact and…

The Writ of Summons for the Impeachment of President Andrew Johnson Signed by Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase notified the President of his impending impeachment proceedings - giving him both the date of the trial and the reasons for being accused;…