 the white league was an american white paramilitary group. it started in 1874 that operated to turn republicans out of office and intimidate freedmen from voting and political organizing. its first chapter in grant parish, louisiana was made up of many of the confederate veterans who had participated in the colfax massacre in april 1873. chapters were soon founded in other areas of the state and in new orleans. during the later years of reconstruction, it was one of the paramilitary groups described as "the military arm of the democratic party." through violence and intimidation, its members reduced republican voting and contributed to the democrats' taking over control of the louisiana legislature in 1876.george c. rable, but there was no peace: the role of violence in the politics of reconstruction, athens: university of georgia press, 1984, p. 132 after white democrats regained control of the state legislature in 1876, members of the white leagues were absorbed into the state militias and the national guard.james k. hogue, "the 1873 battle of colfax: para-militarism and counterrevolution in louisiana," jun 2006, p. 21 ==history== although sometimes linked to the secret vigilante groups of the ku klux klan as well as knights of the white camelia, the white league and other paramilitary groups of the later 1870s marked a significant difference. they operated openly, solicited coverage from newspapers, and the men's identities were generally known. similar groups were the red shirts, started in mississippi in 1875 and active also in north and south carolina. they had specific political goals to overthrow the reconstruction government. they directed their activities toward intimidation and removal of northern and black republican candidates and officeholders. made up of well-armed confederate veterans, they worked to turn republicans out of office, disrupt their political organizing, and use force to intimidate and terrorize freedmen to keep them from the polls. backers helped finance purchases of up-to-date arms: winchester rifles, colt revolvers and prussian needle guns.nicholas lemann, redemption: the last battle of the civil war, new york: farrar, straus & giroux, 2007, pp.70-76 some sources charge the white league with culpability for the colfax massacre of 1873, but the organization was not established under that name until march 1874. [[ch
Democratic_Party_(United_States) History_of_Louisiana Militias Presidency_of_Ulysses_S._Grant United_States_private_paramilitary_groups White_supremacist_groups_in_the_United_States