The Man Who Took On The Klan

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 CarolinaGuy Gugliotta, author of Grant's Enforcer, Taking Down the KlanKidada 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 ReconstructionTo access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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The Man Who Took On The Klan

February 5, 20263:05 AM ET

[Image: Ramtin Arablouei, co-host and co-producer of Throughline.]

Ramtin Arablouei

[Image: Rund Abdelfatah headshot]

Rund Abdelfatah

[Image: Headshot of Julie Caine]

Julie Caine

Casey Miner

Lawrence Wu

Cristina Kim

Anya Steinberg

Devin Katayama

Kyana Moghadam

Thomas Coltrain

The Man Who Took On The Klan

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[Original source](https://www.npr.org/2026/02/05/nx-s1-5701386/the-man-who-took-on-the-klan)