Last night our beautiful church was burned to ashes. ... They woke me at two in the morning only to see the building fall. ... By its blazing timbers we knelt down that night, and prayed that God would help us; prayed for the 150 pupils that would come in the morning and find neither house nor books: for the 200 people who, next sabbath, would look for a place to worship and find none. Books, papers, all were lost.
(Excerpts from John Scott’s letter to Rev. Charles C. Painter, published in “Ku-klux Outrages in North Carolina,” Waterbury Daily American, March 9, 1871)
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| Members of the Ku Klux Klan, illustrated in Harper's Weekly, December 19, 1868 |
The destruction of Scott’s church and school happened in February, 1871, one of countless acts of terrorism being perpetrated throughout the South by white supremacists. There were so many incidents that some people in the North, including the editor and publisher of the Waterbury American, started to think it was all fabricated by politicians seeking to pass legislation giving more power to the federal government. They read accounts of atrocities taking place in the South and found them difficult to believe. Some dismissed the news as one-sided, assuming that reports of racist violence were exaggerated or somehow misleading.
John Scott’s letters helped people in Waterbury realize that the reports of terrorism were real. The publication of Scott’s letters was followed a week later by the publication of a letter from another Waterbury man, George Luther White, who was well known in Waterbury as “a quiet, reserved, intelligent, gentlemanly young man, of the most correct habits, who could not be guilty of an offensive action.” White was living in Parker County, Texas, where he was trying his hand at cattle-raising. His experiences with the KKK, shared in his letter published by the Waterbury American, persuaded him to return home to Waterbury:
Ku-Klux are a well and regularly organized band here, and have made one assault on the officers of the town, since I have been here. I have been subjected to a great deal of abuse, from drunken young rowdies of the Ku-Klux order, without the least cause in the world, other than that I am a “Damned blue-bellied Yankee.” Shooting is nearly an every day occurrence in this county. Every man goes about with one or two Colt’s revolvers strapped on him, and does not hesitate to use them at the least provocation. I dislike to be in such a miserable community, where there is not the least social enjoyment, and where a man is liable to be shot at any time, without the least provocation.
(Excerpt of letter by George L. White, printed in “Southern Outrages,” Waterbury Daily American, March 22, 1871)
The first-hand accounts from John Scott and George White convinced the Waterbury American that the atrocities reported by other newspapers were genuine. As part of the article in which they published White’s letter, the newspaper criticized the federal government for not punishing Confederate leaders for treason, blaming that lack of justice for fostering the KKK’s acts of domestic terrorism. Without being held to account for treason against the United States, the Southern rebels felt empowered to commit more acts of treason.
Every mail brings stories of fresh outrages by the Ku-Klux rebels of the South, against the colored citizens, or the settlers from the North. While the states were held under military rule, this spirit of outlawry was in a great measure kept under, although even then crimes were not infrequent, and we were repeatedly warned by our brothers who had sought homes in that section of the country, that they would not be safe, if the authority of the United States was withdrawn. Our public men however became so anxious to terminate the work of reconstruction, and so credulous of the promises of prominent southerners, that the work was hurried through, and those fresh from the work of rebellion, once more allowed to come into power. The great mistake made by our government has been, that no traitor was punished, and there is nothing to indicate that treason is a crime. Had a few of the principal rebels been hanged, as they justly deserved, the influence would have been felt, and others would have been checked in their desire to commit outrages. But now there seems to be no power to hold them within bounds, and outrages are of daily occurrence in different states, which would be disgraceful in the worst despotism in the world. We could fill our columns every week, with well authenticated narratives of murder, pillage, and every possible outrage against men who committed no crimes, save that they were once slaves, or have been faithful to the Union.
(“Southern Outrages,” Waterbury Daily American, March 22, 1871)
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| Frank Bellew, Visit of the Ku-Klux, 1872 Library of Congress |
A new law enforcing the Fourteenth Amendment was enacted in April 1871, authorizing the President to deploy military forces to protect citizens from domestic terrorists and insurrectionists. Sometimes referred to as the third “KKK Act” or as the Civil Rights Act of 1871, the legislation was proposed in direct response to the acts of terrorism being committed throughout the South by the KKK. President Ulysses S. Grant used the Klan Act to dismantle the KKK, arresting hundreds of Klan members. Although the KKK lost much of its organizational structure during Grant’s administration, white supremacists gained unchecked power when Rutherford B. Hayes became president in 1877. In a backroom deal, Hayes secured enough electoral votes to become President by promising to stop Reconstruction. By the end of Hayes’s term in office, the Jim Crow Era had begun.
George White abandoned his dream of owning a cattle ranch in Texas and returned home to Waterbury, eventually becoming president of several manufacturing companies. John Scott remained in North Carolina for several more years, rebuilding the church at Dudley and building another church at McLeansville, North Carolina.
John Scott’s work with the American Missionary Association (AMA) is well documented through letters he wrote which are available online. Although focused primarily on his administrative work, Scott’s letters reveal a fascinating glimpse of life in the South during Reconstruction.
The AMA was founded in 1846 as an abolitionist organization sponsored by Congregational Churches throughout New England. In addition to advocating for the abolition of slavery, the AMA was involved in the Underground Railroad. In 1861, when the Union began sheltering enslaved people who sought refuge with the army, the AMA began working with the army to open schools for the former slaves. The first teacher hired by the AMA was Mary S. Peake, a free Black woman who for years had secretly taught both free and enslaved Black people in Virginia to read and write. Peake started teaching for the AMA at Hampton, Virginia in September, 1861. By 1868, more than five hundred teachers were working for the AMA throughout the South. (“History of the American Missionary Association,” The American Missionary Association, Its Missionaries, Teachers, and History (1869), p. 15)
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| The American Missionary, January 1870 |
John Scott’s work with the AMA began in 1865, when he opened an AMA school in Staunton, Virginia. Scott was twenty-eight years old, unmarried, with about a decade of experience as a teacher. His mother was opposed to him teaching Black children in the South, where the war had only just ended, and refused to help him pack for the trip. (John Scott to Samuel Hunt, November 25, 1865)
Scott arrived in Staunton in November with at least two other teachers, both women. The first three days were spent searching for rooms in which to teach. Scott had trouble finding someone willing to rent space for the AMA school, as “the people [were] bound to keep us out.” White building owners refused to rent to Scott, but he finally found a suitable building owned by a Black man who agreed to let it be used as a school. Scott encountered “frequent sneers,” but received generally good treatment when he spoke directly to white people. The local Black community was very much in need of a church as well as a school: they had been shut out of a church they helped build. (John Scott to Samuel Hunt, November 18, 1865; John Scott to Rev. Samuel Hunt, December 1, 1865)
By December, Scott reported that he was “frequently attacked by men of southern principle, in regard to the propriety of educating the Freedmen” and debated about slavery. While he credited the white Southerners as being “gentlemen,” Scott was frustrated by the deeply ingrained prejudice against teaching Black children and prejudice against the teachers. He wrote that it required “all the qualities of a Gentleman to get along with these men,” and that “frankness and calm Christian dignity” along with “accurate reasoning” were essential for commanding their respect. As the weeks went on, Scott learned to fear poor white people, calling them the “Southern Mobocracy.” Only the presence of the U.S. military allowed him to feel safe leading a school for Black people in Virginia. (John Scott to Samuel Hunt, November 25, 1865; John Scott to Rev. Samuel Hunt, December 20, 1865)
The school in Staunton filled up quickly, accommodating 130 students during the day and 250 adult students at night. All were eager to learn. The night school students in particular were determined to get an education, with some traveling on foot three to four miles to reach the school after a long day of work. Some of the night school students, who still lived and worked in white households, were whipped by their former enslavers for attending the school. A few white people, understanding the determination of the Black community to learn to read and write, began offering lessons in their homes as a way to convince their Black employees to stay with them. (John Scott to Rev. Samuel Hunt, December 1, 1865)
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| A Freedmen's School in Richmond, Virginia, 1866 |
Scott’s assignment in Staunton lasted only eight months, the duration of a school year. In June, 1866, he returned home with sadness “for there is so much left yet to do.” He wrote that the children were crying at the end of the school year, but he also wrote about his pride in their accomplishments. All 450 students had mastered their spelling lessons and nearly all had begun reading, with at least 75 reading well. Scott also took pride in his cultural influence on the students, encouraging refinement of manners and dress, and discouraging drinking. (John Scott to Rev. S. Hunt, June 30, 1866)
In September 1867, the trustees, pastor (Rev. E. Lawson), and officers of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church of Staunton petitioned the AMA to send John Scott back to Staunton for the new school year. They wrote that the congregation almost unanimously agreed (only one person was opposed) to inviting Scott back to their community. Rev. Lawson wrote that Scott had “a dear place in the hearts of all our people.” When the AMA informed them that Scott would not be returning that year, they were very disappointed. (Colored M.E. Church of Staunton to R.M. Manley; Rev. E. Lawson to Edw. P. Smith Esq.)
After spending time overseeing an AMA school in Beaufort, North Carolina, Scott returned to Staunton for several months in 1869. He then spent time in Hampton, Norfolk, Beaufort, and Wilmington, North Carolina. In a letter home, Scott described Staunton as “a gem in the bosom of the Shenandoah Valley.” The hostility he encountered there in 1865 had been replaced by indifference from the white community. On Memorial Day, Scott was touched to learn that the white ladies of Staunton treated the graves of Union soldiers with the same respect as they did the graves of Confederate soldiers. (John Scott to the Waterbury American, June 10, 1869, writing from Wilmington, NC, published in the Waterbury American, June 21, 1869, p. 2)
Scott’s letter described his visits to key locations in Virginia and North Carolina, from the Freedmen’s Savings Bank in Richmond to the new Hampton Institute to homesteads for freedmen.
Scott’s next assignment was Dudley, North Carolina. He gave sermons every Sunday, and occasionally led religious meetings in the pines during weeknights. Scott was greatly moved by the Dudley community’s response to his sermons and pleaded with the AMA members to send donations for a church to be built. (“North Carolina,” American Missionary, March 1870, p. 52)
Interest in establishing a Congregational Church in Dudley grew steadily during the winter of 1869-70. By March, 1870, Scott was able to report that they were experiencing “the most powerful revival of religion, that I ever witnessed among these people.” While most religious revivals were marked by “excitement,” Scott was pleased to report that this revival was one of quiet worship:
“Last Sabbath night while we were speaking, one head after another bowed, and soon the silent tear gave place to the audible but suppressed sob, which soon became general, and we had a weeping audience; thinking of the love of Christ, thinking of the value of a soul.” (Rev. John Scott, “Revival Intelligence,” American Missionary, May 1870, p. 99)
The Black community of Dudley was frequently harassed by the Ku Klux Klan. Scott found that many of them had been robbed several times by the KKK. One family, robbed three times by the KKK, found solace in Scott’s ministry. Four of the family’s children eagerly sought to join the church, and their father, after weeks of prayers, allowed them to be baptized by Scott. (“North Carolina,” American Missionary, Vol. XIV, No. 8, August 1870, p. 172; “North Carolina,” American Missionary, Vol. XIV, No. 10, October 1870, p. 218)
Construction of the building which would house the church and school at Dudley began in July 1870. Upon completion in February, 1871, the building had room for 150 students and 200 worshipers. The interior was varnished wood, the exterior painted. A few members of the white community also attended the church, while the white community in general were pleased with its construction. When the building was destroyed by arson three days after completion, white officials expressed indignation and pledged their support to rebuild the church. The white citizens of Dudley and nearby towns raised $550 for the rebuilding of the church, which was completed during the fall of 1871. (“Ku-klux Outrages in North Carolina,” Waterbury Daily American, March 9, 1871, p. 2; “North Carolina,” American Missionary, Vol. XV, No. 4, April 1871, p. 75; “Public Meeting at Dudley,” American Missionary, Vol. XV, No. 5, May 1871, p. 111; The Carolina Era, September 21, 1871, p. 3)
By 1873, John Scott was in charge of the church in Dudley, one in Beaufort, North Carolina, and a new one he helped found in McLeansville, North Carolina. He remained long enough to see the fruits of his labors – some of the children who attended his schools went on to become teachers, studying at the Hampton Institute, which he had first seen just as it was starting. (“North Carolina,” American Missionary, Vol. XVI, No. 3, March 1872, p. 49; “Need of an Intelligent Ministry,” American Missionary, Vol. XVII, No. 9, September 1873, p. 207)
At some point during the late 1870s, Scott returned to Connecticut. He became pastor of the Haddam Neck Congregational Church. When he died in 1917, he was buried in Naugatuck.
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