James M. Hinds

James M. Hinds (December 5, 1833 – October 22, 1868) of Little Rock, represented Arkansas in the United States Congress from June 24, 1868 through October 22, 1868 when he was assassinated by a member of the Ku Klux Klan, namely George A. Clark, Secretary of the Democratic Committee of Monroe County. The assassination was deemed to be politically motivated. Monroe County had favored the Confederacy in the Civil War, and Rep. Hinds was urging voting rights for black citizens. On the evening of October 22, 1868, Hinds was traveling on horseback to a political gathering at the “Lambert plantation, about six miles from the village” of Indian Bay, accompanied by fellow Congressman James Brooks. As the two men rode from the village to the meeting place, they were approached by George A. Clark, Secretary of the Democratic Committee of Monroe County, brandishing a double-barrel shotgun. Earlier that day Clarke had discussed the arriving Republican speakers with an associate, declaring “God damn them, if I see them they won’t speak today, for I shall put daylight through them.” Clark shot both Brooks and Hinds. Brooks survived; Hinds did not. Mortally wounded, lying on the road, Hinds wrote on the inside band of his hat: “I have a wife and two children in East Greenwich, NY to whom I wish my remains sent. Anna, take care of [our daughters] Jennie and Annie.” Governor Clayton feared that it was a precursor to general attack on state officers to seize control of the government and the polls prior to the election and sought to have the colored militia armed, but the insurrection did not take place and the election went smoothly. Hinds was the first sitting member of Congress assassinated. On October 27, 1868 there was a State funeral for Hinds in Little Rock. Governor Powell Clayton ordered businesses and government closed, and Hinds’s body was brought by procession to lay in state in the Statehouse. Later that day, the casket began the trip to Washington County, NY, where he was born, and where his family waited. James Hinds was buried in the Hinds family plot in Evergreen Cemetery. The inscription on the white marble gravestone -- now eroding and difficult to read -- states:

Hon. James Hinds, Member of Congress, a native of Hebron, N.Y., a citizen of Little Rock, Arkansas. When engaged in canvassing his state, earnestly advocating universal freedom and equality, was by a political adversary who had never before seen his face, stealthily and foully assassinated near Indian Bay, Monroe Co., Arkansas, October 22, 1868, aged 35 years. Tho less exalted than Lincoln, less early stimulated than Lovejoy, he is like these two to be remembered always among those who passed thru the gate of sacrifice.

Hinds had previously served as the United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota.

See also

• List of assassinated American politicians

Preceded and followed by in congressional office

40th United States Congress

• 1. Logan H. Roots (1841–1893), Republican ...readmitted state, seated June 24, 1868.fd
• 2. James M. Hinds (1833–1868), Republican ...readmitted

Further reading

• Foner, Eric. Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863–1877 HarperCollins: March 1989, p. 342.
• Trelease, Allen W.White terror: the Ku Klux Klan conspiracy and Southern Reconstruction Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1995 (2nd edition); New York : Harper & Row, c1971 (1st edition).
• U.S. Congress (2006). "Biographical Directory of the United States Congress 1774 - 2005". U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved May 1, 2006. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Office of the Clerk (2006). "Congressional History". U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved May 1, 2006. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

External links

• United States Congress. "James M. Hinds (id: H000631)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• The Ku Klux Klan first came to national prominence during the 1868 presidential campaign, when its members assassinated Arkansas congressman James M. Hinds, three South Carolina legislators, and other Republican leaders.
• Find-a-Grave entry