Arument on the Admission of Proof of Existence of the Ku Klux Klan of Mr. Graham

Arument on the Admission of Proof of Existence of the Ku Klux Klan of Mr. Graham

William Graham’s argument on the admissions of evidence regarding the Ku Klux Klan is a pivotal motion for the Board of Managers charges. Mr. Graham argues that before any evidence of the Ku Klux Klan is admitted into the trial, there must be some physical evidence of showing an “overt act of resistance to the government.” The board of managers argued that an insurrection is another type of treason and that for an act to be defined by treason there must be some form of violence displayed against the government, essentially declaring war on the government. In short, Mr. Graham argued that until any matter that specifically portrays an “overt act of resistance to the government” any admission of evidence regarding the Ku Klux Klan must not be admitted.

North Carolina Senate

North Carolina Senate, Trial of William W. Holden: Governor of North Carolina, before the Senate of North Carolina, on Impeachment by the House of Representatives for High Crimes and Misdeameanors, Vol. 2. (Raleigh, NC: Sentinel Printing Office, 1871), 302-314.

1871-02-11

Document

Raleigh, North Carolina

Government Document