“ UNION LEAGUE OF AMERICA, THE, sometimes called the Loyal League, an organization for political purposes of Northern whites, later of Southern blacks, which originated in Ohio in 1862 when the Confederate military successes and political disaffection in the Northern states made the outlook for the North seem doubtful. ”

“ The negroes were taught the equality of men and the right of the negro to his master’s property. The votes of blacks, during reconstruction, were controlled by the few white Radical leaders. No negro could safely break away and vote independently. Negroes who voted with the mass of the Southern whites were persecuted, beaten or (as in a few cases) killed. ”