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Percy approached the podium and proceeded to dismantle Camp's speech to thunderous applause, concluding with this plea: "Friends, let this Klan go somewhere else where it will not do the harm that it will in this community. Let them sow dissension in some community less united than is ours." After Percy stepped down, an ally in the audience rose to put forth a resolution, secretly written by Percy, condemning the Klan. The resolution passed, and Camp ceased his efforts to establish the Klan in
Washington County. Percy's speech and victory drew praise from newspapers around the nation.
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712:, which covered millions of acres of plantations and caused extensive damage, Delta residents began frantic efforts to protect their towns and lands. They used the many Black workers to raise the levees along the river by stacking sand bags on the top of the established levee walls. The former senator appointed his son,
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during the years of its revival in the South and growth in the
Midwest. On March 1, 1922, the Klan planned a recruiting session at the Greenville courthouse. Percy arrived during a speech by the Klan leader Joseph G. Camp, who was attacking Black people, Jews, and Catholics. After Camp finished,
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White
Democrats had continued to work to suppress Black votes and reacted to prevent another biracial coalition with Republicans and Populists, as had occurred in the 1880s. In 1890, the white-dominated state legislature passed a new state constitution that included provisions that
668:. The tactics caused the defeat of Percy, who was attacked as a representative of the aristocracy of the state and for taking a progressive stance on race relations. He advocated education for Black people and worked to improve race relations by appealing to the planters' sense of
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Charles
Williams, an employee of Percy on one of the largest cotton plantations in the Delta, set up camps on the levee that protected Greenville. He supplied the camps with field kitchens and tents for the many Black families to live while the men worked on the levee.
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in 1895 to work as sharecroppers. They found the conditions so unfavorable that most moved away to northwestern
Arkansas. Others stayed but felt trapped by the sharecropper system of accounting, which seemed to be perpetual debt. They complained to their consulate.
641:, but the fractured remainder sought to thwart his extreme racial policies. A majority united behind Percy to block Vardaman's appointment. In 1910, Percy became the last senator chosen by the Mississippi legislature. That was prior to the adoption of the
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After his defeat, Percy retired from politics to run his model plantation at Trail Lake and to practice law for railroads and banks. British investors hired him to manage the largest cotton plantation in the country ; he received 10% of the profits.
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Percy kept the Black workers in the area isolated on top of levees when the levee was breached. In addition, they were forced to work without pay in unloading
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The House of Percy: Honor, Melancholy, and
Imagination in a Southern Family, Bertram Wyatt-Brown, Oxford University Press, October 31, 1996, p.178
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Soon after starting his law practice, Percy married
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fraternity. He was admitted to the bar later that year and achieved wealth as an attorney. Often being paid in land, he became a major
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387:(November 9, 1860 – December 24, 1929) was an American attorney, planter, and Democratic politician who served as a
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relief supplies as the organization required work to be done by "volunteers." Both father and son would receive criticism for the
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943:"Sen. Leroy Percy Denounces Order of The Ku Klux Klan – Resolutions of Condemnation Are Adopted",
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857:. New York, Knopf, 1941. (Reprinted with new introduction by Walker Percy, LSU Press, 1973).
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822:(1816–1877), writer of poetry and fiction; sister of Eleanor Percy (Ware) Lee
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Percy held office until 1913. In 1912, he was challenged in the
Democratic
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organizers in
Greenville and uniting local people against them. During the
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The House of Percy: Honor, Melancholy and
Imagination in a Southern Family
798:, cotton planter and settler of Alabama; son of Charles "Don Carlos" Percy
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Percy's influence led him to become active in politics. He was elected by
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Shadows over Sunnyside: An Arkansas Plantation in Transition, 1830–1945
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786:(1841–1928), "southern belle," novelist; daughter of Eleanor Percy Lee
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The Percys of Mississippi: Politics and Literature in the New South.
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William followed his father into law. He served with distinction in
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American Congo: The African American Freedom Struggle in the Delta
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Percy also had interests in other plantations, such as by leasing
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In 1922, Percy rose to national prominence for confronting the
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and their mother's death in a car accident). The boys included
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conduct an investigation of the plantation. Its investigator,
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816:(1885–1942), lawyer, planter, and poet; son of LeRoy Percy
971:"LeRoy Percy | American Experience | Official Site | PBS"
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Democratic Party United States senators from Mississippi
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The Shadow of Slavery: Peonage in the South, 1901–1969.
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Lanterns on the Levee: Recollections of a Planter’s Son
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Lanterns on the Levee: Recollections of a Planter's Son
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In 1922, Percy came to national notice by confronting
864:. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994.
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Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
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1012:, Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1993.
804:(1916–1990), Southern author; nephew of LeRoy Percy
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163:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
1019:, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2003.
630:After the vacancy of the seat held by Senator
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899:Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture,
8:
548:, who became a notable novelist and won the
1005:Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1972.
64:Learn how and when to remove these messages
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294:February 23, 1910 – March 4, 1913
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1105:February 23, 1910 – March 3, 1913
695:when it attempted to organize members in
241:Learn how and when to remove this message
223:Learn how and when to remove this message
121:Learn how and when to remove this message
1481:Politicians from Greenville, Mississippi
84:This article includes a list of general
1161:United States senators from Mississippi
1101:U.S. senator (Class 2) from Mississippi
960:. New York, Simon & Schuster, 1998.
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843:. New York, Simon & Schuster, 1998.
743:, at the age of 69. He was a member of
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739:Percy died on Christmas Eve 1929 of a
660:Vardaman. The campaign was managed by
649:for the popular election of senators.
414:in 1881, where he was a member of the
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808:William Alexander Percy (politician)
758:in Mississippi, is named after him.
664:, who emphasized class tensions and
412:University of Virginia School of Law
161:adding citations to reliable sources
1069:– Percy bio and involvement in the
780:(1829–1879), historian and novelist
534:and was best known for his memoir,
438:immigrants. He also leased land in
810:(1834–1888), father of LeRoy Percy
704:Battling Mississippi flood of 1927
507:, Trail Lake, was worked by Black
90:it lacks sufficient corresponding
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774:adventurer and immigrant ancestor
45:This article has multiple issues.
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477:Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
453:to the U.S. Senate in 1910. In
148:needs additional citations for
53:or discuss these issues on the
27:American politician (1860–1929)
497:Washington County, Mississippi
1:
1496:University of Virginia alumni
1031:"Percy, Le Roy (id: P000223)"
687:Condemnation of Ku Klux Klan
656:under the new system by the
491:Percy became an attorney in
1501:Percy family of Mississippi
604:disenfranchised most blacks
479:, Percy appointed his son,
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853:Percy, William Alexander.
848:The Revolt of the Rednecks
768:Charles "Don Carlos" Percy
754:LeRoy Percy State Park, a
400:Charles "Don Carlos" Percy
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1071:Mississippi Flood of 1927
1045:"The Modern Ku Klux Klan"
1015:Woodruff, Nan Elizabeth.
710:Mississippi flood of 1927
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1029:United States Congress.
1008:Whayne, Jeannie M., ed.
945:Vicksburg (Miss.) Herald
588:US Department of Justice
402:. He graduated from the
398:Percy was a grandson of
901:accessed 27 August 2012
846:Kirwan, Albert Dennis.
820:Catherine Anne Warfield
814:William Alexander Percy
714:William Alexander Percy
708:During the devastating
586:administration had the
572:Chicot County, Arkansas
525:William Alexander Percy
493:Greenville, Mississippi
481:William Alexander Percy
424:Greenville, Mississippi
404:University of the South
345:Greenville, Mississippi
105:more precise citations.
860:Wyatt-Brown, Bertram.
426:, in the heart of the
1486:Mississippi Democrats
947:, March 4, 1922, p. 1
643:Seventeenth Amendment
592:Mary Grace Quackenbos
495:, the county seat of
451:the state legislature
389:United States Senator
277:United States Senator
911:Barry, John (2007).
568:Sunnyside Plantation
562:Peonage and Jim Crow
552:for his first book,
157:improve this article
1210:T. Hickman Williams
1114:John Sharp Williams
1058:American Experience
796:Thomas George Percy
616:grandfather clauses
606:by such devices as
550:National Book Award
519:Marriage and family
395:from 1910 to 1913.
1107:Served alongside:
1065:2010-07-24 at the
666:racial segregation
584:Theodore Roosevelt
513:American Civil War
391:from the state of
362:Memphis, Tennessee
1476:American planters
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1122:James K. Vardaman
1119:Succeeded by
850:. P. Smith, 1964.
790:Eleanor Percy Lee
784:Kate Lee Ferguson
697:Washington County
639:James K. Vardaman
636:white supremacist
620:Voting Rights Act
501:Mississippi Delta
466:white supremacist
462:James K. Vardaman
428:Mississippi Delta
410:in 1879, and the
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317:James K. Vardaman
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172:"LeRoy Percy"
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792:(1819–1849)
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257:LeRoy Percy
111:August 2008
103:introducing
18:Leroy Percy
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930:2012-05-22
869:References
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608:poll taxes
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505:plantation
373:Democratic
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183:newspapers
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50:improve it
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895:"Peonage"
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499:, in the
290:In office
56:talk page
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280:from
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