Republican judges in the South during Reconstruction.

In light of Gerard's suggestion, I recommend Fergus Bordewich's recently released Klan War: Ulysses S. Grant and the Battle to Save Reconstruction. Most law professors are no doubt aware of the general outline of the situation in the South, but Bordwich details the astonishing level of violence against African Americans and white Republicans, including many judges, during reconstruction, and Grant's attempts to intervene. There is much in it that I did not know or poorly understood.