These families had “picked themselves up” after slavery. They had done what federal officials and free people insisted they do—work hard, save their money, and acquire land of their own so they could be independent and self-sufficient. Their itemizations of their losses put a dollar value on the crucial wealth the night-riding strikes robbed from African American families. Indeed, the fact that these families had achieved a degree of wealth most likely was a critical factor in their being chosen by vigilantes as targets.
