Emerson Bentley is an Ohio-born white school teacher and editor of The Progress, a Republican newspaper in Opelousas. He wrote and published an article in the journal that was considered by local white democrats racially inflammatory. This article seeks to appeal to African Americans to remain faithful to the GOP by narrating the Seymour Knights’ violence against the local African American Republicans. Shortly after the article was printed, Bentley was beaten by a group of white students in his class and forced to flee. Many rumors about his death fueled the retaliatory pushback against the Knights from African American Republicans. According to The St. Landry’s Progress, 1868 was the first presidential election since the Civil War ended. Henry C. Warmoth received Bentley and his The Progress’s support and became Louisiana’s governor.