Following the Civil War, the thousands of slaves in Tennessee were liberated, and due to the 15th Amendment given the right to vote. However, around that same period, the Klu Klux Klan was founded in Tennessee. It, along with other such groups, suppressed many African-Americans from voting. Although Democrats initally controlled Tennessean politics, their grasp was not as strong as it was throughout the rest of the south, and by the 20th Century Tennessee was more of a swing state.