Political violence: How did we get here?

Many historians agree that the most politically violent time in U.S. history was during the Civil War and Reconstruction, when hundreds of thousands were killed, and groups like the Ku Klux Klan used terror to control politics. The 1960s and 70s were also turbulent, marked by high-profile assassinations, bombings, and riots, according to historians who spoke with PBS.

While today's era is not as deadly as those periods, the record number of threats against officials and the rapid pace of online radicalization could make this period more contentious as time goes on.

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