Ku Klux Klan

The Ku Klux Klan, KKK, was a society who took lives based on their race. They terrorized blacks and tried to prevent Reconstruction efforts. The KKK was was a “white supremacist” organization that was founded in the year 1866, according to encyclopedia.com. This group was shared between 4 million people nationally. This society aimed their violent acts towards both white and black Republican leaders. Some examples would be bombing black schools and some churches, and extremely violent attacks against black activists in the South. Although the Ku Klux Klan did do very violent things, their reason behind it is quite interesting. The KKK was founded by a group of former Confederate veterans, according to history.com. The first sighting of
the KKK was found in Tennessee in 1866, the year the society was created. According to history.com, the group of people that were in this klan met only ever summer in the year 1867 to establish what is called “Invisible Empire of the South.” The first leader was eventually picked to take charge of the society and his name was Nathan Bedford Forrest. Nathan was a Confederate General in the Civil War but eventually got moved to Lieutenant general. Forrest died in the year 1877 when he was only 56 years old. When Forrest was leader of the Ku Klux Klan, the people called him “grand wizard” instead of leader. The society really started to make an impact in the 1920s when the group gained 4 million people nationwide fighting for what they believed in. This boost began in the second phase of the post-Civil War Reconstruction, according to history.com. According to history.com, “After rejecting President Andrew Johnson’s relatively lenient Reconstruction policies, in place from 1865 to 1866, Congress passed the Reconstruction Act over the presidential veto.” This proves that no matter what, the KKK were determined to protest in what they believed in. Overall, the KKK was very independent with what they believed in. The violence that the KKK created was extreme.
They focused on creating an upset in the South. In the year 1867, one of the most radical aspects of Reconstruction, African-American participation in public life in the South, occurred, according to history.com. The blacks won later won the election to southern state governments and US Congress. History.com states, “ For its part, the Ku Klux Klan dedicated itself to an underground campaign of violence against Republican leaders and voters in an effort to reverse the policies of Radical Reconstruction and restore white supremacy in the South.” This shows that even though the KKK were given conflict, they still managed to work around it and try their best to stop what they didn’t want
happening. In the year 1870, the Ku Klux Klan had formed different branches in almost every single southern state.
The Klan members wore masks and dressed themselves in long robes with hoods that they usually only put up at night. Through all of the conflict and troubles, the KKK was claimed that they “did not boast a well-organized structure”, according to history.com. The people in the Klan attacked at night, and they did it on their own, not as a huge group. However, they all attacked for the same reason, defeating Radical Reconstruction and “restoring white supremacy in the South”. History.com states , “Klan activity flourished particularly in the regions of the South where blacks were a minority or a small majority of the population, and was relatively limited in others.” This shows that the KKK had very certain mind set for where and when they were going to
attack. According to history.com, democratic leaders claimed that the KKK caused violence to poor white southerners, lawyers, small farmers and laborers to planters, merchants, and ministers. South citizens refused to speak out against the society because they didn’t want to give them “tacit” approval. According to history.com, “In 1915, white Protestant nativists organized a revival of the Ku Klux Klan near Atlanta, Georgia, inspired by their romantic view of the Old South as well as Thomas Dixon’s 1905 book ‘The Clansman’ and D.W. Griffith’s 1915 film ‘Birth of a Nation’.” This shows that the revival of the Ku Klux Klan is starting to form. However, there was a second generation of the Ku Klux Klan. According to history.com, this next generation was anti-black and they also took a big stance against Roman Catholics. Through all of the troubles and hardships that the Klan had to comprehend, the KKK always had the strength to fight back. The Ku Klux Klan is notorious, famous in a negative way. Most people know of the KKK by being abusive and dangerous, and they aren’t wrong. With all 4 million members of the society, they stood their ground. The Klan died down eventually; however, the society still exists today, according to Khan Academy.