Ku Klux Klan History

The Original Klan
The first two words of “Ku Klux Klan” derived from a Greek word “KyKlos” meaning circle (History1). The Ku Klux Klan was founded in 1866, in the southern state Tennessee. Southern states were where most slaves worked. The group extended to nearly every southern state by 1870 (History1). Members of the group waged an underground campaign of violence and torture aimed at white and black Republican leaders (History1). The first meetings of the Klan were held in a general organizing convention and established an “Invisible Empire of the South” (History1). The organization of the first group coincided with post- Civil war reconstruction (History1). The reconstruction era was already a time of great change for the United States.
Although there were two more known groups, it is impossible to untangle local vigilante violence from political terrorism by the organized Klan (Georgia1). Around 1915, Nativist organized a revival of the Klan (History1). This group was anti-black, and they also took a part in terrorizing Jews, Roman Catholics, organized labor, and foreigners (Spartacus1). The group was fueled by immigration in America during the early 20th century (History1). Klan members also feared the communist revolution in Russia. This group’s symbol was a burning cross, and they would hold rallies, and march/parade all around the country (History1). The peak of this group was in 1920, and exceeded over four million Klan members nationwide (History1). In the 1930’s, the Great Depression depleted the organization, and was disbanded temporarily in 1944 (Georgia1). During 1960, the Civil Rights movement increased bombings, beatings, and shootings across the South, done by Klan members (History1). This movement fueled the hatred Klan members felt towards their victims. President Lyndon Johnson delivered a speech in 1965 publicly condemning the Klan (History1). He also announced that four Klansmen were arrested in connection with the murder of a white female civil rights worker, who lived in Alabama (History1). Klan related violence became more isolated as time passed (History1). In the 1990’s it was estimated that the Klan had between 6,000-10,000 active members (History1). Most of these members were in the Deep South (History1). Some fragmented members and groups became aligned with neo-Nazi and other extremist organizations from the 1970s and the years following that (History1). Discrimination was the subject that all these groups had in common with each