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Ku Klux Klan Influence

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The Ku Klux Klan was created by six men who were once a part of the Confederate Army, and wanted to start a social club. All six men were white, and had a strong hatred veered towards blacks. They believed African Americans were not equal to whites, but did not ever imagine the damage done to the United States from their simple “social club”. The Ku Klux Klan was first considered a secret society that helped with law control. Gradually, the Klan turned into a tactic to scare runaway slaves, but it was still non-violent. Then, night rides started. They began by scaring the runaway slaves, but the rides rapidly increased. They transformed into beatings, floggings, and sometimes even murder. The Klan began hating Catholics, homosexuals, Jews, and immigrants. Catholics and Jews suffered some …show more content…

A local Klansman in Washington D.C. marked this scarred rebirth by burning a cross on Sehome Hill located in Bellingham, D.C., on July 4th 1923. In 1925, a rally was held consisting of anywhere between 12,000 and 26,000 people. The rally was held to draw even more attention to the vastly growing Klan. One hundred and sixty new Klan members were initiated at the rally alone. By 1925 the Ku Klux Klan consisted of about 4 million members: southerners feared the Klan, so they joined. White southerners were also threatened by the Klan. Crosses were burned in their yards, they were also threatened physically. The KKK had a ten dollar initiation fee because of all the men wanting to join. Even woman got involved and made a Klan called the Women of the Ku Klux Klan, or better known as Klavaliers, which had around 5,000 female members. The members, men and women, would appear at Protestant church services and donate money to the congregation to mark their arrival to a city. The group convinced the preachers to join and support the Klan by saying they would be initiated for free, and were promised a prominent spot in the

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