How Did The Ku Klux Klan Affect Our Society

The Ku Klux Klan, also known as the KKK, was thriving in its second generation during the 1920s. The Ku Klux Klan was reborn by William J. Simmons, with the intentions of creating a world with only one race. Simmons’ inspiration came from the film, “Birth of a Nation”. The Ku Klux Klan became more hateful and violent than ever, creating a sense of fear among not only African-Americans, but Jews, Catholics, and immigrants too.

The first meeting was organized in Nashville with the intention to “develop the principles that would guide all dens”. They did so in a secret constitution in which they called a Prescript. In this document, they recognized the supremacy of the “Divine Being” while also acknowledging the supreme laws of the United States government. The klan referred to themselves in the prescript by using two asterisks - ** -

Through research and evidence, it is clear that the historical interpretations of the origins of Klan and its establishment as an organization and its origins have changed over time. Starting in 1906, historians argued that the Klan was a benevolent, social organization, working as law-enforcers to help maintain a distinct social order between Southern whites and newly freed slaves. Completely ignoring the violence produced by the Klan, historians depicted the Klan as a positive, well-rounded organization. The second historical interpretation shone a new light on the Klan, exposing it for its violent and racially motivated actions. Historians argued that the Klan’s establishment was as a political organization that made a negative and lasting impression on all of U.S. history. The third and final interpretation argues that the Klan was established as a result of a struggling planter class. Historical interpretations during this time period describe the main goal of the Klan as wanting to answer to the desires and goals of the planters’ class. Because of this, historians during this era never saw the Klan as being an obstacle for newly freed slaves nor did they see the Klan having a negative effect on society. In conclusion, it is evident that historical interpretations develop and

This was a perfect time for the Klan to sell themselves to the American people, they offered everything Americans wanted at the time. The Klan acted on the heels of war and took advantage of the mind crippled Americans. Mecklin also points out that "Americans acted on their emotions very blindly"(Mecklin, 122). This was in turn a perfect fit for the Klan and America. The war torn Americans never wanted to feel in danger again, and for this reason they believed in the Klan. Americans followed The Klan with the hopes of eradicating any possible foreign dangers. The Klan deceived post war Americans and preached to them what they wanted to hear. The Klan gained millions of members during this time period and must attribute it to the conditions aroused by war.

Forever. 170). The Klan were white southerners who were organized and committed to the breaking down of Reconstruction. By methods of brutality, “the Klan during Reconstruction offers the most extensive example of homegrown terrorism in American history” (Foner. Forever. 171). The Ku Klux Klan as well as other groups killed or tormented black politicians or threatened the blacks who voted in elections. The Klan strongly disagreed with the northern idea that slaves should become part of the government. The Historian Kenneth M. Stampp states, “for their [the North] supreme offense was not corruption but attempting to organize the Negroes for political action” (Stampp. Era. 159). This corresponds with Foner’s idea that the South was not open to the idea of change but more so consumed with the idea of recreating a society similar to one of the past. However, the goal of white power groups was not just politics. The Klan wanted to restore the hierarchy once controlling the South. Foner observes that, “the organization took on the function of the antebellum slave patrols: making sure that blacks did not violate the rules and etiquette of white supremacy” (Foner. Forever. 172). Like the power the southern whites formerly held over the slave population, the Ku Klux Klan wanted to control the African American population still living in the South. They did not want the freedmen to become integrated into their society because they saw them as lesser people. By suppressing and

Ku Klux Klan was officially a racial organization. They did not have a name yet , but

The KKK extended their defense of true Americanism from only blacks to Catholics, Jews, foreigners, feminists, and radicals (Cohen 694). Along with their new promise, they rallied for more members to help with their defense to protect American purity. The Klan’s size grew exponentially during their second upbringing to their most ever of over three million members. While the second upbringing of the Klan was short-lived, their influence of their defense against anything that was not purely American reflects on the beliefs of white

Hooded Americanism: The First Century of the Ku Klux Klan: 1865 to the Present by David Chalmers records the history of the Ku Klux Klan quite bluntly, all the way from its creation following the civil war, to the early 1960’s. The author starts the book quite strongly by discussing in detail many acts of violence and displays of hatred throughout the United States. He makes a point to show that the Klan rode robustly throughout all of the country, not just in the southern states. The first several chapters of the book focus on the Klan’s creation in 1865. He goes on to discuss the attitude of many Americans following the United State’s Civil War and how the war shaped a new nation. The bulk of the book is used to go through many of

America’s history is full of groups of vigilantes set out to right the wrongs of society. A disturbing example of a very successful group of vigilantes is the Ku Klux Klan or the KKK. The KKK was seen in numbers reaching the millions in the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century. The KKK can be identified as a group of vigilantes because they came about after the Civil War and the eradication of slavery. The founders of the KKK had the mindset of the vigilante because they believed in the superiority of the white race and thought it was justified to protect that superiority over blacks, Jews and other minorities. Although according to society’s standards the KKK were terrorists, racists and

Imagine sleeping fearfully in a society where many friends and family are being constantly persecuted because of the amount of pigment beneath the skin. Would most know exactly what to do during the widespread of the 1900s despicable group known as the Ku Klux Klan? Those of prior time periods asked themselves a question, similar to one such as, What true impact does the Ku Klux Klan truly have on American society? When the Ku Klux Klan began, there was an enormous amount of fear infused into the hearts, minds, and souls of black America. The Klan, through growth and changing their principals, were able to entice racist American men into joining this heinous group of madmen. The Ku Klux Klan’s beginnings - how and why they came to be - their

“The first incarnation of the KKK formed just after the Civil War, using terrorist violence as a means of maintaining white supremacy, but its influence "waxed and waned," as Gordon puts it, over the decades that followed” (Waxman 2). The Ku Klux Klan, aka KKK, is a white supremacist group who has done many cruel things to African Americans. Throughout many years, the KKK has grown power over politics, the news, and television as ways to try and exterminate African Americans. The KKK is a group that think the white people have the power over the African Americans, and that African Americans should not be treated as fair. Overall, the Ku Klux Klan impacted society through violence, white supremacy, and the nationwide attention the group was

Eight months after the Civil War, in the south the government was weak and there were no jobs available. On Christmas Eve of 1866, six confederate veterans started a social hate group in Pulaski, Tennessee. The six confederate veterans were John Lester, James Crowe, John Kennedy, Calvin Jones, Richard Reed, and Frank McCord. The group started off as just wanting to have fun and keep themselves entertained. The six founders were well educated and came from wealthy families. From their Greek knowledge, they use the word kyklos meaning circle and then added the word Klan. The Ku Klux Klan was then born. Nathan Bedford Forrest was the first leader of the Klan. He was known as the “Grand Wizard.”

Topic: In 1866, the Ku Klux Klan was founded by many former confederate veterans in retaliation to their current Republican Party’s Reconstruction-era policies aimed at establishing political and economic equality for blacks. The Reconstruction era sparked by President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation clearly defined that the days of white superiority were in dissolution. Through a willful ignorance and an insecurity of what might postlude the civil rights movement, the KKK rose, using terror in pursuit of their white supremacist agenda. Nathan Bedford Forrest, a former Lieutenant general in the Civil war, became the KKK's first Grand Wizard. Now with a steady leader the klan became a persistent political party aimed at dismantling the increasingly

Perhaps the most famous terrorist organization in the history of America, the Ku Klux Klan, better known as the “KKK”, was originated in 1866 by a group of six confederate veterans in Pulaski, Tennessee. Although the Klan “had no malicious intentions” according to (Eyewitness to History). As we all know, that fact quickly changed. Throughout the next few years, this group spread to all southern states. It is followers included mayors, judges, police officers, and even convicted felons. This group of people began killing black people, black politicians, and white people who sided with the blacks. They were famous for burning large crosses in the homes and neighborhoods of blacks, and setting fire to churches in which they knew a large amount of blacks attended their masses each

A year into the Klan, leaders wanted to create a hierarchical organization. As a result, in 1867, Klan’s from all over the South gathered in Tennessee and gave former Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest full control of the Klan (The History Channel, 2005). Later interviewed by a Charleston newspaper, Forrest boasted that the member count exceeded 40,000 men in Tennessee alone and over 550,000 in all the Southern states (The Charleston, 1868). Never achieving organization, local chapters continued to go about their business, settling things in a way they deemed fit, this, in turn, would be one of the reasons for the decline of the Klan.