Intimidation Tactics Of The Ku Klux Klan

The Ku Klux Klan, known as the KKK, has been one of the most feared groups in America since the end of the civil war during post-war reconstruction.. The civil war was not just about the rights of the black man, but it was a very important part. People in the north mostly believed the black person was due the same liberties insured by the U.S. Constitution. The 14th Amendment of the constitution gave equal protection to former slaves. However people in the south saw the black man as inferior and a slave needed to work on the plantation. This led to continued unrest after the war. Some felt the black man and those that supported his cause needed to be stopped. They wanted to control the black population. The Klan also would torture white people who were sympathetic to the blacks and their situation.

Along with being left with nothing but wasted years, casualties, and deeper in debt, the Confederates lost their cause and this made them angry. The Ku Klux Klan offered protection and support along with what they thought was justice. “To protect the weak, the innocent, and the defenseless, from the indignities, wrongs, and outrages of the lawless, the violent, and the brutal; the relieve the injured and oppressed; to succor the suffering and unfortunate and specially the widows and orphans of the Confederate soldiers.” This support and understanding that the Ku Klux Klan offered was attractive to the poor white Southerners. The Ku Klux Klan imposed extreme fear on African American, their purpose to discourage the African American vote for the Republican party. This in turn defeated the whole purpose as to why the Fifteenth Amendment was passed. A direct quote from: Political Terrorism by the Ku Klux Klan. “Q: What are they afraid of? A: Of being killed or whipped to death. Q: What has made them afraid? A: Because men that voted radical tickets they took the spite out on the women when they could get at them.” This primary document only adds to the point that African Americans during the Reconstruction period were terrorized and pressured to do what the Confederates demanded. Although all African Americans were free and Reconstruction had taken effect, African Americans in the South were still not living in peace during

The Ku Klux Klan used cruel methods in order to create social change in their favor. A very common method used was intimidation; members of the Klan would march through streets and burn crosses in order to get their message across. Klansmen would dress in white robes in order to terrorize innocent citizens who were mainly of African-American descent. Although violent acts such as lynchings and kidnappings were common actions by KKK members, they would also recruit members that have political power. The Klan would encourage blacks to not vote with the intention of keeping their people in power. On the whole, the methods that the KKK used to create social change were cruel and should not be taken lightly.

The Ku Klux Klan flourished in the South at the beginning of the Reconstruction succeeding the Civil War. There remained numerous ex-Confederates that were still strongly opposed to the Reconstruction and sought to preserve white supremacy in the South. Directly after the Civil War the government in the South was weak and vulnerable. The Ku Klux Klan leveraged this and used violence and threats to try to reestablish white supremacy. They were most successful in playing upon fears and superstitions. They not only brought terror to the black communities but they also targeted carpetbaggers and scalawags. They used these threats and fears in effectively keeping the blacks away from the polls so that the ex-Confederates could gain back political control in the

For the violence Ku Klux Klan choose to invoke, as Southern Poverty Law Center said. “lynching’s, tar, and featherings, rapes, and other violent arracks on those challenging white supremacy became a hallmark of the Klan.” The Ku Klux Klan was

During the Reconstruction Era, Congress passed many laws to provide equal rights to people of color. But at the local level, specifically in the South, many Democrats took the law into their own hands. They supported the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) hoping to restore the pre-Civil War social hierarchy. The texts in Going to the Source illustrate two groups of individuals who opposed the KKK. In testimonies given by white witnesses, Republicans from the North felt the KKK posed a political and social danger in the South, but did not feel intimidated. The testimonies given by black witnesses were people who had experience of the Klan’s violence, and felt their lives were threatened. The Klan’s attacks on whites were more inclined towards social harassment, while their attacks on blacks, which consisted of voting intimidation and night rides, were violent and abusive because the KKK’s main goal was white supremacy.

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

Mark Twain once said, “Actions speak louder than words”. Although many hate groups use speech to get their point across, most will rely on inflicting physical punishment to groups of people. The Ku Klux Klan (KKK), a white supremacist hate group, has targeted both African Americans, and any Republicans who support African Americans and their rights. According to History channel’s article, Ku Klux Klan, over 400 members of the organization raided a South Carolina county prison to beat and hang eight African American inmates. Many inmates during the time of the Civil Rights Movement were innocent protesters with the aim of equality. Tom Leonard, a writer for Telegraph Media Group, states in his article, Ku Klux Klan: a violent history, that there were multiple accounts in the mid-1900s of KKK members bombing African American property and churches. In the article, Birmingham Church Bombing, we are reminded about the Ku Klux Klan committing the well-known and horrifying Birmingham Church Bombing in the mid-1960s. The only casualties

Many African Americans during this period belonged to the Republican party while racist white conservatives belonged to the Democratic party. This angered many prominent southern Democrats and led to the formation of white supremacist groups. These vigilante groups sought to reduce African American political involvement by harassing, killing, and intimidating black candidates and voters away from the polls. Their primary focus was to restrict black economic growth by frightening freed blacks who tried to acquire land or otherwise become self-sufficient from the “masters” they used to rely on. Many groups operated wearing disguises under the cover of darkness at night and were called nightriders. Among other groups of white supremacists included the Seymour Knights and the Knights of the White Camellia (KWC). Many of these terrorists operated throughout the south and were widespread and numerous. They were determined to stop the deterioration of southern traditions prior to the war. However, the most noteworthy of the groups was the KKK (Ku Klux Klan). The KKK first established its headquarters in Tennessee in 1866 and eventually extended its operations to Louisiana. The KKK had followed distinct methods to remain hidden and anonymous from the general public such as the

Life for African Americans in the United States has never been easy. First they were enslaved and later became free. Lastly they just needed the same rights as everyone else. The Klu Klux Klan wasn’t going to let that happen. The Klan wanted to stop all political and economical equality for African Americans. They were violent and terrorized all African Americans and anyone who tried to help them acquire equality. The Klu Klux Klan is a harsh and is extremely racist. They had a part in economic and social problems in the United States in the late 1860s (History.com Staff).

In order to threaten the equality of African Americans, white Southerners formed different terrorist groups that were used to force former slaves to resist from trying to pursue their equality, one of the groups being the Ku Klux Klan. The Klan was formed based on the fear of economic competition that could be held between white and Black men. “The Ku Klux Klan targeted three main groups as part of their ‘Southern resistance’ to Radical Reconstruction. These people included carpetbaggers (Northerners who moved South following the war), scalawags (Southerners who voted for the despised Republican Party) and the millions of former slaves” (History Magazine, 13) The Klan knew who to aim for when it came to taking down the desire of having former slaves to become equals to their white counterparts, this would ensure that the Klan was not only heard by the government through their violence but also the people who took part of the three groups. In order to allow themselves to be heard, the Klan had more than one method of influence which included threats, whippings, beatings, and murder (History Magazine, 13). An example of the torture enforced by the Klan is through the incident of Elias Hill in South Carolina. Hill was a Black man who had no ability to use either his arms or his legs and was dragged

The start of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in 1866, expanded throughout most of the southern states by 1870. This Klan is known for its discrimination against African Americans, which has had major effects on today’s society. “Making or perceiving differences and distinctions,” is the definition of discrimination (Webster dictionary). Not only did they discriminate against Africans Americans but also Jews, and Catholics (history,com staff). Since the birth of the KKK society was not only affected by the discrimination of the Klan, but also the activities, and the brutal events.

Intricate initiation services were carried out for new members and the practice of wearing white robes and hoods set the members apart from other members and provided them a special individuality. Cross burning was also a common shared exercise among the members of the Klan. The service was primarily used to intimidate against the people who hated by the Klan. The actions of the early KKK were proposed simply as a source of entertainment. Nightly activities consisted of posing as ghosts of Confederate dead to torment and frighten black freedmen. The KKK members pulled pranks on the blacks, though without any sinister inspiration. Post-Civil War reconstruction of the South transformed this lively boldness. The objective of the KKK was to help the White Anglo-Saxon Christian people flourish and be larger to all other races. They believed in helping one another in order to keep their people strong as a united race. With 1 being moral or spiritual intents and 10 being sensible, the KKK scored a 1, because it believed that white Christians were morally and spiritually

The largest threat to African Americans with after the Civil War and Reconstruction was the Ku Klux Klan. The KKK was founded in 1866, and extended into almost every southern state by 1870. The organization became a vehicle for white southern citizens to deny Republican Party’s Reconstruction-era policies whose ideas, that tried establishing political and economic equality for African Americans. The KKK flourished in some regions in the South where, African Americans were a minority of the population. The KKK also targeted any individual or organization that would support minatory groups. Even at its height, the KKK was not a well-organized organization or had a clear leader. The organization’s members where all types of people ranging

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