The Ku Klux Klan (KKK)
"In world history, those who have helped to build the same culture are not necessarily of one race, and those of the same race have not all participated in one culture. In scientific language, culture is not a function of race" (Benedict). The sad fact is that many races are discriminated against. Discrimination is defined as the act of perceiving and making evident the distinctions between two different groups of people. There have been many groups that have been very discriminating, but the one that sticks out like a diamond in coal is the Ku Klux Klan.
The original Ku Klux Klan was formed, in April 1866, as a social organization for ex-confederates in Pulaski, Tennessee. This was during the time after the
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The KKK "…Dressed in flowing sheets, their faces covered with white masks, and with skulls at their saddle horns, posed as spirits of the confederate dead returned from the battlefields" (Columbia). To accelerate the fear in the eyes of the common people The Klan would hold lynchings and whippings (Columbia). The widespread fear allowed the KKK to gain political power even though they were veering away from their main idea of restricting the south from reconstruction.
By doing many of these activities the KKK very effectively managed to keep blacks away from the voting booths. Many Klansmen were elected into office because the black community could not vote. Even though the white supremacists were in office, they did not do as much as they would have hoped. Officials did not accomplish the idea of minimizing black power and increasing white supremacy.
The Ku Klux Klan power did diminish in 1870 and 1871, when congress passed the Force Bill (Columbia). This bill stated that one could not restrict another's right to vote, which the KKK was doing. Another attempt to try to stop the KKK was the KKK acts of 1870 and 1871. After the KKK was proven to be violent, these laws that were formally passed disbanding the KKK in 1871 (Benet's). Even though these bills and acts were passed, the KKK still survived.
The Clansman, written by
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.
In order to achieve their goal of re-establishing white supremacy. Founded in 1866 by former confederate veterans, the Ku Klux Klan would be established as the most powerful terrorist organization of its time. Aimed at dismantling the possible overthrow of white supremacists in the United States by the increasingly powerful African-American community. The KKK would target black southerners and any white persons who would help them. Nathan Bedford Forrest would become the primary leader during this era titled the “Grand Wizard” he would push the organization's agenda throughout the United
Although Congress passed legislation to avoid the KKK. Their goal to fix white supremacy grew from democracy victories. This happened in the South during the 1870s. After an unsuccessful time in the KKK they soon got revived. This happened in the early 20th century. The burning of crosses and rallies got serious to the point of major breakouts. There were also many parades and marches. The marches and parades were to bash immigrants.
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
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
The Ku Klux Klan was a secret terrorist organization that was created by six well educated Confederate veterans in Pulaski, Tennessee in the December of 1865. Their main objective was to restore white supremacy through acts of violence such as murder, against both Black and White Republicans. The KKK had eventually spread to every southern state, and Klansmen would often terrorize republicans regardless of their race. Members of the KKK believed that African Americans were inferior to Whites and did not believe that Blacks deserved equal rights. Although the rebel groups were outlawed and made illegal, many of them remained in existence and appeared after the reconstruction had ended. This proved the Reconstruction to be ineffective as many Southerners were still fighting against the government and opposed them. In addition, African Americans were still deprived of their rights by these
This turn to violence was how the first Ku Klux Klan rose. The Klan was formed by six ex-Confederate Veterans in Pulaski, Tennessee, this organization started off small but began absorbing most of the other anti-Reconstruction groups in the south, like the Men of Justice, the Pale Faces, the Constitutional Union Guards, the White Brotherhood, and the Order of the White Rose (Infoplease.com). The Ku Klux Klan was created in fear of an insurrection by the ex-slaves, now the freedmen. The most recognized founder of the Klan was Nathan Bedford Forrest. Their white robes and masks are supposed to be a representation of ex-Confederate soldiers who died during the civil war. One of the Klan’s biggest goal was keeping the freedmen away from the voting polls to assure the success of ex-Confederates in gaining back their political control in many states. In 1871, President Grant took an aim at the Klan for their interference in black suffrage but by this time the support for Reconstruction was beginning to diminish because racism was still very much alive in both the north and the south. As time progressed the Democrats regained control of the House of Representatives. The democrats waged a campaign of violence to take control of Mississippi to which President Grant responded with a refusal of federal troop intervention which ended support of the Reconstruction era. In the election of 1876, Republican, Rutherford B. Haynes, reached a compromise with
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
The Klu Klux Klan was formed in 1866 by a group of Confederate soldiers in Pulaski, Tennessee. It was a social club or fraternity for the veterans but later had different views and became a terrorist group (PBS). The name of the group came from the Greek word “kyklos” meaning circle and then they added Klan to make the name flow (History.com Staff). It did not start with the thought of malicious activity. They would have secret meetings and elaborate ceremonies to discuss how they could stop reconstruction after the civil war. The members would wear white sheets that covered their whole body and pointy white caps to make them appear taller. This was an all white group and ended up being one of the deadliest terrorist groups (EyeWitness to History). General Nathan Bedford Forrest was the Klu Klux Klan’s first “grand wizard,” also known as
One of the Ku Klux Klan’s mains purposes was to protect the way they live from African Americans, Jews, and Catholics. They had the biggest impact on African Americans. The discrimination and the violence of the group was well known through different communities. The Klan was also known for crucial beatings and murders against the black population. They tried to emphasize that the blacks were a subpar race.
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
Their main goal was to prove the public that they don’t fear anything and nothing could stop them from their beliefs. Their reasons for punishment scared most of the people and had big impact on some campaign results. I am really glad that on this year election that wasn’t the case. Organizations were always seeking to recruit new members but this time, with different things in mind. At the time, not anyone could become part of the Klan. They had to be one hundred percent American. Since the big cities had mixed ethnicities the Klan was looking for its members in areas that were least occupied by the blacks such as, villages and small towns of the south. Throughout months the Klan grew and became more violent to the point that the Government had to step in. After a while the Klan could not be controlled by Nathan Forest anymore since it had spread so quickly in many areas. The shocking impact the Klan had required Nathan to act fast if he didn’t want to be responsible. By the autumn of 1968, he dropped out of the organization.
The 1920s were a time of change for the United States. Following the First World War there was a rush of new cultural, social, and artistic dynamism, partly fuelled by the Progressivism movement that was cut short when American entered the Great War. This decade was defined by a change from more rural farm life to industrialism in big cities. The shift from the frugality and traditional family values or previous generations to the happy-go-lucky consumerism and metropolitan life occurred more rapidly than any other social shift in living memory. These swiftly changing tides caused cultural clashes and confrontations throughout the decade as America struggled to define for itself a fresh national
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.”
In the late 1800’s, during the period of Reconstruction, there was fear and hate of African Americans by white southerners. This fear and hate rooted from the fact that African American’s now had the same rights and freedoms as white people. This caused an uproar. Because of this, people were coming together and sharing their feelings and ideas about the newly freed African Americans. This is how the KKK, also known as the Ku Klux Klan, came about. The Ku Klux Klan was began in 1866 by white men in Pulaski, Tennessee. The men that came together to create the Ku Klux Klan were mostly ex-confederate soldiers who were unhappy with the outcome of the Civil War. These men that used intimidation methods and violence. These men covered themselves as well as their horses in white sheets and rode through towns, causing scenes and using horrifying intimidation acts, especially against African Americans.