The Ku Klux Klan of the 1920's

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.

During the 1920’s rebirth of the KKK, the Klan would turn to politics to help push their beliefs. Hundreds of Klansmen would go onto win elections to local offices and state legislatures, which at the height of their power would account for more than three million members (Henretta, pg. 670). Having members of the Klan elected to local offices and state legislatures, allowed for the Klan to become very influential. Eventually becoming so influential, the clan had people feeling as if they were compelled to support or join them. Along with becoming influential, having Klansmen in local offices and state legislatures allowed for the Klan become dispersed across the country. Unlike the original Klan, the reborn Klan well geographically

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

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.

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

The group known as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was first founded in 1866. The KKK was organized by white supremacist to go against the Republicans Reconstruction-era policies. The members of the group formed in the southern states. They met secretly and formed a campaign to intimidate and use violent acts of discrimination towards both white and black Republican leaders. The Ku Klux Klan had laws passed against them, to stop there acts of injustice, which was considered terrorism. The Ku Klux Klan was a group that formed three times, and had different phases. The reformatted in the early 20th century, and came back stronger than the were before. They held rallies, burned homes and people, burnt crosses, and held marches against immigrants and other religions. Another phase was after the Civil Rights movement in the 1960’s the activity was very violent

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.

Prohibition was a huge controversial issue in the 1920s, which was when America banned the production, importation, and the sale of alcohol throughout the nation. The Ku Klux Klan was one of the largest supporters of Prohibition along with many other Americans. These Americans saw alcohol as poison to a person’s health, money, and way of life, and also believed all crime was caused by alcohol. The Ku Klux Klan was very strict on enforcing the prohibition laws, to a point where they went out and violently attacked, destroyed houses, saloons, and anything valuable to those who had broken the prohibition laws. The KKK’s support for Prohibition represented the single most important bond between Klansman throughout the nation, since every member strongly believed alcohol poisoned the soul (Hanson). Since the KKK had openly supported prohibition and strictly enforced it, it had encouraged Americans with the same conservative views on the topic of prohibition to get involved . The Klan’s support for prohibition led to a dramatic increase of new members in the Klan. The Klan also attempted to gain political power as Mr Simkin explains “Klansmen were elected to positions of political power. This included state officials in Texas, Oklahoma, Indiana, Oregon and Maine” (Simkin). Klansmen began becoming political leaders such as state legislators, governors, and city

The Ku Klux Klan organization is very important in history but unfortunately it was a bad group of people who where racist. Also the end of the Civil war is a very significant part of history. As the struggle of blacks for freedom came to an end, a new form of struggle began to form. Political, social, and economic gains of blacks after the Civil war became really frightening!! The idea of whites loosing superiority over blacks felt unacceptable. The poor social white class feared of losing their jobs, and the wealthy of loosing cheap labor. As a result, racist groups began to form. The name Ku Klux Klan is now known all over the world. At first formed as a small social

The KKK made their beliefs clear, and imprinted the memories of them by committing acts of hatred on those whom they opposed. Even though the KKK had reemerged in the South in 1915, it wasn’t until after World War I came to a close that the organization gained a national resurgence (Getchell). This version of the Klan was known as “The Second Ku Klux Klan.” The resurgent Klan of the 1920s was a short-lived but potent phenomenon. The second KKK was a mass movement that invoked the memory of and built upon the first KKK, which was a terrorist organization founded by white supremacists in the U.S. South (“The Ku Klux Klan In Washington State, 1920s”) The majority of klan members confined their opposition tactics to parading and burning crosses,

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

It affects every race, not just black and white. It opened the eyes of the world and showed a nation how hate can make an entire country crumble. When people think of the Ku Klux Klan now, it is often thought of with an extremely negative connotation, and rightfully it is deserved. However, at the time of the origination of the Klan, everyone in that region wanted to be a part of it. In fact, one major impact that the KKK had on the area it was in was the way in which people voted. In a study done by researcher David Cunningham, he wrote on (Schaller, Bill) that the KKK activity played a significant role in shifting voters’ political party allegiance in the South in the 1960s — from Republican to Democratic. The researcher studied county voting records in ten southern states in which the KKK actively recruited members in the 1960s. The analysis of five presidential voting outcomes, between 1960 and 2000, showed that southern counties with KKK activity in the 1960s had a statistically significant increase in Democratic voting compared to counties with no established KKK

Throughout the 1920’s the Ku Klux Klan or KKK were a very powerful and influential group of white protestant men in the United States. This powerful group advocated white supremacy, racism, anti-Catholicism, and nativism just to name a few things. Many of the KKK members, as well as their followers disagreed with abolishing slavery and believed that immigrants, homosexuals, and southern Republicans along with many others threatened American values. The Klan hit its peak during the mid-1920s with millions of members across the country (Wormser, 2002). The groups’ popularity came from their violent reputations, as well as the print and media coverage they received throughout the years. This soon allowed the Klan to have a powerful political influence at both the state and local level. Although the media and newspapers were important elements in helping the Klan grow it was a double-sided blade, and soon was a leading cause in the group’s demise.

The KKK, an organization formed by white southerners during Reconstruction, was revived in 1915. The KKK was particularly popular in the Midwest and Southwest as well as in some cities like Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, and Indianapolis. The KKK represented for law and order and the moral values associated with it, immigration restriction, and opposed groups foreigners (Catholics, Jews, and African Americans) according to its supporters. The Ku Klux Klan only welcomed native‐born white Protestants and its majority of supporters came from the working class members who were in competition with blacks and immigrants for jobs and housing. The KKK controlled the legislatures in many states such as Texas, Oregon, Oklahoma, and Indiana and it became important to the election of several governors and numerous local officials.

The KKK was a racist who put fear in those that opposed their beliefs. It was one of the most recognized groups in America. It started as a social club in Pulaski, Tennessee by Confederate veterans. The KKK was one of the most iconic groups for their tactics of putting fear in nonwhites. The KKK fell apart and was revived several times. In the 1920’s, the KKK reached nearly 4 million members.The KKK appointed General Nathan Bedford Forrest as Grand Wizard. The KKK was dedicated to keeping blacks from having any rights. They murdered and tortured blacks to instill the fear.