The Rebirth Of The Klan During The 1920's

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

Motivated by nationalism, The Birth of a Nation, and Mary Phagan’s murder, the Klan was officially reformed by William Joseph Simmons in 1915. Radical patriotism, “public fears, and intolerance” fueled the group’s revival, and it steadily gained members until the late 1920’s (Benson, Brannen, and Valentine, “Ku Klux Klan”). A nostalgia for the old Southern ways also pushed people to reform the Klan. Sentiments felt by the group were common enough that a large amount of people could relate and join, bringing in more money and often more press. The Klan gained a lot of media coverage as it began to protest, which brought more national attention to the group.

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.

The Ku Klux Klan had three eras, an era ends when the Ku Klux Klan movement dies out or they loss the need for it. Each era may have its own intentions or what their main goal is, but white supremacy is still their goal just trying to accomplish it in different ways, while also opposing thing that may go against their moral code, like gay marriage. The Ku Klux Klan is an origination focused on having white supremacy, it has existed for many years and has had three eras, it is most known for its act violent acts of terrorism.

To understand the Klan, then, it is necessary to understand the character and present mind of the mass of old-stock Americans. The mass, it must be remembered, as distinguished from the intellectually mongrelized "Liberals.'

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.

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

Although not all went to the extremes of the KKK using terror, beating, and even murder to fulfill their quest in purifying America, they however they did support it’s ideology in many rural America. It has been estimated that, between the years 1920-27, the hands of the Klan members in the Southern states butchered 416 Blacks. Research indicates that most of the victims were innocent or were convicted of small offenses that certainly didn’t deserve such punishment. In the southern states, where the majority of the African American population resided, the notion of ‘white supremacy’ went unquestioned. Scarily enough, the KKK reached their hands into politics as well. In the state o f Indiana, the ‘Grand Wizard’, David Stephenson was politically powerful. It was also alleged that the Klan helped elect the governor of Maine, Colorado, and Louisiana in 1924. Moreover, on August 18th 1925 the Ku Klux Klan was able to parade down 40,000 men on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C without any intervention from state officials. Segregated facilities in government buildings remained unchanged since the first decade of the century, which showed the American government during the twenties was continually ignoring issues linked to ethnic minorities and the hostile attitudes of its people towards them. The act of

The goal of this investigation is to delve into the question of: to what extent was the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan during the 1920s a reflection of societal change? In order to assess this question from multiple perspectives on the topic, research is needed to further look into the Klan’s motives both prior to their revival as well as after. Events in the 1870s, when the Klan ended, as well as events in the 1920s, when the klan was reborn, will be considered in this investigation in order to make connections between the KKK and why their revival in the 1920s reflected societal change. Among these events include the end of Reconstruction, the Progressive Era, increase of immigration to the United States, as well as the “red scare” of communism.

The Ku Klux Klan, also known as the Klan or the KKK, originated in Pulaski,

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 Klan included mayors, judges, sheriffs, and often common criminals. They murdered black politicians and political leaders. The men beat and murdered thousands of people. And they intimidated tens of thousands of others (The Rise and Fall of Jim crow; Jim Crow stories). The KKK vowed to defend their own white-Protestant culture against any group that seemed to be un-American. The Klansman’s Manual stated “Klansmen are to be examples of patriotism. They are to organize the patriotic sentiment of native-born white, Protestant Americans for the defense of distinctively American institutions. Klansmen are dedicated to the principle that America shall be made American through promulgation of American doctrines, the dissemination of American ideals, the creation of wholesome American sentiment, the preservation of American institutions.”. As the Klan grew power, many Southern politicians relied on their power (BBC – Higher Bitesize History).

Frustrated confederate soldiers made their way back home after losing the war that they had been fighting for four years. These men formed vigilante groups, attacking black people. While soldiers did this, wealthier men who had avoided fighting in the war formed agricultural and police clubs for the same purpose; both groups soon took shape and evolved into one large group, known as the Ku Klux Klan and Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest became the first leader, known as the Grand Wizard. The name Ku Klux Klan is derived from the Greek word, Kyklos, meaning circle. The Ku Klux Klan, often shortened to the KKK, was founded in Tennessee in 1866 and grew to be one of the most feared terrorist groups in the United States, before dying off in 1869, but later being revived in 1915 (History.com Staff). The Ku Klux Klan negatively impacted the Reconstruction period through terror, intimidating Republican voters, and killing Republican officials.

The Ku Klux Klan was known as the biggest hate group in American History, and they are responsible for thousands of innocent blacks’ deaths. The Ku Klux Klan made it very hard for the blacks, Catholics, Jews, immigrants, and homosexuals to live a normal life. The Klan made them live in fear.

In summary, the book talks vividly about the rise and reasoning of the Ku Klux Klan in 1915 and a brief background about the founder, William Joseph Simmons. It also focused on members of the Ku Klux Klan in Clarke County, Georgia. This revival of the original KKK, that formed after the Civil War, now hated everyone that wasn’t one of them, a WASP or White Anglo-Saxon Protestant. A majority of their hatred was directed to