The Ku Klux Klan , or KKK, was founded in 1866 as a social club in Pulaski, Tennessee. This club contained many former Confederate soldiers. In 1867, Leading Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest was chosen as the first leader.The organization of the Ku Klux Klan coincided with the beginning of the second phase of post-Civil War Reconstruction put into place by the more radical members of the Republican Party in Congress.
Rapidly growing, in 1870 it was located in almost every southern state. The KKK was for white supremacy and was against the Republican Party and their beliefs that blacks have the same economic and political rights as whites. As a part of their underground campaign of violence, the KKK was violent and intimidating towards white Republicans and blacks. Though Congress passed legislation designed to curb Klan terrorism, the organization saw its primary goal–the reestablishment of white supremacy–fulfilled through Democratic victories in state legislatures across the South in the 1870s(history.com). At least 10 percent of the black legislators elected during the 1867-1868 constitutional conventions became victims of violence during Reconstruction, including seven who were killed. White Republicans (derided as “carpetbaggers” and “scalawags”) and black institutions such as schools and churches—symbols of black autonomy—were also targets for Klan attacks(history.com). In the Early 20th century, white Protestant nativist groups revived the failing KKK. They burned crosses, staged rallies, parades, and marches.In the 1920s they reached their peak in membership with 4 million members. In the 1960's the civil rights movement also surged KKK activity. They bombed black schools and churches, and used violence against black and white activists in the South. They did whatever they had to do to restore white supremacy in the South and defeat the Radical Republicans. On January 1871, in South Carolina, the most notorious KKK zone, 500 members attacked the Union county jail and lynched(hung) eight black prisoners.
There was not much someone could do to stop the KKK. This was because local law enforcement officials were either a member of the KKK , feared to take action against them, or speak out against them. Also, if they arrested someone they believed could be part of the Klan, they could not find a witness willing to testify against them. "For the first time, the Ku Klux Klan Act designated certain crimes committed by individuals as federal offenses, including conspiracies to deprive citizens of the right to hold office, serve on juries and enjoy the equal protection of the law. The act authorized the president to suspend the writ of habeas corpus and arrest accused individuals without charge, and to send federal forces to suppress Klan violence. This expansion of federal authority–which Ulysses S. Grant romptly used in 1871 to crush Klan activity in South Carolina and other areas of the South–outraged Democrats and even alarmed many Republicans. From the early 1870s onward, white supremacy gradually reasserted its hold on the South as support for Reconstruction waned; by the end of 1876, the entire South was under Democratic control once again."*
In 1915, white protestants near Atlanta, Georgia revived the Klan. However now, they were also against Catholics, Jews, foreigners, and organized labor along with blacks.
In 1944 the Klan temporarily disbanded as a result of the Great Depression. In the 1960s the civil rights movement surged activity. Bombing, shootings, and beatings were among the violent attacks they acted upon black and white activists.
KKK members did not want their identities to be showed. So, they dressed in long white robes with hoods, and often wore masks. They also carried out most of their attack in the night. "In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson delivered a speech publicly condemning the Klan and announcing the arrest of four Klansmen in connection with the murder of a white female civil rights worker in Alabama. The cases of Klan-related violence became more isolated in the decades to come, though fragmented groups became aligned with neo-Nazi or other right-wing extremist organizations from the 1970s onward. In the early 1990s, the Klan was estimated to have between 6,000 and 10,000 active members, mostly in the Deep South."*
*excerpt from history.com
Rapidly growing, in 1870 it was located in almost every southern state. The KKK was for white supremacy and was against the Republican Party and their beliefs that blacks have the same economic and political rights as whites. As a part of their underground campaign of violence, the KKK was violent and intimidating towards white Republicans and blacks. Though Congress passed legislation designed to curb Klan terrorism, the organization saw its primary goal–the reestablishment of white supremacy–fulfilled through Democratic victories in state legislatures across the South in the 1870s(history.com). At least 10 percent of the black legislators elected during the 1867-1868 constitutional conventions became victims of violence during Reconstruction, including seven who were killed. White Republicans (derided as “carpetbaggers” and “scalawags”) and black institutions such as schools and churches—symbols of black autonomy—were also targets for Klan attacks(history.com). In the Early 20th century, white Protestant nativist groups revived the failing KKK. They burned crosses, staged rallies, parades, and marches.In the 1920s they reached their peak in membership with 4 million members. In the 1960's the civil rights movement also surged KKK activity. They bombed black schools and churches, and used violence against black and white activists in the South. They did whatever they had to do to restore white supremacy in the South and defeat the Radical Republicans. On January 1871, in South Carolina, the most notorious KKK zone, 500 members attacked the Union county jail and lynched(hung) eight black prisoners.
There was not much someone could do to stop the KKK. This was because local law enforcement officials were either a member of the KKK , feared to take action against them, or speak out against them. Also, if they arrested someone they believed could be part of the Klan, they could not find a witness willing to testify against them. "For the first time, the Ku Klux Klan Act designated certain crimes committed by individuals as federal offenses, including conspiracies to deprive citizens of the right to hold office, serve on juries and enjoy the equal protection of the law. The act authorized the president to suspend the writ of habeas corpus and arrest accused individuals without charge, and to send federal forces to suppress Klan violence. This expansion of federal authority–which Ulysses S. Grant romptly used in 1871 to crush Klan activity in South Carolina and other areas of the South–outraged Democrats and even alarmed many Republicans. From the early 1870s onward, white supremacy gradually reasserted its hold on the South as support for Reconstruction waned; by the end of 1876, the entire South was under Democratic control once again."*
In 1915, white protestants near Atlanta, Georgia revived the Klan. However now, they were also against Catholics, Jews, foreigners, and organized labor along with blacks.
In 1944 the Klan temporarily disbanded as a result of the Great Depression. In the 1960s the civil rights movement surged activity. Bombing, shootings, and beatings were among the violent attacks they acted upon black and white activists.
KKK members did not want their identities to be showed. So, they dressed in long white robes with hoods, and often wore masks. They also carried out most of their attack in the night. "In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson delivered a speech publicly condemning the Klan and announcing the arrest of four Klansmen in connection with the murder of a white female civil rights worker in Alabama. The cases of Klan-related violence became more isolated in the decades to come, though fragmented groups became aligned with neo-Nazi or other right-wing extremist organizations from the 1970s onward. In the early 1990s, the Klan was estimated to have between 6,000 and 10,000 active members, mostly in the Deep South."*
*excerpt from history.com