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How Did The Ku Klux Klan Influence The Civil Rights Movement

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The Ku Klux Klan is a hate group in America which was founded after the American Civil War. The Klan formed in response to the passing of Constitutional Amendments which granted rights and freedoms to former black slaves. Unfortunately, at the time, many Southern whites still believed that Blacks were inferior and wanted to keep them in a state of semi-slavery. For the next century, equality for all Americans, including Blacks became more of a reality. As the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s emerged and it seemed like Blacks would receive equality, the Ku Klux Klan resurfaced in order to protest these efforts which threatened white supremacy. The Civil Rights Movement was the driving force for the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1960s, …show more content…

During the Civil Rights Movement it was important to the Klan to prevent Blacks from participating in anything political. It was recorded that 42% of the South’s population was Black but only 2% were registered to vote in 1960. (U.S. Government (Consensus), 1960). The Klan scared off Blacks from polls in order to keep them from using their political freedoms. As the Civil Rights Movement began, activism was growing, which scared the KKK. The fear of activists gaining control motivated the Klan to further protect white dominance in America. The statistics show that their method of fear worked, as the majority of Blacks did not come near any voting booths. Moreover, The Klan also used fire as a weapon of intimidation against African Americans. Vernon Dahmer was an activist than ran a voting registration center, within his own store. After having his registry announced over the radio, Dahmer’s house and store were attacked with fire. Klansmen barged into his house and store and lit gasoline tanks on fire. The fires killed him. (http://nuweb9.neu.edu/). The Klansmen purposely attacked this activist in public to send a message to others: the Klan would use any means to stop the

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The Klu-Klux-Klan was a white supremacist group that opposed “Reconstruction” and equal rights for freed slaves (Hook Exercise). They, to my standards, really would do whatever it takes to stop Reconstruction, even if it meant killing innocent people for that. John W. Stephens, a former senator from Caswell, was brutally murdered by none other than the Klu-Klux-Klan in a Grand Jury room (Doc. A Par.1). John W. Stephens was stabbed five to six times then even hanged on a hook in the same jury room.

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One of the most used tactics by Klan, mainly the Reconstruction Klan, was fear. The Reconstruction Klan had a realization that in trying to be mysterious they gained the ability to "control the ignorant and superstitious African Americans and southern politicians from the north (1). So, groups of Klansmen in robes and other out of the ordinary costumes would visit African Americans and politicians whom they viewed as defiant (2). They would then proceed to use scare tactics in the form of "supernatural" events that played off the beliefs of dissenters' to keep people subdued (2).

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On Sunday, September 15, 1963, there was an explosion that killed 4 girls and injured 22 others at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham Alabama (“Vigilance and Victory”). In spite of the deaths, this act of white supremacy was the one that united the nation to combat segregation and discrimination. The 4 KKK members who had induced such pain and sorrow in many Americans were Thomas Edwin Jr., Herman Frank Cash, Robert Edward Chambliss, and Bobby Frank Cherry. (“16th Street Baptist Church Bombing, Wikipedia”). These four men intended to slow down the progression of the Civil Rights Movement, but rather sprung it ahead into the creation of the Civil Rights Act which desegregated many public areas.

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As a result of this, racist organizations were founded to wreaked havoc on former slaves. Secret societies in the southern united states, such as the Ku Klux Klan and the Knights of the White Camellia used violence against the blacks. Their goal was often to keep blacks out of politics. Our textbook states, “In other states, where blacks were a majority or where the populations of the two races were almost equal, whites used outright intimidation and violence to undermine the Reconstruction regimes” (Brinkley 368). The people involved in such organizations were using violence to take away the fifteenth amendment right from the former slaves.

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The KKK was a white nationalized group that included former veterans, which created the first branch of the group. The Klansmen founded in 1865, in Pulaski, Tennessee, is now known as the birthplace of the KKK. This group dedicated themselves to a campaign of violence to Republican leaders and voters. The KKK targeted many people based on their race or sexuality , including, Gays, Immigrants, African Americans, and Catholics(KKK history). Jim Crow laws,

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The Ku Klux Klan first emerged in Pulaski, Tennessee following the Civil War. As we know today, the mere mention of the Klan triggers fear as the KKK is known for its various tactics of violence that came in the form if lynchings, murders, and mutilations. Following their emergence, the KKK were quickly symbolized and portrayed as the protectors of the South, following the defeat of the Southern states in the Civil War and the beginning of the period of Reconstruction by the federal government (Gurr, 1989, p. 132). During the 1920s, the KKK achieved its greatest political success and growth outside of the South. During this period, the membership of the Klan heavily expanded to the states of Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Oregon, to which the KKK obtained two to two and one-half million members at its apex.

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The KKK let a picture out to the world showing they didn’t want African Americans to vote and wished for them to have the littlest amount to vote. (Document C). The KKK didn’t like African Americans being able to vote because they believed they were not real people and that they didn’t deserve many rights. Freedman, African Americans, or mulattos that were not apart of the military service could not own or even keep a weapon and if caught with a weapon, they would get a fine and the weapon would be confiscated (Document D). The KKK benefited from those people not being able to have a weapon because it meant African American’s had less right, in which they counted for less of a real person.

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The KKK used violence against Black Freedmen and others who opposed them to show dominance over them. The KKK used violence the stop Black Freedmen from voting so the Democrats could win more elections. After the Civil War the South elected ex-Confederate leaders to office. They denied freedmen the right to vote and passed “Black Codes” to restrict freedmen.

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The Ku Klux Klan or KKK has created centuries of fear. They originated in Pulaski, Tennessee. The famous hate group was out to re establish white supremacy. The KKK has influenced local governments and people in power. It has also had an impact on American people and specifically black minorities.

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The ex-slaves usually voted for the Republican Party, which controlled the government; therefore, ending the black vote was important. To promote these ends, secret societies were formed. The most notorious of these secret societies was the Ku Klux Klan. The Klan members, dressed in sheets and hoods, appeared at homes at night and warned the African Americans not to vote. As the Klan

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This paper will discuss the difference between the Ku Klux Klan and The Black Panther Party two extremist groups. The historical foundation of these two groups along with the comparison of their extremist activities, and the motivating factors which fueled and heighten their motivational actions. The movement of these two groups were prompted by the two different beliefs with the Ku Klux Klan motives being from racism, and the Black Panther forming for the protection of their communities from racial tension. The Ku Klux Klan was founded in Tennessee by veteran confederate soldiers lead by General Nathan Bedford in 1865 during the time of the Reconstruction Era as a result of resistance to the Republican Party’s support of the Reconstruction

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Frederickson argues African Americans simply did not have the time or preparation to oppose racist forces. Using paramilitary forces, southern redeemers easily made threats to reconstruction forces as seen through the emergence of the violent Ku Klux Klan during the election of 1866. The opportunity for African Americans to gain a stance in society was short lived by the racist efforts of democrats in the south and impartial ideals from

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During the civil rights movement, the Ku Klux Klan had a third revival and once again they sought to take away the liberties of blacks. In the south, new laws had been passed to suppress blacks such as the Jim Crow laws. These laws forbade businesses to employ African American and barred them from going to public restaurants, hotels, and bathrooms (Alchin). Everything was supposed to be equal, but separate. Also, in Mississippi only five percent of black were registered to vote in the year 1964 (Meltzer 67).

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The Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s also saw the surge of Ku Klux Klan activity, including bombings of black schools, and churches. The second Klan was national in scope, with a surprisingly small footprint in the South and its highest per capita state members were in India and Organ. By 1925, when its followers staged a huge Washington, D.C. March, the Klan had as many as 4 million members an, in some states, considerable political power. The Klan arose the third time during the 1920’s to oppose the Civil Rights Movement and to preserve

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As the Ku Klux Klan’s membership grew, organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which fought to end racial discrimination and segregation, grew as well. With these two growing groups pushing for opposite ideals, tensions continued to increase. The NAACP pushed for reform and rights for African Americans and the Ku Klux Klan combated their progress with lynching and

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