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Ku Klux Klan Research Paper

677 Words3 Pages

First and foremost, it is important to have a glimpse at the Klan's history from its founding and the growth of the Klan throughout the years. The Klan originated in the aftermath of the Civil War during the Reconstruction era of America in the 1860's (1). In December of 1865, six former Confederate officers met in Pulaski, Tennesse, and formed the original Ku Klux Klan (2). People wanting to join the Klan were required to be opposed to policies of the Radical party or any other group with opposing views (2). Possible members were also required to be against African American equality both social and political in favor of a white man's government (2).

The Klan would steadily grow in its newly founded environment in 1866 but would eventually …show more content…

In 1868, Forrest claimed that the Klan had a membership of over five hundred thousand (3). By 1870, the Klan had branches and spurred the growth of other white supremacy groups in almost all the southern states (3). During this time, much of the Klan's violence was attributed to poor southern whites (3). However, Klan membership contained many classes from farmers, laborers, planters, lawyers, doctors, and clergymen …show more content…

Simmons (1). Simmons was inspired by the movie "The Birth of a Nation" by director D.W. Griffith and the book "The Ku Klux Klan" by Thomas Dixon both of which depicted the original Klan in a good light (5). This revived Ku Klux Klan was fueled by a growing hostility to the immigration surge that America had in the early twentieth century (3). This version of the Klan declared itself to be the original and genuine Ku Klux Klan of the Reconstruction era. And, under its new name, it would expand into a national scope (2).

In the early days of the revived Klan, they were unable to pull in much membership and support (2). Then in November of 1922, Hiram W. Evans became the Klan's leader and under him the Klan grew rapidly (5). Under Evans, Klansmen were elected to political positions in states such as Texas, Indiana, Oklahoma, and Maine during the 1920s (5). By 1924, the revived Klan had reached its peak of membership at somewhere between three to five million members

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