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Ku Klux Klan Research Paper

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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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The 1920s, and all of the events that accompanied it, provoked the KKK to rise up once again. This revitalized Klan is often referred to as the second wave of the Klan.5 It was established in 1915 by William J. Simmons. Simmons, a minister, claimed that he had been given a vision by God. In this vision, God told him to gather white, native-born Protestant men in battle against forces of evil and immorality that were consuming the nation.6 So, Simmons gathered 33 men, climbed to the top of Stone Mountain in Georgia, and set a cross on fire, signifying the beginning of a movement.7 While the first Klan had just been a phenomenon, the 1920s Klan was a legitimate organization, with over 6 million members joining in between 1920 and

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Going beyond the roots of the southern states, the KKK had a huge impact on the American society in the 1920’s. To fully understand the Ku Klux Klan you have to know how the KKK originated. The Ku Klux Klan founded in 1866 in the town of Pulaski, Tennessee by former confederate army veterans; the first leader of the KKK is also known as the “Grand Wizard” was Nathan Bedford Forrest who was a former slave trader. The KKK was created in order to enforce white superiority in the south. The Klan members primarily targeted people who were not white, Anglo- Saxon, or Protestant.

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Founded in 1866, the (KKK) extended into virtually each southern state by 1870 and have become a vehicle for white southern resistance to the Republican Party’s Reconstruction-era policies aimed toward establishing political and economic equality for blacks. Its members waged associate underground campaign of intimidation and violence directed at white and black Republican leaders. Congress passed legislation designed to curb KKK, the organization saw its primary goal “the reestablishment of white supremacy” fulfilled through Democratic victories in state legislatures across the South within the decennary. Once an amount of decline, white Protestant nativist teams revived the KKK within the early twentieth century, burning crosses and staging

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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 Ku Klux Klan was founded in 1866 but the name came from Greek which means Circle. Ku Klux Klan was the boredom of small town life that led six Confederate veterans to form a social club named the Ku Klux Klan. Eventually the initials KKK made people terrified it intimidated them. Before its six founders realized what happened the Ku Klux Klan had become something that they may not have originally intended it to be something really serious. It seems incredible how it became so violent yet that power would instantly vanish.

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The Ku Klux Klan was alive and strong during World War I reconstruction but during this era they disbanded. Almost 50 years later, after seeing a film called “Birth of A Nation”, Colonel William Joseph Simmons rejuvinized the Klan. For Simmons first act as new Klan leader he climbed to the top of a mountain and set fire to a cross to mark the rebirth of the KKK. Simmons acts as new Klan leader led the supremacist to nationwide membership of possibly up to 8 million. Membership of the Klan was not limited to just the poor or the South either.

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