The Ku Klux Klan was a group that fought for white supremacy. The group first began in the late 1860s but was ended. There was a revival though in the 1920s where the KKK grew and was said to have over four million members.The Ku Klux Klan was mainly white men who used fear and violence to threaten and kill African Americans along with Catholics, Jews, and immigrants. Following the Civil War and beginning Reconstruction, African Americans were moving forward in politics. This angered many white men, forming the Ku Klux Klan. First beginning in
Tennessee in 1866, Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest was picked to be the Ku Klux
Klan’s first real leader. The Klan opposed the North and Lincoln for his acts in helping African
Americans. In
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Many of the members were Democrats. The 1915 film The Birth of a Nation, helped increase the number of members in white supremacy groups. They would meet on their horses to beat and kill victims in the night. The KKK was considered a secret society since they would only go out when it was dark and they wouldn’t let everybody into the group. As a symbol, Klansmen would set fire to crosses while wearing white hoods and costumes. They would also hold rallies.
The goal of the Ku Klux Klan was to kill African Americans who had been freed along with
Catholics, Jews, and immigrants. A main goal was to stop the immigrants from taking jobs that white men were supposed to have. Another goal was to have a widespread national organization.
The Klansmen did not believe they were doing anything wrong, but that they were helping
“restore justice.” The Ku Klux Klan had a main goal to eliminate people who were not white.
During the late 1920s and early 1930s, there were other white supremacy groups than the
Ku Klux Klan. Another secret society group was The Knights of the White Camellia which was partly associated with the KKK. Two other groups that were known were the Red Shirts and