Ku Klux Klan Research Paper

Imagine living in a country where freedom is preached night and day but being driven to constantly dread daily life and tolerate lesser advantages than those around you just because you are part of a minority group. Unfortunately, this was the typical life for anyone who was Black, Jewish, Catholic, or supported communism or socialism, from the 1860s to even today ("Effects of the Ku Klux"). In part, this was because of the discrimination that those groups of Americans were faced with, but in whole, was due to the majority who held the prejudice and took violent actions based on their beliefs. In turn, these majorities formed a destructive group, known as the Ku Klux Klan, that assaults and threatens anyone who does not hold the same beliefs

Barring Black Americans from gaining the right to vote was a leading goal for the KKK (Salem Press). The Klan assaulted Black citizens and activists with various methods, which included but were not limited to, whippings, beatings, kidnappings, killings, and more specifically, lynchings (open hangings). Following its rebirth in 1915, after being disbanded in 1871, the KKK began to focus more antagonism on a wider range of minority groups, including Jews, Catholics, Blacks, Immigrants, Socialists, and Communists ("Effects of the Ku Klux"). In fact, after the Klan was revived, it was responsible for more than 500 lynchings of African Americans (Salem Press). As minority groups became more plentiful and widespread, the Klan gained targets. Consequently, they widened their range of assaults and scare tactics to terrorize those groups. Regrettably, as the Klan sought out and alienated these groups, even people who were not Klan members formed stereotypes and adopted prejudiced attitudes towards the minorities, in response to the animosity and angst that clouded their

Finally, even with its clearly visible destructive and violent habits, the Ku Klux Klan had heavy influence and involvement in politics in the 1900s and even somewhat still today. After its revival, the Klan began influencing elections and helping to get sympathetic officials elected to various public offices, in both Northern and Southern states. Along with its reputation for being an extremely racist group, the KKK also emanated detestation for other groups, both religious and political (West's Encyclopedia). For example, Robert Shelton, a Klan Grand Dragon, helped elect two Alabama governors (Salem Press). In due time, the influence on politics by the Ku Klux Klan spiraled from the growing support for the group (West's Encyclopedia). This way, the ideas and thoughts of the Ku Klux Klan finagled their way into American government. For that reason, the need for the Civil Rights Movement intensified. Many of the ideas adopted from the Klan were not only racist, but they were discriminatory in many other ways too. The influence of the KKK's thoughts and policies only added to the snowballing prejudice in America. The American government in the mid 1900s had strong influence from the Klan. As a result, along with several Klan members and sympathizers in various offices, American law enforcement showed bias and prejudice in favor of the Klan in a myriad of cases. In one case, the FBI withheld crucial information that would have led to conviction of criminals and prevention of