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The Ku Klux Klansmen: An Analysis

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The KKK was able to systematically manipulate people, and because of their methods Klansmen were able to easily instil fear into much of the Southern population. KKK members didn 't always have a choice of whether or not they joined the KKK, and many joined out of fear of being targeted themselves by Klansmen. “Some South Carolina Klansmen would later claim that they were forced to join or joined out of fear. ‘My neighbors told me I had to go in it, or be whipped in it,’ said William Jolly, who was seventeen when he joined. ‘They told me I had better join for fear of being killed,’ said Christenberry Tait, a seventeen-year-old Klansman who participated in four raids.” (page 56) This quote shows how not all Klansmen had a choice with joining, …show more content…

The KKK was based off of racial discrimination, but over time they also adopted anti-semitic qualities along with strong political prejudices as well. According to historylearningsite, “A sinister group was established which was designed to spread fear throughout the Black population that still lived in the southern states. This was the KKK. Only WASP’s could belong to it — White Anglo-Saxon Protestants. It is a common myth that the KKK targeted only the Blacks – also hated were the Jews, Catholics, liberals etc but most hatred was directed against the poor black families in the south who were very vulnerable to attack.” The quote shows how the KKK was born from, but not limited to, racism and discrimination amongst the Southern population and was willing to enforce their beliefs by any means necessary. The KKK terrorized much of the Southern population and had no problem with committing horrific acts on innocent people to prove their dominance as a terrorist group. “At gunpoint, the Klansmen abducted the five prisoners. Just outside Cross Plains, they lynched the four black men from a tall oak tree, saving Luke for last. Before hanging him, they allowed him to write a letter to his wife, who still lived in Canada with their six children.” (page 99). The quote shows how the horrific acts of terrorism committed by the terrorist group known as the KKK was for no good reason and these acts were committed simply to spread terrorism in the South. The KKK’s rain of terror was more influential in the South due to the South being mainly comprised of confederate supporters. By the early 1870s, few federal troops remained in the South, just six thousand soldiers in all, spread among the eleven Klan-infested states, a land area that totaled more than 790,000 square miles. (page 101-102).

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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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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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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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After the Civil War, a group called the Ku Klux Klan, better known today as the KKK, was formed. This group made it almost impossible for new African American citizens to exercise their rights. This group used physical assault and murder to express their opinion about African Americans at that time. In Document B, an image is shown of a member of the KKK teaming up with a member of the White League. Below the two, a small family of slaves huddles together in fear.

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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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South Rejection Destroyed the Reconstruction. After the civil war there were efforts sent out to reconstruct the south, and they went horribly wrong. During the civil war the south was totally destroyed. So the government decided to send help to rebuild the south’s economy and tradition.

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After talking about specific African Americans and their horrid encounters with the Ku Klux Klan, Foner writes, “While most white southerners were law-abiding citizens, they seemed willing to forgive the Klan’s excesses because they shared the organization’s ultimate goal—the overthrow of Reconstruction and the restoration of white supremacy,” (Foner 174). The fact that the Southerners were willing to forgive the KKK after they had killed and tortured hundreds of African Americans is appalling. Also, the quote proves that with so many citizens supporting the overthrow of Reconstruction, there was no chance that it would be successful in the long run because deep down, half of the nation did not care about the rights of African Americans. To add on, the opponents of Reconstruction despised it so much because they viewed it as an era of “Negro rule” as if the Blacks were trying to take over the country when in reality, they were just trying to achieve basic rights and protections from the government. In the epilogue, Foner states that the reason he wrote the novel was to accurately describe the sad truths of this era and to prove wrong the idea that Reconstruction's achievements outweighed its failures.

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The clan spread fear and terror towards the blacks in a systematic way. Their reign of terror was felt throughout the south. It spread fear using guerilla tactics, whipping, beating, and lynching. The Klan’s purpose

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The analysis and finding of the Ku Klux Klan is that this extremist group is also associated as a hate group as time evolved with the definition of hate groups and todays extremist Christian groups. This data and finding has been accumulated from research of the origin of the Ku Klux Klan and their extreme actions in carrying out what they believed to be the right forum of saving America from those they identified as not being of American decent. Throughout history they have intimidated those whom are not so called pure white and their belief in racial superiority over all nationalities. These accounts have been verified though quantitative research approach though out history by historians.

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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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In 1926, there was a stout rise in the second Ku Klux Klan, claiming millions of members of prejudice and hatred. The corrupted mind is shown by the quote, “First in the Klansman’s mind is patriotism-America for Americans. He believes religiously that a betrayal of Americanism or the American race is treason to the most sacred trusts, a trust from his fathers and a trust from God.” (Evans, 1926). My interpretation of what this quote would mean in the context of the era is as follows.

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This demonstrates the KKK’s brutal treatment of African Americans after the war. The KKK wanted to maintain dominance and slavery; therefore, they began to terrorize African Americans as well as Republicans. Individuals who publicly supported blacks were additionally attacked. The KKK heavily demonstrated white supremacy due to their loss in the Civil War. Certainly, the fall of the Confederacy negatively impacted many Southerners, so other racist groups similar to the KKK formed alike efforts throughout this period.

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