The Klan 's Organized Terrorism

So the KKK was formed from those that wanted to keep the black man in his place. In Tennessee in 1866 men gathered to express these ideas. Groups started in several places in the state. Finally in 1867 in Nashville the KKK adopted their name and became an organization. Nathan Forrest was the first Grand Wizard. He had been an outstanding

The Ku Klux Klan was founded in 1865 and was made to resist the Reconstruction of the Civil War. They believed whites were racially superior to blacks and held this belief fiercely. Raiding African American homes, lynching innocents, and burning down African American farms. With rises and falls of members, the Ku Klux Klan always was apart of US history after the Civil War. They

Intimidation Tactics of the Ku Klux KlanTopic: Intimidation tactics of the Ku Klux KlanQuestion: What tactics would the Ku Klux Klan use to intimidate African Americans in the US?Thesis: The KKK would impose fear in African Americans by using violent and symbolic methods to intimidate them.Since the start of the Ku Klux Klan in 1865, members have used violent means to intimidate African Americans and other groups of ethically “unclean” people. The KKK would impose fear in African Americans by using violent and symbolic methods to intimidate them. Although these tactics worked for sometime, it ultimately led to their downfall.Immediately after the 13th Amendment was passed, which officially ended slavery in the U.S., many Civil War veterans, who had fought for the Confederate side, despised the idea of blacks living among them equally. This led to them to create the Klan, as a way to control the black population in the South. One way they did this was by carrying out attacks in order to intimidate them. These attacks were usually carried out in rural areas, during nighttime, which led to the members being nicknamed “nightriders.” The Klan would travel to the victim’s house, knock down their doors, whip them, and aim loaded guns at them.1 During these encounters, many women were even sexually abused or raped. Other methods used were hateful, racist rhetoric being shouted at blacks, along with ceremonial cross burnings and public lynchings to remind people of the KKK’s strong

The Ku Klux Klan, also known as the KKK, was thriving in its second generation during the 1920s. The Ku Klux Klan was reborn by William J. Simmons, with the intentions of creating a world with only one race. Simmons’ inspiration came from the film, “Birth of a Nation”. The Ku Klux Klan became more hateful and violent than ever, creating a sense of fear among not only African-Americans, but Jews, Catholics, and immigrants too.

The Ku Klux Klan was a secret terrorist organization that was created by six well educated Confederate veterans in Pulaski, Tennessee in the December of 1865. Their main objective was to restore white supremacy through acts of violence such as murder, against both Black and White Republicans. The KKK had eventually spread to every southern state, and Klansmen would often terrorize republicans regardless of their race. Members of the KKK believed that African Americans were inferior to Whites and did not believe that Blacks deserved equal rights. Although the rebel groups were outlawed and made illegal, many of them remained in existence and appeared after the reconstruction had ended. This proved the Reconstruction to be ineffective as many Southerners were still fighting against the government and opposed them. In addition, African Americans were still deprived of their rights by these

Forever. 170). The Klan were white southerners who were organized and committed to the breaking down of Reconstruction. By methods of brutality, “the Klan during Reconstruction offers the most extensive example of homegrown terrorism in American history” (Foner. Forever. 171). The Ku Klux Klan as well as other groups killed or tormented black politicians or threatened the blacks who voted in elections. The Klan strongly disagreed with the northern idea that slaves should become part of the government. The Historian Kenneth M. Stampp states, “for their [the North] supreme offense was not corruption but attempting to organize the Negroes for political action” (Stampp. Era. 159). This corresponds with Foner’s idea that the South was not open to the idea of change but more so consumed with the idea of recreating a society similar to one of the past. However, the goal of white power groups was not just politics. The Klan wanted to restore the hierarchy once controlling the South. Foner observes that, “the organization took on the function of the antebellum slave patrols: making sure that blacks did not violate the rules and etiquette of white supremacy” (Foner. Forever. 172). Like the power the southern whites formerly held over the slave population, the Ku Klux Klan wanted to control the African American population still living in the South. They did not want the freedmen to become integrated into their society because they saw them as lesser people. By suppressing and

The second group was discovered in 1915, and developed public in the early 1920s, they disrupted Catholics and Jews, and dwelled on conflict to the Catholic Church. The first Klan that evolved was in the southern United States in the delayed 1860s, then distinguished by the early 1870s. This Klan supported radical traditional currents such as white dominance, white ethnocentricity, anti-immigration, anti-Catholicism, and anti-Semitism, classically communicated through terrorism and at individuals or groups whom they opposed. especially in later repetition, specifically in unknown areas of the Midwest and West. Although the crew of the KKK swear to confirm Christian honesty, practically every Christian faith has completely denied the KKK. This second formation for the klan interacted the similar code words as the first Klan, while adding mass flaunting and cross combustions. They focused on engagement to the Civil Rights Movement, often using homicide and brutality to abolish anyone they disliked. It is camouflaged as a hate group. The third and recent manifestation of the KKK occurred after 1950, in the form of small, local, isolated groups that use the KKK

The Klu Klux Klan was formed in 1866 by a group of Confederate soldiers in Pulaski, Tennessee. It was a social club or fraternity for the veterans but later had different views and became a terrorist group (PBS). The name of the group came from the Greek word “kyklos” meaning circle and then they added Klan to make the name flow (History.com Staff). It did not start with the thought of malicious activity. They would have secret meetings and elaborate ceremonies to discuss how they could stop reconstruction after the civil war. The members would wear white sheets that covered their whole body and pointy white caps to make them appear taller. This was an all white group and ended up being one of the deadliest terrorist groups (EyeWitness to History). General Nathan Bedford Forrest was the Klu Klux Klan’s first “grand wizard,” also known as

The group known as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was first founded in 1866. The KKK was organized by white supremacist to go against the Republicans Reconstruction-era policies. The members of the group formed in the southern states. They met secretly and formed a campaign to intimidate and use violent acts of discrimination towards both white and black Republican leaders. The Ku Klux Klan had laws passed against them, to stop there acts of injustice, which was considered terrorism. The Ku Klux Klan was a group that formed three times, and had different phases. The reformatted in the early 20th century, and came back stronger than the were before. They held rallies, burned homes and people, burnt crosses, and held marches against immigrants and other religions. Another phase was after the Civil Rights movement in the 1960’s the activity was very violent

The Klan started in the year 1866, as a social club. The first Klan was founded in Tennessee and soon began to expand throughout the southern states. In 1868 the Klan quickly became one of the most feared terrorist groups. The first leader of the clan was Nathan Bedford Forrest who was a past general in the confederate army. Soon the clan evolved into almost every state in 1870. The second Klan began in 1915, and ended in 1944. The third clan started in 1946 and is still active today. (PBS)

Tennessee, in 1865. The first KKK was formed by six Civil war veterans, with the purpose to

Frustrated confederate soldiers made their way back home after losing the war that they had been fighting for four years. These men formed vigilante groups, attacking black people. While soldiers did this, wealthier men who had avoided fighting in the war formed agricultural and police clubs for the same purpose; both groups soon took shape and evolved into one large group, known as the Ku Klux Klan and Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest became the first leader, known as the Grand Wizard. The name Ku Klux Klan is derived from the Greek word, Kyklos, meaning circle. The Ku Klux Klan, often shortened to the KKK, was founded in Tennessee in 1866 and grew to be one of the most feared terrorist groups in the United States, before dying off in 1869, but later being revived in 1915 (History.com Staff). The Ku Klux Klan negatively impacted the Reconstruction period through terror, intimidating Republican voters, and killing Republican officials.

Eight months after the Civil War, in the south the government was weak and there were no jobs available. On Christmas Eve of 1866, six confederate veterans started a social hate group in Pulaski, Tennessee. The six confederate veterans were John Lester, James Crowe, John Kennedy, Calvin Jones, Richard Reed, and Frank McCord. The group started off as just wanting to have fun and keep themselves entertained. The six founders were well educated and came from wealthy families. From their Greek knowledge, they use the word kyklos meaning circle and then added the word Klan. The Ku Klux Klan was then born. Nathan Bedford Forrest was the first leader of the Klan. He was known as the “Grand Wizard.”

     As the membership of the Ku Klux Klan began to soar the ideas and the goals of the Klan changed. The KKK originally was only against blacks and black defenders. But they later become defenders of conservative protestant denominations. The Klan believed that the whites were the superior race; they both feared and hated Jews, Catholics, immigrants, and African Americans. The KKK claimed to fight lawlessness and immortality such as; gambling, prostitution, homosexuality, and miscegenation. It portrayed itself as the champion of religion and morality. The Klan’s vowed goals were to protect God, country, house, womanhood, the south, but most importantly white supremacy.

The Ku Klux Klan was a politically and racially motivated group that discouraged and frustrated attempts at racial equality (Bowles 2011). They were against all equality for anyone who supported a Union or was black. They were in control of the Southern states and they ran amuck abusing and murdering anyone they felt would threaten their way of life and the local and state governments sat back and supported their efforts to keep the blacks enslaved at all costs. In and article written by the Harper’s Weekly paper about the atrocities in the South it stated that,