How It All Started
The Ku Klux Klan was started in the Reconstruction Era by six young confederate veterans, in Georgia. The name came from the Greek word "Kuklos" meaning the circle of necessity in Mysticism.The first new klan spread slowly but increased in size rapidly after the war. The KKK grew rapidly as the southerners tried to regain control of their nation .The group provided refuge for white men and women. They mainly focused on small towns, but terrorized large ones as well. The KKK promised to reform politics and prohibition. A burning cross was used to scare those who weren't white people or apart of the society, it was also their symbol. They dressed in white robes and masks so the members wouldn't be recognized by others. All members who joined had to pledge their allegiance to the KKK and their beliefs; the members could only be loyal to the white race. The KKK preformed many secret and elaborate rituals. Nathan B. Forest was the first known leader of the group. They were known as "The Invisible Empire" wherever they went.The Ku Klux Klan's violence was directed at people they considered "Non-American" in their mind.
The mid-1860's, 1920's, and 1950-60's was when the klan was most active throughout the US. When the klan first spread to Texas it was noticed in March 1868, the klan's attention was focused in northeast Texas. The KKK started to resort to violence in May 1868, violence was closely followed by politics. Lynching was their form of violence. By late 1868 authorities began to gain the upper hand against the klan. The KKK began to wane in 1869. A law was passed saying force could be used against the KKK in 1871. The mid-1920's was when the KKK started to grow rapidly; they had over 2 million members in the south alone. The Ku Klux Klan mainly spread through the south. By electing public officials, other than klan members, victims of the KKK were terrorizing became stronger, the public criticism directed at the Ku Klux Klan weakened them as well. Only Local town klan's stayed strong in the 1930's; the bigger city klan's were very weak. The klan died out in 1944 only to be revived again in 1946 by a man named Samuel Green. They were split onto many competitive groups.
The increased Civil Rights Act on the 1950-60's only made the Ku Klux Klan even more violent. They were believed to be involved in many terrorist acts, some members were even sent to prison. With all of the KKK's repercussions they started to use less violence. The klan's members began to deplete because of all the prosecutions. Many of the new klan leaders tried to give the Ku Klux Klan a more respectable image but never really succeed. Their main target in the 1950-60's were the Vietnamese, they had an alliance formed with neo-Nazi's at the time. Members began to rise to 10,000 in the 1980's. In the 1920's the klan died out mainly in larger towns or cities but remained in small town, like El Paso. Despite the KKK's outward appearance, it was poorly organized. Red Hand, Pale Faces, Knights of the Rising Sun, Knights of the White Camellia, White Brotherhood, and the Constitutional Union Guards are some other smaller groups that had many of the same priorities as the Ku Klux Klan; they only support the white race as well.
The Ku Klux Klan was started in the Reconstruction Era by six young confederate veterans, in Georgia. The name came from the Greek word "Kuklos" meaning the circle of necessity in Mysticism.The first new klan spread slowly but increased in size rapidly after the war. The KKK grew rapidly as the southerners tried to regain control of their nation .The group provided refuge for white men and women. They mainly focused on small towns, but terrorized large ones as well. The KKK promised to reform politics and prohibition. A burning cross was used to scare those who weren't white people or apart of the society, it was also their symbol. They dressed in white robes and masks so the members wouldn't be recognized by others. All members who joined had to pledge their allegiance to the KKK and their beliefs; the members could only be loyal to the white race. The KKK preformed many secret and elaborate rituals. Nathan B. Forest was the first known leader of the group. They were known as "The Invisible Empire" wherever they went.The Ku Klux Klan's violence was directed at people they considered "Non-American" in their mind.
The mid-1860's, 1920's, and 1950-60's was when the klan was most active throughout the US. When the klan first spread to Texas it was noticed in March 1868, the klan's attention was focused in northeast Texas. The KKK started to resort to violence in May 1868, violence was closely followed by politics. Lynching was their form of violence. By late 1868 authorities began to gain the upper hand against the klan. The KKK began to wane in 1869. A law was passed saying force could be used against the KKK in 1871. The mid-1920's was when the KKK started to grow rapidly; they had over 2 million members in the south alone. The Ku Klux Klan mainly spread through the south. By electing public officials, other than klan members, victims of the KKK were terrorizing became stronger, the public criticism directed at the Ku Klux Klan weakened them as well. Only Local town klan's stayed strong in the 1930's; the bigger city klan's were very weak. The klan died out in 1944 only to be revived again in 1946 by a man named Samuel Green. They were split onto many competitive groups.
The increased Civil Rights Act on the 1950-60's only made the Ku Klux Klan even more violent. They were believed to be involved in many terrorist acts, some members were even sent to prison. With all of the KKK's repercussions they started to use less violence. The klan's members began to deplete because of all the prosecutions. Many of the new klan leaders tried to give the Ku Klux Klan a more respectable image but never really succeed. Their main target in the 1950-60's were the Vietnamese, they had an alliance formed with neo-Nazi's at the time. Members began to rise to 10,000 in the 1980's. In the 1920's the klan died out mainly in larger towns or cities but remained in small town, like El Paso. Despite the KKK's outward appearance, it was poorly organized. Red Hand, Pale Faces, Knights of the Rising Sun, Knights of the White Camellia, White Brotherhood, and the Constitutional Union Guards are some other smaller groups that had many of the same priorities as the Ku Klux Klan; they only support the white race as well.