Ku Klux Klan – Legends of America
Okay, let’s talk about the Ku Klux Klan, or the KKK. You’ve probably heard the name, and it’s definitely not a pretty one. It’s basically a term for several different American groups, both past and present, that are all about white supremacy, extreme right-wing ideologies, and, let’s be real, terrorism and hate.
So, who do they target? Pretty much anyone who isn’t a white, Anglo-Saxon Protestant. We’re talking African Americans, Hispanics, Jewish people, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, Italian Americans, Irish Americans, Catholics, immigrants, leftists, LGBTQ+ folks, Muslims, atheists, and even abortion providers. It’s a long and ugly list.
Now, the KKK isn’t just one continuous organization. Think of it more like a series of hate-fueled chapters throughout American history. There have been three main iterations:
- The OG Klan: This one popped up right after the Civil War and hung around until the 1870s.
- The Revival: A second wave started in 1915 and stuck around until the 1940s.
- The Civil Rights Era: The Klan reared its ugly head again in the 1960s when people were actually trying to make the South comply with the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
How It All Started: The First Klan
So, back in December 1865, a bunch of Confederate veterans in Pulaski, Tennessee, decided to start a social club. They took the Greek word "kyklos" (meaning circle), added "clan," and boom, the Ku Klux Klan was born.
But this wasn’t just some harmless hangout. It quickly turned into a vigilante group that used violence and terror to fight against the progress that African Americans were making during Reconstruction. They didn’t want Black people (or any white people who supported them) voting or holding office. They burned houses, attacked people, and left bodies on the roads. It was a way for white Southerners to resist the changes happening after the Civil War.
Interestingly, while the Klan was definitely racist, it wasn’t always anti-Semitic in the beginning. Many Jewish people in the South identified with Southern culture, and some even participated in the Klan.
The Grand Wizards and Invisible Empires
The first leader, or "Grand Wizard," of the KKK was Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate general. The Klan had a whole hierarchy of members with ridiculous titles like "Imperial Wizard" and "Exalted Cyclops." They wore hooded costumes, did violent "night rides," and created this whole idea of an "invisible empire" to make themselves seem more mysterious and scary.
Historians see the KKK as part of the post-Civil War violence, fueled by a lot of veterans trying to control the changing social situation and restore white supremacy through extrajudicial means. Basically, they were taking the law into their own hands.
In the summer of 1867, they had a Klan convention in Nashville, Tennessee, with delegates from all the former Confederate states. Nathan Bedford Forrest, the Grand Wizard, was in charge. They dressed up in robes and sheets to scare Black people and hide from the federal troops, and they whipped and killed freedmen and their white supporters in nighttime raids.
In 1868, the Klan and other white Southerners went on a violent campaign to intimidate voters during the presidential election, trying to keep white people in power. They killed thousands of Black people from Arkansas to Georgia. Lynchings, tar-and-featherings, rapes, and other violent attacks became the Klan’s signature move against anyone who challenged white supremacy.
The Downfall (for a While)
The Klan was at its peak between 1868 and 1870. They were a major force in restoring white rule in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. But even Nathan Forrest thought they were getting too violent, so he ordered them to disband in 1869.
Local branches kept going for a while, which led Congress to pass the Force Act in 1870 and the Ku Klux Klan Act in 1871. These laws were meant to crack down on the Klan, but President Ulysses S. Grant wasn’t always the most enthusiastic about using them. He did send troops to some areas, suspend habeas corpus in South Carolina, and arrest hundreds of people for conspiracy.
In 1882, the Supreme Court declared the Ku Klux Klan Act unconstitutional, and the Klan basically disappeared… for a while.
The Sequel: The Second Klan
In 1915, the KKK was back, thanks to William J. Simmons, a preacher who was inspired by a book called "The Clansman" and a movie called "The Birth of a Nation," both of which romanticized the first Klan. This new Klan stayed small until Edward Y. Clarke and Elizabeth Tyler came along and used their marketing skills to bring in new members and raise money.
This time, the Klan was fueled by patriotism and nostalgia for the old South, but also by fear of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia and the large-scale immigration that was changing America.
Besides hating Black people, this Klan also targeted Catholics, Jewish people, foreigners, and organized labor. They were often pro-prohibition and pro-public education. They spread across the South and the North, playing on fears of communism and immigration, with a strong base in Indiana. This was the group that started using cross burnings and white hooded robes, and they held marches and parades.
As the Klan grew, the FBI started paying attention. They didn’t have many federal laws to use against the KKK, but they started gathering information and sharing it with local law enforcement.
The Roaring Twenties and the Klan’s Peak
The 1920s were a wild time, with gangsters and racketeers running wild. Al Capone and Bugs Moran were fighting for control of Chicago, and the Mafia was growing in New York.
Starting in 1921, the Klan started using modern business tactics, like paid recruiters, and they presented themselves as a fraternal organization. Within six months, their membership increased by 85,000. At its peak in the mid-1920s, they had between three and eight million members.
They made money by controlling the sale of costumes, and the organizers got paid through initiation fees. They grew rapidly during a time of prosperity, playing on the tensions between urban and rural America.
The crimes they committed were awful: hangings, floggings, mutilations, tarring and featherings, kidnappings, acid brandings, and cross burnings. The Klan was a serious threat to public safety.
By 1925, they had enough members to stage a march in Washington, D.C. But sex scandals, internal power struggles, and newspaper exposés quickly weakened their influence.
The Depression and Another Disappearance
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the Klan’s membership dropped drastically, and they temporarily disbanded in 1944.
The Civil Rights Era and the Third Wave
In the 1950s and 1960s, the Klan came back in some Southern states, especially as civil rights workers tried to enforce the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Klan often worked with Southern police departments and governors, like George Wallace of Alabama. Some Klan members were convicted of murdering civil rights workers in Mississippi in 1964 and bombing the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham in 1963.
There were many bombings, whippings, and murders in Southern communities, all done in secret by Klansmen. This included the deaths of four young African American girls in the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church and the 1964 murder of civil rights workers Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner.
Congress investigated the KKK in 1964 after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. An FBI report in 1965 said that the KKK was divided into 14 different organizations with about 9,000 members.
President Lyndon B. Johnson publicly condemned the organization and announced the arrest of Klansmen in connection with the murder of a white female civil rights worker in Alabama.
During the second and third eras of the Klan, many Black Americans left the South in the Great Migration, seeking economic opportunities and escaping the racial terror of the Klan.
The Late 20th Century and Beyond
After the Vietnam War, figures like Louis Beam and David Duke emerged within the Klan. Beam promoted "leaderless resistance" and used technology to connect neo-Nazi and Klan groups. Duke, founder of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, was openly anti-Semitic and bridged the gap with neo-Nazis.
In 1991, former Klan Grand Wizard David Duke ran for governor of Louisiana and almost won. This caused a media frenzy, but his campaign lost momentum when groups like the NAACP threatened to boycott Louisiana if he won.
Despite the Klan’s efforts, racial tolerance grew in the South in the late 20th century. Klan violence became more isolated, and membership declined. The Klan became a fragmented mix of competing groups, some of which allied with neo-Nazis and other extremist groups.
In April 1997, the FBI arrested four members of the True Knights of the Ku Klux Klan for conspiracy to commit robbery and blow up a natural gas processing plant.
In 1999, Charleston, South Carolina’s city council declared the Klan a terrorist organization.
Court cases and government infiltrations weakened the Klan, leading to smaller, less organized chapters. It’s hard to know how many active members there are today, but it’s likely that the infighting, rigid traditions, and negative image of the Klan aren’t attracting many new members.
The Southern Poverty Law Center reported that the number of Klan groups in America dropped from 130 to just 51 between 2016 and 2019.
In July 2020, Tennessee’s State Capitol Commission voted to remove the bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest from the state capitol building.
The United States government still considers the Klan a "subversive terrorist organization."
In Conclusion
The Ku Klux Klan has a long and terrible history in America. While it’s not as powerful as it once was, it’s important to remember its legacy of hate and violence and to continue fighting against racism and intolerance in all its forms.