“Most white Southerners believed that God created Black People for the special purpose of working and serving White People. To them the thought of racial equality was immoral because it violated God’s plan”.
(Bartoletti 7)
Why the KKK was started
The Ku Klux Klan was started for a number of reasons
One was the political and financial devastion the south suffered after the civil war. Another was the south's fear that the north would make laws favoring the north during reconstruction. The working class and lower class white southerners had to compete economicaly with freed people for jobs, lands, and economic opportunity. Slave labor had also Made up most of the south's economy untill the civil war.
The beginning of the KKK
How the Klan worked
The Klan had a distinct hierarchy. Patterned after a fraternity they developed titles and assigned jobs and secret rites and rituals. The supreme leader was called the grand Wizard. The leader of individual state level groups was called the Grand Cyclops. The second in charge was called the Grand Magi. The ceremonial leader was called the Grand Turk. The messenger was called the Night Hawk. These names encouraged a sense of prestige among members and help to maintain secrecy.
The History
What was the Ku Klux Klan?
The Ku Klux Klan was an organization of men who viewed white Christians as the supreme race. Their goal was to intimidate and control the freed men and other minorities such Jews and homosexuals through increasing violence to include murder. The Klan was a group that was based on loyalty and secrecy. Lynching, drowning and gutting were methods of murder used by the Klan.
The Klan originally started in the south in Tennessee the Klan spread to neighboring states such as Mississippi and Alabama and Virginia during the first wave of popularity.
During the second wave of popularity small groups of the KKK could be found in the Mid West, the North East and in other parts of the United States
The Klan and civil rights movement
The Ku Klux Klan was revived in the 1950s in response to civil rights movements. The most well known sub group of the KKK was led by Robert Shelton and was called the white knights.
The klan also affected politics by killing opposing politicians. they would threaten freed people to vote for certain politicians or not vote at all. In 1866 the Klan was officialy disbanded because the grand wizard was opposed to the violence of the Klan. factions still operated though and later became more organized.
Knights of the Klan
In 1950 Tuscaloosa Alabama the knights of the Ku Klux Klan were formed. It had 5,000 members. Present group was formed by David Duke in 1974. Who ran for president unsuccessfully.
The Klan still exists and has grown in the past decade due to immigrants. Also they are growing because of social issues such as gay marriage and crime.
Racism In America
Even Today if you pay attention minorities are stereotyped. Racism still exists and probably is just as common as before the civil rights movement. The ku Klux Klan meetings today. Klan members even teach their children racism and hate at a very young age.
Sources
"Ku Klux Klan." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 13 Oct. 2011.
“KKK.org” KKK History Website. The Ku Klux Klan, n.d Web. 12 Oct. 2011.
Bartoletti Susan. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2010 print