Ku Klux Klan - Research Paper Example

? English 14 April Ku Klux Klan The initials ‘KKK’ stand for ‘Ku Klux Klan’. It is one of the oldest and most prominent racist organizations in the United States. To achieve its goals of racial segregation and white supremacy, the Klan uses extreme violence. The Ku Klux Klan was organized in Pulaski, Tennessee by six former confederate members namely; Clavin E. Jones, Frank O. McCord, Richard R. Reed, John B. Kennedy, John C. Lester and James R. Crowe. There is a lot of speculation on the actual date that the Klan was formed. One member said the Klan was founded during the summer of 1865, another said it was formed in December during the Christmas week, still another said it was founded on Christmas Eve of 1865 while James Crowe who is another founder said that the first gathering took place in the fall or winter of 1865 or 1866 (Quarles 30). However, it is believed that the club was formed in December 1865. The original name of the club was from the Greek word Kuklos meaning ‘for circle and cycle are formed’. The confederates later modified the word to Kuklux adding the word clan at the end since all the founders were of Scottish descent. Kuklux Clan became the name of the organization, later it was divided into three words and a ‘K’ used for each word. The name therefore changed to Ku Klux Klan. There are other suggestions about the origin of the name. Romine states that members of the Klan could have become familiar with the mythology of the ‘God of Light’ who was called Cukulcan since many volunteer troops went to the Mexican War from Tennessee and members of the early Klan sometimes called themselves the sons of light(Quarles 32). Another story told that the name did not come from a Greek word meaning circle but from the two phased cocking sound of a shotgun. Many different stories have been told and written creating mystery about the organization which later came to be known as the ‘Invisible Empire’. The six former confederate members met in the law office of Judge Thomas M. Jones located eighty miles south of Nashville in Pulaski, south central Tennessee. One of the town’s prewar buildings has a plaque marking the occasion. The Klan is an American institution though it has been exported to other lands by racists. The formation of the club was not a major historical event; the group was informally constituted during the first meeting. Directing and planning of the Klan activities began later as further meetings developed goals and objectives, leadership titles were chosen and organizational rules instituted (Quarles 30). All evidence supports the fact that the founding of the Klan was innocent with no ulterior motive or effect. Many scholars also believe that the beginning was innocent; this is because of the tricks that the early Klansmen performed. The first noted activity of the Klan was that it was a brotherly association. Some members used childish methods of pursuing victims. The original purpose of the young confederate veterans was to scare black adults and cause trouble as an amusing way of passing time in a southern society that was altered and a destroyed economy. Klansmen dressed in white sheets and covered their horsemen in the same way. The Ku Klux Klan members believed that racial integration and racial equality of society was a threat and could destroy the white race. The Klan opposed public policies that promote social and political equality for historically disadvantaged groups like the blacks through antidiscrimination laws and affirmative action. Their beliefs were that the nature of mankind is unequal therefore hierarchical. Ku Klux Klan members described themselves as white Protestant Christians. Their primary objection was initially against blacks’ freedom and extension of rights to include blacks. This was after slavery in the United States was brought to an end. In terms of their strength in the political history of the United States, the Klan has had three specific periods. The first Klan blossomed in the South in the late 1860s and diminished in the early 1870s. The second Klan blossomed in the entire nation of the United States from the early to mid 1920s. The third Klan appeared after the Second World War. Originally, black people were the target of the Klan, later Catholics, Jews, socialists, communists, Asians, American Indians, immigrants and homosexuals also became targets of the Klan. The first Klan was founded in Tennessee in late 1865 or early 1866. It was initially a local social club of young former confederate officers looking for amusement; later its primary purpose changed taking the goal of resisting Reconstruction after the Civil War. The Klan intimidated Freedmen through terror and violence. It was also involved in killing of Republican voters that took place in 1868. Effects of the Klan declined in the early 1870s. In 1871, President Ulysses D. Grant took legal action under the Civil Rights Act of 1871 which was also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act destroyed and the organization. The Klan had no organization and its recognition came from its influence. The organization had no dues, no membership record, no rules, no newspaper, no spokesman and no local or national officials. The second Klan was founded in 1915 by Joseph Simmons. The group was totally new but used a name and costumes similar to the first Klan. The Klan grew in the 1920s when it gained more members from the entire nation of the United States. The Klan fought to maintain the supremacy of righteous white Protestants over those they viewed to be sinful such as Catholics, Jews, adulterers, blacks and bootleggers. This Klan was different from the first one since it operated openly and during the 1920s which were its peak years it got millions of members in the Midwest and the South. The second Klan privately influenced some members of the state governments such as politicians from Oregon and Indiana. Members who were politicians came from all levels of government. The reputation of the Klan was destroyed by its association with many crimes that were taking place during the time. By 1924, the number of members started diminishing and in 1928 only few members remained in different states. The Ku Klux Klan after the Second World War was revived by Klan victims who had decided to fight back. There was economic destitution, unionization and New deal programs that all came together to weaken white dominance during the 1930s. President Franklin Roosevelt had redefined the United States liberalism to an active government and a welfare state. Klansmen accused him of reversing the principles of the United States and destroying the states’ rights. In Georgia and Alabama, the towns’ police, rural sheriffs and Klansmen worked hand in hand to terrorize Communist party organizers. Martin Luther king junior was labeled a “rabble rousing nigger Communist” (Knight 419). Klansmen believed that the objective of the Communists was to destroy the tradition of the United States in order to break ground for their takeover in the United States. Robert Shelton who was the leader of the largest Klan organization of the 1960s blamed international Jewish financiers for the First World War and the Great depression. Growing neo-Nazi activities in the 1990s and early 2000s overshadowed the Ku Klux Klan, the neo-Nazi organizations fell in 2005 with most groups completely withering and others dividing. The fall of these groups helped create the rise of Klan groups. Over the past two decades, the Klan has formed cooperation with other racist organizations such as the neo-Nazi factions, Aryan Nations and militant right wing religious and survivalist organizations. In the beginning of 2006, there were about three thousand members of the Klan in the United States. The expansion of the internet offers the Klan opportunities to spread but it might not become a powerful organization in future. Works Cited Quarles, Chester. The Ku Klux Klan and Related American Racialist and Anti-Semitic organizations: a history and analysis. North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 1999. Print. Bullard, Sara. The Ku Klux Klan: A History of Racism and Violence. Alabama: The southern poverty law center, 1996. Print. Gitlin, Marty. The Ku Klux Klan: A Guide to an American Subculture. California: ABC-CLIO, 2009. Print Knight, Peter. Conspiracy Theories in American History: An Encyclopedia, Volume 1. California: ABC-CLIO, 2003. Print. Chalmers, David. Hooded Americanism: the history of the Ku Klux Klan. New York: Duke University Press, 1981. Print. Clary, Johnny. “History of the Ku Klux Klan.” 14 April 2012. . Web. 2012. Read More