The Ku Klux Klan of the 1920's - Book Report/Review Example

The first Klan originated in the year 1865 and the fire of their reaction extinguished as early by 1874. The second Klan originated during 1915 and remained active till 1944. The second Klan received the most effective nation-wide response and the second Klan also adopted the similar dress and codes like the first one. The second Klan was responsible for introducing the popular mode of protest like cross burnings. The third Klan originated around 1950s and that of 1960s. The third Klan got more associated with the opposition of the civil-right movements and manifested development among the minorities in United States.

Thesis Statement The unorganised protest factions under the name of KKK lost its integrity during and after the second phase of its evolution and movement which can be put under the second Klan. The most glorious and flourishing period of the KKK is during its second phase around 1920s. This essay intends to mark the characteristics and the upsurge of the most flourishing and accepted phase of the Ku Klux Klan during 1920s. The Second Klan or The Ku Klux Klan during 1920s The second Ku Klux Klan evolved during the year 1921 as a very small organization in Georgia.

The Klan adopted a modern system by which the contemporary organisations use to run. The process of recruitment was incorporated in the organising model and the charges for the costume and the initiation fees were managed and organised by the organisers. The Klan received a fast growing acceptability and popularity witnessing its most prosperous period during the time. Any socio-protest movement or organisation evolves and frames its line of action on the basis of the socio-economic backdrop from which it has evolved and started operating.

The time was marked by much tension in the social arena pertaining to the urban industrialisation rapidly spreading immigration. Due to this reason, the membership of the organisation increased very fast and rapid in the cities. It spread to the Midwest and Western part of the country, also moving fast out of the Southern half. The main motif of the KKK during 1920s was to preach Americanism and spread the purification in political system. The other activities of the Klan were to preach staunch racism anti-Catholicism.

The movement also protested Communism. The group also preached nativims and antisemitism. The local groups and activists during the period participated in attacking private houses. Most of these violent activities took place in the Southern part of the nation (Jackson, “Images of Black men in Black women writers, 1950-1990”). The Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s was generally an official mode of fraternal organisation that had attained national and state structure. The organisation reached the pinnacle of its glory during the middle 1920s.

During this time, the organisation included almost 15% of the eligible population nation-wide. The calculation of the eligible men enlisted in the organisation summed up to 4 to 5 million during the period. But very disappointingly the membership of the group reduced by 1930s to a population of about 30,000 and the reason for this reduction lies on the internal factions, enhanced criminal activities of the leaders and oppositions from the other and external groups. All these resulted in the complete effacing of the group by 1940s (The New Georgia Encyclopaedia, “