The Ku Klux Klan in the Reconstruction Era - Research Paper Example

The Ku Klux Klan in the Reconstruction Era Informally known as “the Klan” or “the Hooded Order”, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is the term designated for the past and present extreme right organizations in the US that have continually advocated for extremist reactionary ideas such as white supremacy, white nationalism, as well as, anti-immigration. The Ku Klux Klan was found in 1866 and extending nearly throughout all the southern states by 1870, it become the main tool for white southern resistance to the Republican Party’s Reconstruction-era policies that sought to establish both political and economic equality rights for the blacks (Harcourt 24). Members of the Ku Klux Klan waged underground campaigns of intimidation and violence against white and black Republican leaders and, despite the Congress’s legislation that aimed to curb Klan terrorism, the KKK organization carried out its primary goal of establishing white supremacy by ensuring Democratic victories in state legislatures particularly in the southern states around 1870’s. The Ku Klux Klan has persisted over the decades, sometimes declining in influence, only to re-emerge later, renewed and powerful than before, thereby leading to the different chapters of the organization that have no connection with one another; this paper provides a detailed account of the Ku Klux Klan particularly in the reconstruction era. The reconstruction era The Reconstruction era in the US refers to the period 1865 to 1877, following the American Civil War, during which many efforts towards addressing the inequalities of slavery together with its socio-economic and political legacy (Ramold 164). Conventionally, the reconstruction period is a time when vindictive radical republicans imposed black supremacy upon the defeated Confederacy, though, the late 2oth century reconstruction period is an experimental moment for interracial democracy. Profound changes in the American political life define the reconstruction era since new laws and constitutional changes at the national level came into force, permanently transforming the federal system and the definition of American citizenship. The southern states transformed immensely, as were directed by Washington, to regain admittance into the Union; the laws and constitutional amendments that laid the foundation for the most radical phase of the reconstruction era came in place from 1866 to 1871, granting freedmen equal rights under the constitution. Following these reconstruction amendments, blacks were voting and taking political office; a politically mobilized black community coupled with their white allies brought the Republican Party to power, with a redefinition of government responsibilities. The Ku Klux Klan in the reconstruction era had one primary objective, which was to trounce the Republican attempts to establish equal political and economic rights for the blacks through intimidation and violence that was directed to both white and black Republican legislatures. The Ku Klux Klan fired violence was so pervasive that Congress had to pass the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, granting authorization for military protection of the blacks against the Klan violence and terrorism. The reconstruction era was a significant mark in the history of civil rights movements in the US (Wiesenberger 951), though, most historians remain highly critical of this period’s failure to curb white supremacy effectively. The Ku Klux Klan then The Ku Klux Klan was a construct of the former Confederate soldiers and it was very active in the period following the Civil War, lasting throughout the reconstruction era; the group was largely comprised of Democratic ex-Confederate veterans, poor white farmers, as well as, white southerners, who were sympathetic to the declining white supremacy. The Ku Klux Klan of the reconstruction era was a highly organized entity that spread fear and violence systematically; the Ku Klux Klan system was largely a militant politico in nature, and it was meant to influence power relations between the blacks and the whites. The Ku Klux sought to influence power relations by bringing down the infrastructure of the Republican Party, curtailing reconstruction efforts, suppressing the black population of the south, and reinstating the white supremacy ideology in the south. The Klan was very upset by the Republican Party’s reconstruction policies that abolished slavery and the federal occupation and restructuring of the South, and this fired up its goal of destroying the Republican Party through guerrilla tactics; the Klan harassed registered Republican voters, and if necessary murdered them. Black political leaders, heads of black religious institutions, as well as all the blacks that were tied to political organizations were murdered; black institutions such as schools, churches, and Freed Bureau posts were destroyed as well. The reconstruction period inevitably provided the impetus for the Ku Klux Klan in the South after the civil war, and in particular, the effort by Congressional Republics to enfranchise and extend full citizenship rights. A majority of the southern states had incorporated legal means of controlling the emancipated blacks such as Black Codes, and besides these, they were also turning to extra-legal terrorism, which was carried out by covert vigilante secret societies such as the Ku Klux Klan. The Klan gained a lot of popularity in the south, particularly following the decision by Congressional Republicans to challenge the white supremacy in the south through the reconstruction program, which aimed to promote black civil rights and economic opportunity. Nathan Bedford Forest, a renowned Confederate Calvary commander led the first wave of the Klan, which started in Tennessee and rapidly expanded throughout the south; the Ku Klux Klan was officially the white southerners’ secrete paramilitary organization that championed for white supremacy. The white supremacist organization terrorized blacks with beatings, burning of homes, as well as, through lynching all over the south during the reconstruction era; this led to the passage of the Federal terrorism laws, which aimed at suppressing the Klan’s activities and protecting the blacks accordingly. Upon its formation, the Klan adopted a declaration of principles and branded itself as an “invisible empire,” and the name of the organization originated from the Greek word “kuklos,” which means “circle.” The Ku Klux Klan outfit comprised of white robes and hooded robes, as well as masks, white cardboard hats, and white sheets, designed specifically to prey upon the superstitions of the blacks (Elaine 12), who comprised the largely uneducated population of the south. The Klan was a mechanism of instilling fear into the blacks not to vote through vicious brutality, which involved burning crosses; initially, blacks were thoroughly warned not to vote or to stop some activities in the interest of the whites. Those blacks who resisted or did not heed the warnings were thoroughly assaulted and viciously tortured by the Klan; most of the times, the Klan conducted its activities at night, dragging victims out of their bed and subjecting them to beatings, and flogging. In worst-case scenarios, the victims were hung or shot and their houses burnt down to ashes to send a resounding warning to other blacks not to even think of resisting the Klan and insisting on exercising their equal civil, economic and political rights. The Ku Klux Klan, through its terrorism activities, was largely responsible for assisting the white supremacists in gaining control of the state governments, particularly in the states of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. Despite the presence of other supremacist factions, the Ku Klux Klan was the dominant terrorist secret organization that advocated for white supremacy in the south; the Klan absorbed all other smaller groups such as the White Brotherhood, the Men of Justice, and the Knights of the White Camnelia as it spread. The early Ku Klux Klan attacks against the blacks were motivated by the fact that the blacks were a great threat to white supremacists’ domination, particularly in the south where their population after the civil war was so great. If they had been left to vote, the blacks had a greater potential of wielding a considerable proportion of political power that would have destabilized the conventional order of white supremacy at the chagrin of the supremacists. In this respect, to contain the blacks’ influence by stopping them from voting become the single most significant goal of the Ku Klux Klan in the reconstruction period, to ensure the white rule continued. The aim of the Ku Klux Klan was to put a white majority in power then once the white supremacy had been established, the blacks would have been controlled through legal devices like the enactment of laws to suppress their right to vote, among other rights. Besides their political rights, the black’s economic rights were also highly frustrate d by the Klan since it targeted the black businessmen who attempted to achieve any business success, in addition to those who attempted to form unions to further their economic aspirations in the south. Following the rising dominance of the Ku Klux Klan and its terror activities in the south, congress sought ways of curbing the violence and controlling the organization (Parsons 54), particularly because it was a major threat to the reconstruction efforts. Congress was also vexed because the blacks voted in support of the Republican Party, and the fact that the Ku Klux Klan was frustrating the black community, it was a clear indication that the political future of the Republican Party was under threat. Benjamin Butler, one of the Republican leaders-- a Federal General and a military govern of New Orleans took tough actions against the Klan, while the Congressional Republicans urged the then president Ulysses Grant to pursue even tougher actions to contain the Klan. A grand jury reported findings of an investigation that detailed the existence and operations of the secret white supremacist organization in the south; the jury concluded that the Klan was inflicting vengeance on colored citizens by dragging them out of bed in the heart of the night and torturing them to the extent of murder. Following the recommendations of the grand jury after the Congressional investigation into the activities of the Ku Klux Klan, President Grant urged congress to take counter measures against the Klan violence in the south; this led to the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which enforced provisions of the 14th amendment guaranteeing civil rights. The Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 gave the President a lot of power to intervene in the Klan violence in the southern states, and he exercised his presidential authority by issuing a Presidential proclamation ordering all vigilante groups to disarm and disband. Federal officials carried out massive sweeps that led to the arrest of hundreds of the suspected Ku Klux Klan members and Klan violence in the southern states subsided substantially following these steps. However, inasmuch as clan violence had stopped, it was a little too late, particularly because the clan had already achieved its objective of establishing white supremacist governments in a majority of the southern states. With its goals achieved and white supremacist governments firmly in control in many of the southern states, the Ku Klux Klan disbanded eventually; their aim then, was to use a variety of legal measures to suppress black voting and civil rights. Ultimately, the Ku Klux Klan was a construct of the late 1880’s former Confederate Soldiers, and it comprised of Democratic ex-Confederate veterans, poor white farmers, as well as, white southerners, who were sympathetic to the declining white supremacy. The Ku Klux Klan was highly active in the reconstruction period where it sought to influence power relations by bringing down the foundations of the Republican Party, frustrating and ending reconstruction efforts. Additionally, the Klan sought to suppress the black population of the south, and to reinstate the white supremacy ideology in the south, which was under threat of extinction due to the large numbers of the black population as well as the equal civil and economic rights. The Klan’s opposition to the Republican attempts to enforce equal political and economic rights for the blacks motivated their violent attacks against both white and black Republican legislatures. The pervasiveness of the Klan violence in the south led to the Congressional Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which effectively ended Klan violence; with its goals achieved and white supremacist governments firmly in control in the southern states, the Ku Klux Klan disbanded. Works Cited Ramold, Steven. J., “In the Wake of Slavery: Civil War, Civil Rights, and the Reconstruction of Southern Law.” Choice 45.1 (2007): 164. Elaine, Frantz P., “Midnight Rangers: Costume and Performance in the Reconstruction-Era Ku Klux Klan.” The Journal of American History 92.3 (2005): 811-36.  Wiesenberger, Steven, “Backfire: How the Ku Klux Klan Helped the Civil Rights Movement.” The Journal of Southern History 70.4 (2004): 951-2.  Harcourt, Edward J., “Who were the Pale Faces? New Perspectives on the Tennessee Ku Klux." Civil War History 51.1 (2005): 23-66.  Parsons, Elaine F., “Klan skepticism and denial in reconstruction-era public discourse.” The Journal of Southern History 77.1 (2011): 53-90. Read More