The History of KKK

The History of KKK

Ku Klux Klan is a designation mainly given to two distinct secret

societies that played a part in American history, although other less

important groups have also used the name. The first Ku Klux Klan was

an organization that thrived in the South during the Reconstruction

period following the Civil War. The second was a nationwide

organization that flourished after World War I.

The original Klan - Six college students founded the Ku Klux

Klan between December 1865 and the summer of 1866 in the town of

Pulaski, Tennessee. Former Confederate officers, the six young men

organized as a social club or fraternity and spent their time in

horseplay of various types, including wearing disguises and galloping

about town after dark. They were surprised to learn that their nightly

appearances were causing fear, particularly among former slaves in the

area. They quickly took advantage of this effect and the group began a

rapid expansion. Various factions formed in different towns, which led

to a meeting in April 1867 to codify rules and organizational

structure.

At this meeting, former Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest was

elected Grand Wizard, or supreme leader, of all the Klan. The

organization was divided into a number of realms, dominions, provinces

and dens, which were in turn led by Grand Dragons, Titans, Giants and

Cyclopes.

Nathan Bedford Forrest

The policies of Reconstruction (aiming to extend the rights of

Southern blacks) had the unintended effect of pushing hundreds of

resentful and anxious veterans into the Klan, which soon began

instituting a systematic policy of violence in opposition...

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...tion of everyone

but themselves but they have put a lot towards making todays world a

racist place. They have mentally disturbed peoples lives and

terrorized villages by burning down their churches.

Although the modern Ku Klux Klan, or KKK, is not the same group that

terrorized African - Americans in the late 1800s and early 1900s, they

still have the same basic goals and ideas. There are many local and

regional KKK groups such as the Oregon Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and

the New Order Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. The Knights of the Ku Klux

Klan is the national and largest organization, but the only one

seeking a political agenda. They are the group that claims they are

keeping alive the spirit and ideas of the original Klansmen but there

are only a few thousand left as we think but it’s a very secret

society.