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The rise and fall of the ku klux klan
The Ku Klux Klan and its role in the us
Ku Klux Klan origins
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The Ku Klux Klan has existed since the mid nineteenth century. The Klan has had periods membership numbered in the millions, whereas nowadays they do not have as much influence as in the past.What has ceased to change is the media depicting the Ku Klux Klan as a hateful group of bigots wanting to solely wipe out any non-white race. However, the media has not only surfaced many misconception but they fail to realize that the Klan is actually within US Constitutional rights. Because the Bill of Rights guarantees American citizens the freedom of speech and to peacefully assemble, the Ku Klux Klan has the right to continue their practices. With that being said, excluding some violent outburst conducted by Klan subgroups, no one has the right to stop the KKK from protesting, speaking their beliefs, or celebrating their heritage.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Ku Klux Klan was founded in May of 1866, in Pulaski, Tennessee by six veterans of the Confederate Army. The early years of the Klan's existence were focused mainly on restoring white power in the government. The Klan often spoke against Radical Republicans, the political party that most supported the rights of former slaves. At first the Klan seemed relatively harmless. But as time went on, the so called white supremacists showed how far they were willing to go to fulfill their craving for America to go back to its former ways.
According to the Klan members, the only requirement for being a part of the organization is to be Christian. As they see it, America is under attack by immigrants and foreign groups. To them it seems that it isn't right for races to mix because we would all melt into one race of "brown". The highest ranked members of the KKK are said to be led by divine provide...
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...portunity, and rightfully so. The KKK has given more than enough validation for why they believe that they are simply making an attempt to save the white race. Our forefathers were of the white race, and if the Klan makes the point that by not mixing races in terms of marriage would preserve American culture, it is actually a justified statement from that standpoint. Although many people, including myself, would not agree with their opinions, the Klan has the right to hold their own beliefs. The Bill of Rights will always be relevant. They were written with our citizens’ best interests in mind. It was our forefathers' responsibility to ensure that our country would always be free, even centuries after the amendments were written. The Klan, although their beliefs may not be those of the general public, have and will always have the right to preach their own opinions.
Johnny Reeves shows us this when he said “we shall form a great fist and we shall still those who oppose us, we shall strike them out, wipe them out blot them out together we cast a long shadow neighbor and with our shadow we cast our foes in darkness we cast those who are not like us into the arms of Satan” (Witness page 31). Johnny said this because he feels that everyone outside of the Klan is controlled by Satan, and are trying to stop him and his followers. Johnny feels this way even though he may have not ever talked to the person he just bases it off of what race and gender that person is. Also Reynard Alexander was sent a threat in a letter that said “advising me to be careful what I print and what I say, or the day would come when I would not print or say anything again” (Witness page 108). The reason this action was taken is because Reynard Alexander was talking about what the Klan did, and to Johnny Reeves and the Klan they thought what they did was what God wanted. After Johnny Reeves was kicked out of the Klan, Johnny said, “there is only one way to redeem myself with my Klan brothers. Only one way to redeem myself with God” (Witness page 116). Johnny Reeves called the Klan members his brothers which showed me that he greatly cared for them and thought they were good people, and he wanted back in the KKK so bad that he would do
They hated anyone who was not a white Christian, and would go as far as to kill anyone who was not. This group is the Ku Klux Klan. This group of people were known primarily for their very Nazi-based ideologies, which in turn, they ended up murdering many who were not white, or even burning down the homes and business’ of those who weren’t. They were strongly against the progressive movement of the American Government toward the African American people. Although today this group has lost many in numbers, there are still a surprisingly large amount of people who are part of
... the nation. And it definitely advises us to be vigilant against those who would still claim superiority over people of color—there’s clearly more racism than some Americans may be aware of. The one minor flaw the JBAKC makes is to perhaps get “too persuasive” in this piece. That is, if it were to be labeled “extremist,” it could take away from the information and their message. Unfounded claims, also, could debunk their message as erroneous to the general public. However, imperfections aside, one thing most Americans can agree on is that racism ought to be a thing of the past in our free society, and Take a Stand Against the Klan is an effective and fiery call to action on that account. And if it fails to provoke action, at the very least its controversy provokes thought—one way or another bringing us one step closer to ending white supremacy and oppression.
Hooded Americanism: The First Century of the Ku Klux Klan: 1865 to the Present by David Chalmers records the history of the Ku Klux Klan quite bluntly, all the way from its creation following the civil war, to the early 1960’s. The author starts the book quite strongly by discussing in detail many acts of violence and displays of hatred throughout the United States. He makes a point to show that the Klan rode robustly throughout all of the country, not just in the southern states. The first several chapters of the book focus on the Klan’s creation in 1865. He goes on to discuss the attitude of many Americans following the United State’s Civil War and how the war shaped a new nation. The bulk of the book is used to go through many of the states, and express the Klan’s political influence on both the local and state governments. The author starts with Texas and Oklahoma, and goes through the history of the Klan geographically, finishing with New Jersey and Washington. The author stresses that the KKK did not just commit acts of violence towards minorities, but also carried political power. He continues to discuss the impact of the Klan on Civil Rights movements in the 1960’s, and various other important political controversies between the 1920’s and 1970’s. Towards the middle of the book, David M. Chalmers focuses on portraying the feelings of governments and state legislatures, as well as normal citizens towards the Klan. To do this more effectively, the author uses excerpts and quotes from editorials and newspapers, along with several dozen pictures. The conclusion of the book was used mainly as an overview of all of the major incidents and deaths involving the Klan, and how their persistence has allowed them to still exist today despite a lack of resources and support.
...in now way do I agree or support the Ku Klux Klan, however, do feel that this group has made a rather large impact on our society as well as our history. The only admirable aspect of the Klan is the hard work they continuously did through obstacles to achieve what they wanted. The Klan was a success, but a failure in the end. The Klan was a product of its time and as time passed, so did the Klan..
The KKK is the hooded legend of the past, present, and likely the future of the United States. Their stories of death and destruction across the United States and the midwest have frightened many of color and those of certain backgrounds and delegations for years.The history of the secret organization known as the Ku Klux Klan, goes back to 1865. The Ku Klux Klan began as a social group for Confederate veterans after the end of the civil war. On December 24th of the year 1865, the secret society that would change a nation, was born .
The KKK was set up to build an all white society based on Christian beliefs. They claim that
The Ku Klux Klan is an extreme racist group founded in 1866 in Pulaski, Tennessee by six former Confederate veterans. The first two words in the name come from the Greek word “kyklos” meaning “circle.” The KKK used to be known as just the Klan or the Hooded Order. The group was formed due to the white Southern resistance to the Republican Party’s newly established policies for the economic equality for blacks; main beliefs of the group included white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration. The KKK met at a convention, the “Invisible Empire of the South,” in 1867. The first appointed leader in charge of the Klan was Nathan Bedford Forrest (a former Confederate soldier, slave trader, and plantation owner). By the time 1870 rolled around, the beliefs of the men were spread to almost every Southern state.
White Southerners who hated blacks started the Ku Klux Klan in 1866. It was also called the KKK. They tried to stop black people from voting and having other civil rights. They would wear white sheets and masks with pointed hoods. They would beat up blacks and public officials. They would burn crosses by the houses of people they wanted to scare. The KKK was declared illegal in 1...
Jim Crow, a series of laws put into place after slavery by rich white Americans used in order to continue to subordinate African-Americans has existed for many years and continues to exist today in a different form, mass incarceration. Jim Crow laws when initially implemented were a series of anti-black laws that help segregate blacks from whites and kept blacks in a lower social, political, and economic status. In modern day, the term Jim Crow is used as a way to explain the mass incarcerations of blacks since Jim Crow laws were retracted. Through mass incarceration, blacks are continuously disenfranchised and subordinated by factors such as not being able to obtain housing, stoppage of income, and many other factors. Both generations of Jim Crow have been implemented through legal laws or ways that the government which helps to justify the implementation of this unjust treatment of blacks.
Many years ago the KKK was labeled a Hate group for obvious reasons. Lately a new group, Black Lives Matter have emerged in our society creating the same threat and domestic terrorism as the KKK. -Michael Hamilton of Denver,
Equality is something that should be given to every human and not earned or be taken away. However, this idea does not present itself during the 1930’s in the southern states including Alabama. African Americans faced overwhelming challenges because of the thought of race superiority. Therefore, racism in the southern states towards African Americans made their lives tough to live because of disparity and inhumane actions towards this particular group of people.
The KKK or Ku Klux Klan was founded in 1866 in Pulaski, Tennessee by former Confederate Soldiers. Some of the founders of this organization consisted of; Captain John Lester, Major James Crowe, and Richard Reed to name a few. Their main target at the time was blacks and any white person that stood with them. The Ku Klux Klan was the head of the racism movement in America. Being a hate group among minorities, they made them live in terror day in and day out. The KKK was the most feared group of people in the 1860’s.
In Tennessee, on December 1865, the Ku Klux Klan was founded. The group starting terrorizing people who had different beliefs than them, which included African-Americans, Jews, Catholics, and whites who fought for equal rights for blacks. They showed racial and ethnic discrimination, small-mindedness about religious beliefs, and different ranges of violence from the end of the Civil War to now. The KKK is one of the United States’ first terrorist organizations.
American Civil Rights Movement By Eric Eckhart The American Civil Rights movement was a movement in which African Americans were once slaves and over many generations fought in nonviolent means such as protests, sit-ins, boycotts, and many other forms of civil disobedience in order to receive equal rights as whites in society. The American civil rights movement never really had either a starting or a stopping date in history. However, these African American citizens had remarkable courage to never stop, until these un-just laws were changed and they received what they had been fighting for all along, their inalienable rights as human beings and to be equal to all other human beings. Up until this very day there are still racial issues where some people feel supreme over other people due to race.