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Essay on the ku klux klan
The rise of the ku klux klan
The rise and fall of th ku klux klan summary
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Cries ring out in the dead of night from the black people of the southern states in Tennessee, as mysterious figures in white robes with hoods ride on their horses. To most they were thought of as the Confederate soldier’s ghosts riding and terrorizing the blacks. People wanted to know who these mysterious riders are and why they are terrorizing the black people of the south. Since they were wearing all white robes they could not tell their identity leading to more confusion. They became known as the Invisible Empire due to the fact that there were hundreds of them but nobody knew who they really were. Later in the Invisible Empires history we find out that these mysterious ghost riders are a part of the Ku Klux Klan. The Ku Klux Klan was an organization meant to preserve the southern way of life. They use forms of intimidation to scare the black people such as riding through the night on horses. It was first started as something for ex-confederate soldiers to do since they were not fighting the war anymore but soon these small threats and intimidation turned into a violent hate group. Through the Ku Klux Klan’s history we see its practices and beliefs evolve from a fun, social organization to a worldwide feared hate group.
This Invisible Empire caused some major damage in the South. Their practices may seem frightening to some people. The purpose of these practices was to maintain its role as community moral authority and to reinforce the Jim-Crow laws (Source 6). They used forms of intimidation such as cross-burning where they would drive a giant cross into the ground where their targets could see it. The Klan also would bomb synagogues as another form of intimidation (Source 2). The Klan would also openly engage in rallies p...
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...e Ku Klux Klan." YouTube. YouTube, 04 Aug. 2013. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.
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On November 9, 1920, Byron de la Beckwith, an only child, was born to Byron De La Beckwith, Sr. and Susie Yerger in Sacramento, California. One of Beckwith’s early childhood memories was of the Ku Klux Klan marching through town, fully clad in their long white robes. During the twenties, there were over two million known members of the Klan and at least two were U.S. Senators. Needless to say, this left quite an impression on the young boy. Beckwith’s father died in 1926, his debts exceeding the value of his estate, leaving Susie and Byron Jr., whom they had nicknamed “Delay”, destitute. Susie left California, along with her son, for her native Greenwood, Mississippi. Beckwith’s mother passed away a few short years later, leaving Beckwith rearing to one of her cousins.
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
A few years ago, my mother told me something thought provoking: we had once lived on the same block as the leader of the local Ku Klux Klan chapter. That had been in Charlotte, North Carolina, around 1994. The Ku Klux Klan, according to Blaine Varney in Lynching in the 1890’s, used to “…set out on nightly ‘terror rides’ to harass ‘uppity Negroes’….” They are far more infamous, however, for their “lynching”—nightly “terror rides” that included murder—of African Americans. Varney tells us lynching levels reached their pinnacle in 1892, with 161 recorded murders that year. In modern times, most Americans would agree that the Klan, along with any form of white supremacy, has no place in society—and pointing out its survival is a good way to imply that we, as a people, are still not perfect.
The population of African Americans from 1865 to 1900 had limited social freedom. Social limitations are limitations that relate “…to society and the way people interact with each other,” as defined by the lesson. One example of a social limitation African Americans experienced at the time is the white supremacy terrorist group, the Ku Klux Klan or the KKK. The KKK started as a social club formed by former confederate soldiers, which rapidly became a domestic terrorist organization. The KKK members were white supremacists who’s objective was to ward off African Americans from using their new political power. In an attempts to achieve their objective, Klansmen would burn African American schools, scare and threaten voters, destroy the homes of African Americans and also the homes of whites who supported African American rights. The greatest terror the KKK imposed was that of lynching. Lynching may be defined via the lesson as, “…public hanging for an alleged offense without benefit of trial.” As one can imagine these tactics struck fear into African Americans and the KKK was achiev...
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.
Los Angeles Times (1964). "Klan's Revival Feared in Burning of Crosses." Editorial. Los Angeles Times [Los Angeles] 20 Jan. 1964: 1. Http://hn.bigchalk.com/hnweb/hn/do/search. ProQuest Company. Web. 10 Dec. 2013.
Aaron, Paul and Musto, David, Temperance and Prohibition in America: A Historical Overview. In: Moore, Mark H., and Gerstain, Dean R. (eds) Alcohol and Public Policy: Beyond the Shadow of Prohibition. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1981. Pp 127-181.
Their targets were changing as the world changed. Determination of cleansing the world of lower classes allowed the Klan’s ideals to remain in the hearts and minds of some individuals. The extent in which members would go to in order to frighten and maim their fellow man brought confidence to others who wished to change the world in their own way. A new revival began in 1915 when white Protestant activists met to organize a revival of the Ku Klux Klan in Georgia. At this time at the dawning of the century, many white Americans still held the idea “Old South” in their hearts as a dream to happen once more. As well as being inspired by many novels and movies, the tide of hatred was swelling in the hearts of Americans once more. The popular film, “Birth of a Nation,” produced by D.W. Griffith in 1915 as a silent screen epic, was inspired by Thomas Dixon’s novels: “The Leopard’s Spots” and more popular “The Clansman.” Dixon’s novels attempted to rationalize the activities displayed by the Ku Klux Klan. When Griffith decided to portray Dixon’s novels, the white knights were romanticized as heroes and protectors of society.While the Ku Klux Klan’s actions were seen as heroic, the movie often portrayed African American’s actions as barbaric due to them being the villains. African American’s were seen robbing and kidnapping the daughters of respectable white men in the film. The next
Anytime when a controversial topic or ruling people through out the country form groups to help educate their fellow citizens about their views. According to the Ohio State University prohibition website, two main groups are credited with the help of putting Prohibition into la...
"Ku Klux Klan." UXL Encyclopedia of U.S. History. Sonia Benson, Daniel E. Brannen, Jr., and Rebecca Valentine. Vol. 5. Detroit: UXL, 2009. 882-884. U.S. History in Context. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
"Ku Klux Klan -- Extremism in America." Ku Klux Klan -- Extremism in America. http://archive.adl.org/learn/ext_us/kkk/crime.html?LEARN_SubCat=Extremism_in_America&xpicked=4&item=kkk (accessed April 28, 2014).
The Ku Klux Klan is better known for their bizarre costumes. They wore white robes with tall cone shaped hats that would cover their whole face except for their eyes, which was cut out. Even to this day, they follow the same dress code as they did when the organization was founded in 1866. Around 1920, the Ku Klux Klan started to burn wooden crosses in the yards of black residents in hopes they would instill enough fear that they would leave. The Ku Klux Klan also had billets that each member would hold. In 1866, when the Ku Klux Klan was founded, Nathan Bedford Forrest was the Grand Wizard of the Empire or also known as Imperial Wizard. Other than his military experience, he was not well educated, did not have experience in leading any type of people, and died not to long after the Ku Klux Klan was founded.
In the early 1920’s the Klan traveled on a wave of terror in the south and southwest. As the violence spread a pattern appeared. The majority of the Victorian’s were whites who had broken some kind of moral code. Such as Bootleggers, Gamblers, were favorite targets. The Klan would parade the streets at night as a reminder of the constant terror they haunted a southern town with.
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.
Many Americans, religious leaders, and political leaders saw alcohol as the key to all that was evil, a curse on the nation. Significant numbers of people believed that the consumption of alcoholic beverages presented a serious threat to the integrity of their most vital foundations, especially the family (“Prohibition” 846).