The Ku Klux Klan

The Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan was started as an underground terrorist group against the civil rights movement that freed the slaves after the American Civil War. (sun.menloschool.org) The Ku Klux Klan or commonly referred as the KKK would define themselves as a political party, one that they also call the White Rights Movement. Whites, according to the KKK are giving up their lives in a sacrificial manner for those who are not white. (sun.menloschool.org) The KKK was made up of both men and women. Having the first and second Ku Klux Klan affect society and the Freeman’s Bureau that would protect the rights of former slaves would impact society for years to come. The first Ku Klux Klan was an organization that thrived in the South during the Reconstruction period following the Civil War. The first branch of the Ku Klux Klan was established in Pulaski, Tennessee, in May, 1866. (www.encyclopedia.com) One year later an organization of local members were established in Nashville in April, 1867. During the next two years Klansmen wearing masks, white cardboard hats and draped in white sheets, tortured and killed black Americans and sympathetic whites. Although the Klan was often able to achieve its aims by terror alone, whippings and lynchings were also used, not only against blacks but also against the so-called carpetbaggers and scalawags. (www.encyclopedia.com) The second Ku Klux Klan was a nationwide organization that flourished after World War I and was founded by William J. Simmons. The new Klan had a wider program than its forerunner, for it added to "white supremacy.” (www.encyclopedia.com) Subsequent groups calling themselves the Ku Klux Klan sprang up in much of the South after World War II and in response to civil-rights activity during the 1960s. (www.encyclopedia.com) The effects that this group has had on society, however is grossly non debatable. There are all aspects on how this group tries to impact the society. Crimes are the first thing

Bibliography: http://sun.menloschool.org/~sportman/ethnic/individual/kkk/ http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Ku_Klux_Klan.aspx http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAkkk.htm {draw:frame} In the picture above, you can see by the feet that both men and women were active in the KKK.