Ku Klux Klan Ideology
Only one secret society in United States history could be so infamous and so influential to be described as “America’s Recurring Nightmare” and an “Invisible Empire” by historians. This society was the Ku Klux Klan. First witnessed in post-Civil war America and established in its first incarnation by Shiloh survivor, Nathan Bedford Forrest, the Klan utilized terroristic methods to harass former slaves and white Republicans and arguably was successful in its goal to re-establish white supremacy in the South. A similar incarnation would arise in the 1950s-60s that would unsuccessfully attempt to put the Civil Rights Movement to a halt. Though these two incarnations probably shape the popular image of the Klan today, the largest membership was
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The Klan did lot limit its bigotry and hate to African-Americans but also extended it to Catholics, Jews, immigrants, divorcees, bootleggers, intellectuals, urbanites, and the industrial elite. Most commonly viewed as reactionaries, it is believed by historians that they were created as a result of status anxiety caused by the mass influx of immigrants, post-war tensions centering around religious bigotry and nativism and the shift of the society from an agricultural one to an industrial one that left many bitter Americans accustomed to the way of life viewing the Klan as a populist party. Quotes befitting for two of the primary interpretations of the central value and significance of the Klan come from historians Leonard J. Moore and Robert Alan Goldberg. As Leonard J. Moore stated “The Klan is the story of a backward segment of American society, one trapped by economic insecurity, dying small-town ways and an inability to adjust psychologically to the “modern age” which seemed to emerge so clearly in the decade before the Great Depression.” As Robert Alan Goldberg and Shawn Lay have stated as their interpretation “The Klan served different purposes in different communities, but that in general, it represented mainstream social and political concerns, not those of a disaffected fringe group. Contributions to community issues seemed most responsible for the Klan’s reputation and good name in these states and communities.” It may be possible that the best interpretation is a combination of both but it is impossible to be
The Klan did lot limit its bigotry and hate to African-Americans but also extended it to Catholics, Jews, immigrants, divorcees, bootleggers, intellectuals, urbanites, and the industrial elite. Most commonly viewed as reactionaries, it is believed by historians that they were created as a result of status anxiety caused by the mass influx of immigrants, post-war tensions centering around religious bigotry and nativism and the shift of the society from an agricultural one to an industrial one that left many bitter Americans accustomed to the way of life viewing the Klan as a populist party. Quotes befitting for two of the primary interpretations of the central value and significance of the Klan come from historians Leonard J. Moore and Robert Alan Goldberg. As Leonard J. Moore stated “The Klan is the story of a backward segment of American society, one trapped by economic insecurity, dying small-town ways and an inability to adjust psychologically to the “modern age” which seemed to emerge so clearly in the decade before the Great Depression.” As Robert Alan Goldberg and Shawn Lay have stated as their interpretation “The Klan served different purposes in different communities, but that in general, it represented mainstream social and political concerns, not those of a disaffected fringe group. Contributions to community issues seemed most responsible for the Klan’s reputation and good name in these states and communities.” It may be possible that the best interpretation is a combination of both but it is impossible to be