kkk in the 1920s essays

kkk in the 1920s essays The Ku Klux Klan, is a secret terrorist organization that originated in the southern states during the period of Reconstruction following the American Civil War and was reactivated on a wider geographic basis in the 20th century. The original Klan was organized in Pulaski, Tennessee, during the winter of 1865 to 1866, by six former Confederate army officers who gave their society a name adapted from the Greek word kuklos ("circle"). Although the Ku Klux Klan began as a prankish social organization, its activities soon were directed against the Republican Reconstruction governments and their leaders, both black and white, which came to power in the southern states in The Ku Klux Klan's long history of violence grew out of the resentment and hatred many white Southerners felt in the aftermath of the Civil War. Blacks, having won the struggle for freedom from slavery, were now faced with a new struggle against widespread racism and the terrorism brought about by the Ku Klux Klan. While the menace of the KKK has peaked and waned over the William J. Simmons, a veteran, preacher and salesman, was a compulsive joiner, holding memberships in many different societies and two churches. He had always dreamed of starting his own fraternal group and in the fall of 1915 he put his plans into action. On Thanksgiving Eve, Simmons herded 15 fellow fraternalists onto a bus and drove them from Atlanta to nearby Stone Mountain. There, before a cross of pine boards, Simmons lit a match and the Ku Klux Klan of the 20th century was born. In 1920, the "re-born" Klan consisted only of a few thousand members. With the help of two publicists, Simmons spread the word of the Klan around the U.S. like wildfire. The Klan was to be pro-American, which to them meant anti-black, anti-Jewish and most importantly, anti-Catholic. The Klan grew rapidly from a ...