Klu klux klan

"KKK" redirects here. For other uses, see KKK (disambiguation).
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Ku Klux Klan Klan-in-gainesville.jpg
Ku Klux Klan rally, 1923.
In existence
1st Klan 1865–1870s
2nd Klan 1915–1944
3rd Klan1 since 1946
Members
1st Klan 550,000
2nd Klan between 3 and 6 million[1] (peaked in 1920–1925 period)
Properties
Origin United States of America
Political ideology Whitesupremacy
White nationalism
Nativism
Political position Far-right
Religion Protestant Christianity
1The 3rd Klan is decentralized, with approx. 179 chapters.

Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as The Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right[2][3][4] organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such aswhite supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration,[5][6][7] historically expressed through Christian terrorism and a fervent anti-communist stance.[8] The current manifestation is splintered into several chapters and is widely considered to be a hate group.[9]

The first Klan flourished in the South in the 1860s, then died out by the early 1870s. Their iconic white costumes consisted ofrobes, masks, and conical hat and were designed to be outlandish and terrifying.[10] The second KKK flourished nationwide in the early and mid 1920s, and adopted the same fantastic costumes and code words of the first Klan; while introducing cross burnings. The third KKK emerged after World War II. All incarnations of the Klan have well-established records of engaging in terrorism, though historiansdebate how widely the tactic was supported by the membership of the second KKK.
Contents
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* 1 Three Klans
o 1.1 First KKK
o 1.2 Second KKK
o 1.3 Third KKK
* 2 First Klan 1865–1874
o 2.1 Creation and naming
o 2.2 Activities
o 2.3 Resistance
o 2.4 The Klan declines and is superseded by other groups* 3 The second Klan: 1915–1944
o 3.1 Refounding in 1915
+ 3.1.1 The Birth of a Nation
+ 3.1.2 Leo Frank
o 3.2 Social factors
o 3.3 Activities
+ 3.3.1 Temperance
+ 3.3.2 Labor and anti-unionism
o 3.4 Urbanization
o 3.5 The burning cross
o 3.6 Political influenceo 3.7 Resistance and decline
* 4 Later Klans, 1950 through 1960s
* 5 1970s–1990s
* 6 Contemporary Klan
* 7 Current KKK organizations
* 8 Vocabulary
* 9 See also
* 10 Notes
* 11 References
* 12 Further reading
* 13 External links

Three Klans
First KKK

The first Klan was founded in 1865 in Pulaski, Tennessee by veterans of theConfederate Army. Although it never had an organizational structure above the local level, similar groups across the South adopted the name and methods. Klan groups spread throughout the South as an insurgent movement during the Reconstruction era in the United States As a secret vigilante group, the Klan focused its anger reacted against Radical Republican and sought to restore white supremacy by threatsand violence, including murder, against black and white Republicans. In 1870 and 1871 the federal government passed the Force Acts, which were used to prosecute Klan crimes. Prosecution of Klan crimes and enforcement of the Force Acts suppressed Klan activity. In 1874 and later, however, newly organized and openly active paramilitary organizations, such as the White League and the Red Shirts,started a fresh round of violence aimed at suppressing Republican voting and running Republicans out of office. These contributed to segregationist white Democrats regaining political power in all the Southern states by 1877.
Second KKK

In 1915, the second Klan was founded and remained a small organization in Georgia. Starting in 1921 it adopted a modern business system of recruiting (which...