Klu Klux Klan

The Ku Klux Klan

This was a terrorist and secret organization extended by the Southern States after the Civil War. It was founded in Pulaski, Tennessee the 24 of December, 1865 by 6 formerofficers of the Confederate army. It was initially a social and recreational organization; it soon started aiming its activities to Republican governments during the Reconstruction period and to the formerAfro-American slaves. Ku Klux Klan believed in white supremacy so they resented the old slaves being treated as equals and even accessing political positions after the Civil War. Therefore they weredetermined to fight such policies even through violence.
They dressed with white robes and hid their heads with a pointed hood and a burning cross was their symbol. A secret convention in 1867 inNashville and elected their top leader or Grand Wizard. However, local organizations or Klaverns became uncontrollable and acted on their own . In 1871, President Grant asked these illegal organizationto put down arms and hundreds of Klan members were arrested and many Klaverns disappeared. After reaching half a million members, the Klan activities declined in the early 1870’s.
The name, ritualsand attitudes of the Ku Klux Klan were adopted by a new organization emerged in 1915 in Georgia. Founded by Colonel William Simmons, it was called the Invisible Empire and added to the originalanti-black ideology with a new anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic, prohibitionist and antisemitic agenda. In this second stage the Klan also pursued catholics, immigrants, liberals, unionists and strikers becausethey considered them subversive keeping the same coactive actions of the original.
The press revealed the crimes and intimidations of the organization and the Congress started an investigation in1921 from which the Klan came out reinforced and the number of Klan followers grew tenfold.
Simmons was replaced in 1922 by Hiram Evans as Grand Wizard who remained in the position until 1939 who...