Evolution of the KKK in America

The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is an organization that was founded in 1866, near the start of the Reconstruction era. The first Klan was founded by a group of former Confederate veterans who were in opposition to the newly formed policies aimed at establishing equality for blacks. The KKK grew very quickly and extended into most southern states by the year 1870 and became one of the first American terrorist groups in our nation's history. The Klan was made up of white men who were strong believers in white supremacy, antisemitism, and anti-communism. During the time of Reconstruction, these men would utilize violence as a way to scare freed slaves and establish superiority. In an effort to reverse the changes made after the Civil War, the klansmen would victimize black citizens by means of lynching, arson, and destruction. The KKK would instill terror in its victims by dressing in white robes and masks that were designed to be terrifying to anybody who saw them. By doing so, the members of the Klan were able to hide their identities, and as a result, nobody knew who was a potential threat. During night time, when most of their attacks occurred, the Klan would go to the houses of their next victims and execute whatever plan they had in mind for them, whether it was a lynching or assault. Over time, the government became aware of how unethical and illegal the Klan was acting, so for the first time, the Ku Klux Klan Act designated certain crimes committed by individuals as federal offenses, including conspiracies to deprive citizens of the right to equal protection of the law. The act was authorized by Ulysses S. Grant, the United States president at the time, and the idea behind this act was to crush Klan activity in the South. At first, his plan did not work, but as the government began to enforce the laws more, Klan activity came to a halt by 1876, and the South was under Democratic control once again.

Although the KKK had reemerged in the south in 1915, it wasn't until after the end of World War I that the organization experienced a national resurgence. By the early 1920s, memberships skyrocketed from a few thousand to over 100,000 in about a year. At this time of resurgence, the Klan was not solely focused on attacking African Americans. Instead, they were focusing more attention towards the major flow of immigrants from Asia and Eastern Europe. The Klansmen believed that these immigrants were taking jobs away from whites and diluting the "racial purity" of America. In fact, in the year 1915, the film Birth of a Nation was released and it portrayed the Klan as heroes of America. However, at this time, America's mindset was starting to shift to a more accepting and tolerant place. Many influential people and organizations came out in opposition to the KKK. Religious and civic groups launched campaigns to educate Americans about the crimes and atrocities committed by the Klan. As more people grew to fight against the ideals of the klan, memberships, and support of the klan declined dramatically by the late 1920s. However, this was not the last major resurgence of the Klan.

In the 1960s, during the civil rights movement, there was yet another revival of the KKK. The 20th century Civil Rights Movement emerged as a response to the unfulfilled promises of emancipation. African Americans were still segregated from the rest of the American population. Despite the abolition of slavery and legal gains for blacks, racial segregation (Jim Crow laws) were still enact. When Klansmen started to see movement towards equality, the membership once again grew to an estimated 5,000 members. At this time, there were more laws intact to protect the lives of African Americans than there were during Reconstruction, but the Klan often forged alliances with members of Southern police departments to avoid conviction. However, not all members were able to avoid punishment, as many were arrested for the murders of black Americans. Additionally, as technology grew more, the klan had access to more tools and devices. This was shown in many of the bombings that klansmen carried out. There were orchestrated bombings of synagogues, and black schools to terrorize America and further spread the message of white supremacy. Fortunately, this klan ended with the revival of the Ku Klux Klan Act, which abolished Klan activity. Many of the alliances made with the police were revealed, and as a result, the police became less corrupt and were able to put an end to most klan activity.