The Invisible Empire –

Ku Klux Klan

By: Michael Woo, Justin Xia, Justin Lee, Jason Ngo, Matthew ZhangWisotsky Pd1

Who are the Ku Klux Klan?We have heard stories of members of the Ku Klux Klan raiding African American homes

at night and murdering blacks in their sleep. We have heard of how they captured innocent men

and lynched them. The bodies found hanging from trees the next morning. What was their reason

for targeting these innocent African Americans? Who were these violent night raiders? They

were the notorious Ku Klux Klan, known for being a violent cult that targeted African

Americans.

Formation of the KKKThe Ku Klux Klan was formed in Pulaski,

Tennessee in 1866 by former Confederate soldiers.

In the following year, local sects of the Klan held a

convention and coined their cult as the “Invisible

Empire of the South.”  Here they decided on a

hierarchy which included “grand dragons”, “grand

titans” and “grand cyclops” all led by a “Grand

Wizard”.  The goal of this cult was to restore white

supremacy in the south and make sure blacks and Republicans (scalawags and carpetbaggers)

were shunned and rejected by the community.

Formed from members of a slave patrol from the Civil War, the Ku Klux Klan was

created in an attempt to oppress blacks and often used violence in order to enforce racial control.

By the 1870’s every southern state had a branch of the Ku Klux Klan operating in it.  The Ku

Klux Klan distinguished themselves as the leader of the underground campaign against

Republican leaders and voters in order to reverse the policies of Reconstruction in order to

restore their sense of white supremacy.  In order to achieve their goal they not only targeted

blacks in their communities but black sympathizers and white Republicans.

Extent of PowerIn areas where the Klan’s operations were the strongest, they even had control of the

local law enforcement. Most officers were either members of the Klan or were too afraid to

speak against it. The few people that did speak against the Klan found it difficult to find other

witnesses that would speak against the Klan. This gave the Klan complete power over the areas

to terrorize blacks and Republican supporters.

This gained the Klan more followers which gave

the Klan larger areas to operate in. The Klan’s

area of control extended from middle Tennessee

to North and South Carolina. The Klan spread to

every state in the South and had also taken of

positions such as mayors, judges, and sheriffs.

One of the most notorious areas that the Ku Klux

Klan dominated was South Carolina. Here a group of five hundred clansmen attacked a county

jail and lynched eight black prisoners.

What did they do and what impact

did it have?At first, the Klan was known for its mischief. One of its favorite tactics was to wear a white sheet

and a ghoulish mask and enter into a black home and demand water. They would pretend to gulp

it down but actually it would go down a rubber tube that flowed into a concealed bottle in his

robe. They would continuously demand more and then exclaim that they hadn’t drank anything

since he died on the battlefield at Shiloh, leaving the impression that they were ghosts from the

Confederacy during the war.

However, their mischief soon escalated into blatant violence. Armed members of the Ku

Klux began riding into the countryside at night resulting in many bloody clashes with blacks.

Their costumes and covered faces stirred fear and suspicion within blacks. Throughout the

summer and fall of 1867, the Ku Klux drastically became more violent. With over a thousand

members, the Klan was viewed with fear and alarm as people began to realize they were getting

out of control. It was crazy to think that anyone could have put on a sheet and a mask and ride

into the night to commit assault, robbery, rape, arson, and/or murder.

At one Nashville Klan meeting, leaders of the Klan decided that the Ku Klux Klan would

be an organization of white supremacy. It was in the summer of 1867 that the Ku Klux Klan

became the sinister organization it is known to be. The familiar Ku Klux Klan tactics of

delivering threats, raiding people at night, and casting fear over a community through the use of

mass demonstrations originated from this period.

OppositionAs stories of the Klan’s activities spread nationwide, people realized that they had to suppress

the terrorist organization. One man,

Tennessee Governor William G. Brownlow,

attempted to plant spies within the Klan.

However, the organization somehow knew

about his efforts. The Ku Klux Klan had

extended its power so thoroughly that it was

difficult to oppose the Klan without having

to face them directly.

Who joined the KKK?This organization’s membership included anyone from

small farmers to physicians and lawyers. These people were

conservative whites who were frustrated with political

failures in the government. They sought to defeat the

Republican government and restore white supremacy.

Famous people who were part of

the KKKThere were many famous people who were part of the KKK. They include many of the US

presidents that we once voted for. Harry S. Truman was one of the greatest US presidents of all

time. He was one of the founders of the UN. He managed to

contain communism by the use of the Truman Doctrine. He

passed the Marshall plan to rebuild Europe. He oversaw the

Berlin Airlift and the creation of NATO. He guided the

American economy past the post war recession. He started

the racial integration of the military. He is part of the KKK.

There were at least five other

US presidents that had made a great impact of society and were

part of the KKK. The list is not limited to US presidents. There

were many famous people who were part of the KKK like Bibb

Graves and Theodore G. Bilbo.  At that time, being racist was the

norm, so a majority of the non-black population were racist.

People did not know any better and just followed the people around them and their beliefs

blindly.

Religion and Beliefs of the KKK

The KKK believed in Christianity and were the extremists of it. Before modern times, the KKK

was actually composed of white, Anglo-Saxon, and Christian Americans. They believed that

their race was superior. They thought they had to create white power to defend America from all

non-white and non-Christian races. They used the holy bible and protestant reverends to support

their cause. “The Klansmen pins his faith to the Bible as the revealed will of GOD.” was one of

the KKK member’s quotes. Many KKK members were ordained ministers. The majority of the

members belonged to the protestant church. Rituals were commonly used by the Klan for new

members, cross burning, and wearing white robes. They feel that what they do is Jesus Christ

and God’s will, because if it wasn’t god would have stopped them or punished them.

Legacy

Present day statistics have shown that the KKK shapes the voting patterns of the states they

operate within. More specifically, KKK activity tends to shift the state’s votes toward a majority

of republican votes. In addition, the KKK is presently conducting more of its activities with same

intentions in the past but relatively in a much more passive manner. The KKK spreads their ideas

through protests and through nonviolent ideology. The website for the KKK concerns this for the

state that loving white heritage and being more united is more effective and worthwhile than

engaging and waging a violent war against blacks. In addition to the KKK using passive

aggressive strategies, many KKK members still linger in the high ranks of Southern states. It has

only been known recently that

Anonymous dropped a list of

KKK members with several

being governors and

representatives. Even though the

KKK uses passive aggressive

standards in the conducting of

their operations, occasional violent quarrels and altercations still remain prevalent when they

clash with black people. This is due to increased unity in the black community along with the

feeling of black pride. The KKK will forever remain a legit organization for their actions do not

violate any constitutional rights and have given up their barbaric tactics thus making them less

effective than before.

DownfallThe KKK is not a stable organization as it has no real national leadership and its chapters

were constantly appearing, disappearing, splitting up or merging with other groups which

ultimately would confuse its members.  However the big thing that affected its membership was

when the Grand Dragon was put on trial for the murder of Madge Oberholtzer.  After being

convicted of second degree murder, the Grand Dragon released records that he had accumulated

over the years which documented illegal activities of his colleagues. This leaked information

drove Indiana into turmoil and ruining

the lives of numerous lesser officials as

well as a prominent judge being

impeached.  In Indiana alone,

membership dropped from 350,000 to a

mere 15,000.  Throughout the rest of the

country, the KKK was shunned and

looked down upon.  

Nowadays the KKK is also suffering from competition. People who wanted to join a cult

or a hate movement back in the 1920s did not have a lot of choices. Today, there are countless

options, enabling an extremist to find a group that speaks to him. The more extreme groups in

activity are the anti-Muslim, homophobic, and xenophobic sentiment, with less animosity toward

African-Americans and Jews. However the Aryan Nations offers a heavy focus on Christian

identity.

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