Ku Klux Klan

"Ku Klux Klan" is the name of a number of past and present fraternal organizations in the United States that have advocated white supremacy and anti-Semitism; and in the past century, anti-Catholicism, and nativism.

Related Topics:
Fraternal organization - United States - White supremacy - Anti-Semitism - Anti-Catholicism - Nativism

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The Klan's first incarnation was in 1866. Founded by veterans of the Confederate Army, its main purpose was to resist Congressional Reconstruction, and it focused as much on intimidating "carpetbaggers" and "scalawags" as on putting down the freed slaves. It quickly adopted violent methods, and was involved in a wave of 1,300 murders of Republican voters in 1868. A rapid reaction set in, with the Klan's leadership disowning it, and Southern elites seeing the Klan as an excuse for federal troops to continue their activities in the South. The organization was in decline from 1868 to 1870, and was destroyed in the early 1870s by President Ulysses S. Grant's vigorous action under the Civil Rights Act of 1871 (also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act).

Related Topics:
1866 - Confederate Army - Congressional Reconstruction - Carpetbagger - Scalawags - Slave - Violent - Ulysses S. Grant - Civil Rights Act of 1871

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The founding in 1915 of a second distinct group using the same name was inspired by the newfound power of the modern mass media, via the film The Birth of a Nation and inflammatory and anti-Semitic newspaper accounts surrounding the trial and lynching of accused murderer Leo Frank. This second Klan fought to maintain the dominance of white Protestants over blacks, as well as Roman Catholics, Jews, and other immigrants. This group, although preaching racism and known for lynching and other violent activities, operated openly, and at its peak in the 1920s included about 15% of the nation's eligible population.{{ref|peak-membership}} Many politicians at all levels of government were members, and at its height the organization secretly or openly took over some state and local governments. Its popularity fell during the Great Depression, and membership fell again during World War II, due to scandals resulting from prominent members' crimes and support of the Nazis.

Related Topics:
1915 - The Birth of a Nation - Anti-Semitic - Leo Frank - Blacks - Roman Catholics - Jew - Racism - Lynching - 1920s - Great Depression - World War II

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The name "Ku Klux Klan" has since been used by many different unrelated groups, including many who opposed the Civil Rights Act and desegregation in the 1960s. Today, dozens of organizations with chapters across the United States and other countries use all or part of the name in their titles, but their total membership is estimated to be only a few thousand.

Related Topics:
Civil Rights Act - Desegregation - 1960s

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