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The rise and fall of the ku klux klan
Reflection on ku klux klan
The rise and fall of the ku klux klan
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Factors Effecting the Success of The Ku Klux Klan in America A hate group can never be explained, only accepted and fought against. For an unjustified reason in 1915, The Ku Klux Klan was born and spread its hate across the United States. The Klan started small, but gained millions of members in just a few short years. The Klan preached its beliefs to all Americans and urged everyone to join for the good of their country. Thousands of innocent people were slain because of their backgrounds. The Ku Klux Klan was a horrible group that became a symbol of crime and lawlessness. The Klan's views were based on white supremacy and unfortunately carried into the minds of millions. Although the Klan lasted only a short while, they made a mark in history and were one of the largest organized groups in America at the time. It is very difficult to understand how a terrible group such as the Ku Klux Klan gained so much power. For this reason alone, I have chosen to question the leading theorists on the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920's and what they believed caused the rise in Klan membership. It is very evident that the theorists believed there were three main causes in this significant rise in membership. The post-war feelings of many Americans, the natural aversion to anything foreign, and the propaganda spread by the Klan itself caused their success. War can have many affects on people and cause serious mixed emotions. The early 1900's can be considered the post-war era. This era was a time of reflection on the evils of war that carried a frightened national feeling, as well as a sense of hate. Dr. John Moffatt Mecklin, one of the leading theorists on the Klan in the 1920's, tells us that "The Klan owes its marvelous growth to post war co... ... middle of paper ... ...in now way do I agree or support the Ku Klux Klan, however, do feel that this group has made a rather large impact on our society as well as our history. The only admirable aspect of the Klan is the hard work they continuously did through obstacles to achieve what they wanted. The Klan was a success, but a failure in the end. The Klan was a product of its time and as time passed, so did the Klan.. Works Cited Alexander, Charles. The Ku Klux Klan In The Southwest. University Of Kentucky Press: Kentucky, 1925. Goldberg, David. Disconnected America: The U.S. In The 1920. John’s Hopkin’s University: Baltimore Md, 1999. "The Ku Klux Klan." Encyclopedia Britanica. 1990 ed. Mecklin, John. The Ku Klux Klan: A Study of The American Mind. Russell & Russel: New York, 1923. Jackson, Kenneth. The Ku Klux Klan In The City. Oxford University Press: New York, 1957.
Review of Frederick Lewis Allen: Since Yesterday: the 1930’s America. (New York: Harper and Row, Publishers, Inc., 1939), 362 pp.
They hated anyone who was not a white Christian, and would go as far as to kill anyone who was not. This group is the Ku Klux Klan. This group of people were known primarily for their very Nazi-based ideologies, which in turn, they ended up murdering many who were not white, or even burning down the homes and business’ of those who weren’t. They were strongly against the progressive movement of the American Government toward the African American people. Although today this group has lost many in numbers, there are still a surprisingly large amount of people who are part of
“Remember we are women, we’re not born to contend with men” (Sophocles, 18). The popular literary works, Antigone and A Doll’s House, written by Sophocles and Ibsen, are two famous tragedies that have been performed and read throughout the decades. Although countless audiences have been entertained by these well written plays, few would care to guess that many lessons and several unfortunate truths can be found with a less than tedious inspection of the characters and the reactions they give to their circumstances. The two main characters in these stories, Antigone and Nora, face adversities and problems that are amplified by their society’s views on the rights and abilities of women. The two main male characters in these plays, Creon and Helmer, cause the greater part of the struggle that the female protagonists face. The difficulties that Helmer and Creon create during the plot of these stories are the cause of three major characteristics of what one would consider typical to a headstrong man in a leadership position. The three features of Creon and Helmer that lead to the eventual downfall of Antigone and Nora, are pride, arrogance, and ignorance.
In the plays Antigone and A Doll's House, the playwrights discuss gender roles and how they relate to the characters in each individual play. Antigone, by Sophocles, follows a young girl who defies a law issued by King Creon against burying her brother, who fought against their town in the recent war. Creon orders her to be executed, but she ends up committing suicide. In A Doll's House, by Henrik Ibsen, a wife named Nora takes out a loan by herself, unacceptable for a woman during that time period, and tries to appease the lender who threatens to reveal her loan. In the end, Nora's husband, Torvald, finds out about the loan and Nora ends up leaving him. In each of these plays, Sophocles and Ibsen offer insight into the problems faced by women who are independent, stubborn, and brave.
“Gender,” throughout the years has been defined and redefined by societies, and individuals. “Gender roles,” have, and still do contribute to these definitions. Literature contains prime examples of how gender roles were perceived in different time periods, showing readers the views of an author through the characters and their traits. Sophocles’ Antigone is a Greek tragedy, that heavily depicts the gender roles found in ancient Greek society, also providing insight into what would be seen as “normal” and “abnormal” behavior in relation to gender in Greece. In the play, Antigone, a daughter of the late King of Thebes, Oedipus, becomes distraught when she learns that her two brothers have killed each other, and furthermore, that her uncle and newfound king, Creon has forbidden the burial of one of her brothers.
The Ku Klux Klan was established shortly after the American Civil War in 1866 and was prevalent in most southern states by 1870. The group was driven by violence and racism to combat the post war equality legislature that was beginning to pass in Congress. Since then, the Klan has had a long history that has had an impact on America on several levels. There has been a recent strong effort to put an end to their irrational destructive behavior towards African Americans, Hispanics, Jews, Homosexuals, and many more.
The Ku Klux Klan was a white-supremacist organization that was a product of Civil War. The group's methods evolved over time, but the key goal was to promote white power by threatening minorities. After the Civil War ended in 1865, subsequently the Ku Klux Klan was created. It was created in 1865 by six college students for the purpose of horseplay and pure amusement and not with the intention of it becoming a white supremacist group. Once however the group gained great popularity and an increasing number of followers, the philosophy of the group changed. The group began targeting and harassing African-American’s but without the use of violence. Over time however the group changed their treatment towards African-Americans and began harassing them with extreme violence. The Klan was not alone in their practices and many other discriminating groups were forming at this time. The groups decided to meet with the Klan and joined forces, they collectively drafted a constitution. They also elected a central leader by the name Nathan Bedford Forrest, his title Grand Wizard.
In both plays the main characters have different capabilities that are unique to each of them. For instance both show strong will that many women are afraid to show. In Antigone the characters show many different capabilities, Antigone included, with these certain characteristics giving her the ability to bury her brother. As she simply says “Antigone: Guilty. I did it, I deny it not” (Sophocles, pg 189-190). This shows how Antigone is proud of what she is doing, standing up to Creon and his ways with unmoving motivation. As well as showing her true commitment to burying Polynices and being proud of doing so. Plus, Antigone displays this strength of commitment more than anyone else in this play. As Ismene and Ant...
The KKK was once an African American hate group in the late 1800’s, created by Confederate generals who wanted to continue suppressing their former slaves with terror. It was shut down after their leaders were plagued with scandals, and their business dealings put out into the open, for all to see and read. People finally understood what the Klan was about and obviously did not want it. Although in 1915, William J. Simmons watched D.W. Griffith’s “Birth of a Nation” which depicted the story of what happened after the Civil War, through the eyes of a glorified Klansman. He was stargazed at how Griffith depicted the Klan, and as him being a long time joiner of clubs, he decided to bring back the Ku Klux Klan. A surprising fact is how a man like this could lead a group of hate, as he used to be a minister. (“Ku Klux Klan -- Extremism in America”) This second generation of the Klan created almost an “Invisible Empire” by their high point. Their members were scattered across state and federal government, and one could say that they “co...
The Ku Klux Klan, formed in Pulaski, Tennessee in 1866, is an anti-African American group that terrorizes African Americans in the South even to this day. The Ku Klux Klan, otherwise known as the KKK, was founded at an instrumental time in American history- it was founded during the Reconstruction Era, following the Civil War. This was a time of tension between white Americans and black Americans; many whites in the South were upset that black slaves had been emancipated as a direct result of the Civil War, in which the southern Confederate States lost. This created the perfect environment for southern whites to band together for the common goal of white supremacy, thus creating the KKK. “At the Klan’s peak in the 1920’s there were more than
Farber, David, and Beth Bailey. The Columbia Guide to America in the 1960s. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001.
An expression commonly used by high school students around the age of fourteen to seventeen is “JESSICA! I AM HUNGRY, MAKE ME A SANDWICH.” This can be related to other countries in the present day as well as in the past. The play Antigone written by Sophocles, a young girl decides to follow the rules of the Gods rather than the rules of man, especially when it came to the proper burial of her brother Polynices. Antigone decides to bury her brother even though it was against the civil laws to even mourn him. This action is pertinent to the feminists of the day because Creon treats Antigone with absolutely no respect and acts as if she is ignorant. Likewise in the play A Dolls House written by Ibsen, Nora, the main character, takes out a loan in defiance of laws that denied women the right to borrow money or even the right to work outside of the home. Nora shows her true strengths when her husband is dying and she needs the money, but as the play progresses one can see more and more of her strengths as far as her willingness to work like men. Nora and Antigone show great strength and are active in the sense that they work hard to get what they want. Lastly, both Nora and Antigone appear to change through the plots.
In the Greek play “Antigone,” the main character is gallant despite the societal concept that women are inferior to men. An example of this occurs when Antigone and her sister Ismene are holding a conversation in which Antigone
When Ibsen’s A Doll’s House premiered in the late 1800s, it was met with great controversy as it challenged the Victorian values of the era with its critique on marriage norms and gender roles. Overall, the play is entertaining and thought-provoking but it was the final scene that caused such an outrage with Nora leaving her husband and kids. Though a majority of the play takes place in settings that are private, the oppression of society is ever-present in the lives of every character. Ibsen wants to make a point about the power society had in the lives of people at this time. In Christina Garsten’s essay on Ibsen’s work, she states that “the characters are caught in webs of history, dependence, norms,
Antigone’s actions at the beginning of the play reflect her impulsivness and rash manner in handling situations. Rather than try to confront Creon regarding the burial of her brother she goes ahead to bury him.