The Rise and Fall of the Ku Klux Klan "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" - Thomas Jefferson (Cultural Racism 1) This excerpt from the Declaration of independence specifically stated that all men are created equal, but that is contradiction to the governments decisions. The Ku Klux Klan founded in 1865 by William Nathan Bedford a former confederate general, began a campaign of terror against free blacks and their white supporters. The KKK had a wide array of uneducated people because their main incentive was to recruit young, homeless, and mindless children to follow in their footsteps and become a member of the KKK. In many instances Klan members were taught the KKK did not believe that blacks were capable of the necessary decision making in life, they thought that Blacks were sub-human(Student Handbook 316). The KKK had many wrong beliefs, like that Blacks were not capable of decision making, recruiting young children who did not know better to become members of the KKK, that they were above the law in many instances. On the other hand very few Klan members were educated to know what they were in the Klan for, like David Duke. I believe in white supremacy until blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don't believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgement to irresponsible people. John Wayne Interview in Playboy Magazine, May 1971 (Cuturla Racism 2) White supremacy served as the basis for the organization of the Ku Klux Klan, despite slaves and white abolitionists. The KKK blames the abundance of ethnic groups for their misfortunes. The Supreme Court ruled many times that no slave had any rights as a free man. Either their plantation owners or high-ranking officials determined the exploitation and way of life. Whenever a slave escaped it was the right of the owner to reclaim its property (Hamm 27). The whites in the KKK then wanted to become the ultimate race and would do almost anything to do that, an example would be that their main incentive was to go out and recruit young, homeless, ... ... middle of paper ... ...he received his BA in history in 1974, he became an enthusiastic admirer of Adolph Hitler, and by 1975, he had risen to Grand Wizard of the Louisiana Ku Klux Klan (Student Handbook 490).” The United States is known as the melting pot. Since its beginnings as small settlements, this country has always been known as a haven to those who love to cherish it. When people think of America they think of the land of opportunity and that is why so many people are immigrating or emigrating to or in this Country. The Ku Klux Klan is everything the American Dream is not. They are a sign of bigotry and hatred. They have tried for over a hundred years to shatter the dreams of so many people. Many people think that since the civil rights movement the KKK is no longer a danger but in fact it is still a great danger. There are still people like David Duke in office and there is no way to persuade someone to change their views, so we have to live with the bigotry and hatred for a very long time. The Klan of 1865 differs from the Klan of 1999 and it will always be changing. The Klan will never revolve around the main theme of 1865 again but they will always have the same people involved
Since its inception, there has always been a subsection of the American people that think that sharing a country with people different than them is unacceptable. Whether it was the 5 tribes of Native Americans relocated in the Trail of Tears, or the prejudice against irish immigrants during the turn of the century, white anglo-saxon protestants have always tried to ‘stick together’ and keep others unlike them out. With the end of the civil war and an end to slavery, this nativism present within the American people manifested itself once more. While the journey taken by African-American citizens was long and unnecessarily arduous, the backlash against them has waxed and waned as time passes. During the 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan was at it’s peak,
In American history, there are centuries upon centuries of black people being deemed less than or not worthy of. Never in were black people equal, even in the sense of humanity. White people declared black people as three-fifths of a human, so to the “superior race”, because one has darker skin that automatically takes away 40% of their humanity. Now, in white history they repeatedly dominant over other nonwhite groups and especially the women of those groups because they feel anything that isn’t white is inferior.
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
It should be noted that the Declaration of Independence made it clear that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Although this progressive view was shared by many of the members of the Constitutional Convention, it is clear that the original text of the American Constitution is rather pro-slavery and up to a certain point protects the slave-owners. It is of utmost importance to note that the words slavery/slave are not used in the text of the Constitution.
Have you ever wondered if there was a middle ground between being free and being a slave? The arrival of the first Black Americans to the USA in 1619 triggered a dark period of slavery that lasted until the end of the Civil War. The nation began to divide itself into two groups; free states and slave states. Though the black people who lived in the free states weren't slaves, they were denied certain rights. Free blacks in the North had many restrictions in their life, but they were given few freedoms in the areas of political, social, and economic rights.
We study the beginning of America and the movement of settlers into a new land. Then we look at the formation of the United States through the Revolutionary War. But nothing has ever changed this country from the inside as much as the Ku Klux Klan invasion into the country. The Klan’s influence and ability to cause destruction within a society inspired leaders and dictators such as Adolf Hitler. During the height of the Klan’s power and influence, it was doing many things right. It had attracted mass amounts of people with a simple message and used them to complete a secret agenda. Had the KKK continued to find new ways of bringing people to their cause and working to achieve superiority first, they may have caused an unforeseen amount of damage to the United States. Mistakes that were made by the members grew attention to them and caused society to see them as they were. The Ku Klux Klan of the modern day is still alive. It is barely breathing but growing and changing everyday. The hate will live on through the young, but the good people in the world are the key to truly changing the world for the
The KKK was set up to build an all white society based on Christian beliefs. They claim that
The KKK is a movement that has been very controversial since the Civil War. The Klan as they call themselves was created as a result of the occupation of Federal troops in the South. The KKK's purpose at the time was to provide the people of the south with the leadership to bring back the values of Western Civilization that was taken from them. In the 1920's the Klan had its most popular era. At this time the KKK was the most active politically then it has ever been in history. The KKK still exists today as a brotherhood and a new White racial community that lives and functions by the ideals it promotes. Today the Klan is in its 5th era and continues to be America's oldest and most effective White Christian Fraternal organization.
Masters had rights too of course. They could treat a slave anyway they wanted to. They could be abusive, friendly or do anything they wanted to the slave. They could defend themselves against slaves and could kill him/her if the master provided the courts with a good reason.
...icas’ history. Some see it as racism and hate among the KKK. Others like, the white supremacy groups, other KKK members, Neo-Nazis, and others that support and follow in their footsteps. One can’t help but to think about their ulterior motives. The KKK claims they are not racist but do not want African Americans, Hispanics, and any other race to join their alliance. Some of the KKK groups say they love but do not hate, yet they hate gays, bi-racial relationships, and we will be dammed to hell if we practice in such behaviors. They practice in what they believe in and that is making whites the superior race and although in the eyes of millions of Americans, it is wrong because we are supposed to accept everyone as they are. Regrettably, they believe only whites should exist, which sadly is protected in their constitutional rights of freedom of speech and expression.
...portunity, and rightfully so. The KKK has given more than enough validation for why they believe that they are simply making an attempt to save the white race. Our forefathers were of the white race, and if the Klan makes the point that by not mixing races in terms of marriage would preserve American culture, it is actually a justified statement from that standpoint. Although many people, including myself, would not agree with their opinions, the Klan has the right to hold their own beliefs. The Bill of Rights will always be relevant. They were written with our citizens’ best interests in mind. It was our forefathers' responsibility to ensure that our country would always be free, even centuries after the amendments were written. The Klan, although their beliefs may not be those of the general public, have and will always have the right to preach their own opinions.
In the colonial era slavery was permissible by law in every colony. Blacks were 20% of the overall population of the 13 colonies and only 8% of them were free blacks (www.history.org). Colonists commonly used African slave labor despite the question of whether slavery was morally right. Life for blacks in the revolutionary period was one of slavery and discrimination. Only 8 percent of blacks were free [Edgar A Toppin. “Blacks in the American Revolution” (published essay, Virginia State University, 1976), p 1] and this so-called freedom merely meant that they could own and defend property. They weren’t allowed to mingle with whites and were wholly segregated.
As more and more accusations were made by those outside of the Ku Klux Klan’s proceeding those within the KKK felt like their own honor was attacked when those of their leaders was. Those in high positions began to review the very top, only to find that the accusations were true. Thousands began to quit, learning of the endangerment that Clarke and Tyler were to the KKK.
This cartoon was published in 1874, almost a decade after the Civil War had ended, and yet these people were still in dangerous and cruel situations. The Klu Klux Klan, as defined by A.J. Bowser, was a “social club” whose philosophy was “white superiority…and they would often use violence and terrorization of Blacks as a means of exercising this philosophized superiority.”(Bowser) The KKK was formed shortly after the Civil War ended, and “blacks and white sympathizers were often threatened, beaten, or even murdered by Klan members in the South.” The member of the Klu Klux Klan is one of the most dominant figures in the cartoon, showing the club’s prevalence in post-Civil War times. The words “worse than slavery” are aptly displayed in the image, showing that people who had believed they would no longer be treated as animals were still subjected to abuse, constantly “threatened, beaten, or murdered” (Bowser) even with freedom. The cartoon showcases the racism that became prevalent in America after the war, and reveals the reality of life after war. Nast wiped away the idea of a perfect, slavery-free world with this drawing and drew a line from the end of the Civil War to segregation. People that had advocated for African-Americans felt like saints and those that had fought against them felt anger at having lost. They all felt a
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…” (Declaration of Independence,1776)