Ku Klux Klan Essay

The Ku Klux Klan was founded in 1866 and could be found in almost every southern state by 1870. In the south, the KKK was turned into a tool for white resistance for the Republican Party’s Reconstruction era policies which were aimed at establishing political and economic equality for black people. Due to the Reconstruction era policies, the members of the KKK waged an underground campaign of violence and intimidation directed at white and black Republican leaders. The KKK saw one way to its primary goal: the reestablishment of white supremacy through Democratic victories in the state legislatures all throughout the south. This was accomplished, causing the gradual increase of white supremacy in the south while the Reconstruction era waned. The KKK ended up disbanding in the waning years of the Reconstruction because of the Ku Klux Klan Act. This act designated certain crimes committed by Klan individuals to be federal offenses, including conspiracies to deprive citizens of the right to hold office, serve on juries and enjoy the equal protection of the law. The act also authorized

Simmons decided to revive the Klan after see D. W. Griffith’s production of Birth of a Nation. Birth of a Nation portrayed the Klansmen as great heroes of their time. Simmons was able to make this film because of information he already had from the Klan itself because he also made a living by selling memberships to get into the Klan. Membership into the Klan was not limited to just the poor and uneducated; plenty of middle class Americans wore the white robes of the KKK. Doctors, lawyers, and ministers were all loyal supporters of the KKK. In Ohio, there were over 300,000 loyal supporters of the Klan. The Klan wasn’t just in the south though; Pennsylvania alone had over 200,000 loyal