“Racism is man's gravest threat to man - the maximum of hatred for a minimum of reason,” —Abraham Joshua Heschel. Racism has plagued society since the beginning of time, and as Heschel explained it is one of mankind’s greatest downfalls. As social animals; humans have a natural desire to relate to each other and group off. Collaborating with others has many benefits such as, starting a family or getting through natural disasters but; often times this desire to connect has led to superiority complexes and severe racism. History shows that the failure to embrace differences can lead to horrific wars and unrest. An example of a time when a group of common people used racism to connect is America’s Ku Klux Klan. Although the Ku Klux Klan has become less of an issue over the years, it is still existent and has the potential to expand.
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.
After the Civil War the whole country suffered a great loss of life and industry. Entire cities were destroyed piercing the economy; the South was particularly affected by the war. Directly after the war the Klan saw much activity trying to get Democrats in office that would not support the advancements of former slaves. Eventually by the end of the 1880’s the South seemed to be more st...
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...g around the world on a daily basis. In 1960 interracial marriage was illegal in many states and made up less than one percent of marriages. In 2010 more than eight percent of all marriages were interracial. Another example of a changing society is the integration of schools and the workplace of America, for more than forty years it has been illegal to segregate schools and have an all-white workforce, thanks to acts like Affirmative Action.
In conclusion, the world is changing daily and the days where a group could spread hate so freely are over. Although the Ku Klux Klan has become less of an issue over the years, it is still existent and has the potential to expand. Organizations like the Ku Klux Klan might have been influential in the past but it is the passion for justice that the current and future generation has that will keep the Klan on a steady decline.
This began a chain of events that led to the rise of the Ku Klux Klan and the end of the biracial democracy in the south. Johnson put pro-Union Southern political leaders into power, even though many had aided the Confederacy during the war. These men, with Johnson's support, attempted to restore a sense of the “Old South”, essentially trying to force blacks down as low in the class system as they legally could in light of the 13th and 14th Amendments-second class citizens. In 1866 the Radical Republicans stood up to President Johnson, and a battle for control of Reconstruction ensued.... ... middle of paper ...
From the start of the American Civil War, 1860, until the end of the Reconstruction, 1877, the United States of America endured what can be considered a revolution. Prior to the year 1860, there was a lack of union because of central government power flourishing rather than state power. Therefore, there was a split of opposite sides, North and South, fighting for authority. One major issue that came into mind was of slavery. At first, there were enactments that were issued to limit or rather prevent conflict to erupt, such as the numerous compromises, Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850. They did not fulfill the needs of the states, South states in particular; therefore, in the year 1860, the Civil War had commenced. There was the issue of inequality of Blacks in suffrage, politics, and the use of public facilities. However, much constitutional and social advancement in the period culminated in the revolution. To a radical extent, constitutional development between 1860 and 1877 amount to a revolution because of events like the Emancipation Proclamation, Civil Rights Act, the amendments that tried to change African Americans lives in American Society and contributed to get the union together. There is the social developments as well that to a lesser extent had amounted to the revolution because of organizations like the Klu Klux Klan, Freedmen’s Bureau lacking, and discrimination against African Americans that caused progression of violence and white supremacy.
After the Union victory in the Civil War, the South was still bitter and needed vast societal changes that matched those in the North. Reconstruction efforts were made to to make the regions more similar socially, politically, and economically; because despite the fact that they were on nation, the two societies were very different. There were still unresolved issues in regards to the status of former slaves and what system of labor should replace slavery. After the Union’s victory in the Civil War, reform efforts were made during the Reconstruction era to reunite the North and South and make ideas in the South more similar to those in the North; but this failed because of the South’s preconcieved ideas towards race.
First off there was the Ku Klux Klan better known as the KKK. This was a group of people who wore robes and masks. They pretended to be the ghosts of confederate soldiers. These people were scared of changes and the rising rights of African Americans. This was also in the north not just the south. Poverty was a big thing after reconstruction. It was a problem before reconstruction but it got bigger after. Poverty was a global issue in the south where a lot of white southerners had lost their land. This caused them to be trapped in a little poverty cycle. African Americans had little job
... and slavery left millions of newly freed African Americans in the South without an education, a home, or a job. Before reconstruction was put in place, African Americans in the South were left roaming helplessly and hopelessly. During the reconstruction period, the African Americans’ situation did not get much better. Although helped by the government, African Americans were faced with a new problem. African Americans in the South were now being terrorized and violently discriminated by nativist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. Such groups formed in backlash to Reconstruction and canceled out all the positive factors of Reconstruction. At last, after the Compromise of 1877, the military was taken out of the South and all of the Reconstruction’s efforts were basically for nothing. African Americans in the South were back to the conditions they started with.
The south was in economic and social chaos after its defeat in the war. 1865-1877 was a time period of reconstructing the south, however, it left an everlasting impression that kept the south behind for years to come. The political apprehension the south felt was due to the fact that there was no more authority and the new states had to deal with the northern states. The question was how the newly reelected Lincoln was going to bring these states back to the Union.
The South was utterly devastated by the end of the Civil War. Hundreds of thousands of fathers, brothers, and sons were dead by 1865. The southern economy was absent due to the outlawing of slave labor; and there was little to no political structure to keep people in order and lead the communities. The South was completely unable to function as a normal society should be able to. In an attempt to make the south able to function, The North adopted a policy of reconstruction. It established a military occupation of the South and attempted to improve the economy and political system to make it a contributing and functioning region of the United States. As a result, between 1860 and 1877, the United States, most notably the South, went through a process of mixed revolution and continuation of old ideals. During the period, constitutional amendments led to a radical revolution in the rights afforded to blacks; however, racist organizations in the South perpetuated the discrimination of blacks in society and politics. Additionally, government aid was not very successful and did little to counteract social inequality.
After the Civil War the South had to be rebuilt. This was known as the Reconstruction Era. During the Recontruction Era a lot of time was devoted to the south by the nation.In fact there was a reconstruction plan made by President Abraham Lincoln.The point of his plan was to make the rebuilding of the South quicker. However the South did face some hardships, benefits, and disappointments during that time. For example, the South suffered a major decline in their econmy after the Civil War.
In the ideal of civil rights when it comes to being judged by race Americans have made huge steps in the right direction, but we still have miles and miles to go. A large source of the racism present in our society stems from one's pride in his or her own race. Many people, especially those associated with racist groups; find it necessary to put down other ethnic groups in an attempt to strengthen their own. This train of thought usually results in extreme hatred of other races and an overall sense of bigotry. Reasoning in this manner causes too many consider associating with racist groups. Many people believe that we have far left the KKK (Ku Klux Klan) in the past, but in my research I have learned sadly that is not the case there are eight active KKK tribes in Oklahoma alone. The KKK is just as violent as ever in Mississippi there is believed to have been twelve murders committed by the KKK in t...
The Ku Klux Klan At the end of the American civil war in 1866 the Ku Klux Klan formed. It is a white supremacist group that uses violence and intimidation to reassert white domination in the United States. The Klan's attacks have been aimed at African Americans, Jews, Catholics, immigrant and other minority groups.
After the Civil War, slavery was abolished and any man owning a slave was required to let them free and view them as an equal. This was a difficult thing to do and eventually led to a downfall and destroyed economy in the southern United States. Abolishing slavery hurt the country economically and socially at the time and slavery was socially acceptable. For example, abolishing slavery in the United States was unfair towards the South.
As it was started in 1865, the Ku Klux Klan has sent a sense of terror through people’s minds. A group of six white Southerners was the start of this organization. The history of violence of the K.K.K. is a result of the hatred and anger from the end of the Civil War. The reason for this hatred was because blacks had won their struggle for freedom of slavery. They fought to deny the civil rights for African Americans. They wanted the blacks to be forced into slavery once again. The K.K.K. tore apart reconstructing governments and established a reign of terror and violence throughout the whole war-torn South. The first era of the K.K.K. lasted about three or four years, than faded. The arose again after World War 1. The overall story starts with many generations of Americans learning hard lessons of life. These experiences led to fierce individualism, surprising inventiveness, and the thought that they could be whatever and go wherever they wanted to. Other things occurred along with these thoughts. "Frontier Justice" was an instant, private and violent method of settling differences without law officials. This was a large component to the motivation of the Ku Klux Klan.
In this world today, hate is becoming increasingly more abundant, especially as it concerns race. Whether it be an unarmed black man shot by a white police officer or the use of racial slurs towards someone, it seems like racism is all around us. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, it shows a little girl named Scout using racial slurs. Racism is so culturally accepted in the town that it’s okay to use racial slurs such as the N-Word that even Atticus, a lawyer representing a black man falsely accused of rape, uses it a couple of times. Earlier this year, the Ku Klux Klan, a group of white supremacists, held a violent rally in Charlottesville, Virginia and proved that racism isn’t a thing of the past. In order to combat racism, groups of like-minded individuals with a common goal of making the world a more accepting place must come together to stand up
Although the KKK had reemerged in the South in 1915, it wasn’t until after the end of World War I that the organization experienced a national resurgence. Membership in the KKK skyrocketed from a few thousand to over 100,000 in a mere ten months.^2
...mproved, especially as a result of the Civil Rights Movement, racial inequalities still remain; from income to IQ levels, to the number of the incarcerated and life expectancies. While Americans like to think of our country as the equal land of opportunity, clearly it is not. Racism continues to remain "our American Obsession" (Loewen 139).