The Invisible Empire of the South, also known as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), has been a major role in shaping the views of the United States and the South, particularly speaking the eleven former states of the Confederacy. From significant national figures, down to the local county councilman, evidence of the Klan being involved in politics is clearly there. One also cannot rule out the amount of legislation that the Klan has affected due to its terrorist-like tactics. It can definitely said that the KKK not only impacted government and policy making, but it affected Southern life. Since the formation of the first Klan after the end of the Civil War, it has been clear that the KKK will not stop at nothing to ensure the continuity of the white supremacy, especially in the South. The Invisible Empire clearly had a good hold on Southern politics throughout the height of their existence.
One reason why the South killed the Reconstruction was because the Ku Klux Klan was making it difficult for the government to focus on the Reconstruction. This can be supported by the fact that the Ku Klux Klan was murdering people (Tourgee 511). Since the Ku Klux Klan was murdering people the government had to focus more on the Ku Klux Klan instead of the Reconstruction. This led to the government sending in troops, which also supports the idea that the Ku Klux Klan made it difficult for the government to focus on the Reconstruction (Tourgee 511). To add to the stress, the Ku Klux Klan showed a lot of intimidation. It states in Document A, “He was stabbed
Hooded Americanism: The First Century of the Ku Klux Klan: 1865 to the Present by David Chalmers records the history of the Ku Klux Klan quite bluntly, all the way from its creation following the civil war, to the early 1960’s. The author starts the book quite strongly by discussing in detail many acts of violence and displays of hatred throughout the United States. He makes a point to show that the Klan rode robustly throughout all of the country, not just in the southern states. The first several chapters of the book focus on the Klan’s creation in 1865. He goes on to discuss the attitude of many Americans following the United State’s Civil War and how the war shaped a new nation. The bulk of the book is used to go through many of the states, and express the Klan’s political influence on both the local and state governments. The author starts with Texas and Oklahoma, and goes through the history of the Klan geographically, finishing with New Jersey and Washington. The author stresses that the KKK did not just commit acts of violence towards minorities, but also carried political power. He continues to discuss the impact of the Klan on Civil Rights movements in the 1960’s, and various other important political controversies between the 1920’s and 1970’s. Towards the middle of the book, David M. Chalmers focuses on portraying the feelings of governments and state legislatures, as well as normal citizens towards the Klan. To do this more effectively, the author uses excerpts and quotes from editorials and newspapers, along with several dozen pictures. The conclusion of the book was used mainly as an overview of all of the major incidents and deaths involving the Klan, and how their persistence has allowed them to still exist today despite a lack of resources and support.
Participation in the KKK soared from a couple of thousand to more than 100,000 in a simple ten months. Nearby parts of the KKK jumped up everywhere throughout the nation, and by the 1920’s it had turned into a real national association with an imposing nearness not simply in the south, but rather in New Britain, the Midwest, and the whole way across the northern joined states. The individuals from the Ku Klux Klan were generally white Protestant working class men, and they encircled their campaign in good and religious terms. They considered themselves to be “vigilantes establishing equity”, and they utilized terrorizing, dangers of savagery, and real viciousness to anticipate African Americans, foreigners, Catholics, Jews, Liberals, progressives from accomplishing riches, economic well being, and political
The KKK were targeting Carpetbaggers, Republicans, and people in the military. Keeping people from the North who were in favor of Reconstruction going to the South was a goal the KKK was attempting to achieve. These Northerners were being targeted by a Southerner group. “Another brave, honest Republican citizen has met his fate.” (Tourgee 511). The KKK was made up of “first class men” (Colby 513), which showed the amount of money and power the South had. The KKK intimidating the Northerners and people who wanted to end
After the North won the civil war, it was time to rebuild this nation. This period of reconstruction was supposed to have a profound change on society. Unfortunately this was not the case. Reconstruction did not fundamentally alter this nation. Not to say that nothing happened, but nothing that really made a change or difference happened. First, the control of the south was given right back to the planter elite. Also, even though slavery was abolished; blacks were not free. Finally, Congress and President Johnson could not get along. Although the civil war reshaped this country profoundly. The reconstruction efforts did little but scratch a surface, before being quickly wiped away.
During the civil rights era, many groups and organizations were formed. Some of these groups were violent while others were not. A Lot of the groups fought for rights and some fought for themselves. The Ku Klux Klan was and is a hate group towards African Americans.
The Klansmen were murderers as they assaulted Republicans for fighting for the rights of everyone which included African Americans. In South Carolina, the Klansmen were really out and about within this area with their protesting and making sure that they were
Although slavery was abolished, racism was not. Because the government had started recognizing African Americans as more than just slaves, the Klan decided they would have to take matters into their own hands. They felt extremely betrayed by the U.S. government. As one supporting KKK web-site claimed, "The KKK movement provided for the people of the south the leadership and rallying point to begin their arduous struggle to regain their lost dignity and indeed, the values of Western Civilization."
The Ku Klux Klan is the worst example of domestic terrorism in the Southern United States. In the movie A Time To Kill they played a large role in the trial of Carl Lee Hailey. Terrorizing those in support of black rights, the Klan threatened and killed anyone who called for the release of Mr. Hailey. Even though Carl was acquitted, black supporters and activists still have to feel like they lost the war because of all the tragedy that was caused over the duration of the trial. The KKK was and still is a horrific group, but with support from internal and external parties Carl Lee Hailey’s ruling was finally justified despite the negative influence from the Klan.
The Klu Klux Klan has long been a problem in the United States of America. Since the defeat of Confederate troops in the Civil War, many Southerners have seen the government as corrupt and imposing “intolerable oppression,” also many veterans had nothing to do during the economic depression (MacKenzie, 1967). This caused intense feelings of hatred towards the people some Sothern’s saw as their enemies, such as; black people. In the 1870’s President Grant enacted the “Ku-Klux Acts” which enraged the Klan all the more. The Federal government was now in charge of Southern elections and Klan members could be jailed without their right to habeas corpus (Secret Societies).
educated, relatvely affluent, and each had passed the war as an officer. They called this secret group which they created of boredom, The Ku Klux Klan that is from kuklos; Greek for circle.While the menace of the KKK has peaked and waned over the years, it has never vanished. The Klan, when it was first founded, it sabotaged Reconstruction governments and imposed a reign of terror and violence. After three years it came to an end, The Klan was no longer present. After World War I The Klan was reborn but this time in a much different style. This research will dig into the deepest facts and aspects of the Klan and show how radical and violent it is. The KKK is the biggest terror organisation in the USA that was and still is a threat to Black people in America and such a terror cannot be ...
The Reconstruction Era, after the Civil War, was a period of fear for African Americans. With the formation of the Ku Klux Klan in 1867, terror and havoc had been wreaked upon African Americans, along with the strengthening of stereotypes. Being one of the oldest terrorist groups in the world, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) used fear as their real objective. This Klan preserved the white supremacy seen in the south, even to the present day. Although most people don’t see the Klan as a group of terrorism, they qualify to the basic standards because their violence is systematic and the objective is political – to maintain supremacy of one group over another. Multiple examples of their violence can be seen throughout time, along with the effects it had on the African American population. One example is in 1965, in Selma, Alabama, a part of the Klan killed a Civil Rights Protestor, a woman. This woman was shot to death while returning from delivering a carload of Civil Rights workers who
The Ku Klux Klan was started by six young men who organized a fraternal club where they would wear costumes and ride around after dark. They soon realized they were instilling fear into the community, but predominantly in the areas where the former slaves were living. Seeing this effect they quickly gained members, and within a year they began to structure rules for their organization. Inciting terror was their first goal, but it didn’t take long for them to act out further by harassment, arson and even murder of not just Blacks, but also Northern teachers, judges, politicians, or anyone they felt went against their code.
Southern whites had many tactics to undermine Blacks newly gained freedom. One of the most significant ways involved a group known as the Klu Klux Klan (KKK). The KKK claimed that they had a goal of trying to restore the chaos Blacks had caused. However, the way they tactics used to reach this goal were extreme. The white supremacist group would commit many crimes to rebel