Formation and Affects of the KKK, Research Paper Example

The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was formed by a group of Confederate Army veterans in Pulaski, Tennessee in the winter of 1865-66. The name Ku Klux Klan is a combination of Greek word ‘kyklos’ meaning circle and the English word ‘clan’. General Nathan Bedford became the first Grand Wizard which is a title for the head of the organization. Robes and sheets became the symbolic dress of KKK and were meant to serve the purpose of preventing identification by the occupying federal troops as well as frightening the blacks. KKK burnt churches, school, and drove people out of their homes. In response, Congress passed the Force Bill in 1871 which gave the Federal Government to prosecute KKK(PBS).

The efforts of Federal prosecutors succeeded in putting an end to most of the KKK’s activities. But a new Klan was founded by a former Methodist preacher, William J. Simmons, in Stone Mountain, Georgia in 1915. The new Klan also targeted immigrants, Jews, and Roman Catholics in addition to blacks. By mid-20s, the membership of the clan had grown to two million. The Klan was a major political force in the 1920s. During the early 1920s, the Klan helped elect 16 U.S. Senators in addition to numerous Representatives and local officials. By 1924, the Klan claimed to control half of the nation’s 48 legislatures (The University of Houston).

A silent film The Birth of a Nation in 1915 greatly promoted the cause of KKK and was used as a recruiting tool by Klansmen for many decades to come. The film created a nationwide craze for the Klan and used a number of quotes from the then U.S. President Woodrow Wilson to give authenticity to its message. President Wilson was reported to have claimed upon seeing the movie, “It is like writing history with lightning, and my only regret is that it is all so terribly true.” The film is credited with playing a major role in the second creation of the KKK in 1915 (Frost).

After David C. Stephenson, a Klan’s leader was convicted of second degree murder and he exposed evidence of Klan’s bribes to political leaders, Klan’s membership started declining and the organization was disbanded in 1944. But the emergence of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s revived KKK for the third time. KKK prevented blacks from voting of which Mississippi is a good example where 42% of the population was black but only 2% were registered to vote. Klan also didn’t refrain from targeting homes of African Americans as well as churches attended by African Americans. During the summer of 1964, 30 black homes and 37 black churches were firebombed in Mississippi (Spartacus Educational).

Even though KKK has significantly declined in size and influence, it still remains the right-wing hate group with the greatest number of national and local organizations around the country. Today, there are more than 40 different Klan groups exist, with many having presence in multiple states. There are over hundreds chapters around the country with combined membership of 5,000. Following the past patterns, KKK remains the strongest in the South and in the Midwest. Klan chapters have seen some revival since 2006 due to latest social struggles such as gay marriage, immigration, and ‘perceived’ attacks on Christianity (Anti-Defamation League).

References

Anti-Defamation League. About the Ku Klux Klan. 26 May 2011 <http://www.adl.org/learn/ext_us/kkk/default.asp?LEARN_Cat=Extremism&LEARN_SubCat=Extremism_in_America&xpicked=4&item=kkk>.

Frost, Martin. Ku Klux Klan. 26 May 2011 <http://www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/kkk1.html>.

PBS. The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow. 26 May 2011 <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_org_kkk.html>.

Spartacus Educational. Ku Klux Klan. 26 May 2011 <http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAkkk.htm>.

The University of Houston. The Ku Klux Klan. 26 May 2011 <http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=444>.