Ku Klux Klan In The 1920's

In order to to tell of the activities of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920’s, first you need to know a little about their origins and how they came to be. The Ku Klux Klan was a group of southern resistance and white supremacists that were ultra-conservative against the forces of diversity, equality, and modernity that was transforming American culture. They were founded as a post civil war group in 1866 in Pulaski Tennessee, by confederate veterans. Nathan Bedford Forrest was chosen as their first leader or “grand wizard”. Now the first two words of the name Ku Klux is said to derive from a Greek word “Kyklos” meaning circle. Which is fitting to the idea of the circle of brotherhood helping to establish white supremacy and reverse reconstruction. Now in order to due so they had to establish dominance and did so by performing heinous crimes to freed …show more content…
Towards the end of Reconstruction they crossed class lines from small farmers and laborers to higher positions such as planters, lawyers, merchants, physicians, and ministers. They even had law enforcement on their side towards that time in regions where Klan activity was large. Some members were law enforcement officials themselves and those that were not refused to take action against them. They caused terror in citizens which led them to not testify against the Klan. Because of this they turned to Congress and Ulysses S. Grant was instructed to remove Klan activity in South Carolina and had some success in 1870 and onward. Due to the wide support for Reconstruction by the end of 1876 they slowly declined and the south was under democratic control again. Although they slowly declined in numbers and action they were not entirely diminished. Because of this it led to their ability to revive and allowed them to grow and reach their prime in the