Scalawags, on the other hand were native southerners, but who were also greedy for power and wealth. When things were bad in the south, Scalawags joined with the freedmen, the republican government and the carpetbaggers to form a republican group that sought to exploit the rich KKK members and their sympathizers. By turning against their own people, the Scalawags were termed traitors. Their …show more content…
At the height of the reconstruction period the republicans and Scalawags were almost dominating the south. The KKK devised new tactics aimed at discouraging their rivals and warning them to leave town. The new strategy included night raids and a highly concealed membership campaign. The brutality of the attacks was mainly to create fear through violence. In 1968 these atrocities were everywhere and were also being printed in the newspapers. A common theme in these attacks were night raids where hooded KKK members would attack an isolated black house or …show more content…
The initial rise was a result of the bitterness of the ex-confederate army members and officials, who, after the collapse of the confederacy, teamed up to form the KKK movement. With a ostensible threat of black people rising to power through education, employment, and votes, the KKK group turned into a terror group. With the lack of organized operations and being outlawed by Governor William Sharkey, the KKK’s existence was threatened. The KKK regrouped and formed a better organized group that rose to pursue their agenda in 1866 and ’67. With reconstruction underway and the contribution of carpetbaggers and scalawags in impoverishing the KKK members, the group fell in large number. Adoption of new tactics such as discrete memberships, night riding, and cruel guerilla attacks, gave a rise to the group once more. New laws were passed in 1870-’71, that finally nailed the last nail on the KKK’s