The Ku Klux Klan

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When the Civil War ended in 1865 it was supposed to be the end of black oppression but that was not the case at all.  Arguably, blacks faced more problems in America after they were emancipated than they did when some were still enslaved.  Public harassment and terror by outraged whites were among the forefront of these problems.  The most well known group that openly practiced this was the Ku Klux Klan.  The Ku Klux Klan is the oldest and most infamous organization of American terrorism.  The roots and origins of this group can be traced back to Tennessee during the spring of 1866, one year after the end of the Civil War.  After its formation, the KKK expanded quite rapidly.  The Ku Klux Klan strove to instill an unwavering fear in blacks in America.  The members of the KKK took the law into their own hands and used measures that they saw fit to preserve the views and ideals that were so important to them.  Many times these measures would include horrible atrocities such as lynching, tar-and-feathering, rape, and murder.  These vigilante efforts would overrun many parts of the country.  It was not until half a decade had passed that legal action would finally be taken to counterattack the Ku Klux Klan.

        Shortly after the Civil War ended, an assortment of plans to reconstruct the devastated South emerged.  Each of these plans was an attempt to rebuild the South with Northern morals and views on topics such as religion, the economy, and social beliefs.  This period of time, appropriately called Reconstruction, was an outrage to loyal white Southerners.  This group of people felt that the North needed not to help the South try and piece together their shattered remains of society.  Contrary to their deepest hopes, the South would not be left alone by the persistent effort from the North to help the struggling South.  This continuous surge by the North was one of the factors that led to the organizations of societies in the South that made an attempt to preserve Southern culture (Boyer 514).  

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In the spring of 1866 one of these secret groups was formed in Tennessee by Confederate Civil War veterans Captain John C. Lester, Major James R. Crowe, John D. Kennedy, Calvin Jones, Richard R. Reed, and Frank O. McCord. It was named the Ku Klux Klan (Ku- Extremism…).  Founded by six Confederate veterans, the Ku Klux Klan was a Christian organization that attempted to intimidate blacks (Ku-U.S…).  It was also based on democratic principles; its original members and all new members would always be sympathetic to the Democratic party (Wade 57).  A few trademarks of this society were elaborate rituals ...

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