Ku Klux Klan

The Ku Klux Klan, with its long history of violence, is the most infamous - and oldest - of American hate groups. Although black Americans have typically been the Klan's primary target, it also has attacked Jews, immigrants, gays and lesbians and, until recently, Catholics. Over the years since it was formed in December 1865, the Klan has typically seen itself as a Christian organization, although in modern times Klan groups are motivated by a variety of theological and political ideologies. Started during Reconstruction at the end of the Civil War, the Klan quickly mobilized as a vigilante group to intimidate Southern blacks - and any whites who would help them - and to prevent them from enjoying basic civil rights. After a short but violent period, the "first era" Klan disbanded after Jim Crow laws secured the domination of Southern whites. Klan glossary AKIA: A password meaning "A Klansman I Am", often seen on decals and bumper stickers. Alien: A person who does not belong to the Klan.

Ku Klux Klan -- Extremism in America The Ku Klux Klan is a racist, anti-Semitic movement with a commitment to extreme violence to achieve its goals of racial segregation and white supremacy. Of all the types of right-wing hate groups that exist in the United States, the Klan remains the one with the greatest number of national and local organizations around the country. More than 40 different Klan groups exist, many having multiple chapters, or “klaverns,” including a few that boast a presence in a large number of states. There are over a hundred different Klan chapters around the country, with a combined strength of members and associates that may total around 5,000. After a period of relative quiet, Ku Klux Klan activity has spiked noticeably upwards in 2006, as Klan groups have attempted to exploit fears in America over gay marriage, perceived “assaults” on Christianity, crime and especially immigration. The Ku Klux Klan first emerged following the Civil War as America’s first true terrorist group.

A kinder, gentler Ku Klux Klan? 'We do not hate anyone,' imperial wizard says by Alicia W. Stewart, CNN (CNN) –“All we wanna do is adopt a highway,” said April Chambers, secretary of the North Georgia chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. “We're not doing it for publicity. For many Americans, the Ku Klux Klan has been a symbol for terrorism, racism and evil in America, synonymous with burning crosses, lynchings and hooded men. Even today, the name evokes vociferous discussion about the rights of a local group to adopt a highway in North Georgia, which was recently denied. Overheard on CNN.com: Reader 'feeling a bit dirty' for agreeing with KKK on litter pickup But is the latest effort to adopt a highway an introduction of a new era of a kinder, gentler Klan or merely an effort to gain attention? "We're not racists," Chambers told CNN Monday. Harley Hanson, who filed the application to adopt the highway for the International Keystone Knights Realm of Georgia, concurred: “I love my race. Georgia official: KKK won't be allowed to 'adopt' highway

The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow . Jim Crow Stories . Reconstruction Reconstruction generally refers to the period in United States history immediately following the Civil War in which the federal government set the conditions that would allow the rebellious Southern states back into the Union. (The precise starting point is debatable, with some prominent scholars arguing that Reconstruction actually began during the war.) In 1862, Abraham Lincoln had appointed provisional military governors to re-establish governments in Southern states recaptured by the Union Army. The main condition for re-admittance was that at least 10 percent of the voting population in 1860 take an oath of allegiance to the Union. The Radicals wanted to insure that newly freed blacks were protected and given their rights as Americans. Southerners, with Johnson's support, attempted to restore slavery in substance if not in name. Each Southern state had to incorporate these requirements into their constitutions, and blacks were empowered with the vote. -- Richard Wormser

Reconstruction - American Civil War At the outset of the Civil War, to the dismay of the more radical abolitionists in the North, President Abraham Lincoln did not make abolition of slavery a goal of the Union war effort. To do so, he feared, would drive the border slave states still loyal to the Union into the Confederacy and anger more conservative northerners. By the summer of 1862, however, the slaves themselves had pushed the issue, heading by the thousands to the Union lines as Lincoln’s troops marched through the South. Their actions debunked one of the strongest myths underlying Southern devotion to the “peculiar institution”–that many slaves were truly content in bondage–and convinced Lincoln that emancipation had become a political and military necessity. In response to Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which freed more than 3 million slaves in the Confederate states by January 1, 1863, blacks enlisted in the Union Army in large numbers, reaching some 180,000 by war’s end.

Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan - Home The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow . Jim Crow Stories . The Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan was originally organized in the winter of 1865-66 in Pulaski, Tennessee as a social club by six Confederate veterans. In the beginning, the Klan was a secret fraternity club rather than a terrorist organization. (Ku Klux was derived from the Greek "kuklos," meaning circle, and the English word clan.) The costume adopted by its members (disguises were quite common) was a mask and white robe and high conical pointed hat. The Klan spread beyond Tennessee to every state in the South and included mayors, judges, and sheriffs as well as common criminals. -- Richard Wormser

The Civil Rights Bill of 1866 | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives Image courtesy of Library of CongressA New York state politician for more than a decade, Representative Henry Raymond served only one term in the House of Representatives.

American Experience | Reconstruction: The Second Civil War | Black Legislators The Civil Rights Act of 1866 granted citizenship and the same rights enjoyed by white citizens to all male persons in the United States "without distinction of race or color, or previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude." President Andrew Johnson's veto of the bill was overturned by a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress, and the bill became law. Johnson's attitude contributed the growth of the Radical Republican movement, which favored increased intervention in the South and more aid to former slaves, and ultimately to Johnson's impeachment. 1866 Civil Rights Act 14 Stat. 27-30, April 9, 1866 A.D. CHAP. XXXI.An Act to protect all Persons in the United States in their Civil Rights, and furnish the Means of their Vindication.

Ku Klux Klan — History.com Articles, Video, Pictures and Facts In 1915, white Protestant nativists organized a revival of the Ku Klux Klan near Atlanta, Georgia, inspired by their romantic view of the Old South as well as Thomas Dixon’s 1905 book “The Clansman” and D.W. Griffith’s 1915 film “Birth of a Nation.” This second generation of the Klan was not only anti-black but also took a stand against Roman Catholics, Jews, foreigners and organized labor. The Great Depression in the 1930s depleted the Klan’s membership ranks, and the organization temporarily disbanded in 1944.