There is no easy way to decide who can be held accountable for the end of the Reconstruction Era. Attempts to rebuild the South ceased to exist in 1877, just over ten years after the Confederacy surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant in Appomattox Court House, Virginia. It seemed as though everything was on the right track in 1876, the one hundred year anniversary of The United States. That was, however, until the South waged conflict against black and white citizens of The United States. While racial attitudes and “Reconstruction weariness” contributed to the collapse of Reconstruction efforts, the use of violence against whites and blacks combined with the belief in white supremacy played the
The Confederacy was like a fire. The north tried to smother it, but there was still a flame left. At that point all you could do was wait for it to burn out. The Civil war brought about a lot of hate and sectionalism between the North and South. Even after the war the flame of the Confederacy still burned. The US government tried to suppress all this hate and start the reconstruction of the United States. There were many things that added to the fire such as the newly freed slaves, the political parties, and the Ku Klucks Klan.
Throughout the year’s historians have studied and debated what impact the KKK had on the Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1968. With evidence, it is clear that the KKK had a negative outlook on the Movement as it allowed African-Americans to have social and political freedom and gave them equal rights. Due to the racial and white supremacy ideals of the time many opposed the movement causing the causal factors that developed the KKK. Since its birth in 1865 the Klan left forever Intergenerational trauma on many African American long after its disbandment in 1968. In response to these heinous crimes the government introduced a series of Acts and Legations with the hope that it would disempower or even end the KKK. However, the Acts and Legations
David Chalmers writes in the Reader in American History that the founding members of the white supremacist organization the Ku Klux Klan were “A group of young ex-Confederate officers” which multiplied in the number of members over time (Chalmers. Reader in American History,2). The birth of the Ku Klux Klan also led to other white supremacy groups named the Pale Faces, The Order of the White Rose, and Knight Owls just to name a few, these groups were rumored to be just the Young Men’s Democratic Clubs or actual ties with the clan (Chalmers. Reader in American History,3). Former southern leaders against negroes that were still leaders in the South and threats from the white supremacy organizations impacted politics in this time period.
There were very few groups that were white supremacists in the civil rights ages. Out of all the groups there was one that really stood out. One klan became really famous which was the KKK. The KKK was the biggest white supremacist group they were against blacks at first. After the second generation they went against blacks, Jewish, catholic, and foreigners. The KKK functions as a group that fights against non whites who don 't respect or follow whites.
During the 19th century the Ku Klux Klan were feared by freedmen everywhere. The Klu Klux Klan were a group of white supremacists who were trying to restore white supremacy by hanging or lynching freedmen. The Klu Klux Klan terrorized freedmen in Georgia during the 19th century in an attempt to restore white supremacy by lynching blacks. The Ku Klux Klan terrorized Georgia citizens in the years after the Civil War but they were not brought to justice because some members were government officials.
When the Ku Klux Klan was formed, they tried to cease the African American from participation in the political process. “We would state that we have been law-abiding citizens, pay taxes, and in many parts of the state our people have been driven from the polls, refused the right to vote. Many have been slaughtered while attempting to vote.” [Doc. 3] Southern States deprived the right to vote from the former slaves because of their race and color. “Their (Mississippi, South Carolina, or Louisiana) framers intended and did disfranchise a majority of their citizenship [deprived them of the right to vote] because of “race and color” and “previous condition”..” [Doc. 7] This lead to the ratification of 15th Amendment. The 15th Amendment protects the right to vote of the emancipated slaves as it says on the document, “the right to vote shall not be denied on the basis of race, color, or previous condition.”
Congress tried many attempts to stop racism as reflected by the Civil Rights Act of 1866 which gave emancipated African Americans several legal rights. They also passed the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery and the Fourteenth Amendment, which made free slaves U.S. citizens. However, many white supremacists were upset by these changes and started the “Old Time Ku Klux Clan” a group made to terrorize African Americans and scare them “back into their place”. Even white supremacist Congressmen passed black codes which limited the rights of former slaves such as testifying against whites and even loitering in public. The Ku Klux Clan ended up causing so much violence against African Americans that Congress had to pass the Ku Klux Clan Act to give African Americans military protection.
The KKK was flourishing because they got a new founder, then they got a new leader and that is when they took off. They believe in White and christian supremacy. They thought that everyone had to be christian, and they believed that blacks did not deserve to do the same thing as the whites to any degree. What they did is hung and beat people who were their targets. Also they broke windows with bricks and burned the houses of the targets. They used numerous posters to try and promote the kkk and get people to join them.
Imagine living in a world which friends, family and neighbors are murdered just because of the color of their skin. What did they do wrong? And why was the Ku Klux Klan even exist?. Why was the KKK racist?, And How did the KKK even start? This was a big part in a life of an African-American living South of the United States of America’s history who had to be tortured and treated unkindly from this tourist group. The First Amendment to the US Constitution provided freedom of speech and assembly even let this even though the first amendment states that “All men are created equal and shall have the right to life, liberty and happiness”. These rights construed to include freedom of association which allowed freedom of speech which allowed the KKK
The Ku Klux Klan, the most prominent group of white supremacists in the United States with over four million members, began losing a vast majority of their followers throughout the late 1920’s and early 1930’s. The Ku Klux Klan’s losses of influence contributed to the tolerance of African Americans and other minorities in U.S. society.
When one hears the word terrorism what is the first image that comes to mind? For many the word brings the image of what we’ve come to know as the typical Middle Eastern terrorist burned into our skulls from both social media and news outlets. But when you look at the actual definition of terrorism which is “the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims”, (terrorism , n.d.) America has seen terrorism for a majority of our short time as a country, just in many different shapes sizes and hatreds. But where does it all stem from, and how could an organization so terrible and with a strong history of violence for an unjust reason still exist, the
Since their establishment after the Civil War, in 1865, the Ku Klux Klan is known as one of the most famous hate groups in America. The white cloaked Knights use lynching, riots, and demonstrations, to spread their hate filled messages toward any ethnic or religious groups who are not white, nor Christians. But despite their actions, the Klan still promoted themselves as “100% American” to gain support from United States citizens. Although they promoted themselves as “100% American”, the knights of the Ku Klux Klan sought to deprecate the rights of those whose views differed from theirs, through violent actions.
Within his work, The Ku Klux Klan, W.D. Wood’s argument for the Ku Klux Klan depicts the Klan as a sort of superhero, acting as a vigilante, its primary function being to free the Confederate states from the humiliation of African American influence and the Reconstructive legislation placed upon them. The Klan, composed in playfulness and made up of schoolboys, spent their evenings terrorizing African Americans. The Klan, once again, capitalized on the superstitious beliefs of African Americans, using their ghostly costumes and extreme pageantry to evoke panic. However, the author states that the Klan never acted in blood or violence, but rather used silent and obscure maneuvers to instill fear in the African Americans. The Klan sometimes stopping
Envision living in a society where innocent people are murdered simply because of a difference in their skin color. Throughout much of America’s history, many African-American’s living in southern United States faced such threats to their lives. However, it was not the actions of the individual that served to endanger the lives of African-Americans in the south but rather the actions of a group of people with similar ideas. The Ku Klux Klan group was the most infamous of all groups. The Ku Klux Klan, also abbreviated as the “KKK”, was contributed to a long lasting racism of Blacks in America that even continues on till this day. Originated over one hundred years ago, the Ku Klux Klan has passed on through many eras that constrained blacks and