Founded more than a century and a half ago, the racist Ku Klux Klan continues to this day.
In 1619, the first slaves abducted from their homes in Africa arrived in America. This marks the beginning of one of the darkest pages in US history – the widespread use of slave labor that lasted nearly two and a half centuries.
In 1865, the country’s constitution officially abolished slavery, but racism could not be eradicated so easily. Many people are dissatisfied with the actions of the new authorities and so the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) emerged.
The creation of the organization
The history of the racist group began on December 24, 1865. On that date, a group of Confederate Army veterans gathered in Pulaski, Tennessee, to form an organization aimed at restoring so-called “white supremacy” after the end of the Civil War. war (lasted between 1861 and 1865
The conflict is between the well-developed industrial northern states, which oppose slavery, and the agricultural southern states, which are heavily dependent on cheap slave labor. Politically, the Republican Party represents the North and the Democratic Party the South).
The name of the Ku Klux Klan is supposed to be borrowed from the Greek word “kyuklos”, which means circle. In the summer of 1867, representatives of several regional branches of the KKK gathered for a general meeting at which the Invisible Empire of the South was founded.
Its first leader was former General Nathan Bedford Forest, who was named the Great Wizard. Other high-profile titles, such as “Great Dragon”, “Great Titan” and “Great Cyclops”, were included in the group’s hierarchy.
In defense of “white supremacy”
After 1867, the KKK began carrying out attacks on Republican representatives and voters (both blacks and whites) in an attempt to restore so-called “white supremacy” in the southern states. The clan receives support from other organizations, including the Knights of the White Camellia and the White Brotherhood.
According to historians, between 1867 and 1868, about 10 percent of black Americans given the opportunity to hold public office were subjected to physical and mental harassment, and seven were killed. KKK members also frequently attacked schools and churches.
By 1870, KKK branches had appeared in almost every southern state. Despite its growing influence, the organization never gained a clear structure and leadership. Its members regularly acted independently, carrying out various attacks (most often at night).
At their meetings, they always wore long white robes and covered their faces with masks. The KKK’s activities flourished in areas where blacks were a minority and there was no way to resist.
The group was particularly influential in South Carolina, where in January 1871, 500 members attacked a prison and lynched eight black prisoners.
The army against the Ku Klux Klan
Although members of the Democratic Party tried to portray the KKK as an organization that included only poor people in the southern states, there were in fact many lawyers, traders, doctors, farm owners, and politicians in its ranks.
In some of the areas where the group was most active, the police either were members of it or supported its actions.
The growing influence of the KKK led to the intervention of Congress, which passed several laws aimed at protecting the rights of black Americans and allowing the president to use federal troops to fight the organization.
US President Ulysses Grant (who ruled the country from 1869 to 1877) immediately took advantage of his new powers, and by 1871 many KKK leaders had been arrested and the group banned.
However, military intervention has been the subject of fierce criticism of Grant, including from his Republican Party. Furthermore, the success of the fight against the KKK is only apparent, as support for the organization remains significant, and a few years later the Democratic Party takes control of most of the southern states.
The return of the Ku Klux Klan
The history of the Ku Klux Klan officially continued in 1915. Then in Atlanta, Georgia, a second organization of the same name was formed, and its founder is considered to be William Simmons. It is often referred to as the “money-making fraternity,” and its goal is to preserve traditional American values ​​that its members say are threatened by Catholics, Jews, Asians, and blacks.
Representatives of the KKK were extremely dissatisfied with the growing number of immigrants in the country in the early twentieth century, and also feared that a communist revolution might break out in the United States, similar to that in Russia in 1917. The organization adopted the burning cross as its symbol. and began holding protests and parades in various parts of the country.
The KKK had its greatest development during the reign of Hiram Wesley Evans, who led the group from 1922 to 1939. He managed to attract a large number of government officials from states such as Texas and Oklahoma. Maine, Oregon and Indiana.
Indicative of this is the fact that in 1925 the membership of the KKK reached 4 million people. The organization’s popularity plummeted after the outbreak of the Great Depression (one of the worst economic crises in world history. It began in 1929, and its effects were felt until the end of World War II), and in 1944 it ceased operations temporarily.
The story continues
The African-American civil rights movement, which swept the United States in the 1960s, gave a new impetus to the KKK. The activity of the organization, especially in the southern states, is growing significantly. Assassinations, bombings, and beatings of black Americans are on the rise.
However, the violence, instead of hindering the civil rights movement, has the opposite effect, and many are beginning to support the cause, outraged by the KKK’s actions.
In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson (who ruled the United States from 1963 to 1969) delivered a speech publicly condemning the organization and announcing that four of its members had been arrested in connection with the murder of a white woman who worked in support of the civic movement. rights in Alabama. In the following decades, the incidence of KKK violence decreased significantly.
Despite its grim past, the organization continues to exist today. According to 2016 data, it has between 3,000 and 6,000 members. The KKK has no centralized structure and consists of dozens of separate groups scattered throughout the country, some of which even organize marches.
In recent years, they have focused on campaigns against illegal immigration and same-sex marriage.
David Duke, a former KKK “Great Wizard”, in turn drew media attention after repeatedly stating his support for former US President Donald Trump.
