Simone Lawson
The Ku Klux Klan, commonly abbreviated to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian extremist, white supremacist, and far-right hate group. The group was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction in the devastated South and has since gone through three distinct iterations. The KKK was formed as a social group in Tennessee in 1866, with the goal of maintaining absolute white supremacy in response to newly gained civil and political rights by southern Blacks after the Civil War. The group's constitution and bylaws were likely drafted by its founding members, who were Confederate veterans that assaulted and murdered politically active Black people and their white political allies in the South.
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What You'll Learn
The KKK's foundation and early history
The Ku Klux Klan (KKK), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian extremist, white supremacist, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction in the devastated South. Various historians have characterized the Klan as America's first terrorist group. The group contains several organizations structured as a secret society, which have frequently resorted to terrorism, violence and acts of intimidation to impose their criteria and oppress their victims, most notably African Americans, Jews, and Catholics.
The first Klan was established in the Reconstruction era for men opposed to Radical Reconstruction and was founded by Confederate veterans that assaulted and murdered politically active Black people and their white political allies in the South. From 1868 through the early 1870s, the KKK functioned as a loosely organized group of political and social terrorists. The Klan’s goals included the political defeat of the Republican Party and the maintenance of absolute white supremacy in response to newly gained civil and political rights by southern Blacks after the Civil War. They were more successful in achieving their political goals than they were with their social goals during the Reconstruction era. The KKK was formed as a social group in Tennessee in 1866. The name probably came from the Greek word kuklos, meaning “circle.” Klan was an alliterative version of “clan,” thus Ku Klux Klan suggested a circle, or band, of brothers. With the passage of the Military Reconstruction Acts in March 1867, and the prospect of freedmen voting in the South, the Klan became a political organization.
The KKK had no organizational structure above the chapter level. However, there were similar groups across the South that adopted similar goals. Klan chapters promoted white supremacy and spread throughout the South as an insurgent movement in resistance to Reconstruction. Confederate veteran John W. Morton founded a KKK chapter in Nashville, Tennessee. As a secret vigilante group, the Klan targeted freedmen and their allies; it sought to restore white supremacy by threats and violence, including murder. "They targeted white Northern leaders, Southern sympathizers and politically active Blacks." In 1870 and 1871, the federal government passed the Enforcement Acts, which were intended to prosecute and suppress Klan crimes. The first Klan had mixed results in terms of achieving its objectives. It seriously weakened the Black political leadership through its use of assassinations and threats of violence, and it drove some people out of politics.
The second iteration of the Klan originated in the late 1910s, and was the first to use cross burnings and standardized white-hooded robes. The KKK of the 1920s had a nationwide membership in the millions and reflected a cross-section of the native-born white Protestant population. The second Klan was a formal fraternal organization, with a national and state structure. During its heyday, its publicity was handled by the Southern Publicity Association. Within the first six months of the Association's national recruitment campaign, Klan membership had increased by 85,000. At its peak in the mid-1920s, the organization's membership was estimated as high as three to eight million members. In 1923, Simmons was ousted as leader of the KKK by Hiram Wesley Evans. From September 1923 there were two Ku Klux Klan national organizations: the one founded by Simmons and led by Evans with its strength primarily in the southern United States.
The third and current Klan formed in the mid-20th century, largely as a reaction to the growing civil rights movement. It used murder and bombings to achieve its aims. All three iterations have called for the "purification" of American society. In each era, membership was secret and estimates of the total were highly exaggerated by both allies and enemies. Each iteration of the Klan is defined by non-overlapping time periods, comprising local chapters with little or no central direction. Each has advocated reactionary positions such as white nationalism, anti-immigration and—especially in later iterations—Nordicism, antisemitism, anti-Catholicism, right-wing populism, anti-communism, homophobia, and anti-atheism.
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The KKK's structure and organisation
The KKK is an American Protestant-led Christian extremist, white supremacist, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction in the devastated South. The group contains several organisations structured as a secret society, with each iteration defined by non-overlapping time periods, comprising local chapters with little or no central direction.
The first Klan was established in the Reconstruction era for men opposed to Radical Reconstruction. It was founded by Confederate veterans who assaulted and murdered politically active Black people and their white political allies in the South. The first Klan had mixed results in terms of achieving its objectives. It seriously weakened the Black political leadership through its use of assassinations and threats of violence, and it drove some people out of politics. However, it had no organisational structure above the chapter level.
The second iteration of the Klan originated in the late 1910s and was the first to use cross burnings and standardised white-hooded robes. This version of the KKK had a formal national and state structure, with its publicity handled by the Southern Publicity Association. At its peak in the mid-1920s, the organisation's membership was estimated to be as high as three to eight million members.
The third and current Klan formed in the mid-20th century, largely as a reaction to the growing civil rights movement. It used murder and bombings to achieve its aims.
Outside of the United States, branches of the Klan have previously existed in New South Wales, Victoria, and allegedly Queensland in Australia, as well as in Fiji in 1874.
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KKK activities in Georgia
The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) has existed in various forms since it was first organized in Tennessee shortly after the end of the Civil War (1861-65). The KKK is a secret society dedicated to white supremacy in the United States. From 1868 through the early 1870s, the KKK functioned as a loosely organized group of political and social terrorists in Georgia. Their activities included burning Black churches and schools, attacking teachers, and beating and killing freedpeople who refused to show proper deference.
In the early 20th century, the second iteration of the KKK originated and was the first to use cross burnings and standardized white-hooded robes. This version of the KKK was particularly prominent in Georgia, with the state's governor, Clifford Walker, serving from 1923 to 1927, closely associated with the group. Walker even spoke at a national KKK convention in 1924. The KKK's influence in Georgia during this period is also evident in the state's legislative body, with several state legislators being members of the KKK.
The KKK in Georgia faced opposition from some journalists and government officials. Julian Harris, editor of the Columbus Enquirer-Sun, regularly reported on KKK violence and exposed public officials who were members, winning a Pulitzer Prize in 1926 for his efforts. Additionally, Governor Ellis Arnall instructed the Attorney General to institute proceedings against the KKK to revoke its charter, citing reasons such as operating as a for-profit group and engaging in violent and unlawful activities.
In the 1950s and 1960s, the KKK in Georgia continued to carry out violent attacks against African Americans and supporters of the civil rights movement. Targets included a biracial community in Sumter County, African Americans protesting against segregation in Atlanta, and an African American military officer from Washington, D.C., who was murdered while driving through Madison County.
The KKK in Georgia has persisted into recent times, with the group conducting the first cross burning since World War II atop Stone Mountain in October 1945. The KKK's activities have been met with resistance from federal authorities, who have used informants to disrupt their activities, and from other groups, such as the Red Knights, who have responded violently to KKK provocations.
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The KKK's second iteration
The second iteration of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) emerged in the early 20th century, specifically in 1915 near Atlanta, Georgia, marking a revival of the group that had been dismantled following the American Civil War. This resurgence was driven by white Protestant nativists who romanticized the Old South and were influenced by Thomas Dixon's book "The Clansman" and D.W. Griffith's film "Birth of a Nation."
This second generation of the KKK was characterized by its anti-Black sentiment and expanded its targets to include Roman Catholics, Jews, foreigners, and organized labor. It capitalized on the growing hostility toward the increasing immigration to the United States in the early 1900s and fears of communist revolution, similar to the Bolshevik triumph in Russia. The burning cross became their symbol, and they held rallies, parades, and marches across the country.
The second Klan was a formal fraternal organization with a national and state structure. Its publicity was managed by the Southern Publicity Association, and its membership grew rapidly. Within six months of the Association's national recruitment campaign, Klan membership surged by 85,000. During its peak in the mid-1920s, the KKK's membership was estimated to be between three and eight million members nationwide.
The second iteration of the KKK was less violent than the first, but it still employed violence to maintain racial segregation and assert white supremacy. They targeted African Americans, Jewish merchants, Greek bakers, South Asian laborers, Italian immigrants, Mormons, Catholics, bootleggers, jazz fans, and flappers, among others. This version of the KKK drew support from various segments of society, including the middle classes, and found success outside of the South.
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The KKK Act of 1871
The Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, also known as "An Act to enforce the Provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and for other Purposes", was the last of three Enforcement Acts passed by Congress from 1870 to 1871. The act was introduced as H.R. 320 on March 28, 1871, by Representative Samuel Shellabarger of Ohio, and was signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on April 20, 1871.
The Ku Klux Klan Act was designed to empower the federal government to protect the civil and political rights of individuals, specifically in response to political violence and intimidation by the Ku Klux Klan and other similar groups during the Reconstruction era following the American Civil War. The Reconstruction era saw the founding of the first iteration of the KKK, which was established by Confederate veterans in 1865 and targeted politically active Black people and their white allies in the South through terrorism, violence, and acts of intimidation.
The Enforcement Acts gave the federal government broader powers to guarantee citizens' constitutional rights and to end the violence and intimidation perpetrated by the KKK and other groups. The first Enforcement Act, passed in May 1870, prohibited groups of people from banding together "or to go in disguise upon the public highways, or upon the premises of another" with the intention of violating laws. The second Enforcement Act, which became law in February 1871, placed the administration of national elections under the control of the federal government and empowered federal judges and marshals to supervise local polling places.
The third Enforcement Act, also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act, gave the president the power to imprison people without a trial (by suspending the writ of habeas corpus) and to use the federal military on domestic soil to enforce constitutional rights. It also empowered the president to use the armed forces to combat those who conspired to deny equal protection under the laws. In addition, the act provided legal protection under the law for all citizens of the United States, guaranteeing them the rights afforded by the Constitution.
The Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 has had a lasting impact on civil rights legislation and enforcement. Several of its provisions still exist today, and it has been invoked in later civil rights conflicts, including cases involving murders, violence, and violations of constitutional rights. The act also led to the dismantling of the first iteration of the KKK, which did not resurface in a meaningful way until the beginning of the 20th century.
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Frequently asked questions
It is unclear who drafted the original bylaws of the KKK. However, the group was founded in 1865 by Confederate veterans in Tennessee.
The KKK's bylaws are not known, but their goals included the political defeat of the Republican Party and the maintenance of white supremacy in response to the civil and political rights gained by Southern Blacks after the Civil War.
The KKK had no organisational structure above the chapter level. However, each chapter had a leader called a ""grand wizard".
The KKK chapters were local groups that promoted white supremacy and spread throughout the South as an insurgent movement in resistance to Reconstruction.
The KKK functioned as a loosely organised group of political and social terrorists. They frequently resorted to terrorism, violence, and acts of intimidation to oppress their victims, most notably African Americans, Jews, and Catholics.
