In Pulaski, Tennessee 1866 a group of Confederate veterans formed a secret group/society that they christened the “ Ku Klux Klan”

What were they trying to resist? Were they afraid of the  black population increasing their freedoms as citizens?  The Republican party from the north was imposing policies of reconstruction after the Civil War that included requirements for states to rejoin the union.  The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments freed slaves, gave blacks equal protection, and gave the right to vote to black males.

In 1915, white protestant activists organized a revival of the ku klux klan near Atlanta, Georgia. They were inspired by Thomas Dixon’s 1905 book called “The Klansman” and a D.W Griffith film “ Birth of a Nation”.  This lead to a second generation of the Klan.

In the 1920s, Klan membership exceeded 4 million people nationwide. The second generation was not only anti-blacks but they targeted others like Roman Catholics, Jews, foreigners and organized labor.

I wonder if we still have KKK groups to this day? We still do but its violence has been calmed down but their belief still strong.  Freedom of speech and assembly is a guaranteed right for all citizens protected by the 1st Amendment.

The KKK was motivated to keep African Americas from exercising their newly gained rights. Also, they wanted to protect “white supremacy” and thought the African Americans would threaten their race. They wanted to protect the women and children from what they called “the African American militias”.

Why do you think some citizens in the United States target others? I think its mostly about beliefs, politics and disagreements. People target those different than themselves out of fear and ignorance.

http://www.history.com/topics/ku-klux-klan

Pro Klan, anti Roman Catholic cartoon by Branford Clarke published in Heroes of the Fiery Cross by thePillar of Fire Church in Zarephath, New Jersey

The Above image represents a view of the KKK and its policy against new immigrants such as the Italians in NY and NJ.