Kyle Kampen
HIST 102 Assignment 2
Professor Bryant
May 14, 2017 “The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) has been reborn three separate times in the course of
American history and exists today as a scattering of competing far-right organizations under
different leadership and somewhat different ideologies” according to the Encyclopedia of
American Studies. The KKK started around 1866 in Tennessee by a group of ex-confederate
officers who believed in white supremacy and wanted to make their ideals known and accepted
by the general public. The group quickly became vocal with their beliefs and fought to resist and
avoid integration and the issuance of “equal” rights to African Americans. The ‘Klan’ initially
acted in a more violent manner utilizing public displays and public beatings to share their
message. Dressed up in white hooded robes to help mask their identities, the members of the
KKK worked to spread their message throughout the public.
The KKK name actually refers to several different groups that have come into and out of
existence over the course of American history. The initial group which was known as the more
violent group of Klan members and the one that really built the name and reputation of the group
eventually was suppressed because of the Ku Klux Klan Act that was passed in April of 1871 by
President Ulysses S. Grant. After being suppressed, the group continued to look for ways to keep
the groups vision alive and strong. These ‘members’ would continue to forge forward trying to
seek legal options such as the passing of Jim Crow laws to help continue the vision of creating
white supremacy.
The second birth of the Klan happened in 1915 after some actions from Joseph Simmons.
Simmons would burn a cross at a ceremony on Stone Mountain in Georgia as an effort to bring
the members back together and rebuild a new version of the Klan. The second group shifted their
focus from African American segregation adding in a dislike for Jews, Catholica and immigrants
that did not come from northern Europe. While the second group of the Klan still utilized some of the same violent tactics such as public beatings, lynching and burning the group also tried to
increase their presence by utilizing their influence on the government and became very involved
in politics. The group would back certain politicians and utilize their scare tactics in an effort to
gain control and pass legislation that would support their methods and visions. According to
O’Neil, “By 1924 the Klan boasted more than three million members nationwide.”
As the group grew to a massive number of members, it became even more and more
successful. By changing their approach to include membership dues and having professionals
that would market and make decisions, the group was able to gain a higher level of success in its
second iteration. The group began to fall apart in the late 1920’s as a result of multiple factors
including the country entering into the Great Depression as well as the group failing to deliver on
many of its promises. The group had its own fair share of moral and financial scandals. The
second version of the Klan would officially end around 1944 as the IRS changed its status to no
longer be listed as a charitable organization. This action would cause the group to owe large
sums of money in taxes and would make it difficult for the group to stay afloat.
Only a short two years later, the KKK would make a third appearance into the public. It
started as a very small group that would eventually grow as the black civil rights movement
gained more and more success. The group would not become the size of the three million
memberships that they saw in 1924, but it would still become large enough to have a large spread
of influence in the public. The third group would be involved in many famous events such as the
opposition of integration in the bus system, the burning of four African American children and a
church bombing. Because of these events, the FBI became very invested in the dismantlement of
the KKK and would cause a severe decline in membership dropping by over 80%. Throughout the years, the Klan grew and adapted to help keep their status. They would
begin to allow women to have equal status and eventually begin to allow Catholics to join the
group as the focus shifted back to focus more on segregation of African Americans. According to
the Dictionary of American Government and Politics, “Of the far right racist groups, the Klan
remains the one with the largest number of national and local organizations around the country,
membership being variously estimated at 5,000 to 8,000 Klansmen who operate in well over a
hundred different Klan chapters around the country.
Since 1866, the Ku Klux Klan has fought against the integration and equal rights for
African Americans, Jews and Catholics. Although the group would change its views throughout
the years in an effort to keep up membership and attempt to bring fourth laws such as Jim Crow
alive. Ultimately, the American public would always outrank the views of the Klan and
continually shut down the group and pass laws that fought for the equal rights and treatment of
all people. The group still operates today in an effort to still bring their ideals to life.
The Ku Klux Klan has had to change their approach multiple times to find ‘success’ over
the years in an effort to keep support from their members. Throughout all the progress we have
made as a country towards supporting and embracing diversity, the group is still alive and
plotting ways to remind the public of their presence and the fact that they still have aspirations to
make an impact on our world. Works Cited
"Ku Klux Klan." Dictionary of American Government and Politics, Duncan Watts, Edinburgh
University Press, 1st edition, 2010. Credo Reference, http://ezproxy.apus.edu/login?
url=http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/eupamgov/ku_klux_klan/0?
institutionId=8703. Accessed 14 May 2017.
O'Neil, Patrick M. "Ku Klux Klan." Encyclopedia of American Studies, edited by Simon
Bronner, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1st edition, 2016. Credo Reference,
http://ezproxy.apus.edu/login?
url=http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/jhueas/ku_klux_klan/0?
institutionId=8703. Accessed 14 May 2017.

• 1498268203-KampenKyle_Hist102_ResearchPaper_Revised.docx

SuperTutor

(15)

Status NEW Posted 24 Jun 2017 01:06 AM My Price 15.00

-----------

Attachments

file 1498268206-Solutions file.docx preview (51 words )

S-----------olu-----------tio-----------ns -----------fil-----------e -----------Hel-----------lo -----------Sir-----------/Ma-----------dam----------- T-----------han-----------k y-----------ou -----------for----------- yo-----------ur -----------int-----------ere-----------st -----------and----------- bu-----------yin-----------g m-----------y p-----------ost-----------ed -----------sol-----------uti-----------on.----------- Pl-----------eas-----------e p-----------ing----------- me----------- on----------- ch-----------at -----------I a-----------m o-----------nli-----------ne -----------or -----------inb-----------ox -----------me -----------a m-----------ess-----------age----------- I -----------wil-----------l b-----------e q-----------uic-----------kly----------- on-----------lin-----------e a-----------nd -----------giv-----------e y-----------ou -----------exa-----------ct -----------fil-----------e a-----------nd -----------the----------- sa-----------me -----------fil-----------e i-----------s a-----------lso----------- se-----------nt -----------to -----------you-----------r e-----------mai-----------l t-----------hat----------- is----------- re-----------gis-----------ter-----------ed -----------on�-----------�th-----------is -----------web-----------sit-----------e -----------Tha-----------nk -----------you----------- -----------

Not Rated(0)

• Buy Answer