KKK in Reconstruction Era EOTO

 I did my presentation on the rise and fall of the first Ku Klux Klan. The KKK was an organization that dedicated itself to an underground campaign of violence against Republican leaders and voters (both Black and White) in an effort to reverse the policies of Radical Reconstruction and restore White Supremacy in the South.

Targets for the Ku Klux Klan were white Republicans and black institutions. When I say black institutions, I am speaking of black schools and black churches.

Former confederate veterans founded the first branch of the Ku Klux Klan in Pulaski, Tennessee in 1865. By 1867, local branches had met and formed the "Invisible Empire of the South." The first chosen leader of the Ku Klux Klan was Nathan Bedford Forrest, the former confederate general.

There was a hierarchy in the Ku Klux Klan, that went from "Grand Wizard" to "Grand Dragons" to "Grand Titans" to "Grand Cyclopses".

By 1870, there were branches of the Ku Klux Klan in nearly every southern state. The Klan would wear masks along with their signature long, white robes and hoods.

Each branch of the Ku Klux Klan acted on its own, but they all acted for the same goal of defeating Radical Reconstruction.

The Ku Klux Klan is made up of small farmers and planters, lawyers, merchants, physicians, ministers, and especially law enforcement officers.

The Ku Klux Klan flourished especially in regions of the South where black people were a minority. One major attack was in 1871. In South Carolina, 500 masked men attacked the the Union County Jail and lynched 8 black prisoners.

In 1871, the government started to put their foot down and slow down or stop the Ku Klux Klan completely. They created the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871. The Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 designated certain crimes committed by individuals as federal offense. There were three parts to this Act. The first part states "conspiracies to deprive citizens of the right to hold office, serve on juries, and enjoy equal protection under the law" is a federal offense. The second part "authorizes the President to suspend the writ of Habeas Corpus and arrest accused individuals without charge." The third part of the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 gives the government authority to "send federal forces to suppress Klan violence."

The Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 led to the fall of the Klan in South Carolina and other areas. Even though the Klan was gone for around thirty years, it ended up being revived in 1915.