Originally posted by another user
While it has come to be an easily recognized reference to white supremacy its beginnings were not to that end. Much in the same way the Mafia started and has evolved into something quite different than its original function, the KKK began as a protective society in a time when Southern white men (and of course women) had no legal rights or recourse and found themselves in vulnerable, often violent and abusive situations. As is so often the case when people find themselves at the mercy of oppressors (American Revolution for example) without fair representation, the need to protect themselves and most especially their families becomes or at least seems, necessary. Such was the role of the Klan at its founding and onset.
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white supremacy
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It's Ku Klux Klan (aka KKK) a white supremicist organization.
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It comes from the Greek word for circle or ring - "kuklos", and the Scottish/Irish family unit "clan" as most of the founder members were of Irish or Scots descent.
Yes, to further explain, the word 'clan' was added to make use of alliteration ( the sounds KKK) and the spelling altered to 'klan' ....KKK..... making it thus more memorable, easily recognized.
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Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is the name of several past and present secret domestic militant organizations in the United States, originating in the southern states and eventually having national scope, that are best known for advocating white supremacy and acting as terrorists while hidden behind conical hats, masks and white robes. The KKK has a record of terrorism,[2] violence, and lynching to intimidate, murder, and oppress African Americans, Jews and other minorities and to intimidate and oppose Roman Catholics and labor unions.
The first Klan was founded in 1865 by veterans of the Confederate Army. Its purpose was to restore white supremacy in the aftermath of the American Civil War. The Klan resisted Reconstruction by intimidating freedmen and white Republicans, who at the time had a predominantly liberal base. The KKK quickly adopted violent methods. The increase in murders finally resulted in a backlash among Southern elites who viewed the Klan's excesses as an excuse for federal troops to continue occupation.
Whereas the number of indictments across the South was large, the number of cases leading to prosecution and sentencing was relatively small. The overloaded federal courts were not able to meet the demands of trying such a tremendous number of cases, a situation that led to selective pardoning. By late 1873 and 1874, most of the charges against Klansmen were dropped although new cases continued to be prosecuted for several more years. Most of those sentenced had either served their terms or been pardoned by 1875. The U.S. Supreme Court eviscerated the Ku Klux Act in 1876 by ruling that the federal government could no longer prosecute individuals although states would be forced to comply with federal civil rights provisions. Republicans passed a second civil rights act (the Civil Rights Act of 1875) to grant equal access to public facilities and other housing accommodations regardless of race. Ironically, the Klan during this period served to further Northern reconstruction efforts, as Ku Klux violence provided the political climate needed to pass civil rights protections for blacks. Although the Ku Klux Act of 1871 dismantled the first Klan, Southern whites formed other, similar groups that kept blacks away from the polls through intimidation and physical violence. Reconstruction ended with the election of President Rutherford B. Hayes, who suspended the federal military occupation of the South; yet blacks still found themselves without the basic civil liberties that the period had sought to secure. [3]
In 1915, the second Klan was founded. It grew rapidly in a period of postwar social tensions. After World War I, many Americans coped with booming growth rates in major cities, where numerous waves of immigrants from southern and eastern Europe and the Great Migration of Southern blacks and whites were being absorbed. After World War I, labor tensions rose as veterans tried to reenter the work force. In reaction to these new groups of immigrants and migrants, the second KKK preached racism, anti-Catholicism, anti-Communism, nativism, and anti-Semitism. Some local groups took part in lynchings, attacks on private houses and public property, and other violent activities. Members used ceremonial cross burning to intimidate victims and demonstrate its power. Murders and violence by the Klan were most numerous in the South, which had a tradition of lawlessness.[4]
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