Kenneth T. Jackson's book, The Ku Klux Klan in the City, 1915-1930, is an effective and valuable look at the second Klan movement. In the book, Jackson looks at the Klan's success in capturing political power in urban centers in the South and the North, and describes the Klan's actions in the political sphere. Jackson's book ultimately serves its purpose of describing the unique characteristics of the second Klan movement, and dispels many of the stereotypes of the Klan as a rural, Southern movement.
Essentially, the KKK was relatively successful in capturing political power in urban centers in the South and the North. Jackson notes that the Klan was only active in the southern cities of Mobile, Birmingham, Atlanta, and Montgomery prior to 1920, and that the Klan's movement into the north only became established in the north at a later date.
Despite the early success of the clan in the southern states, the Klan had difficulty making inroads into the North. Writes Jackson, "the Invisible Empire remained confined to Alabama and Georgia and as late as 1920 could best be described as just another indolent southern fraternal group" (7-8). At that time, there were less than 2000 members in the Klan, and no real "indication that the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, from among hundreds of secret societies and patriotic fraternities, would vault to national prominence" (Jackson, 8).
As the Klan grew in prominence, it moved into new areas of the south, including Knoxville and Dallas. In the north, the Klan made significant inroads into Chicago, Detroit, and Indianapolis, which soon became the center of Klan activity. In time, the Klan made inroads into California, Portland and Denver.
Importantly, the Klan had over two million new members enrolled between 1920 and 1926, and a large number...
Ku Klux Klan: A History Naturally, today we are convinced -- and rightfully so -- that the Ku Klux Klan's politics and desires and goals are inherently evil. They are not in sync with the times, at the very least, and at the very most, they are a representation of all that is negative in racial relations. However, to understand the Klan's motivations, one must truly look at the group's origins
Ku Klux Klan was founded by Nathan Bedford Forrest and five other educated, middle-class Confederate veterans on December 24, 1865 in Pulaski, Tennessee (Ku pp). The name was constructed by combining the Greek word for circle with "clan" (Ku pp). The term Ku Klux Klan is used to refer to a number of past and present fraternal organizations within the United States that have advocated white supremacy (Ku pp). The Klan's
This single act, as shown by the documentation of the criminal justice system undeniably meets every single criteria for definition as an act of domestic terrorism as defined by section 2331 of Chapter 113b in the United States Code, which was quoted earlier. Of course this certainly isn't an isolated event. The court documents cited above themselves describe numerous acts of violence committed by Klan members throughout the 1960s and
S. Those who had lived for generations in the U.S. were unsettled and wary as these changes occurred. Immigration soon became a social and political issue among the public, groups began to form based on beliefs held which were similar from group to group, and the prevalence of organizations experienced growth with the KKK being no exception to the rule. The KKK used phrases such as "America for Americans" (Ludwig,
] The Klan was therefore able to identify different methods of infiltrating American politics and ideologies, crafting their program to suit different regions of the country. In areas with large numbers of Jews, the Klan could be rabidly anti-Semitic and gain membership via the propagation of Nazi values. In areas where moral decay in Christian communities was viewed as a primary problem, the Klan leaders presented their ideology as an agent
Klan politics are eerily being played out in modern conservative movements such as the Tea Party. While the Tea Party does not officially endorse the KKK, the two groups share many common objectives including the mistrust of new immigrants. Today's Klansmen are basically "unhappy about the social politics of America's post-industrial, pluralistic society" and they "feel left out." The official stance of the KKK resembles much of conservative America in that
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now