The Ku Klux Klan (KKK)

There had been debates on what should be the universal definition of terrorism, and until now, arguments and discussions on this term are going on. Academic wise, there was a consensus on what should be the definition of terrorism. If an act is done with repeated violence, the method used inspires anxiety, performed by state actors, group or (semi-) clandestine individuals, and for the purpose of political, criminal or idiosyncratic reasons, then it is terrorism (Schmid, 1988).

Origins of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK)

            The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was formed in response to the postwar scenario in the South. During those times, there were efforts to end the lawlessness. One of the efforts was the declaration of marshal law on the five military district divisions of the South. Moreover, the Black Militias and the Union League were formed which comprised freed Negroes across the South. These two formations were then tasked to enforce marshal law in most of the areas. On the contrary, violence and murders thrived because of the Union League whose officers were corrupt and whose politicians are self serving.

            Ku Klux Klan came from Greek words “kuklos” and “clan”. Kuklos means band, circle or wheel while clan means family. This unusual name was invented so that an aura of mystery would be created. Originally formed as a social club with the purpose of having mutual entertainment, the KKK was formed during the Christmas Eve of 1865 in a law office in Pulaski, Tennessee. The personalities behind or responsible for this were James Crowe, John Lester, Calvin Jones, John Kennedy, Frank McCord and Richard Reed. During those times, college fraternities were in fashion, and the organization adopted this style. On unsuspecting people, they would play practical jokes while dressed up in costumes that are weird.

During the year 1866, KKK became popular not only in the whole Tennessee but also in other states. The KKK pranksters operate by night and because of this they discovered that the Negroes who are superstitious are startled on their high jinks and costumes. They thought that the KKK pranksters were ghost roaming at night. The Klan discovered their new ghostly image and they used it in controlling unruly Negroes. At first, the KKK was unarmed because they did not intend to harm anyone. The frightening image of the Klan made the renegade Negroes to behave. In addition, in areas where there were established Den of Klan, a drastic decrease in crime was realized.

The Scalawag and Carpetbagger politicians, who boost their political powers and fortune by taking advantage of the fear of the people during the post Civil War, noticed the effect of the Klan on the people. The Loyal League hated the Klan whose members were ex-Confederates. The Loyal League was formed by vengeful Unionist primarily to maintain order, suppress crime, and keep the Negro population disciplined. Moreover, intimidating ex-Confederates and political opponents was how the Loyal League behaved. Because of the effect of the Klan on the people, patrols every night were initiated by the Union League and the Loyal League. The two leagues did this in the guise of protecting the Negroes who according to them were terrified by the Klan. In the said patrols, there was no hesitation in firing the Klansmen who were doing nothing but Halloween tricks. The Klansmen did not allow the two leagues to intimidate them. They responded and every time they encounter a battle occurs.

In the first quarter of the year 1867, the Den of Klan established grew in the South particularly in its large sections. During those times, the Klan was not yet organized and structured. Because of the oppression and chaos brought about by the reconstruction, the Klan decided to organize itself to confront these situations. The disorder was brought about by the rule of the freed Negroes in the most part of the South. The Negroes were the ones who ruled because full rights were given to them while the White South did not have any legal or constitutional rights.

            In the course of organizing the Klan, Robert E. Lee, a former general, were asked by the spokesmen to head the organization. Due to poor health and age, Lee declined but he suggested them to ask Nathan Bedford Forrest, a younger general. Even though Lee declined the Klan still asked for his support. Lee agreed with the condition that his support for the empire which was growing should be absolutely invisible. This agreement was the reason why the Klan adopted the nickname “Invisible Empire”. The offer of the Klan was accepted by Forrest. He became the first Grand Wizard of the Order of the Ku Klux Klan during their convention in April of 1867 in Nashville, Tennessee. John B. Gordon, a former general and the state leader or Grand Dragon of the KKK in Georgia, wrote the Prescripts – rules and regulations of the order. Albert Pike, a former general and a major figure in Scottish Rite Masonry in America, became the Klan’s chief judicial officer. Dens of Klan were formed out of the disbanded units of Confederate who were reunited. The Grand Titans, Giants and Dragons were the ex-Confederate officers. The Ghouls, a term for the rank and file of the Klan, were made up of common soldiers who are also ex-Confederates.

            Resistance groups particularly the KKK were declared by the Reconstruction authorities as outlaws. Anyone seen believed to be a Klansman was ordered to kill. This was due to the fact that there were many atrocities that happened then which were to the KKK. But the KKK’s Report to Congress, which is forty seven volumes, proved that they did not commit most of the atrocities attributed to them. Those atrocities were committed by other organizations which are anti-reconstruction and by outlaws who were impersonating the KKK.

            In spite of this, the Klansmen remained to its intentions on a high level. The Klan only “Ku Kluxed” someone after they have given the victims a trial, allowing someone to defend them. Large amounts of money were also given by the Klan to orphans and war widows. People, White or Black, who were proven guilty of committing serious crimes such as theft, barn burnings, murder or rape, were the victims of the Klan. They also Ku Kluxed Scalawags, Carpetbaggers and politicians who were corrupt. In case of minor offenders, cryptic messages were usually left by the Klan. Klansmen did it to warn the minor offenders. If the minors ignored the warning, they, too, were Ku Kluxed. The Klan did not seek to destroy the law, rather to restore order and law. In fact, there was no law during those times. Force was used by the Klan only when no other choices were given by the forces of the Radical Republicans.

In 1869, the KKK was disbanded. Although there was an order to disband, not all of the Dens disbanded. In 1915, the organization was revived (www.kkklan.com).

The organization’s stated political goals

            Evidence showed that in states like Alabama, social and political reforms were the genuine desire of the KKK. Expanded road construction, effective prohibition enforcement and better public schools were some of the KKK’s progressive political advocacies. These advocacies by the organization benefited the white people of the state which are ordinary and lower class. These benefits were materialized because the people installed the KKK’s political champions (en.allexperts.com).

            The first Ku Klux Klan which was organized by ex-Confederates has the political goal of opposing the radical Republican Congress’ Reconstruction policies. Another goal of the Klan was to maintain white supremacy (www.infoplease.com).

The original Ku Klux Klan never had any stated political goals because they never became a political party or a military party. The KKK is a protective organization. They are for law, order and peace. Furthermore, they are against molesting people, white or black (www.kkklan.com).

Operation of the organization

            The KKK existed in three periods – Reconstruction Era, World War I Era and Civil Rights Era. During the Reconstruction era, the organization operated in most of the rural areas all throughout the South. Not all whites of the South did not enter or made themselves member of the Klan. Nonmembers did not try stopping the actions of the Klan. They even sympathized or supported the Klan’s objectives.

            As the World War I was underway, the KKK was revived by the year 1915. This time, the organization was operating all throughout South, Midwest and North. In states such as Maine, Oregon, Oklahoma and Indiana, political power was garnered by the Klan through the election of Congressmen and other officials who were also elected. By the 1920s, the membership of the Klan reached more than 3 million. It was in the late 1920s when the numbers of the Klan’s membership started to decline due to the setting of depression. Another reason was that laws prohibiting the wearing of mask and the secrecy of the organization were enacted by the government.

            During the Civil Rights era, particularly by the late 1940s, the Klan was again revived through Samuel Green. This time, states started banning the Klan’s formation that’s why troubles were encountered by the organization. As the emergence of the civil rights movement was taking place during the 1960s, the membership of the Klan became almost twenty thousand (afroamhistory.about.com).

It was during the 1910s and the 1920s when the organization was particularly strong in the Ohio. The largest chapter of the Klan in the United States was in the Summit County. The organization’s members reached fifty thousand as they claimed it. Most of the members of the school of Akron, county commissioners, several judges, the Akron mayor, the sheriff and other officials of the county were members of the Klan.

Violence utilized by the organization

            Historians were saying that KKK was formed so that African Americans would be denied of their opportunities and rights which were the same as those of the whites. Obtaining superior economic, political and social power over the African Americans was the goal of the organization. To materialize this, the members of the Klan made used of violence. They also utilized the use of threats of violence. There were times that the African Americans who were trying to educate themselves, befriend whites, trying to vote, seeking jobs with better pay and seeking to leave south were murdered by the members of the Klan. Because of the organization, the reestablishment of the dominance of the racist whites of the South in the Southern society was made possible. In the 1870s and 1880s, racist organizations such as the KKK declined slowly.

            The KKK of the 1800s, 1910s and 1920s differed from each other in two major ways. In the early twentieth century the organization did not only hate the African Americans. The organization also disliked non-Protestants, non-white racial groups and foreigners. This was the first major difference. The location of the Klan was the second of the two major differences. The organization was strongest in the southern part during the nineteenth century. The Klan became strongest in the North by the early twentieth century. They became strong because scores of foreigners and African Americans arrived with the purpose of seeking jobs in the North’s industrialized cities (www.ohiohistorycentral.org).

            According to an article, the organization of the Klan became a terrorist group when it was first revived during the nineteenth century. Since its revival the organization was highly involved in activities relating to crime particularly domestic terrorism. Furthermore, the organization is known for assault, murder, and terrorism. This attribution to the Klan was due to the conceptualization that the organization has an ideology of hate-base.

            An example of the domestic terrorism perpetuated by the organization was the illegal connection of six of the members of the Nation’s Knights of the KKK to a gun trading scheme. The said scheme which happened on the early part of 2000 was to finance the plan of blowing up the Johnson County courthouse in North Carolina. These members who pleaded guilty were also charged of acquiring weapons.

            Another case happened in 2005. Daniel James Schertz, a member of the North Georgia Whit Knights was accused of building bombs in pipes. It is said that these bombs were designed so that buses carrying migrant workers from Haiti and Mexico will get blown up. Schertz pleaded guilty. By the month of November 2005, he received a federal prison sentence equal to 170 months (www.adl.org).

The organizations legitimate grievances

            Col. William Joseph Simmons, a philanthropist, fraternalist, the first Imperial Grand Wizard and founder of the Ku Klux Klan when it was revived during the 1915, once said that he lives for others and not for himself. His aim is to serve his fellowmen patriotically and unselfishly. This ideology of Simmons rooted from the original principle of the organized Klan which explains that the organization only wanted to maintain law and order. These were the organization’s legitimate grievances. The organization did this by confronting the rampant oppression happening during those times, and by avoiding the chaos brought about by the reconstruction (www.kkklan.com).

            The Ku Klux Klan known today do not have any legitimate grievances. The organization is known today as a terrorist group because they involve in activities such as domestic terrorism or hate crimes. The Klan was characterized by Justice Clarence Thomas as an organization of terrorist whose undertakings are to intimidate people they dislike. The worst thing they could do is to eliminate those people using methods which are most brutal. It is the multiracial families or the African-Americans whom are targeted by the hate crimes of the organization (www.adl.org).

Government’s reaction to the organization

         In the original organization of the Klan, the government reacted because they think that the Klan was trying to deprive them of the opportunity to boost their fortunes. The government reacted because they saw that the organization was able to decrease the crimes and maintain peace.

            According to an article, during the year 1866, the organization’s violent activities which continue to increase only helped the Northern Radical Republicans in their argument that measures which are harsher in nature should be implemented on the governments of the

South. This implementation of harsher measures was a part of their program which aims to give black equal treatment.

            In the early part of the year 1897, Reconstruction Acts were passed by the Congress. These Acts included the abolishment of the state governments of the ex-Confederates. Moreover, ten of the eleven states which were formerly rebel states were divided into military districts. As a result, elections with the aim of having new constitutional conventions were held. In addition, the blacks were able to cast their votes. These events created a Radical Reconstruction in the governments of the South.

            In the April of 1867, the dens or chapters of the Klan received a call saying that they should send a representative for a meeting. The meeting was in Nashville, Tennessee and the response of the Klan to the policy of the new federal Reconstruction was planned. During those times, the Klan intensified its violence. In Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia and Alabama, white people in thousand numbers joined the organization. They joined the Klan because they were alarmed by the increase in violence. In addition, they joined because they do not have the control when riding at night, not because they care for the victims.

            Because the organization was growing fast, William G. Brownlow, governor of Tennessee, did an attempt to infiltrate the Klan by planting spies within the organization. Later on, the governor found out that the organization was aware of the attempt that he did. In one event, one of the spies sent by Brownlow was found in a tree, strung up. Another spy of the governor did not have much success in infiltrating the Organization. The spy was found mutilated and stripped. Another was found in Nashville. In a barrel, the spy was stuffed and then drowned by rolling the barrel into the Cumberland River.

            Reconstruction governors found it impossible to pierce the Klan. This was due to the fact that the organization was working behind a veil because most of the population of the whites support and sympathized with them.

            The article also stated that the original Klan started to vanish because of the increased attack from the Reconstruction state governments and the Congress. Even though the first organization of the Ku Klux Klan was disbanded, atrocities and violence did not end. It even spread widely. Due to this, laws which are harsher in nature were passed throughout the region. These laws were passed by the radical legislatures. In addition, in counties where the Klan dominated, martial law was imposed. Furthermore, there was an active hunting for the leaders of the Klan.

            During the year 1871, hearings on the organization were held by the Congress. After the hearings, a tough law which is anti-Klan was passed. Because of the said law, the Southerners did not have anymore jurisdiction when it comes to murder, robbery and crimes related to assault. The law also gave the president the authority to declare a martial law. In addition, there was a prohibition on the wearing of masks and riding at night. The end result of this, only few Klansmen were imprisoned even though there were hundreds of them arrested (www.iupui.edu).

            In today’s organization of the Klan, the government arrests members who are suspected of doing crimes such as theft, burning, rape and the likes.

The organization’s focus on attack

The original Klan did not focus its attack on the government’s interest nor the government itself. It was the government who provoked the organization to fight against them. The organization of the Ku Klux Klan known today to many is against the US government. This is due to the fact that racism is being promoted by the government.    According to Rev. Jeffrey L. Berry, leader of the States’ most active clans, the government is trying to manipulate the people by making them to think that the organization is hate based. By doing this, the people will believe in the idea of racism. Furthermore, he said that the Klan is against to the program of the United States which is giving foreign aid to some countries. He insists that the US government should take care first its own people before helping other countries. He added that there are many illegal and homeless people in America. Furthermore, he stated that in the United States their organization is the third strongest party but then, they are not running for government (www.rsa-overseas.com).

Bibliography

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A Brief History of the Original Ku Klux Klan: 1865 – 1869. [Electronic Version]. Retrieved April13, 2007 from http://www.kkklan.com/briefhist.htm.

American KKK to help SA farmers? [Electronic Version] from http://www.rsa-overseas.com/weekly/old31a.htm. 

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Various Activities of the Ku Klux Klan.

McElrath, J. Ku Klux Klan [Electronic Version] from http://afroamhistory.about.com/cs/kukluxklankkk/a/kukluxklan.htm.