Why was the Ku Klux Klan formed?
1 Answer
Discontented former Confederate soldiers created a fraternal organisation after the American Civil War. It was committed to violently re-establishing white rule. There have been revivals.
Explanation:
The organization fed on the feelings of discontent of Southerners immediate after the American Civil War. Established in Tennessee, the costumes of the organization were made to instill terror and provide anonymity. Violent acts against Negros and others were used to fight reconstruction efforts.
Federal laws targeted the organization in the 1870s and it became dormant.
The Organization revived after the movie "Birth of a Nation" by D.W. Griffith. The movie was very popular and it glorified a Mythology of the Klan. Covens were established across North America. In the U.S. the the organization was pro protestant and anti catholic, antisemitic, and pro prohibition.
The organization tried to be a moral force in society. The leadership was not necessarily up to the task and scandals and bad press effected membership.
In Canada the organization was pro British as well as anti-catholic, antisemitic and anti Eastern European immigrant.
Membership had dropped sharply by 1930 and the organization was dissolved in 1944.
Fragments of local Klan organizations were revived in the late 1940s and 1950s to violently fight the African American Civil rights movement in the South particularly around the City of Birmingham, Alabama. These smaller groups continued on to the modern day.
Independent chapters were devoted to white supremacy. Actual numbers are hard to determine.
