Ku Klux Klan Research Paper

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Pages: 3

Founded by six former Confederate soldiers in 1866, the Ku Klux Klan was a repetitive protest to American ideals of equality and has greatly influenced different time periods in history. The first appearance came after the end of the Civil War. The Ku Klux Klan would reign terror against African Americans to establish white supremacy in the South. President Ulysses S. Grant got Congress to pass the Enforcement Act in 1871, making Klan violence punishable under federal laws. The Ku Klux Klan disappeared almost completely, but the violence however did not seize to end. The revival of the Ku Klux Klan came after the film Birth of Nations made its debut on February 8, 1915. The movie represented the Klan in a heroic light. William Joseph Simmons, who was a Methodist minister, became fascinated with the film. He created a new organization called the "Invisible Empire, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan." He transferred the 1920's Klan into a big national organization. Baseball players, actors, legislatures and even governors were a part of the Ku Klux Klan. The 1920's Klan however differed from the previous Klan. The KKK was not only anti-black, but it was also anti-Catholic, …show more content…
The efforts of the Ku Klux Klan is one that is revolting and shocking. It is preposterous to think of the lengths Klansmen and women would go to in order to "express" their beliefs. Their mentality consisted of pure ignorance and insensitivity in regards to the life of others. An example of the Klans' brutual violence included the shooting of civil rights activist Viola Liuzzo. She, along with Martin Luther King Jr., led a freedom right movement celebrating the passing of the civil rights and the voting law. Liuzzo was driving an African American from Montgomery to Selma, where she was shot by