Periodically violent movements spawn. One such example of this is the Ku Klux Klan. This racist group sprouted up after the Reconstruction era and again in the 1920's. The KKK had a hatred towards blacks and any other racial minority, taking into consideration that this was an all white group. Groups such as the KKK would stop at nothing to achieve their goals.
The Ku Klux Klan was formed as a social club after Reconstruction. A Confederate General, Nathan Bedford Forrest, was the Klan's first leader. The members of the Klan wanted white superiority. These members often resorted to violence to suppress the African Americans. The Klan detested the idea of blacks gaining any rights following the Civil War into the Reconstruction, and terrorized blacks to prevent them from voting in elections or practicing any other right. The Klan used white robes and hoods to mask their identity. The Ku Klux Klan became known as the Invisible Empire as it grew and spread rapidly.
In the 1920's, a man named William J. Simmons revived the KKK. This new Klan directed its activity against, not just blacks, but any group it considered "un-American," including any immigrants, Jews, and Roman Catholics. The Ku Klux Klan grew rapidly and had more than 2 million members by the mid-1920's. This group began the violate practices of burning crosses and murdering those who opposed the KKK.
In both cases, of the upbringing and revival of the KKK, the members believed in white superiority. Both in the 1920's and after Reconstruction members used white ropes to conceal their identities. These people went as far as to conceal their horses identity. In each individual situation, membership rose very rapidly, but also died out relatively quickly. They also used extreme violence to get their point across to others. This violence is probably to a fear of losing political and economic influence to another racial group.