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How and Why did the Ku Klux Klan become a powerfu


             It is very difficult to uproot ones way of living. The south was faced with this problem after their Civil War defeat. They could not accept the north's ideas. In order to keep their southern beliefs in white supremacy, the Ku Klux Klan was organized after the Civil War to keep the freed slaves from gaining political power, to stop the Republican Party from gaining strength, and to scare the blacks in general to keep them in their place. .
             The Ku Klux Klan was started shortly after the end of the Civil War to continue their beliefs of white supremacy. The Klan was founded in 1865 in Pulaski, Tennessee by six unknown former confederate officers (Kronchwetter 18-19). It was originally organized as a secret social club (Ku Klux Klan 1). Its original name was Kluklos. In Greek it means a circle. Later on the name was changed to Ku Klux Klan to represent a college fraternity (Kronchwetter 19). .
             The original leaders of the Klan were well educated and well mannered. The majority of the people that joined for the excitement of wearing costumes, a feeling of power, and the ability to beat on someone weaker than themselves. Klansmen dressed up in crazy outfits, throwing on costumes and masks that were long and pointy to represent ghosts. In the book, United they Hate: White Supremacist Groups in America, it states that Klansmen would ride on horse back through the towns at night scaring people with these types of costumes on (Kronchwetter 19). This shows that their main goal at the time was to cause mischief, not terrorism. But this soon changed as the United States government started the reconstruction of the south. .
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             The Ku Klux Klan especially targeted Republicans because the freed slaves were joining the party. The Klan's main goal changed to stopping and destroying the Republican's ideas and actions (Foner 184-185). This was also called the, "Terror Campaign" (Ku Klux Klan 1) By trying to fulfill this they killed and tortured black and white pro-Republicans.


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