The Ku Klux Klan, better known as the KKK, was started The people who believed in "White Pride" came together against the advancement of African Americans, Jews, and other minorities. The KKK members were very violent and used harsh actions to get their point across, but their actions were supported by their strong belief in their religion and the culture in which they were brought up in. The Klan did as it believed, they did what they thought was right and for their time period they were just acting in the way their culture brought them up to act. The name Ku Klux Klan comes from the Greek word kuklos, meaning circle. The oldest symbol of unity is a circle. The Klan represents itself as the "oldest American White civil rights group." The KKK's history has been split into five eras. Former Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest founded the First Era in 1866. The Klan was formed during the Reconstruction Era of United States history. Klan members went on "night rides." On "night rides" the KKK members dressed in white robes and went to houses belonging to empowered blacks and instituted fright into their hearts. They would threaten these blacks with what would happen if they voted or took positions of power. They often whipped, mutilated or even killed any black that didn't comply with the KKK's ideas. The Second Era of the KKK reigned from 1915-1925. This Second Era of Klansmen came together against the blacks that were trying to take a spot in the community with the NAACP. The Klan provided middle-class whites with stability. This era of the Klan came together against African Americans, Catholics, Jews, Asians, immigrants, anyone who had pre-and extra-marital escapades, and many other minorities. This Klan era was the First Era to use automobiles as part of the lynching. The Third Era was started in May of 1954 when the Supreme Court ruled that segregating of public schools by race was unconstitutional. This generation of Klansm...
