The History of the Formation of the KKK
- Editorial Team
- Jun 8, 2020
- 4 min read
Photo: NPR
Racism has been institutional in the creation of our country, so it makes sense that even after slavery was abolished, racism did not go away, it just took a new form. With black people now free, white people, especially in the South became enraged at the fact that black people were now allowed to be human beings. The whites thought of themselves as superior and even the idea that black people were allowed to be free was a slap in the face for them and white supremacy.
So, the 13th Amendment was passed in 1865 and by no coincidence, the Ku Klux Klan was founded in that same year. As soon as slaves were freed, white people felt their power slipping away and they decided to act on it with the formation of the white supremacist, terrorist organization called the KKK.
It is important to note that at the time, the Republican and Democrat party platforms were switched, so what we think of today as Democrats, were really Republicans at the time. It is also important to note that with white people, it is almost always about power and making sure the power stays white.
After the Civil War ended and during Ulysses S. Grant’s presidency (Republican), a lot of southern Democrats started to form groups and organizations to intimidate and harm any Republicans that aimed to get political control. The Democrats were angry for a few reasons. First, they were angry that they lost the Civil War, next they were upset that they could no longer own another human being anymore. They were also mad that both the presidency and Congress were Republican. These southern Democrats felt that they had no power so they began to try to disenfranchise any black person or Republican. They often used intimidation and violence.
These racist groups, such as the KKK, would even riot and loot the black parts of town. In 1866, a riot broke out in Memphis, TN and the white police officers helped the mobs destroy the black sections of the city. Many hospitals and schools were burned down because of the violence by angry white men. Another riot broke out a few months later in New Orleans. This time the angry white people broke into a black suffrage convention and killed 37 black people. The KKK would raid and loot and burn down their own cities because they were mad that black people were almost considered to be human beings. Clearly, the KKK is founded on racism, hate, and bigotry.
The KKK was growing fast during this time as white people were desperate to control the status quo. The terrorist organization attracted white people from all classes of society to “preserve law and order” by burning down schools and killing black people.
As the 1868 election was drawing closer, the Democrats knew they needed this win to preserve their way of life (racism). They knew that black people, given the chance, would vote Republican so they would use violence and intimidation to stop black people and white Republicans from voting. In southern states like Arkansas, Georgia, and Louisiana, over 3,000 murders were committed in connection with the election. These angry white men resorting to killing innocent people so that they could win an election, which they lost.
As many people know, the first leader (Grand Wizard) of the KKK was Nathan Bedford Forrest. He founded the group as a secret fraternity dedicated to returning the South to its “glory”. The group was founded in 1865, like I mentioned earlier, but in 1869 he actually tried to disband the group because he was scared of the group’s increase in excessive violence. So just to clarify, even the founder of the racist group thought that the group was becoming too terrible.
The KKK and other groups caused so much violence and hate that the North realized stricter laws must be enforced. A series of new laws and acts were passed including:
· The 14th Amendment – gave black people citizenship
· The 15th Amendment – gave black people the ability to vote
· Reconstruction Acts – requirements for the Southern states to be readmitted to the US, outlined various conditions for them
· Enforcement Acts – protected African-Americans' right to vote, to hold office, to serve on juries, and receive equal protection of laws and made it illegal to interfere with that
· Third Force Act, also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act – allowed the president to act against terrorist organizations by declaring martial law and using military force
o President Trump is currently trying to use this to act against peaceful protestors by claiming Antifa is a terrorist organization which is simply not true. He refuses to call the KKK a terrorist organization when the very thing he is truly to use was created because the KKK was, and still is, a terrorist organization responsible for murdering thousands of black people.
· The Supreme Court eventually declared the KKK unconstitutional in 1882. By that time though, a lot of the group started to fade away as it was clear that the reconstructed US would not revert back to its slave owning days.
This is only the early history of the Ku Klux Klan. I am going to write another story on the more recent history of the group soon.
Here are the sources I used
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