The Ku Klux Klan is one of America's oldest and most feared groups. The name comes from the Greek word kuklos, meaning circle, because in it is contained some of the unique characteristics of the White (or Aryan) race.The Ku Klux Klan began almost accidentally during the reconstruction period after the civil war in the Southern United States. The southern people had suffered greatly from the effects of the great war.
Ku Klux Klan, is a group of white secret societies who are against the movement of blacks, Jews, and other minority groups. The Ku Klux Klan, also called the KKK or the Klan, is active in the United States and in Canada. It often uses violence to achieve its aims. Klan members wear robes and hoods, and burn crosses at their outdoor meetings. They also burn crosses to frighten nonmembers. The KKK has had four major periods of activity: (1) the mid-1860's to the early 1870's, (2) 1915 to 1944, (3) the late 1940's to the early 1970's, and (4) since the mid-1970's.
The KKK was formed as a social club by a group of Confederate Army veterans in Pulaski, Tenn., in 1865 or 1866.Word quickly spread across the South about these masked men. Many people loved the idea and wanted to be involved. The Klan quickly grew. A leader was soon needed to control the large group. Their first choice was Southern General Robert E. Lee. Although he supported the group and its cause, he was very ill and could not accept the task. Their next choice was a man named Nathan Bedford Forrest. Nathan Forrest, although he wasn't as well known as General Lee, he was a great general. He was born in Mississippi and owned a plantation. He fought for the Confederate army for a long time before they recognized his abilities.
Klan members, who believed in the might of whites, soon began to terrorize blacks to keep them from voting or exercising the other rights they had got during Reconstruction, the period following the end of the Civil War