Ku Klux Klan
The KKK , a secret and radical white ultra-nationalist group that originated in the deep South after the Civil War, originally targeted African Americans, carpetbaggers, and scalawags. Its popularity surged following the events of the first World War, as nativist and nationalist tensions rose. As a result, its targets expanded to include Catholics, Jews, and non Anglo-Saxon immigrants.
KKK members traditionally intimated African American and immigrant populations, with the typical Klansman dressed in a white robe with a pointy hat. From cross-burnings to lynchings to anti-foreigner riots, the KKK suppressed their victims both by discouraging them morally and threatening them physically.
In the post World War II era, the KKK gained great prominence during the Red Scare and the Civil Rights agitations of the 1950's and 60's. The KKK generated waves of violence in the deep South until President Lyndon B. Johnson sent federal troops to intervene. The next ten years saw a lull in KKK activity due to the triumph of the Civil Rights movement, but anti-foreign tensions started rising again in the 1980's.
During the late 1970's, the Knights of the KKK and the Invisible Empire established themselves as two major KKK factions with the ideals of white supremacy and control in America. The Klan seemed to be gaining popularity among Whites in the South who were disgruntled with the emancipation of African Americans, and started outreach efforts such as the Klan Youth Corps. The action prompted many journalists to cover the works of the KKK, including some investigative journalists who went so far as to masquerade as KKK members to gain more information about their activities.
Since then, the KKK has dwindled to a set of orphaned organization with only a few hundred members across the United States. The group continues to collaborate with other supremacist groups in mutual hatred of immigrant populations.
KKK members traditionally intimated African American and immigrant populations, with the typical Klansman dressed in a white robe with a pointy hat. From cross-burnings to lynchings to anti-foreigner riots, the KKK suppressed their victims both by discouraging them morally and threatening them physically.
In the post World War II era, the KKK gained great prominence during the Red Scare and the Civil Rights agitations of the 1950's and 60's. The KKK generated waves of violence in the deep South until President Lyndon B. Johnson sent federal troops to intervene. The next ten years saw a lull in KKK activity due to the triumph of the Civil Rights movement, but anti-foreign tensions started rising again in the 1980's.
During the late 1970's, the Knights of the KKK and the Invisible Empire established themselves as two major KKK factions with the ideals of white supremacy and control in America. The Klan seemed to be gaining popularity among Whites in the South who were disgruntled with the emancipation of African Americans, and started outreach efforts such as the Klan Youth Corps. The action prompted many journalists to cover the works of the KKK, including some investigative journalists who went so far as to masquerade as KKK members to gain more information about their activities.
Since then, the KKK has dwindled to a set of orphaned organization with only a few hundred members across the United States. The group continues to collaborate with other supremacist groups in mutual hatred of immigrant populations.