Klu Klux Klan - KKK :: American History

KKK The Klu Klux Klan called themselves the white knights because they rode around on horses. They wore white sheets over their heads and dressed their horses in white sheets and rode in neighborhoods where black people lived. They brought terror into the lives of the African Americans. The symbol of the Klu Klux Klan was the burning cross. A KKK member once stated, "We do not burn the cross to symbolize the destruction of it, but to enlighten it." The name Klu Klux Klan derived from the Greek word "kuklos," meaning circle or wheel. The Klu Klux Klan was considered to be a "fraternal organization." It grew out of the Civil War to protect and preserve the white race. It was to ensure the "voluntary separation" of the races. In many cases that meant the termination of blacks, Catholics, and Jews. The Ku Klux Klan is one of America's oldest and most feared groups. Motivated by the dream of a world with only one race, the KKK uses violence and does things that are against the law to support their cause. They have been in the shadows for over 130 years, and occasionally continue to succeed in America's society today. The Ku Klux Klan began during the rebuilding process after the Civil War in the Southern United States. The southern people had suffered a lot from the effects of the Civil War. Many of them lost their homes and plantations; many also lost friends and loved ones to the war. In 1865, six men from a small town in Tennessee began what has grown to be the largest and most feared "hate group" in the United States. The men decided to make a club to help relieve the stress of the times. All of the men were poor and could not afford to make uniforms for the group, so they decided to use plain, white sheets. They wore the sheets over their backs and put pillowcases on their heads. They also draped the sheets over their horses. In the beginning, the men only wanted to play pranks on people to try to cheer them up after the terrible war. But the people were more frightened than they were cheered up. They soon figured out what they could do with these fearful pranks.