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Nathan Bedford Forrest (The First Leader) was born
Confederate cavalry general in the American Civil War, born near Chapel Hill, Tennessee. Before his father's death in 1837 the family had removed to Mississippi, and for some years thereafter it was supported principally by Nathan, who was the eldest son. After the war he lived in Memphis. He sold his cotton plantation in 1867, and for some years was president of the Selma, Marion and Memphis Railroad. Forrest was the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan in 1867, later splitting from the orga -
Fisrt KKK moment
The first Ku Klux Klan flourished in the Southern United States. Members made their own white costumes: robes, masks, and conical hats, looked like sheets almost, designed to be outlandish and terrifying, and to hide their identities. -
KKK Orginization
The Ku Klux Klan was originally organized in the winter in Pulaski, Tennessee as a social club by six Confederate veterans. In the beginning, the Klan was a secret fraternity club rather than a terrorist organization. -
The start of the KKK
The Ku Klux Klan started on 12/24/1866. It all happened very fast. The KKK moved all around the South by 18The KKK was based in the South America. Here they targeted the African Americans that had been set free after the American Civil War. The KKK had never thought of the slaves as being free and terrorised Africa American families based in the South. The KKK formed in Pulaski, Tennessee. -
Rituals
The Supreme Court recently heard arguments in Virginia v. Black that will determine whether cross-burning qualifies as protected speech under the First Amendment. The Ku Klux Klan, the organization most closely associated with burning crosses, identifies itself as Christian. Why do they incinerate their faith's most sacred symbol? In the early 20th century, the Klan burned crosses on hillsides or near the homes of those they wished to intimidate or scare. -
How the Klan Gathered
Klan members gathered to try to create a group with local people eventually. Since most of the Klan's members were veterans, they were used to being that way. -
Nathan Bedford Forrest (the first leader) died
Forrest died from diabetes in Memphis on October 29, 1877. -
Shrinking of the KKK
As the Klan grew, its purpose and goals changed. Its purpose became to control and oppress the newly freed slaves and to prevent them from entering the mainstream of American life. Ulysses S. Grant, who was elected president in 1868, said the purpose of the Klan was "by force and terror to prevent all political action not in accord with the views of its members, to deprive (black) citizens of the right to bear arms and of the right of a free ballot, to suppress the schools in which (black) child -
How the KKK saw themselves
The third KKK emerged after World War II and was associated with opposing the Civil Rights Movement and progress among minorities. Most members of the KKK saw themselves as holding to American values and Christian morality, -
KKK Movement
The second KKK nationwide in the earand adopted a standard white costume, and code words as the first Klan, while adding cross burnings. -
Current Manifestation
The current manifestation is classified as a hate group by the Southern Law Center. It is estimated to have between 5,000 and 8,000 members