Question

explain how the influence and reach of the newly reformed Ku Klux Klan differed from its 1866 iteration; why were these racist ideas experiencing a resurgence throughout the 1920s

Answer 1

The Ku Klux Klan initially began as a social club and was formed by Confederate veterans at the end of the Civil War in Tennessee in 1866. This was an offensive and racist response to the newly freed blacks who used to be salves in the southern states of the United States with the objective of intimidating the black population and to restore white supremacy using violent tactics. This initial group tried to keep the black people sacred and under their control specifically so they would not enter political life or seek positions of power or in government in the community, This group was eventually dismantled by its leader Forrest because of its excessive violence and because its members would attack, hit, whip, torture and even kill black people or their supporters in night attacks. It also stopped operating because its original aim, to restore white supremacy in government and positions of power was achieved and there was no need for such an organization to continue. In the 1920's the Klan was revived by a preacher in Atlanta , Georgia. The reasons for this were patriotism and a fear of growing immigration, a nostalgia for the old south way of life and ideas like the ones coming from the Russian revolution where religion lost power and the people took control. This new revival resulted in a racist and violent organization closed and rejecting new immigrants or new ideas who react with intolerance and violence to what they see as different.