I.Baffling
Cycles: One of the nation’s
first terrorist organizations, KKK first appears during Reconstruction
and then almost disappears during Jim Crow era.It
suddenly reappears around WWI, declines during Depression, re-emerges during
Civil Rights era.
II.KKK
first emerges after Civil War
(Reconstruction era)
A.
Vigilante violence: lynching, floggings, shootings, mutilations
B.
Purpose: prevent blacks from voting; is invisible government officials
could not control
C.
Membership by 1871: 550,000
D.
Upper/middle class leadership: editors, former officers and leaders hide
behind sheets
E.Declines
after1877 since North withdraws: Jim Crow renders invisible gov unnecessary
III.First
revival 1915-1920s (around WWI)
A.
2 events set stage:
1.
returning white WWI soldiers compete with blacks for jobs
a.Blacks
enter northern cities during war to replace whites in industry
2.massive
immigration (10 million +) from eastern Europe 1900-1924
B.Not
restricted to south, but spreads to northern cities like Chicago
C.Violent
tactics: tar and feather lynching, use of acid to brand “KKK” into foreheads
D.
Targets: blacks, Jews, Catholics, Mexicans; also white Christian women
sympathizers
E.Lynching
1882-1927: over 3500 blacks and 1400 whites
1.
Cultural events; women, children invited; like circuses; black body parts
as souvenirs
F.Widespread
support:
1.At
peak in 1925: 3-9 million members
2.
1925 march in Washington, D.C. with 40,000 members
3.Elect
governors 4 states + senator from Texas
4.Authorities
tacitly support:Mayors,police,judges ignore,even particpate in KKK
G.
2 promotional gimmicks:
1.
Burning cross as emblem
2.
D.W. Griffiths movie: Birth of a Nation
a.Depicts
KKK as savior of white women
b.Causes
riots after shown
c.Pres.
Woodrow Wilson says it is “like writing history with lightening”
H.
declines to 350,000 by 1927 and is sidelined by FDR’s progressive politics
of 1930s
1.
Unemployed councils were based on black-white unity
III.Re-emergence
during Civil Rights Era in 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s
A.Spark:
Brown vs. the Board of Education (1954); response to “threat” of integration
B.KKK
responsible for many of 138 bombings, 1956-1963 (including M.L.King home)
C.In
1960s reaches 40,000 members
D.Negative
public opinion+ Klansmen prosecuted and jailed in late 1970s and 1980s
E.FBI
acquiescence in 1960s: 1960-1965 Gary Rowe paid by FBI to infiltrate KKK
1.
In 1980 charged with murdering Civil Rights worker in 1960s.
F.
Greensboro, North Carolina in 1979: All-white jury fails to convict Klan/Nazi
members
killing
anti-Klan demonstrators, even though caught on video
IV: Psychological
Theories Do not Explain Klan Cycles
A.
Power imbalance theories: looks at perceived threats (voting, jobs, integration,
etc)
B.After
WWII: colonial theories of racial superiority lose political/scientific
legitimacy