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KuKlux Klan
Simplyreferred in history as “TheKlan”,KuKlux Klan(KKK)is the name that was given to three different movements in the UnitedStates, which were distinct ranging from the past to the presentmovement. The movement was founded in the year 1866 and spread to thesouthern states and largely, the movement was established as avehicle for the whites in the southern states to resist thereconstruction era which was being championed by the RepublicanParty. The movement looked to fight for the economic and politicalequality for the blacks. According to Paulson(10), the establishment of the three movements was focused towardspurification of the American society from aspects such as whitesupremacy, white nationalism, as well as anti-immigration. Violencein the United States is known to have dated to the origin of thenation. This paper analyses how the KKK movement was developed duringthe Civil War, and also how the movement broke equality which wasregarded as one of the main cores valued of the United States.
Afterthe formation of the KKK movement, the group initially functioned asa loosely organized group entailing social and political terrorists.The primary functions as to why the KKK was established to accomplishincluded maintenance of white supremacy to counter the gainedpolitical and civil rights of the blacks, especially in the southernstates as a result of the newly declared civil and political rights.One of the major factors that contributed to the occurrence of thecivil war in the United States includes the fight between the issueof slavery, which led to a fight between the salve and non-slavestates proponents. After the civil war, there was there was a fightagainst former slaves who were settled and acquiring properties(Owens et al 578). Led by Nathaniel Bedford, the establishment of theKKK was used to intimidate former slaves through terrorist tactics.During the civil war, there was continued fighting for the quality ofall the Americans, including the slaves working in the farms. Thesouthern region was known to depend on agriculture for its economicaspects this was unlike the northern region which was focused moreon industrialization. Due to this vast industrialization, there wasan increased aspect of urbanization, which meant people had to liveand work together. The south in turn continued to hold on theirantiquated social order a case that was different from the case inthe north (Owens et al, 585).
Thedevelopment of the Klan was seen as the defense of prohibition, trueAmericanism and traditional morality, and in turn the movement’sactions were against the African Americans, immigrants into theUnited States, Catholics and the Jews. In summary the growing aspectof post war depression in the south states which were dependent onagriculture as well as the migration of the Africans to the northernstates coupled with religious bigotry. The movement was supported bythe white farmers and white southerners who looked forward to whitesupremacy, and in turn used fear and terror to influence the focus.During the civil war, there were changes in power relations, and themain focus was to destroy the Republican Party’s infrastructure(Selepak and John 80).
Thecontributions and impact of the establishment and spread of the KKKmovement were diverse. One of the effects of the movement is that, itled to the breaking of United States core values such as equality.One of the major driving forces behind the civil war is therecognition of all the Americans, regardless of their race, politicalaffiliation and religion. This was regarded as the foundation andspread of equality among the Americans. The United States isestablished at varying key and strong core values which defines thenations. Some of these values include: individualism, equality,science and technology, liberty, self-governance among many others.In terms of equality, it is the value that dictates that, all theAmerican people must be treated with dignity and fairly. More so,there should be advocating for equal opportunities in education,fulfilling life, political aspects as well as economic success(Cavendish, 2015).
Withreference to the establishment of the KKK movement, different impactswere felt from the actions of the groups. Some of these includedamage to the blacks, killing of whites who sided with the blacks,discriminated the Jews and the blacks, and finally made plans toinvade blacks’ homes to destroy them. These actions were againstthe country’s equality value which was, and remains one of thebasis in which the US is established (Paulson60).More so, the movement also threatened the nation’s liberty. This isdue to the fact that, despite their right to speak, think and act asthey chose their offended other people’s freedom and rights, whichin turn threatened the country’s core value of liberty. The Ku KluxKlan proclaimed to adhere to the Americans core values however thiswas seen to focus or narrow to only their group’s demands. Forexample, the aspect of liberty excluded the immigration groups suchas the Jews and blacks as well as groups such as Catholics (Fulkerson140).
WorksCited
Cavendish,Richard. "The Founded." HistoryToday 65.12(2015): 9. AcademicSearch Premier.Web. 28 May 2016.
Fulkerson,Diane. "The : History, Organization, Language,Influence and Activities of America`s Most Notorious SecretSociety." LibraryJournal 139.14(2014): 140. AcademicSearch Premier.Web. 28 May 2016.
Owens,Peter B., David Cunningham, and Geoff Ward. "Threat,Competition, and Mobilizing Structures: Motivational andOrganizational Contingencies of the Civil Rights-Era Ku KluxKlan." SocialProblems 62.4(2015): 572-604. AcademicSearch Premier.Web. 28 May 2016.
Paulson,Ross E. Liberty,Equality, and Justice: Civil Rights, Women`s Rights, and theRegulation of Business, 1865-1932.Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1997. Print.
Selepak,Andrew, and John Sutherland. "The , ConservativePolitics and Religion: Taking Extremism to the PoliticalMainstream." Politics,Religion & Ideology13.1(2012): 75-98. AcademicSearch Premier.Web. 28 May 2016.