December 24, 1865:  Ku Klux Klan Established in Pulaski, Tennessee

History of the Ku Klux Klan

In May, 1866, six men formed an organization called Ku Klux Klan in Pulaski, Tennessee.  Their names were John Lester, James Crowe, John Kennedy, Richard Reed, Frank McCord, and Calvin Jones.  (Marrow, 2004).  The men were former Confederate soldiers.  They used silent parades, “strange” disguises, midnight rides, and a mysterious language and commands to frighten newly freed African Americans into submission.  When going on rides, the Klansmen muffled their horses’ feet and covered the horses’ bodies with white robes.  Klan members would dress themselves in flowing white sheets and cover their faces with masks.  They were supposed to represent the spirits of the Confederate soldiers who had died in battle. 

The Ku Klux Klan had two main goals.  The first was to protect and aid Confederate widows and orphans.  The second was to oppose Reconstruction efforts to end segregation and provide African Americans with voting rights.  Klan organizations feature a number of offices.  Some of the titles of these offices are Grand Wizard, Genii, Hydras, Grand Titan, Furies, Grand Giant, Night Hawks, Grand Cyclops, and Ghouls.  While the Klan was popular during the Reconstruction era, by the year 1900, the Klan was “out of business.”  However, the organization would reappear after World War I (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan).

In 1915, an ad was placed in an Atlanta newspaper by a Methodist minister named William Simmons.  Simmons wanted to revive the Ku Klux Klan.  One evening in November, Simmons and 15 other men climbed to the top of Stone Mountain just north of Atlanta.  There a wooden cross was erected and set on fire.  The “new Klan” was born.  The difference between this Klan and the previous one was that the new organization was grounded in Protestant Christianity and committed fewer acts of violence.  Members were most concerned with traditional morality and family values, support for prohibition, and gaining political power.  In the beginning, Klan membership developed slowly.  Then Simmons decided to allow recruiters to keep four out of every five dollars they collected from new members.  The Klan ranks started growing quickly.

In 1920, the Klan came to Evansville, Indiana.  By 1922, D. C. Stephenson had organized the Klan into a powerful, national organization.  Indiana possessed the largest Klan membership in the nation at this time. (Marrow, 2004).  This organization was viewed as a sizeable profit-making venture for the group’s leaders.  However, a scandal involving D. C. Stephenson prompted the Klan’s downfall.  Stephenson was found guilty of abducting and raping Madge Oberholtzer.  By 1944, the second version of the Klan had been virtually disbanded (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan).

Klan Related Pictures (courtesy of Archives and Special Collections, Bracken Library, Ball State University, Muncie, IN, unless noted)

Women of the Klan
Children's Klan
Muncie's Klan Marching Band
Klan Rally (from http://accuweather.ap.org/cgi-bin/apl.pl)
Cross Burning (from http://accuweather.ap.org/cgi-bin/apl.pl)
Application
Klan Handout
Klan Newspaper (front)
Klan Newspaper (back)

Cited by: Marrow, T. A., III (2004). Reconciling the Past:  A Brief History of Race Relations in Muncie. Muncie, IN: TEAMwork for Quality Living. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan