Ku Klux Klan From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia KKK redirects here. For other uses, see KKK (disambiguation). Page semi-protected Ku Klux Klan KKK.svg Ku Klux Klans logo In existence 1st Klan 1865–1870s 2nd Klan 1915–1944 3rd Klan[notes 1] 1946–present Members 1st Klan unknown 2nd Klan 3,000,000–6,000,000[2] (peaked in 1920–25) 3rd Klan 5,000-8,000[3] Properties Origin United States of America Political ideology 1st Klan: White supremacy Vigilantism Christian terrorism[4][5] 2nd Klan: White nationalism Nativism[6] Anti-Catholicism Antisemitism 3rd Klan: Anti-communism Antisemitism Homophobia Islamophobia Neo-Nazism Anti-miscegenation White supremacy Political position Far-right Religion Protestantism Jump up ^ The current version had some 152 independent chapters as of 2010.[1] The Ku Klux Klan (KKK), or just the Klan, is the name of three distinct movements in the United States. The first played a violent role against African Americans in the South during the Reconstruction Era of the 1860s. The second was a very large controversial nationwide organization in the 1920s. The current manifestation consists of numerous small unconnected groups that use the KKK name. They have all emphasized secrecy and distinctive costumes, and all have called for purification of American society, and all are considered right-wing.[7][8] The current manifestation is classified as a hate group by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center.[9] It is estimated to have between 5,000 and 8,000 members as of 2012.[3] The first Ku Klux Klan flourished in the Southern United States in the late 1860s, then died out by the early 1870s. Members made their own white costumes: robes, masks, and conical hats, designed to be outlandish and terrifying, and to hide their identities.[10] The second KKK flourished nationwide in the early and mid-1920s, and adopted a standard white costume (sales of which together with initiation fees financed the movement) and code words as the first Klan, while adding cross burnings and mass parades.[11] The third KKK emerged after World War II and was associated with opposing the Civil Rights Movement and progress among minorities. The second and third incarnations of the Ku Klux Klan made frequent reference to the USAs Anglo-Saxon blood, harking back to 19th-century nativism.[12] Though most members of the KKK saw themselves as holding to American values and Christian morality, virtually every Christian denomination officially denounced the Ku Klux Klan.[13]
Posted on: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 04:13:34 +0000
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