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Dinah Mite
Mrs. Fennelly
Humanities
22 October 2013
The Ku Klux Klan
The end of the Civil War along with the Civil Rights movement signified points in
history of great unrest regarding issues of race and cultures in America. From this unrest came
distinct opinions about the ideas of discrimination and racism, leading to the development of the
Ku Klux Klan. The racist actions of the Ku Klux Klan affected humanity both politically and
culturally. Because of their prejudiced motivations, the wrongdoings of the Ku Klux Klan
divided political leaders and caused controversy over how the government should punish their
offenses. In addition, the Ku Klux Klan enforced discrimination and influenced society’s
perception of black Americans and other minorities. The desire for power displayed by the Ku
Klux Klan relates to other extremist groups wanting to intimidate citizens into adapting their
views.
The Ku Klux Klan impacted decisions made by political leaders by affecting the laws put
in place to stop their racist behaviors. With the Klan seemingly uncontrollable after the end of
the Civil War, the government passed and enforced new laws to protect those directly affected by
the Klan’s racially motivated behavior. In 1871 during the reconstruction period, Congress
passed the Ku Klux Klan Act stating that any U.S. Citizen could sue, in federal court, any
individuals who were purposefully depriving others of their constitutionally protected rights
(Roleff). This law represented Congress’s good intentions to take a stand against a group trying
to ruin race relations in the country. Considering that this law passed soon after the conclusion of
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the Civil War, it was a bold statement for Congress to make because of the lingering unrest
involving racial equality between the North and the South. The passing of the Ku Klux Klan Act
proved that Congress was generally opposed to the Klan and that the Klan’s unconstitutional
behavior was not going to be tolerated by the government. Further, racist men who held political
office attempted to influence citizens’ approval of the Ku Klux Klan’s discriminatory behavior.
In 1905 after the completion of reconstruction from the Civil War, a “racist former general
assembly member from North Carolina named Thomas Dixon published The Clansman, a novel
depicting the evils of reconstruction and the alleged heroism of the Klan in resisting it”
(Gustaninis). While Congress took the side of the Klan’s victims during the period of
reconstruction, some racist elected officials believed that the Ku Klux Klan was doing the right
thing by terrorizing African Americans. The opinions of those in politics varied depending on
their views of the Ku Klux Klan. This inconsistency of opinions about the Ku Klux Klan created
controversy within the government as racism and discrimination were highly debated topics.
Finally, as the Klan resurfaced during the Civil Rights Era, Congress was forced to either take
the side of the Klan or that of the victims impacting all political decisions regarding race at this
time. Although some politicians who held office in southern states were in opposition to the
Civil Rights Act, Congress passed it anyway to ensure that all constitutional rights would be
recognized in public places; discrimination based on race, color, and religion would no longer be
tolerated (Roleff). This Act assured the victims of the Klan that they would be protected by the
federal government even if their local community was threatening them. In many cultures
throughout America, tolerance and equality for blacks was not a widely accepted idea, but this
act guaranteed that, in spite of society’s views, Congress would defend the victims and fully
represent them if their constitutional rights were violated. Many politically based decisions in
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the United States attempted to reprimand the Ku Klux Klan and provide their victims with the
justice they deserved.
The presence of the Ku Klux Klan in society left an impact on American culture. First,
the Ku Klux Klan established a specific set of beliefs that promoted racially motivated behavior
in society and gained many followers. As the Klan saw its greatest involvement with 4,000,000
members in 1925, its views consisted of opposition to blacks and other ethnicities such as
Catholics, Jews, and immigrants (Martin and Sullivan). The Klan’s persistence in promoting
their beliefs regarding white supremacy led to more citizens becoming Klansmen. As the Klan’s
ideas spread throughout America, they tolerated few religions and races therefore a culture in
opposition to minorities was developed and practiced regularly. Next, the Klan’s actions
impacted the African American lifestyle and attempted to further divide the white and black
races. The Klan focused their intentions on retaining white supremacy in the South for they
wanted, “a return to black subjugation and resistance to any attempts to change the traditional
Southern way of life” (Gustaninis). There was a distinct culture in the South that the Ku Klux
Klan wanted to maintain that often was associated with the discrimination of blacks. As times
were beginning to change and African Americans were finally starting to see more signs of
equality between races, the Klan attempted to renew the white dominance in society in order to
preserve the racist culture in America. Lastly, members of the Ku Klux Klan brought violence to
their community. From the early years of the Klan and onward, members terrorized African
Americans by conspiracies such as frequent fire bombings, murders, assaults, lynchings, along
with domestic terrorism during the Civil Rights Era (Moore). These frequent acts of violence
proved that the white race was still viewed as superior as they could attack the blacks without
retribution. The Ku Klux Klan promoted violent actions therefore creating crime-ridden
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communities where Klan membership was numerous. Crimes the Klan committed instilled fear
in African Americans and their destructive behavior formed a culture where African Americans
were intimidated by their aggressors. The Ku Klux Klan impacted the American South with acts
of violence and their desire for white supremacy.
Both political and cultural features of American lifestyle were affected from the
prejudiced perspectives of the Ku Klux Klan. The Ku Klux Klan negatively impacted the United
States due to its racism and discrimination. Their actions caused a further divide between races
and led to harsh periods in American history such as the Civil Rights Movement. Although the
Ku Klux Klan is no longer seen in the news for current racist offenses against African
Americans, their practices of instilling fear to gain power can still be seen today. The Ku Klux
Klan intimidated those seen to be in the minority and practiced violence along with torture to
prove that their white supremacist views were dominant in society. Today, the Ku Klux Klan
could be compared to terrorist groups willing to hurt others for the purpose of promoting their
ideas. Groups such as Al Qaeda have repeatedly tried to prove themselves as a powerful
extremist group by conducting terror plots against the United States such as the September 11th
attacks. Individuals who are a part of terrorist groups believe that their damaging actions will
benefit society and that their beliefs represent the correct lifestyle for a community. Fear of
these terror groups keeps them in control as the Ku Klux Klan remained in power due to its
victims fearing retaliation. The responsibility to remove these people from society and take
away their power lies in the hands of the victims and others directly affected by their actions.
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Works Cited
Gustainis, Justin. "Ku Klux Klan." St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Vol. 3. U.S.
History In Context, 2000. 64-66. Web. 23 Sept. 2013.
Martin, Waldo, Patricia Sullivan. “Ku Klux Klan.” Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Macmillan
Reference USA, 2000. Web. 26 Oct. 2013.
Moore, John Hartwell. “Ku Klux Klan." Encyclopedia of Race and Racism. Vol. 2. Macmillan
Reference USA, 2008. Web. 2 Oct. 2013.
Roleff, Tamara. “Introduction to Hate Groups.” Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Greenhaven
Press, 2001. 29 Sept. 2013.