Okla-homey
4/20/2006, 06:32 AM
April 20, 1871 "Ku Klux Act" passed by Congress
With passage of the Third Force Act, popularly known as the "Ku Klux Act," Congress authorizes President Ulysses S. Grant to declare martial law, impose heavy penalties against terrorist organizations, and use military force to suppress the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).
http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/1069/zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz20.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
President Grant...Klan Krusher
Founded in 1865 by a group of Confederate veterans in Tennessee, the KKK rapidly grew from a secret social fraternity to a paramilitary force bent on reversing the federal government's progressive Reconstruction Era-activities in the South, especially policies that elevated the rights of blacks.
The name of the Ku Klux Klan was derived from the Greek word kyklos, meaning "circle," and the Scottish-Gaelic word clan, which was probably chosen for the sake of alliteration. Under a platform of philosophized white racial superiority, the group employed violence as a means of pushing back Reconstruction and its enfranchisement of blacks.
http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/3382/zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz32.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
N.B. Forrest
Former Confederate LTG Nathan Bedford Forrest was the KKK's first leader but in 1869 he disassociated himself with it and unsuccessfully tried to disband it after he grew critical of the Klan's excessive violence.
Most prominent in counties where the races were relatively balanced, the KKK engaged in terrorist raids against blacks and white Republicans at night, employing intimidation, destruction of property, assault, and murder to achieve its aims and influence upcoming elections.
http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/1207/zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz34.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Pro-KKK propaganda, ca. 1870
In a few Southern states, Republicans organized militia units to break up the Klan. In 1871, passage of the Ku Klux Act led to nine South Carolina counties being placed under martial law and thousands of arrests. In 1882, the U.S. Supreme Court declared the Ku Klux Act unconstitutional, but by that time Reconstruction had ended, and the KKK had faded away.
The 20th century would see two revivals of the KKK: the second Klan in response to immigration in the 1910s and '20s, and the third in response to the civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s.
The second Ku Klux Klan rose to great prominence and spread from the South into the Midwest region and Northern states and even into Canada. At its peak, Klan membership exceeded 4 million and comprised 20% of the adult white male population in many broad geographic regions, as high as 40% in some areas. Most of the membership resided in Midwestern states.
http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/922/zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz33.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
KKK of the 1920's at the height of its power and influence.
Through sympathetic elected officials, the KKK controlled the governments of Tennessee, Indiana, Oklahoma, and Oregon in addition to some of the Southern legislatures. Klan influence was particularly strong in Indiana, where Republican Klansman Edward Jackson was elected governor in 1924, and the entire apparatus of state government was riddled with Klansmen.
The political influence and power of the third Klan that arose in response to the Civil Rights struggles of the 50's and 60's has been virtually eliminated.
http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/2719/zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz35.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Ca. 1958.
Today's Klan is largely the province of kooks, malcontents, misfits and assorted losers.
http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/8107/zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz28.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Today, if you're white, not a Jew or Catholic and no other club will let you join because you are an asenine whackjob who hates everyone but white people who share your fanatical belief in white supremacy...you're just the kind of guy these people are looking for.
As an aside, Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) is the only person currently serving in Congress who can be proven to have held KKK membership. He has since dis-affiliated.
http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/7540/zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz21.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Sen. Byrd appeared in a cameo role as a Confederate general officer in Ron Maxwell's film "Gods and Generals" the prequel to "Gettysburg"
To check the status/presence of modern Klan activity near you, go here:
http://www.splcenter.org/intel/map/hate.jsp?S=OK&m=4
http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/5407/insane7zo6ml.jpg
With passage of the Third Force Act, popularly known as the "Ku Klux Act," Congress authorizes President Ulysses S. Grant to declare martial law, impose heavy penalties against terrorist organizations, and use military force to suppress the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).
http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/1069/zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz20.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
President Grant...Klan Krusher
Founded in 1865 by a group of Confederate veterans in Tennessee, the KKK rapidly grew from a secret social fraternity to a paramilitary force bent on reversing the federal government's progressive Reconstruction Era-activities in the South, especially policies that elevated the rights of blacks.
The name of the Ku Klux Klan was derived from the Greek word kyklos, meaning "circle," and the Scottish-Gaelic word clan, which was probably chosen for the sake of alliteration. Under a platform of philosophized white racial superiority, the group employed violence as a means of pushing back Reconstruction and its enfranchisement of blacks.
http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/3382/zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz32.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
N.B. Forrest
Former Confederate LTG Nathan Bedford Forrest was the KKK's first leader but in 1869 he disassociated himself with it and unsuccessfully tried to disband it after he grew critical of the Klan's excessive violence.
Most prominent in counties where the races were relatively balanced, the KKK engaged in terrorist raids against blacks and white Republicans at night, employing intimidation, destruction of property, assault, and murder to achieve its aims and influence upcoming elections.
http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/1207/zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz34.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Pro-KKK propaganda, ca. 1870
In a few Southern states, Republicans organized militia units to break up the Klan. In 1871, passage of the Ku Klux Act led to nine South Carolina counties being placed under martial law and thousands of arrests. In 1882, the U.S. Supreme Court declared the Ku Klux Act unconstitutional, but by that time Reconstruction had ended, and the KKK had faded away.
The 20th century would see two revivals of the KKK: the second Klan in response to immigration in the 1910s and '20s, and the third in response to the civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s.
The second Ku Klux Klan rose to great prominence and spread from the South into the Midwest region and Northern states and even into Canada. At its peak, Klan membership exceeded 4 million and comprised 20% of the adult white male population in many broad geographic regions, as high as 40% in some areas. Most of the membership resided in Midwestern states.
http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/922/zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz33.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
KKK of the 1920's at the height of its power and influence.
Through sympathetic elected officials, the KKK controlled the governments of Tennessee, Indiana, Oklahoma, and Oregon in addition to some of the Southern legislatures. Klan influence was particularly strong in Indiana, where Republican Klansman Edward Jackson was elected governor in 1924, and the entire apparatus of state government was riddled with Klansmen.
The political influence and power of the third Klan that arose in response to the Civil Rights struggles of the 50's and 60's has been virtually eliminated.
http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/2719/zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz35.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Ca. 1958.
Today's Klan is largely the province of kooks, malcontents, misfits and assorted losers.
http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/8107/zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz28.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Today, if you're white, not a Jew or Catholic and no other club will let you join because you are an asenine whackjob who hates everyone but white people who share your fanatical belief in white supremacy...you're just the kind of guy these people are looking for.
As an aside, Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) is the only person currently serving in Congress who can be proven to have held KKK membership. He has since dis-affiliated.
http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/7540/zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz21.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Sen. Byrd appeared in a cameo role as a Confederate general officer in Ron Maxwell's film "Gods and Generals" the prequel to "Gettysburg"
To check the status/presence of modern Klan activity near you, go here:
http://www.splcenter.org/intel/map/hate.jsp?S=OK&m=4
http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/5407/insane7zo6ml.jpg