The Ku Klux Klan, which is often referred to and abbreviated as “KKK,” originated in the South during the 1860’s. It later died out in 1870, and was re-established in in the early 1900’s. “A new version of the Ku Klux Klan arose during the early 1920s. Throughout this time period, immigration, fear of radicalism, and a revolution in morals and manners fanned anxiety in large parts of the country. Roman Catholics, Jews, African Americans, and foreigners were only the most obvious targets of the Klan's fear mongering. Bootleggers and divorcees were also targets (Digital History).”
At first the main objective of white supremacy organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan, the White Brotherhood, the Men of Justice, the Constitutional Union Guards and the Knights of the White Camelia was to stop black people from voting. After white governments had been established in the South the Ku Klux Klan continued to undermine the power of blacks. Successful black businessmen were attacked and any attempt to form black protection groups such as trade unions was quickly dealt with. In 1920, two Atlanta publicists, Edward Clarke, a former Atlanta journalist, and Bessie Tyler, a former madam, took over an organization that had formed to promote World War I fund drives. At that time, the organization had 3,000 members. In three years they built it into the Southern Publicity Association, a national organization with three million members. With the growth of the organization, they were able to control parts of the government. After the war, they bolstered membership in the Klan by giving Klansmen part of the $10 induction fee of every new member they signed up (Digital History). The Klan helped elect 16 U.S. Senators and many Representatives and local officials during the 1920’s. By 1924, when the Klan had reached its peak in numbers and influence, it claimed to control 24 of the nation's 48 state legislatures. After World War One, the three million Klan members were often referred to rural traditionalists unable to cope with the coming of a modern urban society. The 1920’s were definitely considered some of the Klans most brutal times and it was then, where they were extreme activists.
The 1950’s started the last phase of the KKK’s well known three phases. The "Ku Klux Klan" name was used by many independent local groups opposing the Civil Rights Movement and desegregation during this time, and even now. “During this period, they often forged alliances with Southern police departments, as in Birmingham, Alabama; or with governor's offices, as with George Wallace of Alabama. Several members of KKK groups were convicted of murder in the deaths of civil rights workers and children in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. Today, researchers estimate that there may be approximately 150 Klan chapters with upwards of 5,000 members nationwide (Wikipedia).” A large majority of sources consider the Klan to be a "subversive or terrorist organization". In 1999, the city council of Charleston, South Carolina passed a resolution declaring the Klan to be a terrorist organization. A similar effort was made in 2004 when a professor at the University of Louisville began a campaign to have the Klan declared a terrorist organization so it could be banned from campus. In April 1997, FBI agents arrested four members of the True Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in Dallas for conspiracy to commit robbery and to blow up a natural gas processing plant (Wikipedia).
In the early 1900’s the Klan had more of an impact on the government and the decisions that they made. With the large number of members and the extreme efforts they put for to secure their dominance in the south, the KKK was able to make a large impression on the American society. The Ku Klux Klan in today’s era is restricted to the actions that they can make because of new laws and regulations. Once African Americans secured federal legislation to protect civil and voting rights, the KKK shifted its focus to opposing court-ordered busing to desegregate schools, affirmative action and more open immigration. This organization in the United States, which consisted of advocated extremist, will never be forgotten because of the way they expressed white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration.