The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was first formed in May 1866 by six Confederate army veterans in Pulaski, Tennessee. These veterans established this group because they wanted to keep their previous rights which allowed them to own slaves.
In 1867, Nathan Bedford Forrest, the KKK Grand Wizard (being the highest position), turned the somewhat calm group into a terrorist organization. The KKK was known for scaring towns by using secretive language, nighttime rides, and wearing disguises.
The Klan opposed African Americans mainly, but also Jews, Catholics, Native Americans, white Republican leaders, and Northerners coming to the South to make money.
Forrest tried dissolving the Klan in 1868 because of intensified actions against the minorities. Following this, the Civil Rights Act of 1871, put in place by President Ulysses S. Grant, ended the KKK for a short time. Soon this law was ruled unconstitutional, and was no longer in effect.
The second KKK started in 1915, and shared the same goals as the previous group: extreme racism. This group was founded by William J. Simmons and, unlike the first, the majority of the Klansmen were Republican, not Democratic.
Simmons started two main trademarks of the KKK: the burning of a cross in a front yard of enemies, and lynching. Simmon's main goal as the leader was retaining the power of white Protestants.
In the 1920s, 15% of Americans able to vote were in the KKK. At this point, over 4 million members were in the Klan, both men and women. The Klan had expanded from the South into Northern states, the Midwest, and all the way to Canada.
The Klan finally lost popularity during the Great Depression and World War II because of Nazi and Nazi supporter crimes. Today, only around 3,000 members are left.
