Ku Klux Klan
Learn all about the KKK here!
Who started the KKK?
Six confederate soldiers that were angry they lost their slaves after the Civil War.
Who led the KKK and what were Klan members called?
The KKK was led by David Duke. He was called the Grand Cyclops. (all leaders were)
All the members of the Klan were called Ghouls.
The clan was originally called Kuklos Clan, but was changed to the Ku Klux Klan.
What were the KKK's motives?
They were angry they had lost their slaves. They wanted blacks to pay for winning their freedom. They also believed that if you weren't Caucasian, you didn't deserve to have any rights, and walk around freely.
What they did.
They did many things, some dangerous, some just causing mischief.
Mischief- They dressed as ghouls, went to the houses of black families, demanded water, poured it into a hidden canteen, and after they drank a few gallons, they would ride away, saying "I haven't drinken anything since I died in the war!"
Dangerous- Rob Blacks, Kidnap blacks and hang them, shoot at blacks and their cars and houses.
Importance when it was happening.
Even though blacks were free, they weren't safe, and harm free. Escaped slaves were always hunted before and during the Civil War, and even after the war the blacks had to be careful that there were no Klan members around, kind of like they had to be during the Fugitive Slave Act.
Why they are important now a days.
They show that even though the Civil War was over, people were still cruel to blacks. We can look back and see that people really hated the blacks, and wanted them dead. It doesn't really effect anything we do now a days, because it doesn't happen any more.
What can we learn form the KKK?
We can learn that everything they did was horrible, and no human being should be treated like that. Everything they did is now illegal, and they would be thrown in prison for life of they started agin. It shows that people know that they shouldn't be doing it, and they're so afraid, they don't do it anymore.