American_Jihad
Flaming Libs/Koranimals
Late KKK Democrat Sen. Byrd's FBI files reveal CIA leak uproar
LiveLeak.com - Late KKK Democrat Sen. Byrd's FBI files reveal CIA leak uproar
Senator Robert C. Byrd
Kleagle and Exalted Cyclops
Ku Klux Klan members in United States politics
Ku Klux Klan members in United States politics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rise of the Ku Klux Klan
Herb Peck
A KKK Member
At the time of Ulysses S. Grant's election to the presidency, white supremacists were conducting a reign of terror throughout the South. In outright defiance of the Republican-led federal government, Southern Democrats formed organizations that violently intimidated blacks and Republicans who tried to win political power.
The most prominent of these, the Ku Klux Klan, was formed in Pulaski, Tennessee, in 1865. Originally founded as a social club for former Confederate soldiers, the Klan evolved into a terrorist organization. It would be responsible for thousands of deaths, and would help to weaken the political power of Southern blacks and Republicans.
Racist activity in the South often took the form of riots that targeted blacks and Republicans. In 1866, a quarrel between whites and black ex-soldiers erupted into a full-fledged riot in Memphis, Tennessee. White policemen assisted the mobs in their violent rampage through the black sections of town. By the time the violence ended, 46 people were dead, 70 more were wounded, and numerous churches and schools had been burned. Just two months later, on July 30, a similar outbreak of violence erupted in New Orleans. This time, a white mob attacked the attendees of a black suffrage convention, killing 37 blacks and three whites who allied with them.
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Rise of the Ku Klux Klan . U.S. Grant: Warrior . WGBH American Experience | PBS