The name Ku Klux Klan comes from kuklos, the Greek word for circle. A persistent myth has existed in the United States which alleges that the name comes from the sound of the hammer of a rifle being cocked.
Members of the Klan are easily recognizable by their distinctive white robes and hoods. They also often give themselves faniciful titles such as "Grand Wizard" to indicate status.
The Klan is associated with acts of terrorism such as lynchings and burning of homes, and a consciously mystical and grandiose aesthetic involving wearing white robes and hoods and burning crosses. In fact, the Klan adopted Christian symbolism throughout their rituals. An account of one Klan initiation ceremony describes a Bible opened to Romans 12, telling Christians to engage in "godly conduct." The fiery cross was accompanied by a sword, representing the battle against the enemies of the Christian way, and an American flag. In a reference to baptism, new initiates were sprinkled with water to "cleanse" them of alien influences. Both the opening and closing prayers declared: "The living Christ is the Klansman's criterion of character."
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In 1871 President Ulysses S. Grant put what was believed to be the final nail in the Klan's coffin, and signed the The Klan Act and Enforcement Act. The Klan became an illegal terrorist group, and the use of force was authorized to supress and disrupt the organization's activities.
The second Ku Klux Klan was re-established during the Great Depression, a feat which arguably would not have been possible without D. W. Griffith's skillful propaganda film The Birth of a Nation, based on the play The Clansmen and the book The Leopard's Spots, both by Thomas Dixon. Many poor whites were drawn to the idea that their economic woes were caused by Blacks, or by Jewish bankers, or by other such groups. This Klan was operated as a profit-making venture by its leaders, and participated in the boom for fraternal organizations at the time. It differed from the first Klan; the first Klan was Democrat and Southern; this Klan was Republican and Midwestern, and had major political influence on the Republicans in several Midwestern states. It collapsed largely as a result of a scandal involving David Stephenson, the Grand Dragon of Indiana, who was convicted of rape and murder in a sensational trial.
After World War II, there was a revival of several Ku Klux Klan organizations which were established to counter the Civil rights movement of the 1960s. This is the Klan that is still seen today, though as American society has become more racially tolerant the Klan has once more shrunk dramatically and fractured. The major factions currently include the Imperial Klans of America, the American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, and Knights of the White Kamelia.
Similar organizations include the Aryan Nations, the National Alliance[?], and the Silent Brotherhood.
See also : Jim Crow laws, Vehmic courts
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