Ku Klux Klan founded Dec. 24, 1865

On this day in 1865, six Confederate veterans, meeting in Pulaski, Tenn., formed a secret society that they called the Ku Klux Klan.

The name combines the Greek word for circle (kyklos) with the Gaelic word clan.


In a short time, the KKK grew from a social fraternity to a violent group that sought to push back against key Reconstruction policies, such as enfranchising former slaves.

Nathan Bedford Forrest (1821-1877), a former Confederate cavalry general and slave trader, served as the KKK’s first grand wizard or leader-in-chief.

At first, the group focused as much on intimidating Northern “carpetbaggers” as on putting down the freed slaves.

By 1869, however, the group regularly engaged in wanton destruction of property, assaults and murder, prompting Forrest to seek in vain to disband the organization.

In 1871, a Republican-led Congress passed the Ku Klux Act, authorizing President Ulysses Grant to use military force to suppress the terrorist group.

Under the act, nine South Carolina counties were placed under martial law.

In 1882, the U.S. Supreme Court declared the Ku Klux Act unconstitutional.

By that time, however, with Reconstruction at an end, the KKK had largely faded away.

In 1915, a new group formed using the same name.

It was inspired by D.W. Griffith’s film, “The Birth of a Nation,” which glorified the original Klan movement.

Its white-hooded members advocated white supremacy, anti-Semitism, anti-Catholicism, racism, homophobia, anti-Communism and a virulent form of nativism.

The Klan’s popularity fell during the Depression. Membership further declined World War II in reaction to its support of Nazi ideology.

Today, the Klan has fewer than 3,000 active members, comprised of many splinter groups.

The American Civil Liberties Union has offered legal support to some KKK factions in defending their constitutional rights to hold public rallies and parades and to field political candidates.