Editing Ku Klux Klan (section)

== History ==
=== The first Klan (1865 - 1871) ===
The Klan dates back to the post-Civil War era, when it was founded by [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] veterans in Pulaski, Tennessee after their side lost the Civil War.<ref>[https://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/ku-klux-klan-founded-dec-24-1865-232856 Ku Klux Klan founded: Dec. 24, 1865], ''Politico''</ref> Former Confederate General [[Nathan Bedford Forrest]] served as the first Grand Wizard of the Klan.<ref>[https://huntsvillehistorycollection.org/hhc/showhpg.php?id=311&a=article Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest and the KKK], ''Huntsville History Collection''</ref>
[[File:TheKKK(2).png|thumb|The original Ku Klux Klan didn't wear the white robes or masks that the modern Klan don.|link=Special:FilePath/TheKKK(2).png]] As well as death by lynching earlier versions of the Klan would burn and shoot into the homes of black farmers, sometimes with their occupants still inside and often tried to frighten black farmers out of their own properties.

The first Klan was active roughly from 1865 until 1874. Although there was little organizational structure above the local level, similar groups rose across the South and adopted the same name and methods Klan groups spread throughout the South as an insurgent movement promoting resistance and white supremacy during the Reconstruction Era. For example, Confederate veteran [[John W. Morton]] founded a chapter in Nashville, Tennessee. As a secret vigilante group, the Klan targeted freedmen and their allies; it sought to restore white supremacy by threats and violence, including murder, against blacks and white Republicans. In 1870 and 1871, the federal government passed the Enforcement Acts, which were intended to prosecute and suppress Klan crimes.<ref>[https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/EnforcementActs.htm The Enforcement Acts of 1870 and 1871], United States Senate</ref>
===The second Klan (1915 - 1944)===
The second Klan (which introduced much of what we traditionally associate with the organization, most notably the full body white robes and the practice of cross burning<ref>[https://timeline.com/why-does-the-ku-klux-klan-burn-crosses-they-got-the-idea-from-a-movie-75a70f7ab135 Why does the Ku Klux Klan burn crosses? They got the idea from a movie.], ''Timeline''</ref>) was founded by [[William Joseph Simmons]] in 1915 during the height of the [[Jim Crow laws|Jim Crow system]]<ref>[https://www.lva.virginia.gov/exhibits/mitchell/jimcro.htm Jim Crow and the Ku Klux Klan], The Library of Virginia</ref> and was largely inspired by the film ''The Birth of a Nation'', which chronicled the exploits of the first Klan.<ref>[https://www.history.com/news/kkk-birth-of-a-nation-film How 'The Birth of a Nation' Revived the Ku Klux Klan], ''History Channel''</ref>

This new incarnation of the KKK was the first to adopt [[Anti-Semitism|anti-semitism]] and [[Anti-Catholicism|anti-catholicism]].<ref>[https://www.ncronline.org/news/book-reviews/modern-hates-anti-catholic-roots Modern hate's anti-Catholic roots], ''National Catholic Reporter''</ref> President [[Woodrow Wilson]] was known to be an ardent supporter of the Klan during his presidency.<ref>[https://www.history.com/news/woodrow-wilson-racial-segregation-jim-crow-ku-klux-klan How Woodrow Wilson Tried to Reverse Black American Progress], ''History Channel''</ref>

It was also during this time that the Klan became a fraternal organization with a national and state structure.

The second Klan largely collapsed in the late 1920's after Grand Dragon [[D. C. Stephenson]] savagely raped and partially [[cannibal]]ized a young woman, leading to her death. In disgust large numbers of people abandoned the Klan, and law enforcement stepped up efforts to fight the Klan.<ref>[https://www.in.gov/library/collections-and-services/indiana/subject-guides-to-indiana-collection-materials/ku-klux-klan-in-indiana/ Ku Klux Klan in Indiana], Indiana State Library</ref> It continued to exist into the 1930's but had lost a considerable amount of prestige, and faded away completely by 1944.

===The third Klan (1950 - 1968)===
The Klan was revived again in the form of the third Klan, which rose up as opposition to the Civil Right Movement and was probably the most powerful and violent incarnation of the Klan. This incarnation of the KKK enjoyed a large amount of protection from corrupt politicians and law enforcement officers such as [[Bull Connor]]. This gave them a large amount of freedom to commit numerous [[hate crime]]s and lynchings against blacks.<ref name = lynching>[https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/26/lynchings-memorial-us-south-montgomery-alabama How white Americans used lynchings to terrorize and control black people], ''The Guardian''</ref>

Despite violent actions by the likes of [[Byron De La Beckwith]], [[J.B Stoner]], [[Robert Edward Chambliss]], and others, the Klan continued to lose influence and was on the losing end of the civil rights struggle. After the Civil Rights Act of 1968 was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, the third Klan largely collapsed.

The third Klan was the last time the KKK existed as a national, uniform organization.

===The fourth Klan (1971 - Present)===
The fourth incarnation of the Klan arose in 1971 and exists to present day in the form of various independent organizations. Because the organization no longer exists as a centralized group at the national level, the current incarnation of the Klan has considerably less influence and poses less danger than the previous Klans. However, these groups do still perpetrate hate crimes and continue to follow the mission of the other Klans.

In the late 2000's and early 2010's it experienced a small revival because of the Great Recession and Barack Obama being elected President.<ref>[https://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0209/p02s02-ussc.html Anti-immigrant sentiments fuel Ku Klux Klan resurgence], ''The Christian Science Monitor''</ref> However, it was still divided, largely over the issue of appearance and imagery, with "traditionalists" wanting to follow 1920's and 1960's style and look good for the media<ref name = KKKK>[https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/knights-ku-klux-klan Knights of the Ku Klux Klan], Southern Poverty Law Center</ref>, and "militants" wanting to embrace imagery from(and alliances with) other white supremacists, such as neo-Nazis and [[White Power Skinheads]], along with a more paramilitary style and even threatening opposing leaders. A notable incidence of this was when the traditionalist Southern Alliance of Klans organized a protest in Selmer, Tennesee, which the militant Church of the National Knights of the Ku Klux Klan attempted to join, much to the SAK's displeasure.

Many modern Klan groups are associated with the [[Alt-Right]].<ref>[https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/the-kkk-today/ Disturbing photos of the modern-day Ku Klux Klan], ''CBS News''</ref>