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In 1865, the Ku Klux Klan started its first branch. It started out as a social group in Pulaski, Tennessee. Nathan Bedford Forrest was chosen as the first leader or "grand wizard" of the Klan.
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Overall, Sectionalism was a big part of the KKK's history. The Southern white men, who were former land owners, were not happy that they lost their slaves, their land, and their money, while the Northerners were elated that the slaves were freed and that the slaves also gained rights. More importantly, the KKK members saw the Reconstruction Era as something that hurt the South.
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These policies divided the South into five military districts. These also required each southern state to approve of the 14th Amendment. This provided "equal protection" of the Constitution to former slaves and enacted male sufferage. These policies were in place from 1865-1866.
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From 1867 onward, the African-Americans participation in public life in the South became one of the most radical aspects of the Reconstruction. They were elected to Southern state Governments and the U.S, Congress.
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In the Summer of 1867, local branches of the Klan met in a General Organizing Convention. Through this convention, they established the "Invisible Empire of the South". After this, the KKK dedicated itself to an underground campaign of violence against black and white Republican leaders. By doing this, their hope was to reverse the policies of the Radical Reconstruction and restore white supremacy in the South.
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In relation to the election of 1868, over 2,000 murders were committed in Arkansas, 1,000 blacks were killed in Louisiana, and the number of threats and beatings were even higher in Georgia. These violent attacks, driven by the Klan, proved to the Northerners that the South had not learned its lesson from the recent war. In the end, Ulysses S. Grant won the election with the slogan "Let us have peace".
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At least 10% of the black legislators elected in the 1867-1868 Constitutional Convention became victims of KKK violence during the Reconstruction. This includes 7 who were killed.
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Between 1870 and 1871, congress passed the Enforcement Laws. These made it a crime to interfere with the registration, voting, office holding, and jury of the African-Americans. More than 5,000 people were indicted under this law, and a little more than 1,000 were convicted.
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On January 1, 1871, 500 masked men attacked the Union County Jail, and they lynched 8 black prisoners.
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In 1871, Congress passed the Ku Klux Klan act, which allowed the government to act against the terrorist organizations.
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In 1882, the U.S. Supreme Court declared the KKK act, which allowed the government to act against terrorist groups, as unconstitutional.
