The Ku Klux Klan Essay

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The Ku Klux Klan A cult is a type of religious organization that stands apart from the larger society. These groups often have a charismatic leader and they create their own radical beliefs. A cult that is very widespread in the United States and claims to be largely apparent throughout the world is the Ku Klux Klan or the "KKK". The Ku Klux Klan is a cult that claims to be promoters of white Christian civilization. The original Ku Klux Klan was organized to oppose the Reconstruction policies of the radical Republican Congress and to maintain white supremacy. After the Civil War, when local government in…show more content…
Its power in the Midwest was broken during the late 1920s when David C. Stephenson, a major Klan leader, was convicted of second-degree murder. Evidence of corruption also surfaced led to the indictment of the governor of Indiana and the mayor of Indianapolis, both supporters of the Klan. The Klan often took illegal measures, especially against those whom it considered its enemies. At its peak in the mid-1920s its membership was estimated at 4 million to 5 million. Although the actual figures were probably much smaller, the Klan then declined to an estimated 30,000 by 1930. After World War II, Dr. Samuel Green of Georgia attempted to revive the Klan, but failed. Southern civil-rights activities during the 1960s gave the Klan a new mission, which led to revivals of many different Klan organizations. The most notable of these were Mississippi's White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, led by Robert Shelton. The newly revived Klan groups were responsible for violent attacks against blacks and civil-rights workers in cities throughout the South. In spite of its efforts, the new Klan was not strong, and by the end of the decade its power and membership had declined to practically nothing. Although a resurgence of support for the Klan was manifest in the surprising popularity in the early 1990s of David Duke of Louisiana, actual membership in Klan organizations is estimated to be in

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