Cross burning in the KKK did not really start until the early 1900s. Its purpose "was" to intimidate, despite the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in 2003. The case was called Virginia v. Black. The state of Virginia passed a law saying that any cross burning would be taken as an attempt to intimidate a person/group of people. The Supreme Court decided that cross burning was not meant to intimidate, and was an act of free speech, ruling the law unconstiutional.