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The purpose of the Klan has changed over time. But it is basically an organization designed to retain power for whites and withhold power from blacks, beginning with the freeing of slaves in the South after the Civil War.

Originally its purpose was to combat the Republican party, the Freed Men's Bureau, and Carpetbaggers. These groups promised the freed slaves many things if they would vote Republican, while at the same time officials were turning away many white voters who had served in the Confederate army or government. Some whites turned to lawlessness to maintain their control over various aspects of government and society. Violence and intimidation became tools of the Klan, whose membership wore hoods as disguises while committing various criminal acts.

In all of its incarnations, the Klan sought various forms of disenfranchisement, such as the Jim Crow laws, and espoused theories of white superiority and racial purity. Some Klan groups continued to use violence and murder as late as the 1960s. Eventually federal investigations led to prosecution and civil claims that severely eroded their influence. The KKK is still covertly active in many areas of the South, but many of its members have moved into splinter groups or more radical organizations. The Klan since 1946 has variously included anti-communist, anti-Catholic, and anti-Semitic platforms.
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12y ago
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Wiki User

7y ago

The Ku Klux Klan orginated in Pulaski, Tennesse and was begun by mostly former Confederate Soldiers. They had originally been attacking blacks AND whites that were Radical Republicans. Immigrants were also a target because they were considered the reason that the Radical Republican political party had began. Then the hatred of the Ku Klux Klan had been directed to the blacks to prevent them from voting.

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15y ago

Founded by Nathan Bedford Forrest it was an organization to counterbalance the carpetbaggers and reconstructionists. They were also a type of Law and Order vigilante group. Forrest resigned when the KKK started doing the wrongs they are now known for.

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12y ago

it was started after the civil war to keep blacks from being free and they would lynch(hang) blacks and people who helped them in any way. The klan was formed in the south and slowly started to spread through all the southern states and slowly moved north and west. Now the klan is somewhat different now they hate jews, mexicans,gays ect. too, for different purposes.

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JUAN WOODY

Lvl 6
4y ago

to beat the republicans in political elections - apex

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Wiki User

13y ago

They only like white people

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Anonymous

Lvl 1
4y ago

To beat the Republicans in political elections

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Anonymous

Lvl 1
4y ago

A.To terrorize African Americans.

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Q: What was the original Purpose of the Ku Klux Klan?
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The ku klux klan expressed the darkest and most ominous aspect of the rural counterattack of the early 1900s.


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