The Rest Is History

The KKK emerged from the wreckage of the Confederacy - founded in 1866 by former Confederate soldiers in Pulaski, Tennessee, the group evolved from a bored social club into a violent paramilitary force resisting the post-war order.

Reconstruction triggered a violent reaction against Black agency - the abolition of slavery and the subsequent political empowerment of freedmen led to a systematic campaign of terror designed to restore White supremacy and dismantle Republican influence in the South.

The first Klan leveraged psychological warfare and ritual - by using bizarre titles, costumes, and midnight rides, the early Klan sought to create a supernatural aura of intimidation to demoralize the formerly enslaved population.