Radicalism :: essays research papers

The world of American radicalism has changed greatly all over the past century. Organizations ranging from the Ku Klux Klan, founded in 1866 to more recently organized groups like the reserves Movement, only about ten years old show the transitions in American radicalism, and the different states it has endured. It is believed that the first incarnate of the racist right, as a political position started during the French Revolution with the myth of a Judaic conspiracy. Over umteen years this spread into the 20th century gaining popularity in the 1920s. This was an added inspiration for the Ku Klux Klan, and added to their anti-black and anti-catholic agendas. The Ku Klux Klan was started by six young men who organized a fraternal club where they would wear costumes and ride around after dark. They shortly realized they were instilling fear into the community, but predominantly in the areas where the precedent slaves were living. Seeing this effect they quickly gained members, and within a year they began to construction rules for their organization. Inciting terror was their first goal, but it didnt take long for them to puzzle out out further by harassment, arson and even murder of non just Blacks, but also Northern teachers, judges, politicians, or anyone they felt went against their code. From 1915 until 1924 the Ku Klux Klan enjoyed a huge growth in membership. At one point they claimed more then 100,000 members, and at one point 40,000 of them marched in Washington D.C. during a Democratic National Convention. The Klan was so influential that it actually attracted new affiliate and members from the political body, primarily in the Mid-West. As the Klan grew it became increasingly violent and uncontrollable. This went against the view they were trying to present of Law and Order. Shortly after, in 1929 the Ku Klux Klan dissolved into many dozens of smaller, local groups.Though currently suffering its greatest dusk since the 1940s, with its thre e most prominent national units of the era the United Clans of America, the inconspicuous Empire Knights of the KKK and the Knights of the KKK, either defunct or factionalized, Americas oldest hate group, the codes of the Ku Klux Klan continues to operate on a local level, in some instances still engaging in illegal acts of violence and intimidation. The Christian Knights of the Ku Klux Klan was formed in 1985 by Virgil griffin and based in Mount Holly, North Carolina.