The Origin and Development of the Ku Klux Clan, Character of Organization

The following data is extracted from Trinity College Historical Society .

These details show the early character of the organization, and that its originators had no idea of lawlessness, or of the powerful character it afterwards assumed.

During the months of July and August 1866, the Ku Klux mystery was the topic of the day in and around Pulaski. Newspapers and excited tongues scattered the news abroad over the country, so that, about the time all the eligible material in the town was used up, young men from the country, impelled by curiosity, came to join the order. These soon asked permission to establish "dens" in the country, which, although no provision had been made for it, was granted. Thus "dens" were established in the surrounding country with various modifications of the Ritual, but with the same injunction of secrecy, mystery, and the character of the men admitted.

During the latter part of the year 1866 the Clan spread rapidly. A stranger, visiting one of the "infected" regions, would be initiated, and return home with permission to establish a "den" in his own neighborhood. Under this method of organization, the links between the various Clans were not very strong; but, by a sort of common agreement, the Grand Cyclops of the Pulaski "den" was considered the head of the order. So far, there was no need of strong organization, as amusement was still the chief end in view. The members enjoyed the wild speculations of the mystified public even more than the rough sport of initiating candidates.

Such is the history of the Ku Klux Clan from June 1866, to April 1867; but during all this time it had been gradually taking on new features, which finally transformed it into a band of "Regulators." The transformation was brought about by several causes: “(1) The impression made by the order upon the minds of those who united with it; (2) the impression made upon the public by its weird and mysterious methods; (3) the anomalous and peculiar condition of affairs in the South at that time."

The popular idea was that the order had a great mission in view, and, with this idea, many sought connection with it, and after initiation this conviction was deepened rather than dissipated by the sport. Though there was nothing in the ritual to indicate it, the high-sounding titles, the wonderful dress and the formidable obligation seemed to indicate more than mere sport.

The second cause of the transformation was the impression of the Clan upon the public. At first there were many travelers along the road by the deserted house upon the hill. These generally passed the grim and ghostly Lictor in silence and as hurriedly as possible. Sometimes one would ask, "Who are you?" "In awful sepulchral tones, the invariable answer was, 'A spirit from the other world. I was killed at Chicamauga.’” An answer like this, amid such surroundings, with the "den" in the distance, from which issued such strange, unearthly sounds, was calculated to inspire fear, especially if the person was a superstitious Negro. Such incidents as this, both in the town and country, soon gave rise to innumerable stories, which soon had their effect upon the public. Night travel in Ku Klux localities ceased, and the Negroes were especially quiet wherever the Ku Klux made their appearance. In this way the members came to realize the wonderful power of their methods over the minds of men. They soon saw, also, how much good might be done among certain classes for the welfare of the country and the protection of property.

The most powerful of the causes of transformation was the condition of the South, because it furnished the foundation for the other two. Few have realized fully the peculiar state of affairs at the South during this period. The world has passed sentence upon the South and upon the Ku Klux, without considering the circumstances by which they were surrounded. There were two causes of trouble and vexation, which the people were not in a mood to tolerate, one of which was a class of unprincipled men whom the great upheaval had cast upon the surface of society. Not simply because they were Union men, as Mr. Tourgee would have us believe, but because they were traitors to both sides, and sought only their own ends, were they hated. They strove to keep alive the hatred and bitterness between the factions, in order that they might remain in power. Their effect upon the social, civil, and political institutions of the South was disastrous in the extreme.

Another class was that of the newly freed Negroes. Suddenly passing from slaves to citizens, they mistook liberty for license, and were totally incapable of using their liberty in the right way. The Negro looked upon liberty as freeing him, not only from his master, but from the laws made by his master. The Union League was also a very important factor as furnishing a means of uniting the Negroes under the leadership of bad white men.

Civil law was very partially executed, and there was an amount of lawlessness hitherto unknown in the South. "Under their fear of the dreaded Kit Klux, the Negroes made more progress in a few months in the needed lessons of self-control, industry, respect for the rights of property and general good behavior, than they would have done in as many years, but for this or some equally powerful impulse."

Up to the beginning of the year 1867, the performances of the Ku Klux were mostly within the bounds of reason, but in some cases they had overstepped those bounds. Bad men had gotten into the organization, and, in order to control them, it became imperatively necessary to organize the Clan on a more thorough basis, so as to remedy the evils which had crept into the order. With this object in view, the Grand Cyclops of the Pulaski "den sent out a request for all the "dens" to send delegates to a convention to be held in Nashville early in the summer of 1867.

Source: Trinity College Historical Society

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