kkk paragraph Flashcards
Evidence 1
The KKK had been redounded by William K Simmons in 1915 and as a white supremacist organisation, was committed to using fear, terror and intimidation to prevent black people from claiming their civil rights.
Analysis 1 - fear terror and intimidation
This was an important obstacle to black people because any attempt to improve their status were likely to be targeted by this increasingly powerful organisation , as evidence by the lynching of more than 3000 black people between 1880 and 1941.
Evidence 2
Additionally, by 1925, the Ku Klux Klan had 5 million members and dominated state legislatures in Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Oklahoma and Texas.
Analysis 2 - widespread support
This was an important obstacle to preventing black people from achieving civil rights because the widespread support of the KKK meant that they could projects their racist views across the USA. For example, KKK membership increased during the depression when competition for jobs made racism in the South worse.
Counter analysis
However, historians argue that whilst the violence exemplified by the KKK was a significant deterrent to Black people seeking equality in the Southern states in particular the KKKs influence reduced by the late 1920s and as such its membership started to reduce.
Evaluation
To evaluate, whilst the KKK were undoubtedly an influential white supremacist organisation that was committed “100% AMERICANISM” and restricted its membership to native-born white Protestants. However, despite this, it is clear that the KKK could not have grown to prominence without the existence of prejudice and racism. Indeed, prejudice and racism was the oxygen that breathed life into the lungs of the KKK.
Topic sentence
Some historians argue that the KKK was the most important obstacle in preventing black people from achieving civil rights.
