"There have been three Ku Klux Klan movements, which despite a clear line of descent and strong family resemblances, were separate from one another in time, organization, and purpose.

The first Klan flourished during the Reconstruction era and was all but exclusively southern in it's membership and concerns. Its objective was to perpetuate white supremacy following emancipation and the conferral of civil and political rights on blacks. It was founded at Pulaski, Tennessee, in 1866 as a social fraternity, but rapidly became a local regulator or vigilante organization similar to others at the time. Perhaps intrigued by its secrecy, disguises, and unique name (derived from a Greek word for "circle" or "band"), former Confederates including General Nathan Bedford Forerest converted the Klan in 1867 into a paramilitary force to oppose the Republican (Lincoln's party) state government under William G. Brownlow. The order quickly spread across the South in the spring of 1868 as other Republican state governments came into being under the Congressional Reconstruction acts. A similar goup in southern Louisiana called itself the Knights of the White Camellia.

Klansmen were drawn from every walk of life, but the leaders often were from the landholding and professional elite. After a brief flurry of practical joking and pretending to be ghosts, the Klan emerged as a terrorist group dedicated to defeating the Repulican party and keeping blacks in "their place" socially and economically.

Most southern counties saw little of the Klan, but others were overrun by it for months or years at a time. It tended to thrive where the two parties or races were relatively evenly balanced; in such places, terrorism was most apt to change election results. In the worst-affected counties, disguised night riders ranged the countryside on a regular basis, dragging people from their homes, whipping, shooting, or otherwise assaulting them, destroying their property, or driving them away. Most victims were black, but white Republicans were also targets.

The Reconstruction Klan was largely rural; its victims fled to the towns for safety. It was also predominantly local, differing from place to place and with little or no central control. Members went their own way and few dared stop them. Most southern whites sympathized with the Klan's objectives if not its methods, and those who liked neither were often intimidated by it. As a result, few southerners opposed it, and the Klan often paralyzed the law enforcement process.

In a few states, such as Arkansas and North Carolina, white Republicans organized militia units and broke up the Klan. In most states, however, federal intervention was required, in the form of congressional legislation, military arrests, and trials in federal courts. By these means the Klan was virtually destroyed in 1871-1872. ..."

Written by Allen W. Trelease
from "The Readers Companion to American History"