"'Ku Klux Klan. A name derived from the fanciful resemblance to the sound produced by cocking a rifle. This terrible secret society was formed by some ex-Confederate soldiers in the Southern states after the Civil War, and it rapidly formed local branches in different parts of the country, notably in Tennessee, Louisiana, the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida. Its power was used for political purposes, principally for the terrorising of the negro voters and the murdering and driving from the country of those who were opposed to its views. Its outrages were usually preceded by a warning sent to the marked man in some fantastic but generally recognised shape--a sprig of oak-leaves in some parts, melon seeds or orange pips in others. On receiving this the victim might either openly abjure his former ways, or might fly from the country. If he braved the matter out, death would unfailingly come upon him, and usually in some strange and unforeseen manner. So perfect was the organisation of the society, and so systematic its methods, that there is hardly a case upon record where any man succeeded in braving it with impunity, or in which any of its outrages were traced home to the perpetrators. For some years the organisation flourished in spite of the efforts of the United States government and of the better classes of the community in the South. Eventually, in the year 1869, the movement rather suddenly collapsed, although there have been sporadic outbreaks of the same sort since that date.'
"Have you never--" said Sherlock Holmes, bending forward and sinking his voice--"have you never heard of the Ku Klux Klan?"
I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux >Klanner, but the white moderate who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice. […] Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. [“Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” 1963.]
The most important orders were the Ku Klux Klan and the Knights of the White Camelia. The former began in 1865 in Pulaski, Tennessee, as a social club of young men. It had an absurd ritual and a strange uniform. The members accidentally discovered that the fear of it had a great influence over the lawless but superstitious blacks, and soon the club expanded into a great federation of regulators, absorbing numerous local bodies that had been formed in the absence of civil law and partaking of the nature of the old English neighbourhood police and the ante-bellum slave patrol. The White Camelia was formed in 1867 in Louisiana and rapidly spread over the states of the late Confederacy. The period of organization and development of the Ku Klux movement was from 1865 to 1868; the period of greatest activity was from 1868 to 1870, after which came the decline. Entry: KU
KITE-FLYING KOSTER, LAURENS KIT-FOX KOSTROMA (government of Russia) KITTO, JOHN KOSTROMA (town of Russia) KITTUR KÖSZEG KITZINGEN KOTAH KIU-KIANG FU KOTAS KIUSTENDIL KOTKA KIVU KOTRI KIWI KOTZEBUE, AUGUST FRIEDRICH VON KIZILBASHES KOTZEBUE, OTTO VON KIZIL IRMAK KOUMISS KIZLYAR KOUMOUNDOUROS, ALEXANDROS KIZYL-KUM KOUSSO KJERULF, HALFDAN KOVALEVSKY, SOPHIE KJERULF, THEODOR KOVNO (government of Russia) KLADNO KOVNO (town of Russia) KLAFSKY, KATHARINA KOVROV KLAGENFURT KOWTOW KLAJ, JOHANN KOZLOV KLAMATH KRAAL KLAPKA, GEORG KRAFFT, ADAM KLAPROTH, HEINRICH JULIUS KRAGUYEVATS KLAPROTH, MARTIN HEINRICH KRAKATOA KLÉBER, JEAN BAPTISTE KRAKEN KLEIN, JULIUS LEOPOLD KRALYEVO KLEIST, BERND HEINRICH VON KRANTZ, ALBERT KLEIST, EWALD CHRISTIAN VON KRASNOVODSK KLERKSDORP KRASNOYARSK KLESL, MELCHIOR KRASZEWSKI, JOSEPH IGNATIUS KLINGER, FRIEDRICH VON KRAUSE, KARL CHRISTIAN FRIEDRICH KLINGER, MAX KRAWANG KLIPSPRINGER KRAY VON KRAJOVA, PAUL KLONDIKE KREMENCHUG KLOPP, ONNO KREMENETS KLOPSTOCK, GOTTLIEB FRIEDRICH KREMS KLOSTERNEUBURG KREMSIER KLOTZ, REINHOLD KREUTZER, KONRADIN KNARESBOROUGH KREUTZER, RUDOLPH KNAVE KREUZBURG KNEBEL, KARL LUDWIG VON KREUZNACH KNEE KRIEGSPIEL KNELLER, SIR GODFREY KRIEMHILD KNICKERBOCKER, HARMEN JANSEN KRILOFF, IVAN ANDREEVICH KNIFE KRISHNA KNIGGE, ADOLF FRANZ FRIEDRICH KRISHNAGAR KNIGHT, CHARLES KRISTIANSTAD KNIGHT, DANIEL RIDGWAY KRIVOY ROG KNIGHT, JOHN BUXTON KROCHMAL, NAHMAN KNIGHTHOOD and CHIVALRY KRONENBERG KNIGHT-SERVICE KRONSTADT KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE KROONSTAD KNIPPERDOLLINCK, BERNT KROPOTKIN, PETER ALEXEIVICH KNITTING KROTOSCHIN KNOBKERRIE KRÜDENER, BARBARA JULIANA KNOLLES, RICHARD KRUG, WILHELM TRAUGOTT KNOLLES, SIR ROBERT KRUGER, STEPHANUS JOHANNES PAULUS KNOLLYS KRUGERSDORP KNOT (bird) KRUMAU KNOT (loop of rope) KRUMBACHER, CARL KNOUT KRUMEN KNOWLES, SIR JAMES KRUMMACHER, FRIEDRICH ADOLF KNOWLES, JAMES SHERIDAN KRUPP, ALFRED KNOW NOTHING PARTY KRUSENSTERN, ADAM IVAN KNOX, HENRY KRUSHEVATS KNOX, JOHN KSHATTRIYA KNOX, PHILANDER CHASE KUBAN (river of Russia) KNOXVILLE KUBAÑ (province of Russia) KNUCKLE KUBELIK, JAN KNUCKLEBONES KUBERA KNUTSFORD KUBLAI KHAN KOALA KUBUS KOBDO KUCHAN KOBELL, WOLFGANG XAVER FRANZ KUCH BEHAR KOCH, ROBERT KUDU KOCH (tribe) KUENEN, ABRAHAM KOCK, CHARLES PAUL DE KUEN-LUN KODAIKANAL KUFA KODAMA, GENTARO KUHN, FRANZ FELIX ADALBERT KODUNGALUR KÜHNE, WILLY KOENIG, KARL DIETRICH EBERHARD KUKA KOESFELD KU KLUX KLAN KOHAT KUKU KHOTO KOHAT PASS KULJA KOHISTAN KULM KOHL KULMBACH KOHLHASE, HANS KULMSEE KOKOMO KULP KOKO-NOR KULU KOKSHAROV, NIKOLAÍ VON KUM KOKSTAD KUMAIT IBN ZAID KOLA KUMAON KOLABA KUMASI KOLAR KUMISHAH KOLBE, ADOLPHE WILHELM HERMANN KUMQUAT KOLBERG KUMTA KÖLCSEY, FERENCZ KUMYKS KOLDING KUNAR KOLGUEV KUNBIS KOLHAPUR KUNDT, AUGUST ADOLPH EDUARD EBERHARD KOLIN KUNDUZ KOLIS KUNENE KÖLLIKER, RUDOLPH ALBERT VON KUNERSDORF KOLLONTAJ, HUGO KUNGRAD KOLOMEA KUNGUR KOLOMNA KUNKEL VON LOWENSTJERN, JOHANN KOLOZSVÁR KUNLONG KOLPINO KUNZITE KOLS KUOPIO (province of Finland) KOLYVAÑ KUOPIO (city of Finland) KOMÁROM KUPRILI KOMATI KURAKIN, BORIS IVANOVICH KOMOTAU KURBASH KOMURA, JUTARO KURDISTAN (country) KONARAK KURDISTAN (province of Persia) KONG KURGAN KONGSBERG KURIA MURIA ISLANDS KONIA KURILES KONIECPOLSKI, STANISLAUS KURISCHES HAFF KÖNIG, KARL RUDOLPH KURNOOL KÖNIGGRÄTZ KUROKI, ITEI KÖNIGINHOF KUROPATKIN, ALEXEI NIKOLAIEVICH KÖNIGSBERG KURO SIWO KÖNIGSBORN KURRAM KÖNIGSHÜTTE KURSEONG KÖNIGSLUTTER KURSK (government of Russia) KÖNIGSMARK, MARIA AURORA KURSK (town of Russia) KÖNIGSMARK, PHILIPP CHRISTOPH KURTZ, JOHANN HEINRICH KÖNIGSSEE KURUMAN KÖNIGSTEIN KURUMBAS and KURUBAS KÖNIGSWINTER KURUNEGALA KONINCK, LAURENT GUILLAUME DE KURUNTWAD KONINCK, PHILIP DE KURZ, HERMANN KONITZ KUSAN KONKAN KUSHALGARH KONTAGORA KUSHK KOORINGA KUSTANAISK KÖPENICK KÜSTENLAND KOPISCH, AUGUST KUTAIAH KOPP, HERMANN FRANZ MORITZ KUTAIS (government of Russia) KOPRÜLÜ KUTAIS (town of Russia) KORA KUT-EL-AMARA KORAN KUTENAI KORAT KUTTALAM KORDOFAN KUTTENBERG KOREA (country) KUTUSOV, MIKHAIL LARIONOVICH KOREA (Indian tributary state) KUWET KORESHAN ECCLESIA, THE KUZNETSK KORIN, OGATA KVASS KORKUS KWAKIUTL KÖRMÖCZBÁNYA KWANGCHOW BAY KÖRNER, KARL THEODOR KWANG-SI KORNEUBURG KWANG-TUNG KOROCHA KWANZA KORSÖR KWEI-CHOW KORTCHA KYAUKPYU KORYAKS KYAUKSE KOSCIUSCO KYD, THOMAS KOSCIUSZKO, TADEUSZ BONAWENTURA KYFFHÄUSER KÖSEN KYNASTON, EDWARD KOSHER KYNETON KÖSLIN KYOSAI, SHO-FU KOSSOVO KYRIE KOSSUTH, FERENCZ LAJOS AKOS KYRLE, JOHN KOSSUTH, LAJOS KYSHTYM Entry: KITE
Religious brotherhoods of antiquity, too, were to be entered only after long and complicated initiation. But here the character of the ordeal is rather moral than physical. Such were the rites of admission to the Mysteries of Isis and Eleusis. Secret societies of all ages have been characterized by more or less elaborate initiation. That of the Femgerichte, the famous medieval German secret tribunal, took place at night in a cave, the neophyte kneeling and making oath of blind obedience. Imitations of such tests are perpetuated to-day in freemasonry; while the Mafia, the Camorra, the Clan-na-Gael, the Molly Maguires, the Ku-Klux >Klan, are among more recent secret associations which have maintained the old idea of initiation. Entry: INITIATION
During the Reconstruction the people of the South were divided thus: nearly all native whites (the most prominent of whom were disfranchised) on one side irrespective of former political faith, and on the other side the ex-slaves organized and led by a few native and Northern whites called respectively scalawags and carpet-baggers, who were supported by the United States government and who controlled the Southern state governments. The Ku Klux movement in its wider aspects was the effort of the first class to destroy the control of the second class. To control the negro the Klan played upon his superstitious fears by having night patrols, parades and drills of silent horsemen covered with white sheets, carrying skulls with coals of fire for eyes, sacks of bones to rattle, and wearing hideous masks. In calling upon dangerous blacks at night they pretended to be the spirits of dead Confederates, "just from Hell," and to quench their thirst would pretend to drink gallons of water which was poured into rubber sacks concealed under their robes. Mysterious signs and warnings were sent to disorderly negro politicians. The whites who were responsible for the conduct of the blacks were warned or driven away by social and business ostracism or by violence. Nearly all southern whites (except "scalawags"), whether members of the secret societies or not, in some way took part in the Ku Klux movement. As the work of the societies succeeded, they gradually passed out of existence. In some communities they fell into the control of violent men and became simply bands of outlaws, dangerous even to the former members; and the anarchical aspects of the movement excited the North to vigorous condemnation.[1] The United States Congress in 1871-1872 enacted a series of "Force Laws" intended to break up the secret societies and to control the Southern elections. Several hundred arrests were made, and a few convictions were secured. The elections were controlled for a few years, and violence was checked, but the Ku Klux movement went on until it accomplished its object by giving protection to the whites, reducing the blacks to order, replacing the whites in control of society and state, expelling the worst of the carpet-baggers and scalawags, and nullifying those laws of Congress which had resulted in placing the Southern whites under the control of a party composed principally of ex-slaves. Entry: KU