If you were writing a paper and needed to explain why the KKK was significant, what would you say?

Question

Significant during the Reconstruction Era. And dont give me links unless you reall want to....because I know ALOT about the Ku Klux Klan, I just dont really know how to say why they were significant enough to make it into encyclopedias.

Answer 1

They completely underminded any meaningful integration of blacks as equal to whites in the south. Thus, it continued the oppression of black people. The Klu Klux Klan was made up of white society who had jobs in law enforcement, lawyers, judges, politicians, clergyman and no meaningful progression could occur as long as this group of people were powerful.

Answer 2

They played a major role in shaping this country and in being a catalyst for the civil rights movement. By committing such atrocities as lynchings, etc., they've created a strong need for change that was contrary to what they intended. An encyclopedia would be incomplete without them, the educational tools that they are. You need the good & the bad.

Answer 3

Groups such as the KKK, who are in the minority with their opinions, emphasize and remind us of our first amendment rights. Even while most view them negatively, the allowance by our society to make their message known is one of the foundations upon which our nation rests and was created. This right was greater emphasized during the Reconstruction period; the North, having the ability to squash free speech after winning the war, chose instead to adhere to our Constitutional rights.

Groups such as the KKK let us know that our Constitution "works".