constructing american past

Constructing the American Past

Chapter 1 - Reconstruction and the Rise of the Ku Klux Klan discussed the organization in the South known as the KKK, which originated soon after the end of the Civil War. The KKK worked towards destroying Reconstruction in the South. African-Americans were the main victims of the violence Klansmen dealt out. In document 1 Initiation Oath of the Knights of the White Camelia it clearly indicates white man’s position on keeping the Black Race inferior. When a white man took the oath he pledged not to support Blacks in anyway, shape, or form, and to protect and defend the White Race. Failing to obey the oath would result in death. Knights of the White Camelia believed the Republic was founded by white men for white men. The Republic was never intended to be equal for an inferior or degraded race. The Klansmen believed even God himself established laws making the Caucasian race superior and the African race born into a life of social and politica...