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[[Image:Artoon.jpg|right|thumb|A political cartoon depicting the KKK and the Democratic party as continuations of the Confederacy]]

[[Image:Artoon.jpg|right|thumb|A political cartoon depicting the KKK and the Democratic party as continuations of the Confederacy]]

There have been three entirely different  '''Ku Klux Klan''' organizations in the U.S.  They copied the same name and regalia, but had very different goals and activities.

 

The name '''Ku Klux Klan''' has been used by three entirely different organizations in the U.S.  While these copied the same name and regalia, they had very different goals and activities; however, all three groups shared a similar opposition to federal initiatives that they saw as infringing on their rights and a fundamental hatred for particular social groups.  

The Klan of the 1860s was a violent effort by white Southerners to fight [[Reconstruction]]; it was suppressed by the federal government.

The Klan of the 1860s was a violent effort by white Southerners to fight [[Reconstruction]]; it was suppressed by the federal government.

The second Klan flourished nationwide for a few years in the 1920s as state and district organizers profited handsomely by signing up millions of members, selling them distinctive white-robe costumes. The Klan voiced strong support for prohibition, opposed sexual immorality and appealed to anti-Semitism, anti-Catholicism and immigration restriction. Dramatic scandals inside the organization and lack of organizational structure caused the Klan to collapse quickly in the late 1920s. By 1928 it was practically defunct.   

The second Klan flourished nationwide for a few years in the 1920s as state and district organizers profited handsomely by signing up millions of members, selling them distinctive white-robe costumes. The Klan voiced strong support for prohibition, opposed sexual immorality and promoted racism, anti-Semitism, anti-Catholicism and immigration restriction. Dramatic scandals inside the organization and lack of organizational structure caused the Klan to collapse quickly in the late 1920s. By 1928 it was practically defunct.   

The third Klan comprised unrelated hate groups that sprang up in the South in the 1960s to fight integration.   

The third Klan comprised unrelated hate groups that sprang up in the South in the 1960s to fight integration.