Ku Klux Klan: A Secret History

A part of American history for over a century, the Ku Klux Klan is a testament to the hostilities that surround the heterogeneity of the American nation. Waxing and waning in popularity over the decades, the Klan is the proverbial phoenix, rising from the ashes to gain membership and popularity when it seems to be extinguished. This History Channel documentary chronicles the history of the Klan, from its inception as a political organization trying to cope with the realities of emancipation and the defeat of the South in the Civil War to the modern-day Klan, which continues its legacy of hate and violence under the banner of Americanism and Christianity. Ku Klux Klan: A Secret History would be useful for classes on American History, African-American History, Political Science, Civics and Ethics. It is appropriate for middle school and high school.

Note to Educators Ku Klux Klan: A Secret History contains some graphic images and language that might be inappropriate for younger viewers.

• animosity
• apparatus
• atrocities
• carnage
• caste
• charlatan
• clandestine
• combustible
• complicity
• coup
• diatribe
• dichotomy
• discourse
• dissident
• elicit
• embody
• fabricated
• fraternal
• fruition
• functionary
• hallowed
• horrific
• ideology
• immunity
• inception
• inductees
• integration
• mandate
• misappropriate
• palpable
• perpetrated
• pillage
• precept
• prophetic
• recant
• rhetoric
• ritual
• sullied
• vigilantism

Discussion Questions

1. The history of the KKK over the past century mirrors the history of America. How is the history of the KKK a chronicle of hate in America?

2. The basic tenet of the KKK is white supremacy. What is white supremacy? How does it violate Americans of different races and ethnic backgrounds?

3. What are some of the reasons men and women choose to join the KKK?

4. The KKK states that it is a Christian organization. What is the irony of an organization based on hate, violence and oppression claiming it follows the guidance of Christianity?

5. The burning cross is the symbol of the KKK. Why do they use this symbol? What does it signify?

6. How is the KKK a legacy of slavery in America?

7. What were "Black Codes" and how were they used against newly freed slaves in the post-Civil War South?

8. The Fifteenth Amendment, adopted in 1870, guaranteed the right to vote to Americans regardless of their race or religion. Why did the KKK try to prevent African-Americans from voting during the post-Civil War Reconstruction era?

9. Why did the KKK disappear after Reconstruction?

10. Why did the KKK resurface in the early twentieth century?

11. One of the first blockbuster movies of the infant industry was D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation. How did the popularity of this film aid in the rebirth of the KKK?

12. What is meant by 100% Americanism? How was it a response to the changing composition of America?

13. Can you compare the KKK with Nazism?

14. Why did the KKK fall from power in Indiana, the state in which it had the most political clout?

15. How did the end of segregation in the South give the KKK a license to grow?

Extended Activities

1. Create a timeline that illustrates the history of the KKK. Indicate the KKK's history of growth and decline, and the events that prompted these fluctuations.

2. View the movie Birth of a Nation and discuss how this movie idealized the KKK and Klan ideology.

3. Create an anti-Ku Klux Klan poster.

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