With its fiery crosses and nightriders in pointed hoods and flowing robes, the Ku Klux Klan remains a recurring nightmare in American life. What began in the earliest post–Civil War days as a social group engaging in drunken hijinks at the expense of perceived inferiors soon turned into a murderous paramilitary organization determined to resist the “evils” of radical Reconstruction. For six generations and counting, the Klan has inflicted misery and death on countless victims nationwide and since the early 1920s, has expanded into distant corners of the globe.
From the Klan’s post–Civil War lynchings in support of Jim Crow laws, to its bloody stand against desegregation during the 1960s, to its continued violence in the militia movement at the turn of the 21st century, this revealing volume chronicles the complete history of the world’s oldest surviving terrorist organization from 1866 to the present. The story is told without embellishment because, as this work demonstrates, the truth about the Ku Klux Klan is grim enough.

Michael Newton is an award-winning author of numerous books on topics ranging from cryptozoology to civil rights and organized crime. He lives in Indiana.

Michael Newton
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 316
Bibliographic Info: 58 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2014
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7774-6
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1719-0
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents


Preface 1

Introduction: “Good Ole Rebels” 3

1. “This Is a White Man’s Country” (1866–1873) 5

2. Never Sound Retreat (1874–1914) 21

3. Rebirth of an Empire (1915–1921) 37

4. Glory Days (1922–1929) 49

5. Depression and Decline (1930–1944) 73

6. Fire in the Ashes (1945–1953) 89

7. Beyond “Black Monday” (1954–1960) 104

8. The Second Reconstruction (1961–1969) 127

9. “Growing and Improving All the Time” (1970–1982) 166

10. At War with “ZOG” (1983–1995) 194

11. “Yesterday, Today, Forever” (1996–2014) 234

Chapter Notes 263

Selected Bibliography 285

Index 289

“A wealth of material. Recommended”—Choice; “Newton has written an extensive and exhaustive history of the Ku Klux Klan. An important contribution to the retelling of American history and the destructive role white supremacy has continued to play”—H-Net Reviews.