That sounds more like a local myth. The klan wasn't really a top-down organization like the church. It had a lot of chapters all over the country. Each chapter was run by its own members according to local norms and preferences. It may very well be that is something that your local chapter did as well as the racism stuff.
this post was submitted on 21 Jan 2026
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no offense friend, but you don’t need a historian to debunk this nonsense. Clearly lies from people in denial of their heritage.
there was no kkk “before all the racist crap”. it started directly because of racist crap after the civil war. look at the questions in the prescript from 1868:
https://web.archive.org/web/20160303192240/http://www.albany.edu/faculty/gz580/his101/kkk.html
5. Are you opposed to Negro equality both social and political?
6. Are you in favor of a white man's government in this country?
Might be time to start doing your own research and stop trusting what people tell you. That's pretty clearly a lie, I bet you've also been told a lot of other lost cause propaganda.
The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) emerged in the aftermath of the American Civil War, specifically in 1866 in Pulaski, Tennessee, as a reaction to the Reconstruction policies aimed at integrating formerly enslaved African Americans into society. Originally founded as a fraternal organization for white male Protestants, the Klan promoted white supremacy and resistance against federal efforts to ensure civil rights for African Americans. The group's early activities included establishing rituals and violent tactics that became synonymous with the Klan's identity, such as wearing white robes and engaging in nighttime terror against Black communities.
https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/birth-ku-klux-klan
Also, even if they DID start out that way...well, what they've done in the intervening years is unforgivable enough to brand them as racist hate mongering murderers.
It's not worth trying to rationalize lost cause talking points. The entire idea is based on racism. The kkk were a group going around murdering people. The idea that somehow going after the "right" people would change your opinion of them is ridiculous and also racist.
Behind the Bastards has some great episodes on the Klan, including how it started.
Arm yourself with knowledge 😊
I only know what was told to me in the Carolinas, MS, AL, LA AR I guess my question boils down to why did they not keeping society decent but went down the Hatred Spiral coming close to that German.
Well, they actually didn't go "down the hatred spiral." They were already there - the CSA was a major inspiration for Hitler and the Nazis. If anything, the Nazis saw themselves as kinder and more humane.
The Klan was a social club for southern gentleman, many of whom happened to be former Confederate soldiers. As society changed, the Klan became a haven for those who did not want to change.