Viewed by many as a racist, prejudiced group individuals who ran rampant in the United States in the mid 19th and again early 20th century, the Ku Klux Klan is defined more simply defined by most as one of the many white supremacist groups that have existed during United States history. While such a definition is a true description of the Klan, it is also important to see how the Klan changed when it reemerged in the United States during the early 1900's after a long period of being quite dormant. Eventually growing to gain over 5,000,000 followers in the 1920's, the KKK transformed into more than just an anti-black society, but also one that excluded countless other groups of people in the nation and embodied the spirit of nativism and isolationism that existed during the time period.
Founded in the 1860's as largely an anti-black society, the KKK was incredibly prejudiced and cruel to African-Americans that they captured and even punished large groups of blacks for crimes that only one had committed. Lynchings, torture, humiliation, and killings were common in the Klan's demonstrations of racism, their message one of prejudice opinions of inferiority toward blacks. Gaining some speed over the next decade after its founding, the Klan gained a good amount of supporters who were largely ex-confederates and southerners, however it could not flourish in the environment of the Reconstruction era and eventually disbanded in the late 19th century. Returning back to existence in the 20th century only about 20 years later, the Klan reached its all-time strength in under a decade, gaining 5,000,000 followers by the 1920's and becoming such a force that they marched garbed in their white attire through a place as sacred to our nation as the front of our capital building in Washington D.C. More interestingly, though, was the Klan's adaption of what some historians brand as "new prejudices," now acting out demonstrations against immigrants, Catholics, and Jews alongside their previous enemies in black Americans. While not quite as violent as they were during the previous century, the KKK influenced society with their influence on government legislation instead, even dominating the popular vote on key issues in certain states (often southern). The KKK were also incredibly conservative anti-reformers who hated the idea of change in the nation and wanted to keep it as it was, protesting against periods such as the Reconstruction.
Also interesting is the fact that members of the Klan were largely devout Christians, believing that their work was good servitude in the eyes of their God. However, with the Klan being almost entirely Protestant, they were bitterly opposed to Catholics and believed in the superstition that if said Catholics were put into government power, they would put the Pope before their own country and would act in an unpatriotic fashion. As a result, KKK members would often vote against inclusionary legislation for Catholics and did not like the idea of Catholic schools being established within the nation. Moreover, as mostly religious people, KKK members were against the idea of evolution after the theory's development by Charles Darwin and were all for strict rules to prevent its teaching in schools. Overall, the KKK were not only what many deem as blatant racists, but were overall incredibly hardcore conservatives. They were simply people who were opposed to change and wanted to keep things as they were and saw immigration, Judaism, equality of blacks, and things that they saw as "not originally American" as dangerous to the nation. As deep isolationists, KKK members perhaps did not intend to be heartless bigots as many view them ass, but were rather just people who had an unquenchable anxiety about the new.
Sources:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/flood-klan/
http://www.history.com/topics/ku-klux-klan
http://www.readex.com/readex-report/religion-and-rise-second-ku-klux-klan-1915-1922
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