The call of the North. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1923-1924, 1923-12-12
ThEST0RY OF The kU XII x KHAN
Grand Dragon. Realm of Georgia. and a Grand.
son Of General Nathan Bedford Forrest, Con.
federate Cavalry Leader, Who Was Grand
Wizard of the Original Khan.

+, At the close. of the "War Between
the States" the Confederate States
were practically without governments
those which they had established af-
ter their withdrawal from the Union
having been overthrown. The great
question before the Country was what
to do with the Southern States, They
had been declared insurgents, and
therefore it was contended that their
relation to the United Staes Govern
ment was that of a. conquered terri
tory" It was President Lincoln's
plan to accomplish the restoration of
the seeding states with as little de-
lay as possible, and he had outlined a
policy to that end, maintaining that
they had never really been out of the
Union but only "out of practical re-
lations with the Government" After
Lincoln's death, President Johnson
undertook to carry out the purposes
of his predecessor and in May, 1866,
issued a proclamation of pardon to
practically all those engaged in the
war. Following the action of the
President, most of the Southern
States called conventions and repeal
ed their ordinances of secession, &C
cepting the act of President Johnson
in good faith.
States ReOrganize
By the autumn of 1866, every
Southern state, except Texas, was re-
organized and had ratified the Thir-
teenth amendment. When Congress
assembled in December, 1865, Re-
publican opposition was manifest in
an enactment that no state should be
represented in either House till Con-
gress had declared it's right to repre-
sentation. There were leaders in
Congress, however, headed by the in
famous Thaddeus Stevens, who did
not approve of any lenient methods
and refused to recognize the Southern
States when their representatives ap-
peared to take their seats in the capt.
tai. Their chief idea was to punish
the South. claiming that they were
conquered provinces" in which the
people had not even civil rights. The
exc onfederates were disfranchised
and excluded from holding Office. The
South was then divided into five mill
tary districts, in each of which was
placed an army with a military Gov
ernor in command. Martial law was
declared throughout the South. The
Commander. of each district was to
have registered as voters all persons,
without regard to race or color, who
had not taken part in the war. AS
this law disfranchised all the leading
white men of the South and gave the
ballot to the negro, many of whom
were only one generation removed
from savagery, the result can be ina
gined.
Under the leadership of the Gear
petbaggers," who, like vultures, had
swept out of the North to prey upon
the yitals of the PROSTATE South, the
ignorant negro rode into power, and
the black heel was placed upon the
neck of the proudest race the sun
ever shone upon. Under the rule of
the carpetbagger and the schalawag,
the negro ran riot. Every indignity
was offered the people of the South,
and they were forced to stand idle
while their wives and daughters were
openly insulted, without hope of re-
dress. Then, when hope almost fled
and destruction seemed inevitable, the
pure "Anglo-Saxon blood" in the
South rose in it's might and the Ku
Klux Khan was born.
During the month of May in the
year 1866, six young Confederate
soldiers living in the city of Pulaski,
Tenn, formed an organization for So
cial purposes. This society named it
self "The Kuklos," which comes from
the Greek word KluKloi, and from
which we get our words "circle" and
CYCLE" The name meant literally a
circle or band. In later days per-
haps for the purpose of making the
organization more mysterious, it was
called the Ku Klux and word Khan
was added. Aside from the evident
intent to incite curiosity and interest
by the selection of weird name, the
name itself indicated the culture of
the men who founded the organiza-
ton. This remarkable organization,
bordering on the miraculous, was the
most mysterious, the most secret,
and at the same time the most po-
tented and powerful body that ever
rose, resigned, and after accomplish
ing the purpose of it's existence,
voluntarily disbanded, its members
retiring VIGOROUSLY in decency, good
order and invisible triumph.
Was Complete Mystery
No authentic history Of this won
derful organization has ever been
written, and now over half century
after it has ceased to exist, there is
no positive or definite information
concerning it or. the works which it
wrought. The passage of years has
thinned the ghostly ranks of the
weird brotherhood, a mystery the Ku
Klux Khan was, born, a mystery it
lived and died, and mystery shall for
ever haunt its grave.