The call of the North. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1923-1924, 1923-12-12
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far south as the Rio Grande and the
Gulf of Mexico. New dens or lodges
were established in every part of the
country. This rise and expansion of
the invisible empire" occurred be-
tween June 1886, and April, 1867.
There is nothing in history to parallel
it. More than half>a million men, de-
feated in war, reduced almost to pau
perism, rose upon the ruins of their
homes and organized themselves into
an ihvincible and invisible army and
won the greatest victory of Anglo
Saxon civilization.
In 1867 a convention composed sof
representatives of the Khan through
out the Confederate States met at
Nashville, Tenn. The first declara-
tion made by the Khan in convention
was one of loyalty to the Union, as
follows: 1--WE recognize our relations
to the United States, the supremacy
of the Constitution and Constitutional
laws thereof, and the Union of the
States thereunder!'- forever
refutes the charge that these men
were plotting treason.
Purposes of the Original Khan
The Nashville Convention also de-
fined and set forth the objects and
purposes of the Klan as follows:
l. "To protect the weak, the inno-
cent and the defenseless, from the in
dignities, wrongs and outrages, from
the lawless, the violent and the bru-
tai; to relieve the injured and the op-
pressed, to succor the suffering and
especially the widows and orphans Of
Confederate soldiers.
2. "To protect and, defend the
Constitution of the United States and
all laws passed in conformity there
unto, and to protect the States and
people from all invasion from any
source whatever.
8. ITO aid and assist in the ex-
ecution of all constitutional laws, and
to protect the people from unlawful
seizure and from trial, except by
their peers in conformity to the laws
of the land"
The Khan had become such a pow
erful machine that the members real
lied the vital necessity of having a
leader, and General Nathan Bedford
Forrest, of Memphis, Tenn, the Con-
federate cavalry leader, was elected
as Grand Wizard, the obligation being
given him in Room 10, at the old
Maxwell House at Nashville, Capt.
Jno. w. Morton, who had been For
dest's Chief of Artillery during the
war.
Associated with General Forrest
were many of the most prominent
leaders of the Confederacy. Gen.
Albert Pike was Chief Judiciary Of
ficer and Advisor, General Jno. Cor
don was Grand Dragon of Georgia,
General Jno. H. Forney was Grand
Dragon of Alabama, General Wade
Hampton, Grand Dragon of South
Calorina, While General w. Gordon of
Tennessee wrote the ritual and took
an active part in the deliberations. of
the Klan.
Under the leadership of General
Forrest, the Klan swept the South
like wh:rlwind, restoring order out
of Chaos, and saving the civilization
of the South from utter destruction.
The entire South was an Invisible
Empire under a Grand Wizard. Each
State was a Realm under a Grand
Dragon; several counties formed a
Dominion under a Grand Titan; each
county was a Province under a Grand
Giant; the smallest division being
a Den, under a Grand Cylops. The
Klan was twice reorganized, in 1867
and in 1868, each time being more
centralized. In 1869 the organiza-
ton was disbanded by order of Gener-
al Forrest, the Grand Wizard, and the
order was dissolved almost in night,
although limitations of the Khan ex-
listed for year or more longer.
Some histories record the fact that
the Khan was disbanded as a result of
the action of the United States Gov
eminent, but this is an error. The
Klan was in active operation until its
leaders decided that the purpose for
which it had been formed had been
accomplished. The Government made
every effort to suppress the Klan, but
it was utterly powerless to cope with
the situation, and he Khan was not
disbanded until orders were given by
the Grand Wizard.
The ghostly legions have long since
disappeared, their purpose accom-
plished and civilization saved. The
Dragons and Giants, the COLLINS and
Hydras, the Cyclops and Furies, and
the Night Hawks and Ghouls, have
crossed over the river to rest in the
shade of the trees with their i'm
mortal commander, secure in the
knowledge that they have settled for
all time the question of White su-
premacy, and that through them a
Nation has been reborn.
They will live in song and story,
and as the years roll by the whole
world will pay them tribute, for to
the eternal glory of the Southern peo-
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