No CHAPTER in American history is more
strange than the one which bears for a title:
“Ku Klux Klan.” The secret history of the
Invisible Empire, as the Klan was also called,
has never been written. The Klan disappeared
from Southern life as it came into it, shrouded
in deepest mystery. Its members would not
disclose its secrets; others could not. Even
the investigating committee appointed by
Congress, after tedious and diligent inquiry,
was baffled. The voluminous reports containing
the results of the committees labors
do not tell when and where and how the Ku
Klux Klan originated.
But the time has now arrived when the history
of the origin, growth, and disbandment of “The
Invisible Empire” may be given to the public.
Circumstances, which need not be detailed
here, have put it in the power of the writer to
compile such a history. For obvious reasons
the names of individuals are withheld. But
the reader may feel assured that this narrative
is drawn from sources which are accurate
and authentic. The writer does not profess to
be able to reveal the secret signs, grips, and
pass-words of the order. These have never
been disclosed, and probably never will be.
But we claim to narrate those facts relating
to the order which have a historic and philosophic
value. It is due to the truth of history,
to the student of human nature, and to the
statesman, that such facts connected with
this remarkable episode in our nations history
be frankly and fairly told.
A wave of excitement, spreading by contagion
till the minds of a whole people are in a
ferment, is an event of frequent occurrence.
The Ku Klux movement was peculiar by reason
of the causes which produced and fed the
excitement. It illustrates the weird and irresistible
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power of the unknown and mysterious
over the minds of men of all classes and conditions
in life; and it illustrates how men by
circumstances and conditions, in part of their
own creation, may be carried away from
their moorings and drifted along in a course
against which reason and judgment protest.
The popular idea supposes the Ku Klux
movement to have been conceived in malice,
and nursed by prejudice and hate, for lawlessness,
rapine, and murder. The circumstances
which brought the Klan into notice
and notoriety were of a character to favor
such a conclusion. No other seemed possible.
The report of the Congressional investigating committee
confirmed it. But granting
the truthfulness of that report, it is fragmentary truth;
it does not tell the whole story;
and it leaves the impression that the Ku
Klux Klan was conceived and carried out in
pure and unmixed deviltry. Whether this
conclusion is just and true, the reader who
follows this narrative to its end will decide.
The Ku Klux Klan was the outgrowth of
peculiar conditions, social, civil, and political,
which prevailed at the South from 1865 to
1869. It was as much a product of those
conditions as malaria is of a swamp and sunheat. Its birth-place was Pulaski, the capital
of Giles, one of the southern tier of counties
in Middle Tennessee. Pulaski is a town of
two thousand five hundred to three thousand
inhabitants. Previous to the war the people
possessed wealth and culture. The first was
lost in the general wreck. Now the most
intimate association with them fails to disclose a trace of the diabolism
which, according to the popular idea, one would expect to
find characterizing the people among whom
the Ku Klux Klan originated. A male college and a female seminary are located at
Pulaski, and receive liberal patronage. It is
a town of churches.
There, in 1866, the name Ku Klux first fell
from human lips. There began a movement
which in a short time spread as far north as
Virginia and as far south as Texas, and which
for a period convulsed the country. Proclamations were fulminated against the Klan
by the President and by the Governors of
States; and hostile statutes were enacted both
by State and national legislatures, for there
had become associated with the name of Ku
Klux Klan gross mistakes and lawless deeds
of violence.
During the entire period of the Klan’s
organized existence Pulaski continued to be
its central seat of authority, and some of
its highest officers resided there. This narrative, therefore,
will relate principally to the
growth of the Klan and the measures taken
to suppress it in Tennessee. It is necessary to
a clear understanding of the movement to
observe that the history of the Klan is marked
by two distinct and well-defined periods. The
first period covers the time from its organization in 1866 to
the summer of 1867. This
period of its history, though less interesting,
should be described somewhat minutely, because of its bearing
on subsequent events.
When the war ended in 1865 the
young
†
men of Pulaski who escaped death on the
battle-field returned home and passed through
a period of enforced inactivity. In some respects it was more
trying than the ordeal of
war which lay behind them. The reaction
which followed the excitement of army scenes
and service was intense. There was nothing
to relieve it. They could not engage in active business or
professional pursuits. Their
business habits were broken up. None had
capital with which to conduct agricultural
pursuits or to engage in mercantile enterprises. And this
restlessness was made more
intense by the total lack of the amusements
and social diversions which prevail wherever
society is in a normal condition. One evening in June 1866,
a few of these young men
met in the office of one of the most prominent members of the
Pulaski bar. In the
course of the conversation one of the number said: “Boys,
let us get up a club or a
society of some description.”
†
The suggestion was discussed with enthusiasm. Before they separated, it was agreed
to invite a few others whose names were mentioned to join them, and to meet again the
next evening at the same place. At the appointed time eight or ten young men
had assembled. The club was organized by the
election of a chairman and a secretary.
There was entire unanimity among the members in regard to the end in view, which was
diversion and amusement. The evening was
spent discussing the best means of attaining
the object in view. Two committees were appointed, one to select a name, the other to
prepare a set of rules for the government of
the society, and a ritual for the initiation of
new members. Then the club adjourned, to
meet the following week to hear and act upon
the reports of these committees. Before the
arrival of the appointed time for the next
meeting one of the wealthiest and most
prominent citizens of Pulaski went on a business trip to Columbus, Miss., taking his family
with him. Before leaving he invited one
of the leading spirits of the new society to
take charge of and sleep at his house in his
absence. This young man invited his comrades to join him there; so the place of
meeting was changed from the law office
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to this residence. The owner of the house
outlived the Ku Klux Klan, and died ignorant of the fact that his house was the place
where its organization was fully effected.
This residence afterward came into the possession of Judge H. M.
Spofford,
† of
Spofford-Kellogg fame. It was his home at the time
of his death, and is still owned by his widow.
The committee appointed to select a name
reported that they had found the task difficult,
and had not made a selection. They explained that they had been trying to discover
or invent a name which would be in some degree suggestive of the character and objects
of the society. They mentioned several names
which they had been considering. In this number was the name “Kukloi” from the Greek
word {Greek characters} (kuklos), meaning a band or circle. At mention of this, some one cried out:
“Call it Ku Klux!”
“Klan” at
once suggested itself, and was
added to complete the alliteration. So,
instead of adopting a name, as was the first
intention, which had a definite meaning, they
chose one which to the proposer and to every
one else was absolutely meaningless. This
trivial and apparently accidental incident had
a most important bearing on the future of the
organization so singularly named. Looking
back over the history of the Klan, and at the
causes under which it developed, it is difficult
to resist the conclusion that the order would
never have grown to the proportions which it
afterward assumed, or wielded the power
it did, had it not borne this name, or some
other equally as meaningless and mysterious. Had they
called themselves the “Jolly
Jokers,” or the “Adelphi,” or by some similar
appellation, the organization would doubtless have had no
more than the mere local
and ephemeral existence which those who
organized it contemplated for it. Hundreds
of societies have originated just as this one
did, and, after a brief existence, have passed
away. But in the case before us there was
a weird potency in the very name Ku Klux
Klan! Let the reader pronounce it aloud.
The sound of it is suggestive of bones rattling
together! The potency of the name was not
wholly in the impression made by it on the
general public. It is a singular fact that the
members of the Klan were themselves the first
to feel its weird influence. They had adopted a
mysterious name. Thereupon the original plan
was modified so as to make everything connected
with the order harmonize with the name.
Amusement was still the end in view; but
the methods by which they proposed to win it
were now those of secrecy and -mystery. So
when the report of the committee on rules
and ritual came up for consideration, the recommendations were modified to
adapt them
to the new idea. The report, as finally
adopted provided for the following officers:
A Grand Cyclops, or presiding officer.
A Grand Magi, or vice-president.
A Grand Turk, or marshal.
A Grand Exchequer, or treasurer.
Two Lictors, who were the outer and
inner guards of the “den,” as the place of
meeting was designated.
The one obligation exacted from members
was to maintain absolute and profound secrecy with reference to the order and everything pertaining
to it. This obligation prohibited those who assumed it from disclosing the
fact that they were Ku Klux, or the name of
any other member, and from soliciting any one
to become a member. The last requirement
was a singular one. It was exacted for two
reasons. First, it was in keeping with their
determination to appear as mysterious as
possible, and thus play upon the curiosity of
the public. Secondly, and mainly, it was designed to prevent unpleasantness following
initiations. They wished to be able to say to
novices: “You are here on your own solicitation, and not by invitation from us.”
They desired accessions; to have them was
indispensable; but they knew human nature
well enough to know that if they made the impression that they wished to be exclusive and
select, then applications for membership would
be numerous. The result showed that they reasoned correctly. Each member was required
to-provide himself with the following outfit:
A white mask for the face with orifices for
the eyes and nose.
A tall, fantastic cardboard hat, so constructed as to increase the wearers apparent
height.
A gown or robe of sufficient length to cover
the entire person. No particular color or material was prescribed. These were left to the
individuals taste and fancy; and each selected
what in his judgment would be the most
hideous and fantastic, with the aim of inspiring the greatest amount of awe in the novice.
These robes of different colors—often of the
most flashy patterns of “Dolly Varden” calicoes—added vastly
to the grotesque appearance of the assembled Klan.
Each member carried also a small whistle,
with which, by means of a code of signals
agreed upon, they held communications with
one another. The only utility in this was to
awaken inquiry.
And the object of all this was—amusement.
“Only this, and nothing more.” A few young
men, barred for the time by circumstances
from entering any active business or professional
pursuits,
†
and deprived of the ordinary
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diversions of social life, were seeking in this
way to amuse and employ themselves. The
organization of this Klan was to them both
diversion and occupation. But where did the
fun come in? Partly in exciting the curiosity
of the public and then in baffling it, but
mainly in the initiation of new members.
The ritual used in the initiation was elaborate, but not worthy of reproduction. It is
enough to say that it was modeled on and
embraced the leading features of the ritual
of an order which has long been popular in
colleges and universities under various names.
In one place it is the “Sons of Confucius”;
in another, the “Guiasticutas”; but everywhere the “ancient and the honorable,” and
the mirth-provoking.
The initiations were at first conducted in
the law office where the suggestion for the formation of the Klan had been made; but it
was not a suitable place. The room was
small; it was near the business portion of the
town, and while the members were in session
there they never felt entirely free from apprehensions of interruption. On the brow of a
ridge that runs along the western outskirts of
the town there used to stand a handsome and
commodious residence. The front or main
building was of brick, the “L” of wood. In
December, 1865, the brick portion of this
house was demolished by a cyclone; the
“L” remained standing. It consisted of three
rooms. A stairway led from one of them to a
large cellar beneath. No other houses stood
near. Around these ruins were the storm-torn,
limbless trunks of trees which had once formed
a magnificent grove; now they stood up
grim and gaunt like specter sentinels. A
dreary, desolate, uncanny place it was; but
in every way suitable for a “den,” and the
Klan appropriated it.
When a meeting was held, one Lictor was
stationed at the house, the other fifty yards
from it on the road leading into town. These
were dressed in the fantastic regalia of the
order and bore tremendous spears as the badge
of their office.
As before stated, and for the reasons assigned, the Ku Klux did not solicit any one to
join them; yet they had applications for membership. While members were not allowed to
disclose the fact of their membership, they
were allowed to talk with others in regard to
anything that was a matter of common report
in regard to the order. A member might express to an outsider his desire or intention to
join. If the person addressed expressed a
similar desire, the Ku Klux would then say to
him, if he were a desirable person: “Well,
I think I know how to get in. Meet me at
such a place, on such a night, at such an hour,
and we will join together.” Usually, curiosity
would predominate over every other consideration, and the candidate would be found
waiting at the appointed place.
As the Ku Klux and the candidate approached the sentinel Lictor, they were hailed
and halted, and questioned. Having received
the assurance that they desired to become Ku
Klux, the Lictor blew the signal for his companion to come and take charge of the novices.
The candidate, under the impression
that his companion was similarly treated, was
blindfolded and led to the “den.” The preliminaries of the initiation consisted
in leading the candidate around the rooms and down
into the cellar, now and then placing before
him obstructions, which added to his discomfort if not to his mystification. After some
rough sport of this description he was led before the Grand Cyclops, who solemnly addressed
to him numerous questions—some
of them grave and serious, some of them
absurd to the last degree. If the answers
were satisfactory, the obligation to secrecy,
which had already been administered in the
beginning of the ceremony, was now exacted
a second time. Then the Grand Cyclops commanded: “Place him before the royal altar
and adorn his head with the regal crown.”
The “royal altar” was a large.looking-glass.
The “regal crown” was a huge hat bedecked
with two enormous donkey ears. In this headgear the candidate was placed before a mirror
and directed to repeat the couplet:
O wad some power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us.
As the last words were falling from his lips
the Grand Turk removed the bandage, and
before the candidate was his own image in the
mirror. To increase the discomfiture and chagrin which
any man in such a situation would
naturally feel, the removal of the bandage
was the signal to the Klan for indulgence in
the most uproarious and boisterous mirth.
The Grand Cyclops relaxed the rigor of his
rule, and the decorum hitherto maintained disappeared,
while the “den” rang with shouts
and peals of laughter. And worse than all, as
he looked about him, he saw that he was surrounded by
men dressed in hideous garbs and
masked so that he could not recognize one of
them. The character of these initiatory proceedings explains why,
from the very first, secrecy was so much insisted on. A single tale
out of school would have spoiled the fun. For
the same reason the Klan was, at first, very
careful in regard to the character of the men
admitted. Rash and imprudent men, such as
could not be fully relied upon to keep their
obligation to profound secrecy, were excluded.
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Nor were those received who were addicted
to the use of intoxicants. Later on in the history
they were not so careful; but in the earlier
period of its existence the Klan was composed
of men of good character and good habits. In
some instances persons of objectionable character
were persistent, even to annoyance, in their
efforts to gain admission to the order. Occasionally
this persistence was rebuked in a
manner more emphatic than tender. For example,
one young man, who was personally
very unpopular, made repeated attempts to
join the Ku Klux. They arranged to have
an initiation not provided for in the ritual.
A meeting was appointed to be held on
the top of a hill that rises by a gentle slope
to a considerable height, on the northern
limits of the town. The candidate, in the
usual way,—blindfold excepted,—was led into
the presence of the Grand Cyclops. This
dignitary was standing on a stump. The tall
hat, the flowing robe, and the elevated position made him appear at least ten feet tall. He
addressed to the candidate a few unimportant
and absurd questions, and then, turning to the
Lictors, said: “Blindfold him and proceed.”
The procedure was to place the would-be
Ku Klux in an empty barrel, provided for the
purpose, and to send him whirling down the
hill! To his credit be it said, he never revealed any of the secrets of the Ku Klux.
These details have an important bearing
on the subsequent history of the Ku Klux.
They show that the originators of the Klan
were not meditating treason.or lawlessness in
any form. Yet the Klans later history grew
naturally out of the methods and measures
which characterized this period of it. Its
projectors did not expect it to spread; they
thought it would “have its little day and die.”
It lived; more, it grew to vast proportions.
