there's kind of a myth that the ku klux klan was made up of losers and louts and hooligans. and so but in fact, it was largely founded and led by educated at its six founders, royal college graduates in tennessee. 1866 and its leaders almost everywhere. as jane said, her introduction were professional people, landowners, doctors, sometimes churchmen, journalists and so on. they were community leaders, which makes what they perpetrated all the more disturbing. they can't be written off by dismissing the the kind of people who who made up the klan. so. i'm going to talk about a couple of things here. i'm going to talk about what the klan was, the klan of the 1870s, and then i'll talk about how the federal government coped with it and in which, yes, as jane said, congress as well as president grant played a pivotal roles. so insofar we think of the ku klux klan today, it's most often i think the klan of the 20th century. many of us remember it's more recent. ascendancy in the 19 oh sixties and so on, in reaction to the civil rights movement. the original ku klux klan was founde

this the ku klux klan act is extremely strong. it defines everything that the klan is doing, including wearing of costumes and terrifying people on public roads and many other things, is specified in the legisla lation as illegal with extremely strong punishments ranging up to. i mean, this may not sound tough, but it was for the time $5,000. and as a lot of money in 1870 and the five or more years in prison, federal prison. okay. grant also pursues a prong policy to deal with the klan is he dispatches troops into the south, particularly into areas of intense the most intense klan activity. i write particularly a lot about south carolina. in that context, it was the it was the, dare i say, the showcase for crushing the klan and the troops he dispatched, among others, were the seventh cavalry. you've heard of them? yes. that's the same seventh cavalry. that was at that was slaughtered at the battle of the little bighorn in 1870. the same people, same guys, but it was custer in the leading them. no, he wasn't interested. he was a co

the ku klux klan debates over prohibition. people who supported prohibition appalled by the speakeasies and the jazz filled, booze filled clubs in the cities and the flappers, and between within the religious community, a fierce debate between religious modernists who believed that the bible could be interpreted in light of scientific discovery and fundamentalists who believed that sticking to the idea that the bible was absolute truth would be a one way to help keep society from sliding south word. and in the core of that debate is this issue of the teaching of evolution and the movement to ban the teaching of evolution in public schools and universities and in part because the teaching of evolution could lead some people to question their faith. but also because of the uses to which darwinism had been put. in particular, eugenics. the movement in the 1920s to sterile, wise people who were seen as unfit. tens of thousands of americans are forcibly sterilized by their states. in the 1920s under the theory that you could speed

and the 1920s is going to see a a rebirth of the ku klux klan. the klan, which had originally been created during reconstruct to fight reconstruction policy, but then had gone kind of into remission after 1877, when white supremacy, again begins to be restored, is going to rise more and time its targets will just be african-americans and their republican. but it's to be immigrants, catholics loose women union members, --, flappers supporting prohibition and it's going to be everywhere. 4 million members from maine to oregon. chicago had 50,000 klan and 50,000 members klan on long island island. and part of what added to the clients for, cassidy, was that the twenties came at the end of the ellis island era of immigration, from which many of you in the room are descended from 90 to 1920. 18 million immigrants come in from places the streams of immigration hadn't come before. eastern europe. russia poland, 3 million --, 4 million italian catholics, etc. and part of the reaction was to this, to people who believed that these people would not be amer

were by theay the ku klux klan burn crosses on the lawns and where is nikki k o anti-semitism, not the open kind that yeen this much more common and a little girl be sent by her parts and an afternoon in a center intohe woods to find a brother who had been playing with his friends so not long after her brother comes walking out the little girl never returns. so through the night, townsmen combed the woods looking for the little girl and then when they have not found her, someone we don't know who, but someone says, you know the jews are having a holiday and maybe they need blood. and at sundown on sunday evening, the next day would begin the holiest day of the jewish calendar, the day of atonement. and sometime sunday afternoon, the little girl was spotted on the roadway not far from her house and she had looked for her brother, fallen asleep, slept through the night, woke up but she was so lost and it her a while to find her way out. so she was unharmed pretty but that sunday evening, the jews made their way to the synagogue and angry mobs outside of the synagogue. they were yelling,

>> i totally agree. 1924 was the apex of the power of the ku klux klan in america.of the democratic delegates at that convention were either members of, leaders of, or controlled pie the ku klux klan. the democratic party in contrast today was a southern racist party. thank god we have come that far, but the nazi and klan are still there. >> the last thing i have to bring up because it is a little fun. so the rankings by republican -- by ideology, donald trump among the republicans who made the rankings, best and worst presidents, they ranked him at 41. the democrats ranked him at the bottom, 45. independents, bottom. conservatives, 43. liberals, 45. everyone agreed, including the republican rank ers that he's terrible. he couldn't get higher than 41, even with the republicans. what do you make of that? >> i can't imagine why someone who was twice impeached and wanted to suspend the constitution, an insurrection that might have led to the deaths of leaders of congress would rank so low. can i ask a final question? in honor of presidents' day, may i bring you a bottl

people are generally familiar with the ku klux klan which had an enormous presence in the 1920's. that was a factor. add to the mix the media and in particular one local media outlet, he did the afternoon newspaper called the tulsa tribune. we have this tinderbox or powder cake in tulsa needing only some catalyst to ignite the racial violence that occurred on may 31 and june 1 of 1921. host: the tulsa world earlier this month, especially for john black history month, notable oklahomans and state history. you mentioned -- you are mentioned of one of the notable oklahomans for your work on researching and writing about the tulsa race massacre. they write your work has played a role in bringing attention to a subject long ignored with over 100 people dead, 1000 buildings destroyed, this massacre that happened. how does something like that get to be ignored? guest: it is ignored as a deliberate decision on the part of people who are in power and occupy positions of privilege. tulsa, when the massacre occurred in 1921 was on an upward trajectory. it became known as the oil capital of t

klux klan, an american organization of far-right racists, here its members are shown as heroes, andple entered. the film is based on the novel by thomas dixon the younger, a member of the clan. this is history the lives of two americans. white families from the north and south of the united states during the period before and after the civil war. there are a lot of black characters here , almost all of them so far. at a screening in the white house , president woodrow wilson said that all this , quote, is a terrible truth, even for 1915 it was extremely unpolitically correct, but the film recouped its budget hundreds of times, with the advent of sound films, the birth of a nation was voiced and released again, on the centenary of the film in... in 2015 , it was already named the most disgusting in the history of hollywood. february 8, 1988 mikhail gorbachev, general secretary of the cpsu central committee, announced the withdrawal of soviet troops from afghanistan. this was before the start of the next round of negotiations in geneva, between afghanistan and pakistan, mediated by th

klux klan, black codes, and so on and so forth. war, it seemed like it would happen, there the slogan was almost like the trumpists, tilden or blood, they said, that is, either he is the president, or we start a war, and the elites agreed, literally, when the inauguration was supposed to take place, the so-called compromise of 1877 took place, the moderate republicans agreed with the moderates democrats, radicals removed, reconstruction. turned around, federal troops withdrew from the southern states, what happened was what the same gore viddal called the very bottom of american democracy. it is considered one of the dirtiest elections that has occurred. hayes promised that he would not run for a second term, made concessions to the democrats for many years in the southern states this segregation was formed, which only ended if it ended, well, at least it officially ended in the 60s of the 20th century. they agreed, they agreed in... the states, on the other hand, as we said here, and underestimate their elites, who are capable of

so the ku klux klan, we see this in the context of lynch mobs. and then of course, we see this all the way until the so called self defense shootings in which, you know, we have african americans and people of color being gone down. these are very much imbedded in the racial politics of the united states. the use of documented cases show a deadly packing of police violence against the black circle. in 2016 for alondo cass dial was shot dead in his car to ring a traffic stop the 2020 brionas taylor was killed by police in her apartment in the middle of the night in the same yes. 3 white men shots a mode operate. well, he was joking. killings that shook the country and sparked protest. so now a shot prize in anti black hate crimes has led more and more black americans to um themselves. how you doing jo? nice to meet you ma'am. nice to meet you. i know. all right, phillips macy's found and president of the national african american gun association. since its founding in 2015 membership has grown to 45 thousands. so black americans in the us buying s

so the ku klux klan, we see this in the context of the lynch mob. and then of course, we see this all the way until the so called self defense shooting, in which, um, you know, we have african americans and people of color being gone down. these are very much imbedded in the racial politics of the united states. the use of documented cases show a deadly packing of police violence against the black circle. in 2016 philander test style was shot dead in his car during a traffic stop. the 2020 brionas taylor was killed by police in her apartments in the middle of the night. in the same yes, 3 white men shouts, unload, operate. well he was joking. killings that shook the country and stopped. protest is now a shot prize in anti black. hate crimes has led more and more black americans to um themselves. how you doing to jo. nice to meet you ma'am. nice to meet you. i know. all right. phillips, macy's founder and president of the national african american gun association nocka . since its founding in 2015 membership has grown 245000 so black americans in the

so the ku klux klan, we see this in the context of lynch mobs. and then of course, we see this all the way until the so called self defense shootings in which, um, you know, we have african americans and people of color being done down. these are very much imbedded in the racial politics of the united states. the use of documented cases show a deadly packing of police violence against the black circle. in 2016 for lando test aisle was shot dead in his car to ring a traffic stop the 2020 brianna taylor was killed by police in her apartment in the middle of the night. in the same yes. 3 white men shots a mode operate? well, he was joking. killings that shook the country and sparked protest are now a shot prize in anti black. hate crimes has led more and more black americans to um themselves. how you doing to jo. nice to meet you ma'am. nice to meet you. i know all right, phillips macy's found and president of the national african american gun association naca. since its founding in 2015 membership has grown 245000 so black americans in the us buyin

so the ku klux klan, we see this in the context of lynch mobs. and then of course we see this all the way until the so called self defense shooting, in which, um, you know, we have african americans and people of color being gun down. these are very much imbedded in the racial politics of the united states. the use of documented cases show a deadly packing of police violence against the black circle. in 2016 for alondo cas dial was shot dead in his car to ring a traffic stop the 2020 brionas taylor was killed by police in her apartment in the middle of the night in the same yes. 3 white men shots a mode operate. well, he was joking. killings that shook the country and sparked protest are now a shot prize in anti black. hate crimes has led more and more black americans to um themselves. how you doing joe? nice to meet you ma'am. nice to meet you. i know. all right, phillips macy's found and president of the national african american gun association naca. since its founding in 2015 membership has grown 245000 so black americans in the us buying hom

so the ku klux klan, we see this in the context of lynch mobs. and then of course, we see this all the way until the so called self defense shootings in which, um, you know, we have african americans and people of color being gone down. these are very much imbedded in the racial politics of the united states. the use of documented cases show a deadly packing of police violence against the black circle. in 2016 for alondo test aisle was shot dead in his car to a ring, a traffic stop the 2020 brianna taylor was killed by police in her apartment in the middle of the night. in the same yes. 3 white men shots a mode operate. well, he was joking. killings that shook the country and sparked protest. so now a shot prize in anti black hate crimes has led more and more black americans to um themselves. how you doing jo? nice to meet you ma'am. nice to meet you. i know. all right, phillips macy's found and president of the national african american gun association. since its founding in 2015 membership has grown to 45 thousands. so black americans in the us

so the ku klux klan, we see this in the context of lynch mobs. and then of course, we see this all the way until the so called self defense shootings in which, um, you know, we have african americans and people of color being done down. these are very much imbedded in the racial politics of the united states. the use of documented cases show a deadly pattern of police violence against the black circle. in 2016 philander test style was shot dead in his current year ring. a traffic stop the in 2020 brionas taylor was killed by police in her apartment in the middle of the night in the same yes. 3 white men shots a mode operate. well, he was joking. killings that shook the country and sparked protests, is now a shot prize in anti black. hate crimes has led more and more black americans to um themselves. how you doing jo? nice to meet you ma'am. nice to meet you. i know. all right, phillips macy's found and president of the national african american gun association naca. since its founding in 2015 membership has grown to 45 thousands so black american

robert byrd, who was a senator from west virginia, and strom thurmond, they were wizards of the ku kluxlan. it was the democrats who are the segregationists and who were holding back the blacks. it is always put like it is the republicans. one other thing. president lincoln was the first republican president. he freed the slaves. after the civil war there were 16 blacks in congress. that went on until the 1920's. to say the blacks have not had any opportunities, we have had a black president, a vice president. we have governors, we have mayors, we have heads of police. we have district attorneys and congresspeople. i think the person that has stirred all of this was president obama. we never heard any of this racial stuff like it is today with clinton or bush. i think he is the one that has divided this country. host: jason hill. a lot there. guest: a lot of thoughts there. condoleezza rice saying she became a republican because the democrats prevented her party from voting and the republicans said what you want to be and they said we will register you to vote and her family has been re

so the ku klux klan, we see this in the context of lynch mobs. and then of course, we see this all the way until the so called self defense shootings in which, you know, we have african americans and people of color being gone down. these are very much imbedded in the racial politics of the united states. the use of documented cases show a deadly packing of police violence against a black circle. in 2016 philander test style was shot dead in his car to ring a traffic stop the 2020 brionas taylor was killed by police in her apartment in the middle of the night in the same yes. 3 white men shots a mode operate? well, he was joking. killings that shook the country and sparked protest. so now a shot prize in anti black hate crimes has led more and more black americans to um themselves. how you doing joe? nice to meet you man. nice to meet you. i know. all right, phillips macy's found and president of the national african american gun association naca. since its founding in 2015 membership has grown to 45 thousands so black americans in the us buying

so the ku klux klan, we see this in the contract, some lynch mobs. and then of course, we see this all the way until the so called self defense shooting, in which, um, you know, we have african americans and people of color being done down. these are very much imbedded in the racial politics of the united states. the use of documented cases show a deadly packing of police violence against the black circle. in 2016 for lando test style was shot dead in his current year ring. a traffic stop the 2020 brionas taylor was killed by police in her apartment in the middle of the night. in the same yes. 3 white men shots a mode operate? well, he was joking. killings that shook the country and spot protest. so now a shot prize in anti black hate crimes has led more and more black americans to um themselves. how you doing jo? nice to meet you ma'am. nice to meet you. i know. all right, phillips macy's found and president of the national african american gun association since its founding in 2015 membership has grown 245000 so black americans in the us buying um

klux klan put a bounty of $25,000 on her head at one point. probably the thing that she is most noted for in the most public declaration of her support for equal rights was resigning from the daughters of the american revolution. marian anderson, a control to who was internationally known, wanted to sing. there, and they had a whites only policy. there was public sentiment that she should be allowed. however, the d.a. did not back down. eleanor originally decided to invite ms. anderson to the white house and then she decided that she needed something bigger. so she worked behind the scenes with secretary of the interior and they scheduled a concert at the lincoln memorial. and this is a picture on the top of marian anderson singing at the lincoln memorial. and it was also broadcast on radio. 75,000 people integrated audience was there to see and hear marian anderson. and this is a copy of the famous letter that she sent to the d.a. my dear mrs. henry and robert, i am afraid that i have never been a very useful member of the daughters of the am