Talk:Ku Klux Klan

“Far-right”

“Extremist” would be more accurate than “far-right.” The KKK began as an organization of Southern Democrats after the Civil War; for the group’s political coloration through the early 20th century, see https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/cambridge-guide-to-african-american-history/ku-klux-klan-kkk/AF98C32F011BFB6DBD98879DE0F08C73, which notes, “In the 1868 elections, alongside Knights of the White Camellia, they murdered 1,000 black and white Republicans in Louisiana alone. […] Between 1877 and 1910 the KKK fueled Democrats’ push to establish one-party rule and Jim Crow.” While members of both parties have been supported by or even affiliated with the group, historically the association with Democrats has been stronger; for instance, Wikipedia’s own article on “Ku Klux Klan members in United States politics” lists ten US Senators in this company, seven of them Democrats (Ku Klux Klan members in United States politics). At the 1924 Democratic National Convention, “The Klan endorsed William Gibbs McAdoo, the frontrunner for the nomination. Senator Oscar Underwood of Alabama and Governor Al Smith of New York both called upon the party to repudiate the Klan by name in the platform. This motion failed by four votes” (https://www1.assumption.edu/ahc/1920s/Eugenics/Klan.html), although Underwood and Smith were able, after considerable maneuvering, to block McAdoo’s nomination and eventually to include the repudiation in the party platform. As an illustration of one prominent Democratic politician who got his start via the Klan, longtime US Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) joined the KKK in his youth to further his political career and advanced to the rank of Exalted Cyclops, recruiting some 150 new members (https://www.newsweek.com/did-joe-biden-attend-kkk-leader-funeral-ted-cruz-fact-check-1823670). While Byrd later repented of these actions and sought to distance himself from them, it is telling that by his own account, he believed that active Klan work would be a good path to political success in the heavily Democratic West Virginia of the 1940s. By no stretch of the imagination can figures such as Byrd, Justice Hugo Black, and various other stalwarts of the Democratic Party be described as “far-right.” HezekiahLee (talk) 16:00, 28 October 2024 (UTC)

This topic has been brought up many many times. There really should be an FAQ on this at the top, though I'm not sure how effective that would be. As has been said, "we go by what reliable sources in academic political science tells us, not our own analysis." DN (talk) 20:22, 28 October 2024 (UTC)

There seem to be no citations provided to substantiate calling it far-right, though. 2600:1700:3D2D:8810:B599:D756:C114:CFF0 (talk) 05:35, 28 November 2024 (UTC)

• The Klan did not formally exist from Reconstruction until it was re-established in 1915. The Klan backed Republicans where there was a Republican majority (see Owen Brewster in Maine, for example) and Democrats where there was a Democratic majority. Nothing you've stated disputes the Klan being considered far-right. Does an organization which murders 1,000 people in a single year to prevent black voting rights sound otherwise to you?--User:Namiba

Semi-protected edit request on 19 November 2024

Marie Assadourian (talk) 00:36, 19 November 2024 (UTC)

I would like to understand why I cannot edit this page I am Armenian and Christian and I do not understand?

Do not get upset at my honesty.

The page is semi-protected due to a history of vandalism. You can edit this and other semi-protected pages when your account has at least 10 edits and is at least 4 days old. See WP:SEMI RudolfRed (talk) 01:19, 19 November 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 30 November 2024

In the second paragraph it says that the Klan opposed Republican governed states, but Abraham Lincoln was a republican, and the segregationist's party at the time were Democrat aligned officials. It's blatant false, or reversed. 184.157.241.145 (talk) 02:26, 30 November 2024 (UTC)

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. Cannolis (talk) 02:29, 30 November 2024 (UTC)