thismeintiel said:
Wow. A lot of revisionist history here. (1,2) The KKK was started by Democrats to frighten blacks and the Republicans who freed them. They rose to power again in the early 1900s (3) because of a racist Democrat president, Woodrow Wilson, gave them a voice. He not only praised Birth of A Nation, but also resegregated the Federal government. (4) In 1924, some non-KKK members of the Democrat party wanted to put in a special plank in their platform denouncing their violence. But, there were so many KKK members in the party it was actually voted down. It flared up again during the Civil Rights movement, again containing mostly Democrats opposed to desegregation. This also led to Jim Crow laws.
It's hilarious to watch people perform some crazy mental gymnastics to alter that history. "Oh no, they're totally an organization of the right. They're just made up of Democrats, and just fought on the side of the left/Democrats for over 100 years, then suddenly switched sides. Which is good because we can attack Republicans with their "long" history with them. Shh, don't mention that Republicans were the targets of many of their attacks and that the Republicans have always been opposed to them. For reals." LOL.
(6) Now, it may be fair to say they slowly evolved to a party of neither side, as hatred for minorities pretty much took over their whole platform. But, to try to claim they were ever an organization of the right is just a plain lie. Usually one stated for political purposes, not with any fact behind it.
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First of all, if your knowledge of history is sketchy and full of gaps, the first step is to fill in the gaps with research and not with your imagination.
Point by point:
1. It was started by ex-Confederate soldiers, not Democrats per se; however, it supported Democrats and I think they supported it until it got crushed.
2. If you are responding to my post, [edit: I did actually say "very pro-Democrat and anti-Republican"—did you read that part?]
3. It's true that Wilson, a Democrat, was extremely racist, and implemented racist policies as President, and wrote fondly of the KKK in his history book. It's also true that Birth of a Nation was shown at the White House. However, the quote attributed to him is false, probably made up for marketing the film. He never publicly praised the film, and denied (through an aide) either knowing the contents of the film before it was screened or praising the contents afterward.
4. This actually seems to be mostly correct. Congratulations.
5. The KKK is more an organization of the right than of the left. They favored Democrats over Republicans during the time when Republicans were to the left of Democrats. Yes, I know how ridiculous that must sound to you, you who are ignorant of political history going back past your own lifetime, but it's true. The same Democratic Party that RE-segregated the federal government DE-segregated not only the federal government (or at least part of it, under Truman), but passed the vital civil rights legislation to end segregation nationwide (under Kennedy and Johnson). The Democrats who were against this change were natrually unhappy with this, and the ones who felt most strongly about it (the most racist ones) actually left the party. In many cases they created third parties (Dixiecrats, etc.), but ultimately they were mostly scooped up by Republicans who were trying to regain national supremacy from the long-running Democratic alliance—when Truman desegregated the military he lost four states to Strom Thurmond and his "States' Rights Democratic Party" (AKA Dixiecrats) in the 1948 election. Strom Thurmond later ran for Senate as a Democrat over the objection of the Democratic Party (defeating the Democratic nominee as a write-in candidate), endorsed Republican presidential candidates, filibustered Democratic bills (Civil Rights Act of 1957), and finally admitted the reality that he had switched parties to the Republicans in 1964. It is not a coincidence that that is the same year as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. He served as a Republican until his retirement in 2003.
6. In the aftermath of the Civil War, they were pro-Democrat and anti-Republican. In the 1910s and 20s, they were relatively neutral in party affiliation. After the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, they have been anti-Democrat and often pro-Republican. The leader of the KKK praised Donald Trump and said "we [the KKK] voted for Trump". I am not saying that this means Donald Trump is in league with the KKK. I am saying he has their support whether he wants it or not. This is almost the opposite of what you are saying.
Last edited by Final-Fan - on 23 January 2018
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