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The origin of the Ku Klux Klan was a carefully guarded secret for years, although there were many theories to explain
its beginnings. One Popular notion held that the Ku Klux Klan was originally a secret order of Chinese opium smugglers. Another
claimed it was begun by Confederate prisoners during the war. The most ridiculous theory attributed the name to some ancient
Jewish document referring to the Hebrews enslaved by Egyptian pharaohs.
In fact the beginning of the Klan involved nothing so sinister, subversive or ancient as the theories supposed. It
was the boredom of small-town life that led six young Confederate veterans to gather around a fireplace one December evening
in 1865 and form a social club. The place was Pulaski, Tennessee, near the Alabama border. When they reassembled a week later,
the six young men were full of ideas for their new society. It would be secret, to eighten the amusement of the thing, and
the titles for the various officers were to have names as preposterous-sounding as possible, partly for the fun of it and
partly to avoid any military or political implications. The head of the group was called the Grand Cyclops. His assistant
was the Grand Magi; there was to be a Grand Turk to greet all candidates for admission, a Grand Scribe to act as secretary,
Night Hawks for messengers and a Lictor to be the guard. The members, when the six young men found some to join, would be
called Ghouls. But what name to call the society itself? The founders were determined to come up with something unusual and
mysterious. Being well-educated, they turned to Greek. After tossing around a number of ideas, Richard R. Reed suggested the
word "kuklos," from which the English words "circle and "cycle" are derived. Another member, Captain
John B. Kennedy, had an ear for alliteration and added the word "clam." After tinkering with the sound for a while,
group settled on the "Ku Klux Klan." The selection of the name, chance though it was, had a great deal to do with
the Klan's early success. Something about the sound aroused curiosity and gave the fledgling club an immediate air of mystery,
as did the initials K.K.K., which were soon to take on such terrifying significance.
Soon after the founders named the Klan, they decided to a bit of showing off and so disguised themselves in sheets and
galloped their horses through the quiet streets of little Pulaski. Their ride created such a stir that the men decided to
adopt the sheets as the official regalia of the Ku Klux Klan, and they added to the effect by making grotesque masks and tall
pointed hats. The founders also performed elaborate initiation ceremonies for new members. Their ceremony was similar to the
hazing popular in college fraternities and consisted of blindfolding the candidate, subject him to a series of silly oaths
and rough handling, and finally bringing him before a "royal alter" where he was to be invested with "royal
crown." The altar turned out to be a mirror and the crown two large donkey's ears. Ridiculous though it sounds today,
that was the high point of the earliest activities of the Ku Klux Klan.
Soon after the founders named the Klan, they decided to a bit of showing off and so disguised themselves in sheets
and galloped their horses through the quiet streets of little Pulaski. Their ride created such a stir that the men decided
to adopt the sheets as the official regalia of the Ku Klux Klan, and they added to the effect by making grotesque masks and
tall pointed hats. The founders also performed elaborate initiation ceremonies for new members. Their ceremony was similar
to the hazing popular in college fraternities and consisted of blindfolding the candidate, subject him to a series of silly
oaths and rough handling, and finally bringing him before a "royal alter" where he was to be invested with "royal
crown." The altar turned out to be a mirror and the crown two large donkey's ears. Ridiculous though it sounds today,
that was the high point of the earliest activities of the Ku Klux Klan.
Had that been all there was to the Ku Klux Klan, it probably would have disappeared as quietly as it was born. But
at some point in early 1866 the Club, enlarged with new members from nearby towns, began to have a chilling effect on local
blacks. The intimidating night rides were soon the centerpiece of the hooded order: bands of white-sheeted ghouls paid late
night visits to black homes, admonishing the terrified occupants to behave themselves and threatening more visits if they
didn't. It didn't take long for the threats to be converted into violence against blacks who insisted on exercising their
new rights and freedom. Before its six founders realized what had happened, the Ku Klux Klan had become something they may
not have originally intended--something deadly serious.
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