What were the aims of the Ku Klux Klan when it first formed?

When the
Ku Klux Klan first formed in the South, its purpose was to reverse the improvements
African-Americans received as a result of Reconstruction. White southerners werent happy that
African-Americans had the same rights as white people had. They didnt like that African-American
males could vote and run for office. They werent happy the former slaves were free to leave the
plantation and pursue other economic opportunities. Thus, the Ku Klux Klan developed ways to
take away or minimize the rights African-Americans had received.

Once
Reconstruction ended, the Ku Klux Klan began to intimidate African-Americans. They threatened
them with the loss of their jobs. They hinted that there would be violence against
African-Americans and their property if they exercised their rights. In some cases,
African-Americans were killed. They developed the poll tax and literacy test to keep
African-American from voting. They used the grandfather clause as a way to exempt whites from
the literacy test and poll tax. Eventually, the Ku Klux Klan controlled politics in the South.
As more whites voted, they vote for candidates of the Democratic Party. Thus, the Democratic
Party controlled southern politics for many years. The Ku Klux Klan wanted to minimize the
rights that African-Americans achieved as a result of Reconstruction.