Many people would be shocked to know that at least five U.S. Presidents were members of the Ku Klux Klan. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, ”the KKK started in the summer of 1866 when six ex-Confederate officers decided to organize a social club. They decided to use the term “kuklos,” which means circle. After adding the word klan, the name Ku Klux Klan was born.
In his book, “Setting the Record Straight: American History in Black & White,” David Barton details the political history of the KKK, noting that the original targets of the Klan were Republicans, both black and white, and that between 1882 and 1964, 3,446 blacks and 1,297 whites were lynched by the Klan.