The first Ku Klux Klan was a right-wing extremist organization which emerged in the Southern States during the Reconstruction era, from the 1860s decade until the late 1970s. They fought for the purification of the American society, they were white supremacists and conducted attacks against African American leaders and civilian population. They were characterized by wearing white gowns and conical hats, like the man in the image. They acted at a local level but many groups in diverse locations supported the movement.
The second KKK flourished in the early and mid 1920s. It was a more formal organization, with registered members and structures at the state and national levels. They used the power of mass media, to perform marketing activities aiming to mythologize the first KKK. Supremacy was promoted not just over the black population, but they also opposed Jewish and Catholics (as the movement was related mainly to Protestan communitiees). They used the white costume again as a symbol.
