On April 24, 1867, the Ku Klux Klan held its first national meeting at the Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1865 by Confederate veterans as a secret society, the Klan rapidly evolved into a violent white supremacist organization targeting newly freed Black Americans, Reconstruction politicians, and allies. The 1867 meeting formalized its structure into a so-called “Invisible Empire,” with a hierarchy led by a “Grand Wizard.” This moment marked the transition from localized terror to a nationally coordinated campaign of racial violence and intimidation during the Reconstruction era—a legacy that would echo for generations.
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