The original Ku Klux Klan rose up in the years after the Civil War, when white southerners sought to suppress the formerly enslaved Black population.
After its decline, the KKK did not stay dead, roaring back to life during World War I. And its reach was far greater the second time, with the KKK securing political power all the way up to control of the Oregon Legislature.
The rebirth is told in Linda Gordon's book The Second Coming of the KKK - The Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s and the American Political Tradition.
The author joins us to describe the many factors that led to the Klan's 20th-Century resurgence.