Q: Was the democratic party associated with the KKK?

A: History shows that the Ku Klux Klan was the terrorist arm of the Democrat Party. This ugly fact about the Democrat Party is detailed in the book, A Short History of Reconstruction, (Harper & Row Publishers, Inc., 1990) by Dr. Eric Foner, the renown liberal historian who is the DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University. As a further testament to his impeccable credentials, Professor Foner is only the second person to serve as president of the three major professional organizations: the Organization of American Historians, American Historical Association, and Society of American Historians.

Democrats in the last century did not hide their connections to the Ku Klux Klan. Georgia-born Democrat Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan wrote on page 21 of the September 1928 edition of the Klan's The Kourier Magazine: "I have never voted for any man who was not a regular Democrat. My father … never voted for any man who was not a Democrat. My grandfather was …the head of the Ku Klux Klan in reconstruction days…. My great-grandfather was a life-long Democrat…. My great-great-grandfather was…one of the founders of the Democratic party."

Dr. Foner in his book explores the history of the origins of Ku Klux Klan and provides a chilling account of the atrocities committed by Democrats against Republicans, black and white.

On page 146 of his book, Professor Foner wrote: "Founded in 1866 as a Tennessee social club, the Ku Klux Klan spread into nearly every Southern state, launching a 'reign of terror' against Republican leaders black and white." Page 184 of his book contains the definitive statements: "In effect, the Klan was a military force serving the interests of the Democratic party, the planter class, and all those who desired the restoration of white supremacy. It aimed to destroy the Republican party's infrastructure, undermine the Reconstruction state, reestablish control of the black labor force, and restore racial subordination in every aspect of Southern life."

Heartbreaking are Professor Foner's recitations of the horrific acts of terror inflicted by Democrats on black and white Republicans. Recounted on pages 184-185 of his book is one such act of terror: "Jack Dupree, a victim of a particularly brutal murder in Monroe County, Mississippi - assailants cut his throat and disemboweled him, all within sight of his wife, who had just given birth to twins - was 'president of a republican club' and known as a man who 'would speak his mind.'"

"White gangs roamed New Orleans, intimidating blacks and breaking up Republican meetings," wrote Dr. Foner on page 146 of his book. On page 186, he wrote: "An even more extensive 'reign of terror' engulfed Jackson, a plantation county in Florida's panhandle. 'That is where Santa has his seat,' remarked a black clergyman; all told over 150 persons were killed, among them black leaders and Jewish merchant Samuel Fleischman, resented for his Republican views and for dealing fairly with black customers."
The Democrats started the Ku Klux Klan to lynch and terrorize blacks. The Democrats fought to prevent the passage of every civil rights law beginning with the civil rights laws of the 1860s, and continuing with the civil rights laws of the 1950s and 1960s. During the civil rights era of the 1960s, Dr. King was fighting the Democrats who stood in the school house doors, turned skin-burning fire hoses on blacks and let loose vicious dogs. Democrat President John F. Kennedy is lauded as a proponent of civil rights. However, Kennedy voted against the 1957 Civil Rights Act while he was a senator, as did Democrat Sen. Al Gore Sr. And after he became President, Kennedy was opposed to the 1963 March on Washington by Dr. King that was organized by A. Phillip Randolph, who was a black Republican. President Kennedy, through his brother Atty. Gen. Robert Kennedy, had Dr. King wiretapped and investigated by the FBI on suspicion of being a Communist in order to undermine Dr. King.

In March of 1968, while referring to Dr. King's leaving Memphis, Tenn., after riots broke out where a teenager was killed, Democrat Sen. Robert Byrd (W.Va.), a former member of the Ku Klux Klan, called Dr. King a "trouble-maker" who starts trouble, but runs like a coward after trouble is ignited. A few weeks later, Dr. King returned to Memphis and was assassinated on April 4, 1968.
Contrary to the false assertions by Democrats, the racist "Dixiecrats" did not all migrate to the Republican Party. "Dixiecrats" declared that they would rather vote for a "yellow dog" than vote for a Republican because the Republican Party was know as the party for blacks. Today, some of those "Dixiecrats" continue their political careers as Democrats, including Robert Byrd, who is well known for having been a "Keagle" in the Ku Klux Klan.

Another former "Dixiecrat" is former Democrat Sen. Ernest Hollings, who put up the Confederate flag over the state Capitol when he was the governor of South Carolina. There was no public outcry when Democrat Sen. Christopher Dodd praised Byrd as someone who would have been "a great senator for any moment," including the Civil War. Yet Democrats denounced then-Senate GOP leader Trent Lott for his remarks about Sen. Strom Thurmond (R.-S.C.). Thurmond was never in the Ku Klux Klan and defended blacks against lynching and the discriminatory poll taxes imposed on blacks by Democrats. If Byrd and Thurmond were alive during the Civil War, and Byrd had his way, Thurmond would have been lynched.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Was_the_democratic_party_associated_with_the_KKK

NBRA

The National Black Republican Association has issued a petition to Barack Hussein Obama, the leader of the Democratic Party, requesting that Obama issue a formal proclamation of apology for the Democratic Party's 150-year history of racism.

We recognize that this is likely too much to ask of the oh so "racially sensitive" Democrats who want us to ignore their racist past and failed socialism that have caused so much harm to black Americans. So we will not hold our breath waiting for their response.

Petition to Barack Hussein Obama for a Proclamation of Apology for the Democratic Party's 150-year History of Racism

We, black American citizens of the United States and the National Black Republican Association, declare and assert:

WHEREAS, the healing of wounds begins with an apology, and the Democratic Party has never apologized for their horrific atrocities and racist practices against black Americans during the past 150 years, nor held accountable for the residual impact that those atrocities and practices are having on us today,

WHEREAS, as a result of the 1898 Wilmington Race Riot Commission Report of May 31, 2006, the North Carolina Democratic Party issued a unanimous apology on January 20, 2007 for the Democratic Party's 1898 murderous rampage against blacks,

WHEREAS, inner-city minister Rev. Wayne Perryman wrote a book, "Unfounded Loyalty: An In-depth Look Into The Love Affair Between Blacks and Democrats", and filed a lawsuit against the Democratic Party on December 10, 2004, but, after admitting their history of racism under oath in court, the Democrats refused to apologize,

WHEREAS, history shows that the Democratic Party through its racist agenda and "States' Rights" claim to own slaves, sought to protect and preserve the institution of slavery from 1792 to 1865, thus enslaving millions of African Americans, while the Republican Party was started in 1854 as the anti-slavery party, fought to free blacks from slavery and championed civil rights for blacks,

WHEREAS, ......."

http://www.nationalblackrepublicans.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=pages.DYK-OBAMA-CanYouSpareAPROCLAMATION

google "Dixiecrat"

I hate both parties.

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Great couple of posts Tx!

It says quite alot for the Political Savvy of the Democratic party to be able to shake such a factual stigma. They were so in love with Senator Byrd, that no one ever allowed the facts to come out about his being a former KKK member, or maybe even an officer in the Klan.

"The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is."

- Winston Churchill

What does is say about Trent Lott?

Both political parties supported the KKK and the KKK was happy to support any candidature regardless of party that furthered their causes.

Comparing our modern parties to the issues of the past is just pointless. Why not just say now that the democrats are wussies, the republicans are all old boys, and the tea party are just re-branded neocons.

I have no party affiliation.

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Wow, it's amazing all those Ku Kluxers were able to pass the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, huh ? The real fact is, you are not interested in an accurate and intellectual knowledge of history, what you are interested in is a Know-Nothing smear job, where you leave out an entire chapter of US History where these bigots and racists leave the Democratic Party and become the foundation for today's Republican Party. Why are you ignoring that part of our history in your racist smear? And perhaps if you have got a few extra bucks, you could buy a history book, and tell us all where all those Dixiecrats ended up? And perhaps you could explain this ?

Progressive Party (United States, 1912)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


The Progressive Party of 1912 was an American political party. It was formed after a split in the Republican Party between President William Howard Taft and former President Theodore Roosevelt.

The party also became known as the Bull Moose Party when former President Roosevelt boasted "I'm fit as a bull moose," after being shot in an assassination attempt prior to his 1912 campaign speech in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Inspiration for the party's beginnings may have come from Roosevelt's friend and supporter, U.S. Senator Thomas Kearns of Utah, who in October of 1906 broke off from the Republican Party and started the American Party in that state. This was a direct response to Mormon church leadership influence on the Senatorial elections between 1902 to 1905.[1]



Roosevelt retired as President in 1909. He had selected Taft, his Secretary of War to succeed him, and Taft easily won the 1908 presidential election. Roosevelt became disappointed by Taft's increasingly conservative policies. By 1912, the two were openly hostile, and Roosevelt decided to seek the presidency.

Taft was already being challenged by Senator Robert La Follette of Wisconsin, but Roosevelt jumped in late (much to La Follette's annoyance).
Roosevelt far outpolled Taft in the primaries. But Taft controlled the party organization and the convention, which renominated him in June.[2] Before the final vote, Roosevelt had said he would accept nomination from a new "honestly elected" convention. He ordered his delegates to abstain from voting in rebuke of Taft's "steamroller tactics". The next day, they met to form a new party. California governor Hiram Johnson became chairman, and a new convention was scheduled for August.[3] Publisher Frank A. Munsey provided much of the funds for the new organization; financier George W. Perkins, became executive secretary.

Roosevelt's ambitions received two setbacks in the interim. First, not many Republicans joined the new party. Only 5 of the 15 "progressive" Republican Senators declared support, and there was comparable reluctance among Republican Representatives, governors, and committeemen, and the publishers and editors of Republican newspapers. Many of Roosevelt's closest political allies supported Taft, including his son-in-law, Nicholas Longworth (though Roosevelt's daughter Alice stuck with her father, causing a permanent chill in her marriage). For men like Longworth, expecting a future in politics, bolting the party was simply too radical a step. However, many independent reformers still signed up. Two important activists were Gifford Pinchot and his brother Amos Pinchot.

Second, in July the Democrats nominated Woodrow Wilson, their most articulate and prominent progressive. As a leading educator and political scientist, he qualified as the ideal "expert" to handle affairs of state, and attracted many of the independent progressives Roosevelt had been counting on.

Even some Republican progressives endorsed Wilson over Roosevelt as the best man to beat Taft, including La Follette and two other Senators.
[edit]The Progressive convention and platform

Despite these obstacles, the August convention opened with great enthusiasm. Over 2,000 delegates attended, including many women. Famed social worker Jane Addams gave a seconding speech for Roosevelt's nomination. Ironically, though, Roosevelt insisted on excluding black Republicans from the South, whom he regarded as a corrupt element (though not those from other areas).[4]

Roosevelt was nominated by acclamation, with Johnson as his running mate.


16-page campaign booklet with party platform
The main work of the convention was the platform, which set forth the new party's appeal to the voters. It included a broad range of social and political reforms advocated by progressives.[4]

In the social sphere the platform called for
A National Health Service to include all existing government medical agencies.
Social insurance, to provide for the elderly, the unemployed, and the disabled.
Limited injunctions in strikes.
Farm relief.
Workers' compensation for work-related injuries.
An inheritance tax.
A Constitutional amendment to allow a Federal income tax.
The political reforms proposed included
Women's suffrage.
Direct election of Senators.
Primary elections for state and federal nominations.
The platform also urged states to adopt measures for "direct democracy", including:
The recall election (citizens may remove an elected official before the end of his term).
The referendum (citizens may decide on a law by popular vote).
The initiative (citizens may propose a law by petition and enact it by popular vote).
Judicial recall (when a court declares a law unconstitutional, the citizens may override that ruling by popular vote).

However, the main theme of the platform was an attack on the domination of politics by business interests, which allegedly controlled both established parties. The platform asserted that

Quote:

To destroy this invisible Government, to dissolve the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day.[5] To that end, the platform called for Strict limits and disclosure requirements on political campaign contributions. Registration of lobbyists. Recording and publication of Congressional committee proceedings.

Besides these measures, the platform called for reductions in the tariff, limitations on naval armaments by international agreement, and improvements to inland waterways.

The biggest controversy at the convention was over the platform section dealing with trusts and monopolies such as Standard Oil. The convention approved a strong "trust-busting" plank, but Roosevelt had it replaced with language that spoke only of "strong National regulation" and "permanent active [Federal] supervision" of major corporations. This retreat shocked reformers like Pinchot, who blamed it on Perkins (a director of United States Steel). The result was a deep split in the new party that was never resolved.[4]

In general the platform expressed Roosevelt's "New Nationalism": a strong government to regulate industry, protect the middle and working classes, and carry on great national projects. This New Nationalism was paternalistic in direct contrast to Woodrow Wilson's individualistic philosophy of "New Freedom".


Roosevelt concocted a heady brew in 1912 speeches
Roosevelt also favored a vigorous foreign policy, including strong military power. Though the platform called for limiting naval armaments, it also recommended the construction of two new battleships per year, much to the distress of outright pacifists such as Jane Addams.
[edit]Election of 1912

See also: United States presidential election, 1912
Roosevelt ran a vigorous campaign, but the campaign was short of money, as the business interests which had supported Roosevelt in 1904 either backed the other candidates or stayed neutral. Roosevelt was also handicapped by the fact that he had already served nearly two full terms as President, and thus was challenging the "no third term" rule.

In the end Roosevelt fell far short of winning. He drew 4.1 million votes - 27%, well behind Wilson's 42% but ahead of Taft's 23%. (6% went to Socialist Eugene Debs). He received 88 electoral votes, compared to 435 for Wilson and 8 for Taft.[6]

This was nonetheless the best showing by any third party since the modern two-party system was established in 1864. Roosevelt was the only third-party candidate to outpoll a candidate of an established party.

Many historians have concluded that the Republican split allowed Wilson to win the presidency. Others argue that even without the split, Wilson would have won (as he did in 1916).

In addition to Roosevelt's Presidential campaign, hundreds of other candidates sought office as Progressives in 1912.

21 ran for governor. Over 200 ran for U.S. Representative (the exact number is not clear because there were many Republican-Progressive fusion candidacies, and some candidates ran with the labels of ad hoc groups such as "Bull Moose Republicans" or (in Pennsylvania) the "Washington Party".
On October 14th, 1912, Theodore Roosevelt took a bullet to the chest in Milwaukee, Wisc., and still delivered his 90-minute presidential campaign speech as planned. The would-be assassin, John Schrank, claimed the ghost of William McKinley had appeared to him in a dream and ordered him to avenge his death by killing Roosevelt. Had it not been for the 50-page speech and steel eyeglass case he was carrying in his jacket, the bullet would have gone deeper into his chest and penetrated his lung. When asked if this would halter his election campaign, he said to the reporter "I'm fit as a bull moose," which inspired the party's emblem.[7]

In California, the state Republican party was controlled by governor and Roosevelt ally Hiram Johnson, the Vice-Presidential nominee, so progressives there stayed with the Republican label (with one exception).

Most of the Progressive candidates were in New York, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Massachusetts. Only a few were in the South.

Ah, so Byrd's history was like, a mystery, huh?

Yeah, because Trent Lott said a few nice things about a retiring Senator at his Birthday party, HE is branded as a KKK supporter. Kind of a stretch.

That said, I DO NOT condone any racism from either party, and I'm not a FAN of either party. They're all a bunch of n'er-do-wells as far as I'm concerned. What does bother me is seeing the Dems act as if they are the only friend that minorities ever had. As I said, it displays lots of great political prowess on their part. You know, that political savvy that allows a politician to twist or obscure the truth. There's plenty of this savvy on both sides.

Can we get some of that?

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For years until FDR, all blacks voted Republican because Lincoln freed the slaves.

It is a historical fact that the Democratic party in Memphis founded the KKK, and they have been trying to hide it, like all politicians hide everything that makes them look bad, instead of saying "yeah, we did it, but obviously our actions since then show we have learned" or some other statement.

Instead, they pretend it didn't happen, or worse-- try to "revise" history and hide it.

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It is an odd fact of history that today's Democratic Party is actually the liberal wing of the Republican Party that dominated the GOP from the Civil War until T Roosevelt split it off, and that today's Republican Party is actually the descendent of the conservative "Dixiecrat" wing of the Democratic Party that existed from pre-Civil War days until the Civil Rights era.

Who is revising history? What utter balderdash. Anyone who wants to go to the trouble of getting themselves educated easily finds out that the party system in America was turned inside out due to religious bigotry. You my friend, would not like the old Republican Party, they were the liberals of their era and have little in common with today's Republicans, and the same goes for the Democrats - both parties have been turned inside out over the years, which any ninth grade history book will tell you. You seem to think these parties are some linear ideologies, like Communists or Nazis, the fact is, they are not, and both parties have undergone massive changes in who they are and what they stand for. If Teddy Roosevelt or Abraham Lincoln were alive today, they would be pilloried by Rush and Beck every hour.