What secret society, formed by white Southerners in 1866, used terror and violence to deny civil rights to African Americans?

• A. Black Codes
• B. Ku Klux Klan
• C. Underground Railroad
• D. Freedmen's Bureau

Answer: (B)

During Reconstruction, white Southerners sought to reassert control over freed people and resist federal efforts to protect their rights. A secret white supremacist group organized in 1866 used terror, intimidation, and violence to deny African Americans civil rights, voting, and political power. This is the Ku Klux Klan. It stands apart from the other options: Black Codes were laws aimed at restricting Black rights, the Underground Railroad was a network that helped enslaved people escape to freedom, and the Freedmen’s Bureau was a federal agency created to aid newly freed people. The Klan’s methods of terror and violent intimidation were specifically aimed at reversing Reconstruction gains and maintaining white supremacy.