Which organization formed in 1866 used terror to deny civil rights to African Americans?

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

Answer: (B)

During Reconstruction, groups used terror to deny African Americans their newly won rights. The Ku Klux Klan formed in 1866 as a secret society of former Confederate soldiers and immediately turned to intimidation and violence to suppress Black political participation and restore white supremacy. They employed lynching, beatings, arson, and threats to deter freed people, teachers, and Republican supporters, aiming to undermine Reconstruction efforts and the protections those efforts sought to guarantee. The other options aren’t organizations formed in 1866 for this purpose—Black Codes were state laws, the Freedmen’s Bureau was a federal agency created to aid freedpeople, and the Underground Railroad was a prewar network helping enslaved people escape to freedom.