THE KU KLUX KLAN
Organization and Principles
Appellation
This Organization shall be styled and
denominated, the Order of the ***
Creed
We, the Order of the ***, reverentially acknowledge the majesty and supremacy of
the Divine Being, and recognize the goodness and providence of the same. And we
recognize our relation to the United States Government, the supremacy of the
Constitution, the Constitutional Laws thereof, and the Union of States
thereunder.
Character and objects of the Order
This is an institution of Chivalry, Humanity, Mercy, and Patriotism; embodying
in its genius and its principles all that is chivalric in conduct, noble in
sentiment, generous in manhood, and patriotic in purpose; its peculiar objects
being
First: To protect the weak, the innocent,
and the defenseless, from the indignities, wrongs, and outrages of the lawless,
the violent, and the brutal; to relieve the injured and oppressed; to succor
the suffering and unfortunate, and especially the widows and orphans of
Confederate soldiers.
Second: To protect and defend the
Constitution of the United States, and all laws passed in conformity thereto,
and to protect the States and the people thereof from all invasion from any
source whatever.
Third: To aid and assist in the execution
of all constitutional laws, and to protect the people from unlawful seizure,
and from trial except by their peers in conformity to the laws of the land.
Titles
Sec. 1. The officers of this Order shall consist of a Grand Wizard of the
Empire, and his ten Genii; a Grand Dragon of the Realm, and his eight Hydras; a
Grand Titan of the Dominion, and his six Furies; a Grand Giant of the Province,
and his four Goblins; a Grand Cyclops of the Den, and his two Night Hawks; a
Grand Magi, a Grand Monk, a Grand Scribe, a Grand Exchequer, a Grand Turk, and
a Grand Sentinel.
Sec. 2. The body politic of this Order
shall be known and designated as "Ghouls."
Territory and its Divisions
Sec. 1. The territory embraced within the jurisdiction of this Order shall be
coterminous with the States of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas,
Missouri, Kentucky, and Tennessee; all combined constituting the Empire.
Sec. 2. The Empire shall be divided into
four departments, the first to be styled the Realm, and coterminous with the
boundaries of the several States; the second to be styled the Dominion and to
be coterminous with such counties as the Grand Dragons of the several Realms
may assign to the charge of the Grand Titan. The third to be styled the
Province, and to be coterminous with the several counties; provided the Grand
Titan may, when he deems it necessary, assign two Grand Giants to one Province,
prescribing, at the same time, the jurisdiction of each. The fourth department
to be styled the Den, and shall embrace such part of a Province as the Grand
Giant shall assign to the charge of a Grand Cyclops...
Interrogations to be asked
1st. Have you ever been rejected, upon
application fro membership in the ***, or have you ever been expelled from the
same?
2d. Are you now, or have you ever been a
member of the Radical Republican party, or either of the organizations known as
the "loyal League" and the "Grand Army of the Republic?"
3d. Are you opposed to the principles and
policy of the Radical party, and to the Loyal League, and the Grand Army of the
Republic, so far as you are informed of the character and purposes of those
organizations?
4th. Did you belong to the Federal army
during the late war, and fight against the South during the existence of the
same?
5th. Are you opposed to negro equality,
both social and political?
6th. Are you in favor of a white man's
government in this country?
7th. Are you in
favor of Constitutional liberty, and a Government of equitable laws instead of
a Government of violence and oppression?
8th. Are you in
favor of maintaining the Consttitutional rights of the South?
9th. Are you in
favor of the re-enfranchisement and emancipation of the white men of the South,
and the restitution of the Southern people to all their rights, alike
proprietary, civil, and political?
10th. Do you
believe in the inalienable right of self-preservation of the people against the
exercise of arbitrary and unlicensed power?...
...9. The most profound and rigid secrecy
concerning any and everything that relates to the Order, shall at all times be
maintained.
10. Any member who shall reveal or betray
the secrets of this Order, shall suffer the extreme penalty of the law.
The End