You Were Lied To About..........Nathan Bedford Forrest

 

Nathan Bedford Forrest founded the Ku Klux Klan! Forrest was the Grand Wizard of the KKK!

Whenever a controversy concerning Confederate cavalry general Nathan Bedford Forrest arises these statements are sure to appear in print, in electronic media, and on broadcast news.[1] These statements have been repeated so often that they have been accorded the status of facts although no one ever bothers to cite the historical source which addresses the truth of the statements. If it is true that Forrest was a founder of the Klan or that he was head of the entire organization there should be some source, some body of material, some historic record which could be cited to prove the assertion. Historians, one would think, would be at the forefront of those calling for proof of such statements; after all, historians are required to provide footnotes in which their sources are cited.

Historians are supposed to be guardians of the truthfulness of the representations of the past, but, in the case of Forrest historians are often among those making claims that Forrest had a close connection with the Klan, including being a founder and leader of the organization. None of the various news sources ever cite proof for their statements and historians often make use of assumptions and weak secondary, even tertiary sources for their assertions.

No serious historian argues that Forrest organized the Ku Klux Klan. The Klan was begun by six men, whose names are known, in Pulaski, Tennessee. Intended to be a social club, the Klan quickly adopted political goals and began to oppose the Radical Republican plan for Reconstruction. Popular news media today ignore these well established facts, charging that Forrest founded the Klan, and academic historians do not speak out to correct the misinformation.

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