Ku Klux Klan (KKK) nomenclature has evolved over the order's nearly 160 years of existence. The titles and designations were first laid out in the 1920s Kloran, setting out KKK terms and traditions. Like many KKK terms, this is a portmanteau term, formed from Klan and Koran.
Reconstruction period The sources of the rituals, titles and name of KKK may be found in antebellum college fraternities and secret societies such as the Kuklos Adelphon. Earlier source material, however, states, "The ceremony of initiation was borrowed from some of the features of the introduction of candidates of the long defunct Sons of Malta and other like societies, and was calculated to, and did provoke, much amusement for most of those, if not all, who were present," according to the 1907 Cyclopedia of Fraternities. J.C. Lester, one of the original members of the group, stated that the Klan rituals were "modeled on and embraced the leading features of the rituals of an order which has long been popular in many colleges and universities under various names" such as the Sons of Confucius or Guiasticutus but always styled and . Walter L. Fleming stated in a footnote to Lester's text that the contemporary (early twentieth century) Southern college fraternity that most nearly mirrored the early Klan was "known as Alpha Sigma Sigma" and the institution of snipe hunting.Lester, John C. Ku Klux Klan: Its Origin, Growth and Disbandment. Walter L. Fleming ed. New York: Neale, 1905. Texts of the first and second prescript as Appendices I and II, p. 60 The original prescript of the Ku Klux Klan was adopted by a convention in Nashville, Tennessee, in April 1867. A slightly revised edition appeared the next year.Lester, texts of the first and second prescript as Appendices I and II p. 133–176
Higher levels
In both prescripts there were four levels or "departments" of organization, above the basic level:
– constituting the whole area of the Klan's activities. This was led by the imperial wizard and his staff of ten , as well as a (treasurer) and , whose duty was to keep lists of the subordinate officers. The genii, and Scribe were appointed by the .Lester, pp. 136–137, 157–158 – while the role of realms was laid out in the first prescript, they were only identified as states in the second prescript. Realms were ruled by a who was assisted by eight , as well as a and a , whose duties were identical to those of the above officers on the imperial level. All officers were appointed by the grand dragon.Lester, pp. 136, 138, 155–156, 158–159. The states which made up the "empire" were Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee. – identified in the second prescript as "coterminous with such counties as the grand dragons of the several Realms shall assign" and "not exceed three in number for each congressional district".Lester, pp. 156, 158 The dominion was headed by a who was assisted by six , a grand exchequer and a grand scribe, all of whom were appointed by the grand titan.Lester, pp. 136, 138–139, 158, 159–160 – the second prescript identified a province as equivalent to a county. It was supervised by a , who was assisted by four , a grand exchequer, and a grand scribe, all of whom were appointed by the grand giant.Lester, p. 160
In the first prescript each officer is given the power to appoint deputies to organize realms, dominions, provinces and dens until the latter can elect their own officers.Lester, pp. 137–140 The grand wizard was to be elected by a majority of grand dragons, and each lower level was elected by a majority of the next lower level of officers (dragons were elected by titans, titans were elected by giants etc.), as soon as three units had been formed at each level (three dominions within a realm for grand dragon, three provinces within a dominion for grand titan, etc.).Lester, pp. 143–144 In the second prescript each officer appoints the lower officer with the approval of his superior.Lester, pp. 136, 141, 158, 159–160
Dens The were the basic level of organization for the Reconstruction Klan.Michael and Judy Ann Newton, eds. The Ku Klux Klan; an encyclopedia. Garland Reference Library of the Social Science Vol. 499. London and New York: Garland (1991) p. 160 In the original prescript, its chief officer was the , who appointed two , a , a , and a in addition to his grand scribe.Lester, p. 141 The grand cyclops, grand exchequer, grand magi (second officer) and (third officer) were elected by the body politic of the dens, identified as .Lester, pp. 141–143 In the second prescript the grand ensign is dispensed with, while the grand exchequer was appointed by the grand cyclops, who was now appointed by the grand giant. Only the grand magi and grand monk were elected by the ghouls.Lester, pp. 160–161, 165–166
The exact function of these officers and the meaning of the titles varied. The two nighthawks have been identified as couriers.Newton and Newton, p. 428 The grand sentinel was in charge of the "", an organization which is not otherwise elaborated upon in the prescripts, but apparently served as the den's security detail.Lester, pp. 143, 164Newton and Newton, p. 236 The grand turk was the den's "executive officer" and was charged with informing Klansmen of "all informal or irregular meetings" and helping the grand cyclops and the grand magi maintain the "control and government" of the Den.Lester, pp. 142, 163 The grand ensign's job was to take care of the Klan's flag.Lester, p. 143
Initiation rites The organ for initiation into the Klan was called the , composed of the grand cyclops, grand magi and grand monk. Upon the nomination of a new member by a current member, the committee would investigate the candidate's "antecedents and his past and present standings and connections" and would then pronounce the candidate "competent and worthy" to become a member. The grand turk would escort the candidate to an "outpost" where he would question him and administer a preliminary oath. After this the grand turk would conduct the candidate to the Den, where the grand cyclops would administer the final oath.Lester, pp.140–141, 142, 146–147 The second prescript elaborates that the candidate must have his left hand on the Bible and his right hand toward heaven and includes a ten-point "interrogation" that the candidate must answer satisfactorily in order to proceed with the final oath. The questions asked included: "are you now or have ever been a member of the Radical Republican Party, Loyal Leagues or Grand Army of the Republic? Did you fight with the Union Army during the Civil War? Do you believe in Negro equality?"Lester, pp.171–172
Tribunals A system of "judiciary" organs was created in each prescript. In the first the judiciary was divided into a , to try officers of the Klan, and a to try regular ghouls. In Art. IV Sec. 4, the grand giant is charged with conducting the Council of Yahoo, but Art. VI Sec. 2 states that the council will be composed of officers of the equivalent rank as the accused and presided over by an officer of the next higher rank. A trial of the grand wizard would be held by a meeting of all the grand dragons, the most senior grand dragon presidingLester, pp. 140, 144 It is unclear if these tribunals were ever functional.Newton and Newton, p. 139
The second prescript presented an entirely different judiciary, with officers of the first three levels tried by three judges, appointed by the chief officer of the given jurisdiction, and the officers and attaches of the headquarters (presumably the genii, squires, and furies). Trials of den officers would be conducted at the provincial headquarters and include five judges, and ordinary ghouls to be tried at their dens with seven judges. As before a trial of the grand wizard would be conducted by the most senior grand dragon, this time with a quorum of seven dragons. All defendants had the right of appeal to the next higher court, and the proceeding was to be governed as "ordinary court martials".Lester, pp. 16–18
Miscellaneous In addition to the structure outlined above, there are documented cases of organs of slightly different nomenclature from Reconstruction. For instance, a group of twenty men, who were arrested on April 6, 1868, at their "den" at the corners of Beale Street and Hernando street in Memphis, was called the . The constitution that the police captured outlined an organization with a grand cyclops, vice-grand cyclops, and secretary and openly advocated assassination of the "murders and robbers" now ruling the South. Members were bound to participate in the activities of the order, even if it meant leaving the "embraces" of their wife.Newton and Newton, p. 348George Henry Townsend. The Handbook of the year. London: Wyman & Sons, 1868 p.293Allen Trelease. White terror: the Ku Klux Klan conspiracy and Southern Reconstruction. Greenwood Press, 1979 p. 37The complete constitution, which identifies the group as part of the KKK, was printed in Nashville Union and Dispatch. Vol XXXIV #105, April 9, 1868 A , composed of delegates from Spartanburg, York, Union, and Chester counties in South Carolina and a few from North Carolina, met in Spartanburg, South Carolina and declared that no more raids or whippings would be conducted by members of the Klan except by their order and that the penalty for violating this order would be 100 lashes for the first offense and death for the second.Report of the Joint Select Committee Appointed to Inquire Into the Condition of Affairs in the Late Insurrectionary States, So Far as Regards the Execution of Laws, and the Safety of the Lives and Property of the Citizens of the United States and Testimony Taken: Report of the Joint committee, Views of the minority and Journal of the Select committee, April 20, 1871 – Feb. 19, 1872. Washington; GPO 1872 p. 48
An attempt was apparently made to make ghoul titles for other officers in Maury County, Tennessee, in 1867 and early 1868, but the result was only confusion. Additionally a "" notified Klansmen in Lebanon, Tennessee, to cease night riding and the order was apparently effective in restoring calm to Wilson County, Tennessee.Newton and Newton, pp. 236–237 In some early reconstruction Klan units there was also a , whose role as a guard of the den was later subsumed by the Nighthawks.
Second Era The Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Inc. which existed from 1915 to 1944, elaborated on the original prescript in its Kloran and in the constitution and by-laws adopted in 1922. Some titles and jurisdictional designations were carried over from the Reconstruction prescripts intact or slightly modified, and others were original with Imperial Wizard Simmons.
Jurisdictions – this designation included both the Klan's geographical domain – up to "the whole world" – but also in a "spiritual sense" all the secrets and workings of the order. All things outside this empire were designated the and non-members .Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Inc Constitution and Laws of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Inc. Atlanta, Georgia: Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Inc. 1921 [pref. November 1922] pp. 12–14 The Klan was a military organization and its commander in chief was the imperial wizard, whose power was supreme "within the limits of this Constitution" and whose edicts, decisions and rulings were binding on all members of the order.Constitution p. 9 He had a staff of .Constitution p. 23 The empire had an assembly or convocation known as a Klonvokation.Constitution p.12