Although it is difficult to gauge exact numbers, most historians agree that at the height of its popularity the Klan had as many as five million members, who included not only the group's traditional base of southerners but also midwestern farmers and factory workers in places like Detroit, Michigan, and Cleveland, Ohio. Also alarming was the revival of the Ku Klux Klan, a white terrorist group that had been active in the South during the Reconstruction Era (the period following the American Civil War; 186165). Omitting the word would suggest nothing about its future. New York: Twenty-First Century Books, 1997. The old Klan had targeted the newly freed African Americans of the South, as well as a few people who supported them. One of his first investigative efforts was against the Ku Klux Klan. Also contributing to the Klan's loss of popularity was the exposure of some of its leaders as being corrupt. With the invention of technologies such as the freezer,. Radio reaches a continental audience. Speeches and lectures were also broadcast. For permission requests, please contact NHC Education Programs. //