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How did Nathan Bedford Forrest describe his connection to the Ku Klux Klan in his congressional testimony?
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Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest.
When Nathan Bedford Forrest was ordered to appear before a congressional hearing in 1871 regarding the activities of the Ku Klux Klan, he provided testimony that was described as sometimes contradictory, during which he denied his membership in the organization.1
Despite this denial, historical records identify Forrest as having served as the first grand wizard of the original Klan, a secret hate organization that utilized terror to pursue a white supremacist agenda during the Reconstruction era.12