that violence was not the reason the group was founded. It is true that all groups and club must go through changes, but many changes of the changes which the Ku Klux Klan endured were not necessarily the best for everyone. Shortly after the Ku Klux Klan's first ride, its members began to cause a major impact on society. Many members decided that the Klan could be used as a way of discrimination. Many members also saw the Ku Klux Klan as a way for the South to regain control and keep the "Northern folk" out. Another reason the Ku Klux Klan changed is that members broke off from the original den and created their own dens. At this point in time any "roughouser" could join the Ku Klux Klan for only ten dollars. By 1879 the membership of the Ku Klux Klan had exceeded eighty-five thousand members. Many people believe this is the point when the Ku Klux Klan became uncontrollable and its ramifications engulfed the entire nation. Visitors to the town of Pulaski also inspired the growth of the Ku Klux Klan. These visitors went back home after their trips and began sitting up their own dens and branches of the Ku Klux Klan. More that a dozen kindred groups were set up during this period. All of these groups were deeply entrenched in the Southern states. Though the growth of the Klan was steady, it was undirected and undisciplined causing many of the dens to become violent and unruly. The Ku Klux Klan had a great deal of external help in outgrowing the small town of Pulaski. Newspaper and magazine articles added fuel by publishing propaganda and stories about the mysterious order which had taken over the south. Indeed the Ku Klux Klan had surpassed the expectations of the original members. Members of the Ku Klux Klan saw the great increase in growth of the group and decided to have a national convention to help maintain order within the group. The Ku Klux Klan National Convention was held in April of 1867 at the Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville, ...
