From 1868 through the early 1870s, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) operated as a loosely organized group of political and social terrorists. The Klan's objectives included the political defeat of the Republican Party and the preservation of absolute white supremacy in response to the recently acquired civil and political rights by Southern Blacks after the Civil War (1861–65). They found more success in achieving their political goals than their social ones during the Reconstruction era. In Georgia, conservative whites, disheartened by their political setbacks in 1867, sought new methods to overcome their Republican adversaries and control the recently enfranchised freedpeople. For many, the KKK and its public political arm, the Young Men's Democratic Clubs, provided an avenue for action. In February and March 1868, General Forrest visited Atlanta from Tennessee multiple times, meeting with prominent Georgia conservatives. Forrest likely played a role in organizing a statewide Klan structure during these visits. By the summer of 1868, the Klan had become widespread across Georgia. (Source: "Ku Klux Klan in the Reconstruction Era," Jonathan M. Bryant)

What were the goals of the Ku Klux Klan? Check all that apply.

a) To prevent Republican candidates from winning.
b) To regain control over African Americans in the South.
c) To ensure white citizens remained more powerful than African Americans.
d) To maintain the efforts of Congress during Reconstruction.
e) To prevent the Democratic Party from becoming established.