They sang the same hymns, gospel, and popular songs that everyone else sang.

Their history is complex; the answer to Jack's question is not simple. Purposes and actions changed; organized in 1866-1867, their first actions were against Reconstruction and carpetbaggers from the North, and to support White rule. This group almost died out about the time of WW1.

During the 1920s and 1930s the target became immigrants from Europe, orientals, and Blacks moving north and west, but in general, Catholics and Jews were included as targets. Membership is estimated at some 5 million, the peak of their membership. Even in the Canadian West, thousands became members.

After the beginning of the Depression, numbers dwinded and by WW2 they were again a small group of a few thousands, active against desegregation and equal rights. This is the period most of us think of when the KKK is mentioned.