Windsong, I have no information on any acceptable reason for it's re-emergence other than to say it was apparent that others, including possibly those from the original band, found, as I wrote earlier, that Lord Acton was right, and that as the northern Occupation forces were withdrawn, the Klan began to fill the vacumn, left by departing carpet baggers, skalawags and black politicians. Certainally within a short period after the end of the occupation, whatever acceptable purpose the Klan might have had, was washed away by it's subsequent actions.

As for how historians "research" the past, I am somewhat sceptical about any facet of history that points in only one direction:

1. If we state that "History is written by the victors" can we then believe any historian's view of the past?

2. If we seek to tell both sides of the story to get at the truth, then aren't we telling lies half the time?

3. While the above to questions demand less of an answer than a gut-check, I tend to believe that if all historians, like economists, were laid end to end, they would still end up pointing in different directions...