My boyfriends grandmother told me that the kkk started as a group to stop men from running around on their wives. I'm 99.99% that this is bullshit but she swears by this. Please historians of reddit lets hear the real reason.
I'm 99.99% that this is bullshit but she swears by this.
Your 99.99% certainty is indeed correct. The KKK was not started as a group to stop men from cheating on their wives.
On December 24, 1865 in Pulaski, Tennessee, 6 former Confederate officers were frustrated with the forced alteration of their culture as decided by Reconstruction. So they came up with a fraternity where they could keep the Confederate spirit alive. They named it the Kuklox Clan (A bastardization of the Greek for circle). At this time, they didn't really have the hierarchy or organization that we think of today the "Invisible Empire" of the KKK had not been founded. But this was the era where they would ride around causing a ruckus, particularly aimed at newly freed slaves who they viewed as indicative of the fall of the Confederacy.
The KKK developed the idea for the hoods and costumes to conceal their identities and claimed to be composed of the ghosts of the soldiers who died for the Confederacy, as a part of their desire for enigma and secrecy. They would target black Americans and white people who supported black rights, often threatening violence or actually inflicting it. They would often burn down houses where black people lived, with no concern for the people inside, and they would kill black people and leave their bodies in the road as an intimidation tactic.
In 1867 the KKK held a national rally for all of their chapters and developed their familiar hierarchy. They announced all of their beliefs in their Prescript, which were generally the same beliefs white supremacists still hold today - essentially, white people are under attack, poor us. They came up with an oath which was a perversion of the Ironclad Oath of Reconstruction which espoused their dedication to white supremacy, and they elected Nathan Bedford Forrest as their first Grand Wizard. Nathan Bedford Forrest would radically expand the group and organize their violence in a more targeted way.
TL;DR The KKK was founded as a racist organization that existed for no purpose beyond tormenting and attacking black people and those who supported them. They never had any innocent intentions.