Excerpt: "With the onset of the Civil War in 1861, Pekin was divided between the pro-slavery element, who favored the Confederacy, and the abolitionist and pro-Union element. In the early days of the war, the secessionist organization known as the “Knights of the Golden Circle” (which was something of a precursor to the Ku Klux Klan), boldly worked in support of secession and slavery. The Centenary says the Knights were “aggressive and unprincipled,” and “those who believed in the Union spoke often in whispers in Pekin streets and were wary and often afraid.”
Read the article in its entirety:
http://www.pekintimes.com/lifestyle/x1393365210/From-the-history-room-The-Pekin-Public-Library
The Knights of the Golden Circle Research and Historical Archives
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Knights_of_the_Golden_Circle
http://knights-of-the-golden-circle.blogspot.com
http://knightsofthegoldencircle.webs.com
