The second Ku Klux Klan was founded in 1915 by William Joseph Simmons and modeled after the first KKK after the Civil War. It promoted white supremacy and was anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic, anti-Semitic, and anti-black. At its peak, the second KKK had over 4 million members and engaged in violent activities such as lynchings, murders, and bombings targeting African Americans and supporters of civil rights. The second KKK declined in the 1920s and disbanded in 1944.