Student Question
Why did the KKK target Elias, Joseph, and Openshaw in "The Five Orange Pips?"
Quick answer:
The Ku Klux Klan targeted Elias, Joseph, and Openshaw due to Elias taking important KKK papers when he left the United States in 1869, potentially exposing key members and harming the organization. Holmes theorizes that the Klan sought revenge against Elias for this act and extended their ruthlessness by targeting his family, leading to the deaths of Elias's brother and nephew.
We are not told for certain why the Ku Klux Klan wanted to kill these three men, but Holmes has a theory. He notes that the KKK started to fall apart right after the time that Colonel Elias Openshaw left the United States. This was in 1869. Holmes says that Elis took the KKK's papers with him when he left. The papers could have shown that various important Southerners were part of the KKK.
So the KKK seems to want to get revenge on Elias for taking their papers and harming their movement. Since they are so ruthless, they want to punish others in his family as well. That is why they kill his brother and nephew.
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