 Early histories were based on mainstream sources of the time, and since the late 20th century, other histories have been written drawing from records and analysis of members of the chapters in social histories.The KKK was a secret organization; apart from a few top leaders, most members never identified as such and wore masks in public.Investigators in the 1920s used KKK publicity, court cases, exposés by disgruntled Klansmen, newspaper reports, and speculation to write stories about what the Klan was doing.