Final answer:
During the Reconstruction era, Klansmen often acted out roles similar to Regulators, originally seen as restorers of law and order. Their reputation varied regionally, from being relatively benign where they were inactive, to inflicting terror through violence where they were more active.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to Parsons, during the Reconstruction era, Klansmen acted out parts that can be likened to Regulators. Regulators were volunteers who believed they were restoring law and order. This view of the Klan persisted in some areas where they had little violent activity. However, in other regions where the Klan was more active, they performed acts of extreme violence which tainted their reputation with the terror they inflicted through acts like lynchings. The Klan, along with other white supremacist groups, engaged in this behavior to deter Black people from exercising their Reconstruction-era citizenship rights and freedoms, and to support white Democratic Party victories.
White southerners during Reconstruction, many of whom felt humiliated by the upheaval of the traditional social order, saw groups like the Klan as a necessary means to restore their pre-war lifestyle, which held Black people in subjugation. This rationale for the existence of such groups contributed to the perpetuation of a racially divided society and continued acts of intimidation and violence against those who sought to improve the lives of African Americans.