The 1920’s marked a period of great racial tension throughout American Society, with the period often regarded as a melting pot due to such strains and tensions. The immigration of new, non-protestant immigrants such as Catholics and Jews since the turn of the century had brought about large scale unease due to the sheer number of immigrants. Combined with Mexicans, Orientals as well as a rapidly growing black population, these minority groups were to suffer at the hands of those concerned with the values of White, Anglo-Saxon Protestants, with these values playing a fundamental role in the American way of life. Arguably, the Ku Klux Klan was formed concerning a culmination of such values, allowing for the tolerance of racist views within the media, literature alongside within formal organisations. Its popularity and influence stemmed from its appeal, which was broadened from blacks to incorporate the views of those who disliked immigrants, catholics, jews, bootleggers etc. Ultimately the KKK’s increase in popularity in the early 1920’s resulted in its influence.
It can be argued that the KKK possessed both sizable support and significant influence due to its popular revival subsequent to WW1, with this having a notable popular impact well into the 1920s. The growing spirit of intolerance which spread across much of America became apparent due to the wartime revival of the the Ku Klux Klan. The organisation was remodeled and reorganised with new techniques used by both Edgar Clark and Elizabeth Taylor in order to sell the Klan to America. A key reason for its rise in popularity came as a result of D.W Griffiths film ‘The Birth of A Nation’ of 1915, due to the fact that it idolised and highlighted previous american values, and although those portrayed in the film were outdated, many americans were reminded of a ‘better america.’ This