Ku Klux Klan Ideology
Only one secret society in United States history could be so infamous and so influential to be described as “America’s Recurring Nightmare” and an “Invisible Empire” by historians. This society was the Ku Klux Klan. First witnessed in post-Civil war America and established in its first incarnation by Shiloh survivor, Nathan Bedford Forrest, the Klan utilized terroristic methods to harass former slaves and white Republicans and arguably was successful in its goal to re-establish white supremacy in the South. A similar incarnation would arise in the 1950s-60s that would unsuccessfully attempt to put the Civil Rights Movement to a halt. Though these two incarnations probably shape the popular image of the Klan today, the largest membership was
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held by the second incarnation of the Klan that held influence in the 1920s and garnered about three million members. This incarnation was arguably the most interesting with its ideology not limited to race but also extending to racism and religious bigotry.
Reincarnated by a Methodist minister from Georgia named William Simmons who revived the ideology of the Klan in the aftermath of the popular silent film Birth of a Nation by D.W. Griffith that portrayed the original Klan in a favorable light. The time period was set perfectly for this man to revitalize the Klan. Fear of radicalism, immigration and massive changes in morals and manners created status anxiety in parts of the country. These factors combined with post-World War I feelings of religious bigotry and nativism, a post-war depression in agriculture and the Great Migration allowed the 1920s Klan to flourish. One particular entity that aided substantially in financing the Klan was the Southern Publicity Association. Formed by Bessie Tyler and Edward Clarke, the organization itself was not significant towards the Klan but the fact that the organization gained 3 million members and the Klan received a portion of the ten dollar induction fee for every new member the SPA received.
The membership swell in the 1920s was astounding. Membership was not limited by class, it seemed. Doctors lawyers, small business owners, poor men, middle-class men, farmers, ministers and clerical workers all became members. It even gained limited membership in Northeastern states, gaining 200,000 members in Pennsylvania. The Klan was not a fringe society. Due to its now immense membership in relation to its previous incarnation and incarnation to come, the 1920s Klan gained significant influence. The Klan helped to elect local officials, state senators and Representatives and by 1924 when its membership had reached its height, it claimed to control twenty-four out of the forty-eight contiguous state legislatures and in the same year successfully blocked a New York Catholic named Al Smith from receiving the Democratic nomination.
Historians lack a universal understanding of the ideology and larger significance, although certain ideas can be gathered.
The Klan did lot limit its bigotry and hate to African-Americans but also extended it to Catholics, Jews, immigrants, divorcees, bootleggers, intellectuals, urbanites, and the industrial elite. Most commonly viewed as reactionaries, it is believed by historians that they were created as a result of status anxiety caused by the mass influx of immigrants, post-war tensions centering around religious bigotry and nativism and the shift of the society from an agricultural one to an industrial one that left many bitter Americans accustomed to the way of life viewing the Klan as a populist party. Quotes befitting for two of the primary interpretations of the central value and significance of the Klan come from historians Leonard J. Moore and Robert Alan Goldberg. As Leonard J. Moore stated “The Klan is the story of a backward segment of American society, one trapped by economic insecurity, dying small-town ways and an inability to adjust psychologically to the “modern age” which seemed to emerge so clearly in the decade before the Great Depression.” As Robert Alan Goldberg and Shawn Lay have stated as their interpretation “The Klan served different purposes in different communities, but that in general, it represented mainstream social and political concerns, not those of a disaffected fringe group. Contributions to community issues seemed most responsible for the Klan’s reputation and good name in these states and communities.” It may be possible that the best interpretation is a combination of both but it is impossible to be
sure.
The Klan’s influence would not be infinite. Groups such as the Jewish Defamation League and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People would stage rallies and lobby against the Klan’s violent actions such as lynching and newspapers would expose the acts committed by the Klan. On top of this, the Indiana Grand Dragon, David Curtis Stephenson, would be convicted of second degree murder. This led to investigations that would convict and lock up many Klan-affiliated politicians. All these would cause a rapid decline in the Klan once it was split into regional sectors by the removal of their politicians. Although this may have been the end of the most powerful incarnation of the Klan, this would not the be last of the Klan.
held by the second incarnation of the Klan that held influence in the 1920s and garnered about three million members. This incarnation was arguably the most interesting with its ideology not limited to race but also extending to racism and religious bigotry.
Reincarnated by a Methodist minister from Georgia named William Simmons who revived the ideology of the Klan in the aftermath of the popular silent film Birth of a Nation by D.W. Griffith that portrayed the original Klan in a favorable light. The time period was set perfectly for this man to revitalize the Klan. Fear of radicalism, immigration and massive changes in morals and manners created status anxiety in parts of the country. These factors combined with post-World War I feelings of religious bigotry and nativism, a post-war depression in agriculture and the Great Migration allowed the 1920s Klan to flourish. One particular entity that aided substantially in financing the Klan was the Southern Publicity Association. Formed by Bessie Tyler and Edward Clarke, the organization itself was not significant towards the Klan but the fact that the organization gained 3 million members and the Klan received a portion of the ten dollar induction fee for every new member the SPA received.
The membership swell in the 1920s was astounding. Membership was not limited by class, it seemed. Doctors lawyers, small business owners, poor men, middle-class men, farmers, ministers and clerical workers all became members. It even gained limited membership in Northeastern states, gaining 200,000 members in Pennsylvania. The Klan was not a fringe society. Due to its now immense membership in relation to its previous incarnation and incarnation to come, the 1920s Klan gained significant influence. The Klan helped to elect local officials, state senators and Representatives and by 1924 when its membership had reached its height, it claimed to control twenty-four out of the forty-eight contiguous state legislatures and in the same year successfully blocked a New York Catholic named Al Smith from receiving the Democratic nomination.
Historians lack a universal understanding of the ideology and larger significance, although certain ideas can be gathered.
The Klan did lot limit its bigotry and hate to African-Americans but also extended it to Catholics, Jews, immigrants, divorcees, bootleggers, intellectuals, urbanites, and the industrial elite. Most commonly viewed as reactionaries, it is believed by historians that they were created as a result of status anxiety caused by the mass influx of immigrants, post-war tensions centering around religious bigotry and nativism and the shift of the society from an agricultural one to an industrial one that left many bitter Americans accustomed to the way of life viewing the Klan as a populist party. Quotes befitting for two of the primary interpretations of the central value and significance of the Klan come from historians Leonard J. Moore and Robert Alan Goldberg. As Leonard J. Moore stated “The Klan is the story of a backward segment of American society, one trapped by economic insecurity, dying small-town ways and an inability to adjust psychologically to the “modern age” which seemed to emerge so clearly in the decade before the Great Depression.” As Robert Alan Goldberg and Shawn Lay have stated as their interpretation “The Klan served different purposes in different communities, but that in general, it represented mainstream social and political concerns, not those of a disaffected fringe group. Contributions to community issues seemed most responsible for the Klan’s reputation and good name in these states and communities.” It may be possible that the best interpretation is a combination of both but it is impossible to be
sure.
The Klan’s influence would not be infinite. Groups such as the Jewish Defamation League and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People would stage rallies and lobby against the Klan’s violent actions such as lynching and newspapers would expose the acts committed by the Klan. On top of this, the Indiana Grand Dragon, David Curtis Stephenson, would be convicted of second degree murder. This led to investigations that would convict and lock up many Klan-affiliated politicians. All these would cause a rapid decline in the Klan once it was split into regional sectors by the removal of their politicians. Although this may have been the end of the most powerful incarnation of the Klan, this would not the be last of the Klan.