Support for the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s
There are many reasons as to why there was an influx in support for the KKK in the 1920’s, many of these reasons are direct results of actions that the Klan took to exploit the mood of the nation during this time.
Firstly, the main reason as to why support for the KKK grew during the 1920’s is because they exploited the anti-immigration fears that were by using religion and apparent in the nation during this time. This therefore meant that they could use the fear that a large percentage of the electorate were harbouring and exploit it to gain more support for their cause. To do this they would create scandals and conspiracy theories to try and scare the electorate to join them, this was a method that actually worked and therefore their support grew substantially after WW1.
Moving on, another reason that their support grew would be due to the fact that they cloaked themselves in religion to hide their true intentions, by doing this they hid many of the violent solutions to their anti-black and anti-modern beliefs. Furthermore, they also supported ideas such as ‘the purity of white womanhood’ and ‘women voting’ which was a controversial topic at this time, therefore meaning that many people in the north who had campaigned for the 19th century to be passed then had further support for their cause.
Continuing onward, many people in the south and rural areas had a lack of excitement in their life, they had to yet be electrified and therefore many of them were still stuck in the 19th century way of life. Therefore, the idea of rituals, hooded cloaks etc. appealed to a ‘small town’ mentality in search of excitement. Also, due to the Pro-American attitudes that remained in the south from the civil war in the 19th Century meant that they didn’t see a problem with supporting a white supremasist group, boosting their support due to the lack of moral ambiguity people in the north faced.
Furthermore, another reason as to why support for the KK grew in the 1920’s is because
Firstly, the main reason as to why support for the KKK grew during the 1920’s is because they exploited the anti-immigration fears that were by using religion and apparent in the nation during this time. This therefore meant that they could use the fear that a large percentage of the electorate were harbouring and exploit it to gain more support for their cause. To do this they would create scandals and conspiracy theories to try and scare the electorate to join them, this was a method that actually worked and therefore their support grew substantially after WW1.
Moving on, another reason that their support grew would be due to the fact that they cloaked themselves in religion to hide their true intentions, by doing this they hid many of the violent solutions to their anti-black and anti-modern beliefs. Furthermore, they also supported ideas such as ‘the purity of white womanhood’ and ‘women voting’ which was a controversial topic at this time, therefore meaning that many people in the north who had campaigned for the 19th century to be passed then had further support for their cause.
Continuing onward, many people in the south and rural areas had a lack of excitement in their life, they had to yet be electrified and therefore many of them were still stuck in the 19th century way of life. Therefore, the idea of rituals, hooded cloaks etc. appealed to a ‘small town’ mentality in search of excitement. Also, due to the Pro-American attitudes that remained in the south from the civil war in the 19th Century meant that they didn’t see a problem with supporting a white supremasist group, boosting their support due to the lack of moral ambiguity people in the north faced.
Furthermore, another reason as to why support for the KK grew in the 1920’s is because