The Ratification Of The Ku Klux Klan

Women, America’s traditional symbol of purity, virtue; the world’s moral compass. The acknowledgment of this depiction was apparent in the first Ku Klux Klan, crusading in the name of protecting not only white supremacy, but white womanhood. These justifications for murder, racism, violence and bigotry emerged from the contradictory belief that men have a responsibility to protect women and their “livelihood,” which consisted of submissive and compliant nature towards men. The ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, and creation of the Women’s Ku Klux Klan in 1923 brought the KKK’s inconsistent justifications for their actions to light. The WKKK did hold similar beliefs as the Ku Klux Klan; championing for the white native-born protestants and against everyone else, but their political agenda set them apart.
Most of the WKK’s leaders were political and social activists before the formation; most commonly associated with the Women’s Temperance Union. Their desire for female equality led most members to believe they were independent from the KKK, who represented the repressive nature majority of women were fighting to free themselves