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The Klan in the Twenties. Presentation created by Robert Martinez Primary Content Source: The American Pageant Images as cited. thinksquad.net.
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The Klan in the Twenties Presentation created by Robert Martinez Primary Content Source: The American Pageant Images as cited. thinksquad.net
A new Ku Klux Klan exploded in the early 1920s. Despite the familiar sheets and hoods, it more closely the anti-foreign “nativist” movements of the 1850s than the anti-black nightriders of the 1860s.
The Klan was anti-foreign, anti-Catholic, anti-black, anti-Jewish, anti-pacifist, anti-Communist, anti-internationalist, anti-revolutionist, and anti-bootlegger, anti-gambling, anti-adultery, and anti-birth control. en.wikipedia.org
The Klan was pro-Anglo-Saxon, pro-“native” American, and pro-protestant. In short, the Klan ignited an extremist, ultra-conservative uprising against the diversity and modernity that was shaping American culture in the Twenties. en.wikipedia.org
The new Klan spread with astonishing speed, especially in the Midwest and the “Bible Belt” South. At its peak in the mid-1920s, it claimed about 5 million dues-paying members and wielded political influence. nickryan.net
The Klan capitalized on the typically America love of on-the-edge adventure and in-group camaraderie, to say nothing about the adolescent passion for secret ritual. en.wikipedia.org
The “Knights of the Invisible Empire” included among their officials Imperial Wizards, Grand Goblins, King Kleagles, and other horrendous “kreatures.” issues4life.org
The most impressive displays were “konclaves” and huge flag-waving parades. The chief warning was the blazing cross. The principal weapon was the bloodied lash, supplemented by tar and feathers. blsciblogs.baruch.cuny.edu
Rallying songs were “The Fiery Cross on High,” “One Hundred Percent American,” and “The Ku Klux Klan and the Pope.” One brutal slogan was “Kill the Kikes, Koons, and Katholics.” commons.wikimedia.org
This reign of hooded horror, so repulsive to the best American ideals, collapsed suddenly in the late 1920s. Decent people withdrew from the overindulgence of terrorism, while scandalous embezzling by Klan officials launched a congressional investigation. depts.washington.edu
The bubble was punctured when the movement was exposed as a cruel scam based on a $10 initiation fee, $4 of which was kicked back to local organizers as an incentive to recruit. britannica.com
The KKK was an alarming sign of the intolerance and prejudice plaguing people anxious about the dizzying pace of social change in the 1920s. familysecuritymatters.org vampirediaries.alloyentertainment.com
America needed no such cowardly detractors, whose white sheets concealed sinister purposes. maineanencyclopedia.com
