THE KU KLUX KLAN IN THE CITY 1915-1930

Preface

The traditional image of the Ku Klux Klan is that of hooded nightriders preserving white supremacy in the rural South. If applied to the first and the third of the three Klan movements in American history, this image is basically correct. The original "Invisible Empire" was organized by Confederate veterans in 1866 and shrank neither from intimidation nor from violence in a successful effort to prevent former slaves from exercising their recently acquired political and economic rights. Similarly, the most recent Ku Klux Klan, which has proliferated into several distinct movements since its rebirth in 1946, is heavily oriented toward the maintenance of white supremacy and has consistently been most active in opposition to the Supreme Court's school integration decision of 1954.

But the usual stereotype has little validity as it relates to the largest and most significant of the three Klan movements. The Invisible Empire of the 1920's was neither predominantly southern, nor rural, nor white supremacist, nor violent. It was fathered by an Atlanta fraternal organizer and first gained prominence on the national scene in the turbulent years after the close of World War I. Following closely in the nativist tradition of the Know-Nothing party of the 1850's and the American Protective Association of the 1890'S, albeit increasing their intolerance, the Ku Klux Klan presensed itself as the defender of Americanism and the conservator of Christian ideals. It received a charter in 1916 as a "patriotic, secret, social, benevolent order," but found ample occasion to denounce Catholicism, integration, Judaism, immigration, and internationalism as threats to traditional American values. Enrolling over two million members between 1920 and 1926, Klansmen the Klan commanded almost as much support as organized labor and was described with considerable accuracy by journalist Stanley Frost as "the most vigorous, active, and effective force in American life, outside business."

Four decades have passed since the Invisible Empire began its long decline, but few scholars have ventured to penetrate its secrecy. As a result of our fragmentary knowledge, students of the subject have agreed only that the secret order was politically oriented and at least as strong outside as within the South. Important questions regarding the total size and distribution of membership, the nature of the Klan's appeal, the extent to which it shifted prejudices from one section of the country to another, and the socioeconomic status of the typical Klansmen remain unresolved. There has, however, been no lack of conjecture... [SNIP]

Last updated 1/8/98