In class on Tuesday, we discussed causes of the re-emergence of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s. I decided to go a little deeper and examine causes of this re-emergence, activities undertaken by the “new” clan, and the Klan’s ideology as a whole.
The 1920s were a decade of optimism in the United States. Business was booming, cities were thriving, and economic prosperity was abundant. However, the rapid change occurring in American society was met with opposition by many groups. In particular, this decade saw a reemergence in Ku Klux Klan membership.
The revival of the Klan began with the release of D.W. Griffith’s widely popular film, the Birth of a Nation. The film chronicles the relationship between two families during the Civil War, one pro-Union family and one pro-Confederacy family. In particular, the film was notable for it’s portrayal of African American men. The movie portrayed freedmen as sexually aggressive towards white women. It also depicted African Americans as good for little but subservient labor, and the Ku Klux Klan as a “heroic” police force.
This favorable portrayal of the clan prompted a huge resurgence in membership. By the mid 1920s, at the Klan’s peak, there were over four million members. The initial targets of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s were African Americans, who many whites believed needed to be “put back in their place.”
The Klan’s message and core beliefs then began to shift, and they started targeting Jews, Catholics and immigrants. Agendas of the clan were molded by community conditions and concerns. Essentially, the clan became a conservative police force, dedicated to preserving values of “Old America.” Historian Leonard J. Moore sees the 1920s Klan as, “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'.”
The Klan organized to oppose the teaching of evolution in schools, they attempted to oppose spreading of birth control devices and informations, and tried to enforce prohibition. Many klan members confined their opposition tactics to things like burning crosses and marching in protests. However, violence was not uncommon, public whippings and lynchings occurred in many parts of America.
In the West and South, the Ku Klux Klan consisted largely of poor, rural fundamentalist Christians, who opposed non Western European immigrants, and despised the post war tolerance for loose morality. In particular, they opposed the foreign ideals brought in by non Western European immigrants.
It seems there were many causes for the re-emergence of the clan, notably the Birth of the Nation movie and the rapid industrial and urban changes occurring in American society. What do you think? How influential were things like the Birth of the Nation in increasing Ku Klux Klan membership?
Sources:
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1381.html
Not only did the Birth of the Nation itself play a role in increasing Ku Klux Klan membership, but so did the fact that President Wilson openly showed his support and admiration for the movie. Hasn't everybody had times in their lives when they followed a "leader" in doing something they were not sure was right themselves? It seems that the progressive President Wilson's indifference regarding racial equality may have hindered black people's ability to gain equal rights. After all, if the president of the United States does not put an effort into elevating the status of minorities, many people would probably not think it was very important. It follows that the president's favor for the Birth of Nations may have justified joining the Ku Klux Klan in the minds of many Americans. Due to the president's reluctance to improve racial equality or stand up to the Ku Klux Klan, the klan may have thought what what it was doing was entirely justified.
ReplyDeleteSources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodrow_Wilson
American Pageant Textbook
Sitara,
ReplyDeletebuilding up from your idea about the importance of Birth of the Nation and rapid industrial/urban changes accounting for the re-emergence of the KKK, I think the concept of "Americanism" really influenced many Southerners who rejected the advancing social and economical changes and viewed the cities highly problematic. While I am unsure if the KKK had any direct influence in federal government, but in terms of local and state government, the government officials especially the senators need the support of the KKK since the local and state law enforcement were on side of the KKK movement/member of KKK. Also, nativists and racists were in favor of KKK(Americanism) and while the old KKK focused more on the African-Americans, the re-emerged KKK members targeted the African-Americans, Southern/Eastern Europeans, etc. The anti-immigration law and the red scares also plays part to help the KKK movement to spread even more than before.
source: American Pageant Textbook