The Klan fought to keep what they described as "American values." TheSaltLakeTribune
Many might assume that the peak of the Klu Klux Klan occurred during the Civil Rights era when the push for African American rights came to a head. However, the height of the KKK did not occur in the ‘60s or even the 19th century after the Civil War. No, the rather brief and premature climax of the Klan took place during the 1920s.
A variety of factors drove the Klan's increase in popularity: the Great Depression, immigration, and even prohibition. Along with an improved public relations push from Mary Elizabeth Tyler and Edward Young Clarke, the KKK’s numbers crested in 1925 with between 2 to 5 million members. Predictably, it all fell apart rather quickly, thanks to the lack of education or any moral decency. They also probably got distracted by their cousins.
Pastor Simmons used religion as a means to spread the Klan ways.
Pastor William J. Simmons
For about 50 years leading up to 1915, the KKK held as much sway as the North American Man/Boy Association does today. Then along came Pastor William J. Simmons, who decided he would revive the organization, likely out of loneliness. A member of the “Woodmen of the World” and a dozen other organizations, Simmons needed more friends to share his deranged thoughts on America’s ills.
So on Thanksgiving night, Simmons rented a tour bus and found 15 other complete losers to light a wooden cross and proudly announced the rebirth of the KKK, in a completely empty area called Stone Mountain outside of Atlanta.
Unfortunately, for Simmons, even the Klan pushed him out. Smithsonianmagazine
The Mouse Fart Revival
Likely to Simmons’ astonishment, the group’s racist picnic of 15 people did not inspire a mad rush of Americans to sign up. In part two of his “masterful” plan Simmons’ took out ads in the Atlanta paper, touting “The World’s Greatest Secret, Social, Patriotic, Fraternal, Beneficiary Order.” Because what screams ‘cool secret society’ more than ads in the classifieds? Simmons also tempted prospective members with the promise of joining a “High Class Order for Men of Intelligence and Character.” Riighhtt.
Two of the smarter racists, Tyler and Clarke, pushed a more subtle version of the Klan.
Real Public Relations
After a few years of absolutely nothing, Simmons realized he failed miserably at drawing new members to the mostly defunct society of racists. Therefore he hired two people that drastically changed the course of American xenophobic history: Mary Elizabeth Tyler and Edward Young Clarke. These two PR gurus hired 1000 solicitors and unleashed them across the country. They asked for a $10 membership fee of which a percentage went to the solicitor.
Within a few years the Klan had spread far and wide in America. ChicagoTribune
Improved Reach For The Klan
Crucially, Tyler and Clarke did not advertise the Klan as “ThE VeRy CoOl SoCiEtY FoR TeRrIble PeOpLe” but rather a group of Protestant whites concerned with the direction of the country. Thanks to the global depression following World War I, the country sat mired in poverty. Simmons, who wanted to stick with his celebratory Thanksgiving cross-burning ritual, was ousted from leadership in 1921 when the racist faction clashed with the growing group.
Capitalizing on the torpid state of the country, the growing Klan blamed the state of the country on African Americans, Catholics, Jews, Mexicans, Asians, or really anyone non-white. They also loudly denounced Communism, leftist politics, and devilish practices such as alcohol, birth control, and the theory of evolution.
KKK for kids sounds especially terrible.
Massive Growth
By 1925 they boasted a huge membership base and massive support among non-members as well. They became a racist support group with parades, carnivals, baseball teams, and of course, uniforms. They even created complementary groups like Ku Klux Kiddies and the Junior Ku Klux Klan.
Many, many members committed heinous acts such as the lynchings of African Americans, lashing young women in the company of men, and strongarming abortion doctors. However, those stories slipped beneath the notice of the equally ignorant but less violent members.
From defunct to marching in Washington in roughly a decade, the Klan grew quickly. NPR
The Klan Peaks
The non-violent portion of the Klan viewed the organization as a chance to meet like-minded people and publicly parade their white Protestant pride. This equally despicable group rode on their high horses, assured of their moral superiority. They denounced alcohol and premarital sex while simultaneously reviling people of any other race but their own.
Undoubtedly, the high point for the Klan came in the summer of 1925 when thousands of Klan members marched in Washington D.C. They wore their white regalia but kept their faces unmasked as part of a deal with the government to allow their parade. Presidents of the ’20s loudly denounced the Klan for their violent acts and attempted to squelch the growing group through various means.
Thankfully, the Klan revival did not last very long.
Peace Triumphs
However, the work of Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge ultimately wasn’t necessary. The group would fall apart thanks to its own ineptitude and revolting behavior. That same year David Stephenson, a leading Klan member, was convicted for brutally murdering a young woman after raping her. For whatever reason, that particular horrific act caught the notice of the sizable group of “peaceful” members as opposed to the hundreds of other stories, detailing the KKK’s deplorable behavior.
After Stephenson's conviction, Klan membership rapidly shrank. Another factor in their dwindling numbers was the improvement of the country. The moral decay and economic destruction predicted by the Klan never came to be. The country turned itself around and the country did not devolve into the race riot they foretold. In the end, prosperity killed the Klan.
