Ku Klux Klan In The 1920s

In the mid-1920s, the Ku Klux Klan faced an influx of members as they began to target new enemies. The Klan not only attacked American blacks, but now targeted Jews, Catholics, and left-wing radicals. The membership reached its highest point since the end of Reconstruction, peaking at more than four million members. The statement, “the resurgence of the clan was merely the most extreme outgrowth of festering intolerance which permeated American society in the 1920s” is a valid statement due to New Immigration, religious tension, and a sense of racial intolerance in the North. The Ku Klux Klan is an example of xenophobia, racism, and religious intolerance. The Ku Klux Klan was a leading group against many New Immigrants from eastern and southern Europe. Americans were noticing the massive rise in immigration during the 1920s. They began to gain a recognition of nativism and “Americanism”. Xenophobia, or the irrational fear of foreigners, gained a huge rise in popularity. Americans of the 1920s thought the immigrants were bringing different political ideas, such as socialism and other left-wing radical ideas. The Klan used the idea of inherent superiority of cultures to bring those in fear of the immigrants. The KKK believed immigrants from countries like Italy, Greece, Poland, and

The Protestant religion became the center of the KKK as a majority of its members were of that religion. The KKK began recruiting ministers and church goers. Klansmen also were writing speeches and other writings to show their allegiance. Financial donations were collected from the Klan at churches and social events to show they are committed. The Jewish and Catholics were beginning to get targeted as they represented “un-American” values. The Ku Klux Klan wanted to preserve the protestant civilization and reinstate the white supremacy