Ku Klux Klan In The 1920s

After the first wave of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) collapsed in the late 19th century, the organization regained its footing in the 1920s as the KKK’s power and influence stretched farther north than it ever had before. Revived by tensions between native-born Americans, immigrants, and the Great Migration of African Americans moving north, the Klan rapidly expanded after laying dormant for almost half a century. As a Klan auxiliary group, the Women’s Ku Klux Klan (WKKK) was formed in 1923 in Arkansas but quickly collapsed in the second half of the decade. Historians debate what attracted women to the Klan in the 1920s and their significance in the greater White supremacist movement since the organization only ever existed during this period.

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The Klan targeted socially active middle-class White families that frequented Protestant churches. These were perfect candidates because of their deep ties to religious morals as both the KKK and WKKK believed themselves to be morally superior. Although not directly stated in their manifesto from an unknown year in the 1920s, Klanswomen wanted their beliefs to triumph over any other: “WE BELIEVE in the free public schools where our children are trained in the principles and ideals that make America the greatest of all nations.” Even though this line refers to children’s education, it shows how these women believed their principals were superior and wanted all Americans to adopt them as their ideals. Bearing these beliefs, the Klan had to find ways to protect their families from outside corruption. According to Blee in her 1991 study, the Klan aimed to protect their families from immoral activity, citing the Klan’s frequent warnings to cheating husbands as an example. The Klan prioritized maintaining a good image as it had strong ties with the abolitionist movement because many believed alcohol was to blame for domestic abuse. Blee quotes WKKK leader Daisy Douglas Barr as she rallies against alcohol: “Barr stressed the need for a ‘revival in our home [as] many of our family altars have been broken down,’ arguing that men’s indulgence in the ‘serpent of alcohol…stings his family, degrades his wife, marks his children.” Fighting for temperance was unique to the WKKK because it was meant to protect women, and even though it did not work towards any white supremacist agenda, it paired with the Klan’s feminist goals. Despite these fears, Pinar points out in Counterpoints that they had pointless fears because they were old beliefs carried down from previous generations. He argues, “Often living in racially