Term paper on Revival of the Ku Klux Klan

Revival of the Ku Klux Klan

Influenced by D. W. Griffith’s movie, The Birth of a Nation , William J. Simmons, a salesman and fraternal organizer, founded the twentieth-century KKK in 1915. Initially small, its membership reached 4.5 million by the mid-1920s. The chief reason for this popularity was its appeal to widespread anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic, anti-Jewish, anti–African American, and anti-wet sentiment. Its influence on political life was most significant at the state and local levels, but the Klan also was able to block the presidential nomination of Democrat Alfred E. Smith in 1924. A major scandal involving an Indiana Klan leader, David Stephenson, who was convicted of second-degree murder, and the efforts of anti-Klan groups led to the organization’s decline by the end of the 1920s.

Suggestions for Term Papers

1. Compare the early twentieth-century KKK with the original Klan of the Reconstruction era.

2. Discuss why the Klan became powerful during the 1920s.

3. Discuss the opposition to the Klan.

4. Discuss the Stephenson scandal and its effect on the Klan.

5. Compare the Klan of the 1920s with the Klan of today.

Suggested Sources : See entry 9 for related items.

REFERENCE SOURCES

The Invisible Empire: A Bibliography of the Ku Klux Klan . William H. Fisher. Metuchen , NJ : Scarecrow, 1980. Comprehensive work that identifies writings on the Klan from its beginnings in the nineteenth century to its reemergence in 1915 and thereafter.

The Ku Klux Klan: A Bibliography . Lenwood Davis and Janet L. SimsWood, comps. Westport , CT : Greenwood , 1984. Comprehensive, thorough, and detailed listing of books and articles treating the entire history of the Klan.

The Ku Klux Klan: An Encyclopedia . Michael Newton and Judy Newton. New York : Garland Publishing, 1991. Alphabetical arrangement of entries covering issues, events, personalities, and so forth.

GENERAL SOURCES

Christensen, Terry. Reel Politics: American Political Movies from Birth of a Nation to Platoon . New York : Oxford University Press, 1987. Brief, interesting historical account of politics in motion pictures during the twentieth century, beginning with the Griffith classic.

Cook, Fred J. The Ku Klux Klan: America’s Recurring Nightmare . Englewood Cliffs, NJ: J. Messner, 1989. Brief survey of the violence, bigotry, and intolerance associated with the entire history of the Klan. Easy to read and interesting.

Fleener-Marzec, Nickieann. D. W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation: Controversy, Suppression, and the First Amendment as It Applies to Filmic Expression, 1915–1973 . New York : Arno, 1980. Examines the controversy and censorship questions associated with the motion picture since it was released.

Jaffe, Steven H. Who Were the Founding Fathers ? New York : H. Holt, 1996. Focuses on the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, with an examination of interpretation by groups such as the Klan.

Lang, Robert, ed. The Birth of a Nation: D. W. Griffith, Director . New Brunswick , NJ : Rutgers University Press, 1994. Critical analysis and interpretation of Griffith and his work.

Lester, John C., and D. L. Wilson. Ku Klux Klan: Its Origin, Growth, and Disbandment . (1905). Reprint. New York : Da Capo, 1973. Concise and comprehensive general history of the Klan from its beginning to its decline in the late 1920s.

Platt, David, ed. Celluloid Power: Social Film Criticism from the Birth of a Nation to Judgment at Nuremberg . Metuchen , NJ : Scarecrow, 1992. More detailed study than the Christensen work above. Examines political aspects associated with motion pictures.

Ruiz, Jim. The Black Hood of the Ku Klux Klan . San Francisco : Austin&Winfield, 1997. Comprehensive recent history of the Klan beginning with its origin and treating its development.

SPECIALIZED SOURCES

Chalmers, David M. Hooded Americanism: The History of the Ku Klux Klan . 3d ed. (1981). Reprint. Durham, NC : Duke University Press, 1994. Detailed history of both the emergence of the Klan following the Civil War and its reemergence during World War I. Twenty-page bibliography.

Jackson, Kenneth T. The Ku Klux Klan in the City, 1915–1930. (1967). Reprint. Chicago : Ivan R. Dee, 1992. A revealing description of the Klan’s urban development.

Katz, William L. The Invisible Empire: The Ku Klux Klan Impact on History . Upd. ed. Washington , DC : Open Hand Publishing, 1987. Concise and comprehensive in its treatment of the origin and subsequent rebirth of the Klan.

The Ku Klux Klan: A History of Racism and Violence . 5th ed. Montgomery : Klanwatch/Southern Poverty Law Center , 1997. Sixty-four-page report of the current situation, with a brief historical overview.

MacLean, Nancy . Behind the Mask of Chivalry: The Making of the Second Ku Klux Klan . New York : Oxford University Press, 1994. Provides excellent insight into the rebirth of the Klan in 1915.

Mecklin, John M. The Ku Klux Klan: A Study of the American Mind . New York : Russell&Russell, 1963. Standard study of the Klan’s rebirth and the socioeconomic conditions behind its growth and resurgence.

Rice, Arnold S. The Ku Klux Klan in American Politics . (1962). Reprint. New York : Haskell House Publishers, 1972. Brief overview of the Klan’s involvement with politics and government following its rebirth in the 1920s.

Stanton, Bill. Klanwatch: Bringing the Ku Klux Klan to Justice. New York : Weidenfeld, 1991. Examination of the role of Klanwatch, an antiKlan group, in bringing the Klan to trial for its violations, with a survey of litigation efforts.

Tucker, Richard K. The Dragon and the Cross: The Rise and Fall of the Ku Klux Klan in Middle America . Hamden , CT : Archon Books, 1991. Account of the Klan in twentieth-century Indiana , with an emphasis on the Stephenson scandal.

Wade, Wyn C. The Fiery Cross: The Ku Klux Klan in America. (1987).

Reprint. New York : Oxford University Press, 1997. Well-researched description of the Klan in the twentieth century. Provides insight into the movement for white supremacy in the United States .

BIOGRAPHICAL SOURCES

Lutholtz, M. William. Grand Dragon: D. C. Stephenson and the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana . West Lafayette , IN : Purdue University Press, 1991. Examination of Stephenson’s life and career as the ranking Klan official in Indiana ; examines his violations, including murder.

McIlhany, William H. Klandestine: The Untold Story of Delmar Dennis and His Role in the FBI’s War against the Ku Klux Klan . New Rochelle , NY : Arlington House, 1975. Interesting story of an agent’s efforts to bring the Klan to justice.

Rowe, Gary T., Jr. My Undercover Years with the Ku Klux Klan. New York : Bantam Books, 1976. An interesting account of spy operations in Alabama .

Tarrants, Thomas A. The Conversion of a Klansman: The Story of a Former Ku Klux Klan Terrorist . Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1979. Interesting biography of a former member who shifted his allegiance away from the Klan.

AUDIOVISUAL SOURCES

The Klan: A Legacy of Hate in America . Chicago : Films Inc. Video, 1982. Videocassette. 30-minute presentation of the current status of the Klan in the United States .

WORLD WIDE WEB

Cook, Carson C. A Hundred Years of Terror . 1996; updated March 1997. http://osprey.unf.edu/dept/equalop/oeop11.htm Detailed and thorough analytical report by the Southern Poverty Law Center of the origin, decline, and revival of the Klan.