Furthermore, the KKK combined Protestant ideology with American nationalism in order to justify the KKK’s existence as an organization and the superiority of the White race. The Imperial Wizards of the KKK, William Simmons and Hiram Wesley Evans, believed that the KKK was an order to defend “100 percent Americanism and Protestantism by intermixing them together.” In 1915, William Simmons, the first Imperial Wizard of the KKK, led a group of Klansmen up Stone Mountain, Georgia where they set fire to a cross and built a temple claiming that they were re-enacting the forefathers that committed themselves to the U.S. constitution and the Protestant religion. The re-enactment on Stone Mountain, done by William Simmons and KKK members, illustrates …show more content…
The KKK was many times depicted as burning a cross and to them this represented Jesus’ selfless sacrifice that would triumph over any evil like immigration, Catholicism, Bolshevism, and Judaism, but also the cross represented 100 percent Americanism because the KKK protected the American nation by purifying it from any foreign and internal threats. William Simmons argued, “America must close the door to the diseased minds and bodies of foreign lands because the present horde of immigrant invaders composed of Italian Anarchists and Russian Jews deride America and its own ideals.” Simmons illustrates the idea of the KKK’s position against anti-immigration by arguing that if foreign immigrants were allowed into America, they would transform American society and would destroy American ideals, like Protestantism. This shows how American men and women believed that racism, violence, and terrorism was justified in protecting the purity of the White race from immigrants that threatened to destroy the 100 percent pure American ideals that America was founded on. The KKK behaviour in the 1920s showed that they had anxiety about foreign immigrants because the KKK believed that if foreign immigrants were …show more content…
Jackson argues that the KKK believed that the spirit of Americanism and the spirit of Protestantism were one and the same and in order to protect America it required a defense of Protestantism against forces that would weaken or denounce the faith like millions of immigrants that were non-Protestants and would not assimilate to the KKK’s version of American culture. Samuel Campbell, who was a lecturer for the KKK argued that “there needs to be a greater education of American nationalism and Protestantism to save the American ideals of this great country against the swarm of foreign born immigrants that seek to change our style of government and force new ideals that will break down Americanism.” Campbell demonstrates the KKK’s paranoia about foreign immigrants having different ideals than American ideals, which would destroy White purity and superiority in America. Therefore, this shows that by making nationalism a white supremacist religious experience, American men and women justified any violence or terrorism against immigrants as protecting pure Protestant tenants linked Protestantism and
The Red Scare was the promotion of fear of immigrants and was one of the largest violations of civil liberties in American history. Federal employees were forced to endure loyalty screenings in order to determine their loyalty to the United States. People across the nation feared foreign terrorists and vigilantes took matters into their own hands by delivering justice, usually in the form of murder, to anyone they deemed unpatriotic. The KKK, Ku Klux Klan, made matters worse by doing whatever they could to instill fear into immigrants while encouraging society to fear immigrants. The KKK which started in 1866, was revived during the 1920’s.
This view grew stronger as the Catholic Church began ministering directly to the African-American and Mexican populations (93). Despite this, the Klan’s distrust of the Catholics and Jews was short-lived, as most of the population viewed religion as separate from race (95). The Klan fell from power entirely not long after, following a Klansman losing the 1924 election for governor and the imprisonment of one of its national leaders (100). Despite the opposition, the black community thrived during the early 20th century. The stereotyping enforced by the white population strengthened and unified the black community (104).
Black communities in the south changed the status quo through the construction of black churches and schoolhouses that would be the center of communal activities. The black community repressed their enslaved past and self-empowered their communities in the post-emancipated world. White vigilantes saw these actions as a threat, thus created violence by “…burned down black churches and schoolhouses and drove off repugnant teachers and minsters.” These black community centers were a threat of the Ku Klux Klan even though it was in the beginning stages of growing in power. The assembly of the black communal centers became a crucial tactic of the Klan members that took advantage to implement violent methods of torture to a large group of African Americans.
Keira Castillo US History Honors Period Four Research Paper Project January 27, 2023 Ms. Wasil Ku Klux Klan: The Societal Impact of the 1920s Did you know that the Ku Klux Klan, (also referred to as the “KKK”), was originally founded on December 24, 1865, in Pulaski, TN; became the most well-known terrorist group around the 1920s, and has a summer camp called “Kool Koast Kamp”? With this rapid upbringing, the Ku Klux Klan had a way to come congregate in one spot and inspire people to “tune” into their racism towards colored people in violent ways by joining their cult. Even their own children would be conditioned to follow their society’s rituals and become “Ku Klux Kiddies”. Who would have known that this vile group had a spot that was like
The definition of patriotism is the quality of being patriotic; vigorous support for one 's country. To me it is much more than just that. Being patriotic and loving ones country goes deeper than the skin. You have to truly love it with all your heart to be patriotic, you have to truly embrace the great country and be all for it, you cannot be patriotic if you only love some things and hate the rest. I feel that very few people are truly patriotic and truly know what it actually means to be patriotic.
Prohibition wasn’t the only source of social tension in the 1920’s. The Great migration of African Americans from the south countryside to the north cities, and the increase of black culture had embarrassed the white’s and it made them feel very uncomfortable about themselves. Because of this, millions of white people in different places like Indiana, and Illinois joined the KKK in the 1920’s. To them, they felt like this Klan helped them by killing the black people and going back to their own culture.
In response to the criticism offered by me, Coates is likely treat it as sort of false patriotism and as being not entirely in conjunction with reality. That, racism, and discrimination based on it thereof, is an undeniable reality, even in today’s society, seen in many facets of the country, whether explicit or disguised under policies and false consciousness. Furthermore, the fact that the discrimination is based on a system of caste and not class, that is, one which someone is born into and cannot change; defeats the purpose of providing opportunity, that each individual is, or at least should be entitled to as citizens, and hence would be construed as a violation of basic rights. Even still, the harms caused by racism are prevalent even
However, by 1925, it was discovered that the KKK was a fraud and very corrupted. This caused the Klan’s influence and membership to decline expeditiously. Notwithstanding, the events that occurred in the 1920’s still had a positive effect on the lives of Americans because social reform during this time was the only reason why the KKK shrunk in size in the first place. Many people were able to become
Julia Modine Ms. Hoag U.S. History I 12 December 2017 Hiram Wesley Evans effect on America Much of mainstream white, protestant America was ripe for the emergence of a persuasive and unifying cultural ideology in the 1920s that catered to its fears, prejudices and misguided beliefs. The Ku Klux Klan had been around for decades and had always held up the ideal of the original American pioneer stock and their descendents as the true recipients of the American promise. In the mid-20s, the Ku Klux Klan underwent a resurgence in popularity amid growing alarm within a large percentage of middle and working class white men due to increased volume of immigrants competing in the workplace, growing religious sects and racial integration.
In 1926 American society was changing rapidly through immigration and many races of people were bringing their cultures with them. A man named Hiram W. Evans was the imperial wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Evans made the argument that these new immigrants were destroying the racial definition of what an American should be. He felt that true Americans were part of the Nordic race because the early pioneers fit into this category. The Klan’s point of view was that America should stay American and maintain this Nordic race of Caucasian people.
(“Birmingham Baptist Church Bombing." n.pag.). The 16th Street Church bombing shows the effects of segregation and racism, the lack of boundaries, the significance of churches, what the KKK believes in and the extent of
The Ku Klux Klan first emerged in Pulaski, Tennessee following the Civil War. As we know today, the mere mention of the Klan triggers fear as the KKK is known for its various tactics of violence that came in the form if lynchings, murders, and mutilations. Following their emergence, the KKK were quickly symbolized and portrayed as the protectors of the South, following the defeat of the Southern states in the Civil War and the beginning of the period of Reconstruction by the federal government (Gurr, 1989, p. 132). During the 1920s, the KKK achieved its greatest political success and growth outside of the South. During this period, the membership of the Klan heavily expanded to the states of Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Oregon, to which the KKK obtained two to two and one-half million members at its apex.
The Ku Klux Klan or KKK has created centuries of fear. They originated in Pulaski, Tennessee. The famous hate group was out to re establish white supremacy. The KKK has influenced local governments and people in power. It has also had an impact on American people and specifically black minorities.
Nationalism The rise in the spirit of nationalism led to many changes in Western Europe. You can trace this rise back to the American Revolution where the Americans established a country and kicked out the British colonialists. After viewing this uprising and playing a role in helping the Americans, the French were inspired to revolt in their own country. This along with many other factors eventually led to the French revolution in 1789. After the events of the French revolution and the toppling of the near absolutist monarchy, other nations in Europe also thought about standing up to the absolutist regimes in their countries.
Another crucial element that should be noted is the differences in terms of their attitude toward America. On the surface level, the majority of Japanese had a rather positive feeling against the US as a new authority that had replaced the prewar military dictatorship. It does not mean, however that anti-Americanism did not exist entirely. The experience of military defeat and occupation did engendered antagonism against America among both the right and the left. Particularly for the left, it was strengthened by the communist ideology of the Cold War.