The KKK Strikes Again
The Ku Klux Klan was originally founded in 1866, but nearly 50 years later inn 1915, Colonel William Joseph Simmons revived the Klan. He portrayed the Klansmen as great heroes and made his living by selling memberships in fraternal organizations and looked at the Klan as a new source of membership sales. The Klan no longer targeted just African Americans, but instead broadened its message of hatred to include Catholics, Jews and foreigners. They advocated white supremacy and fundamentalism and wanted to return to "clean" living America.
Many people related to their message and membership in the Klan skyrocketed in the 20's. By the middle of the decade, estimates for national membership ranged from 3 to 8 million. This second revival of the Klan wasn't limited to the poor and uneducated but instead included mainstream, middle-class Americans as well. Even some doctors, lawyers and ministers became loyal supporters of the KKK. The Klan then began to move into many states and dominate local and state politics. They devised a strategy called the "decade", in which every member of the Klan was responsible for recruiting 10 people to vote for Klan candidates in elections. In 1924 they succeeded in messing with the elections of officials from coast to coast, (including Portland, OR).
The Klans success had to come to an end at some point or another though. When the Klan went to recruit in the town of Greenville, Mississippi, LeRoy Percy moved to keep the KKK out of his town. He spoke so passionately about how the Klan was bad news that the speech convinced townspeople to support a resolution to condemn the Klan.
Sources:
1) http://www1.assumption.edu/ahc/1920s/Eugenics/Klan.html
2) http://ehistory.osu.edu/osu/mmh/clash/imm_kkk/kkk%20pages/kkk-page2.htm
