Revival of the Ku Klux Klan in the Progressive Era

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America in the 1920s was a fast paced society, technology was just starting to blossom with the development of the Model-T car, many recognizing they could achieve the “American Dream”, and live a more successful life than their parents. One group of the popular groups, or communities that was revitalized during this era was the KKK, Ku Klux Klan; six college students created this group in 1865 in the Reconstruction years. The group began as a get together of southern sympathizers, the Klan later began to start commotion for the recently released African American ex slave population, and southern whites that they felt betrayed the Southern way of life. The Ku Klux Klan’s popularity declined by the end of the 1800’s, by many acts of government intervention, of the crimes committed by the group. In the 1920s the Ku Klux Klan, gathered many followers, and became a major part of the Southern way of life. The Northern industrial boom, and the rise of nativism in America sparked this 1920’s popularity of the Ku Klux Klan in the years following the Great War.
With the economic boom that began in America in the years after the Great War, many Americans were enjoying the finer parts of life, and living the life captured by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book The Great Gatsby. Most of the economic prosperity was felt throughout the entire country, primarily in the Northern industrial cities, with the invention of the assembly line, factories efficiency was increased, and many businesses were seeing enormous profits. This Northern prosperity was rather frowned, upon by most of the elite Southern citizens of the United States. The South was somewhat enjoying this economic prosperity, but not to the degree that the North was, the South was still in...

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...e the Jews, Catholics, and Negroes from public life in California.” The Ku Klux Klan endorsed Richardson, who did not comment on his endorsement, this is just an example of a heavily Klan influenced community, and the memberships garnered from Nativist Americans.
The Ku Klux Klan has since fallen out of favor, in this modern day and age the Ku Klux Klan is affiliated with backwards “rednecks” who do not know any better. After the Civil Rights years government quickly intervened in Ku Klux Klan affairs, and quickly quieted the group. The Progressive Era Ku Klux Klan was popular, because much of the population shared the same ideologies as the Klan , not as extreme, but still shared some of the qualities of the Klansmen. The Ku Klux Klan’s rise in popularity in the early 1900’s is a reminder of the strong Nativist lifestyle and mindset of Americans in those times.

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