How far do you agree that the KKK had little impact on US society in the 1920's?

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How far do you agree that the KKK had little impact on US society in the 1920's? (Agree/Disagree)

Advantages

  • Millions of people were not members-95 million
  • Confined to Deep South, West and Mid-west. Even in 1925, at peak of membership, 40% of it's members were in three states: Indiana, Ohio and Illinois. The Pacific Coast and New England (excluding Maine) were virtually untouched
  • Only really seen in rural areas- no real impact in big cities where, the power lay
  • Sudden collapse after 1925 suggested it had not firmly embedded itself into US society. Membership reduced to 200,000 in 1930. It was not robust enough to cope with scandals that it was engulfed in during the late 1920's
  • No impact on Republican party that dominated Politics
  • Al Smith went on to win the 1928 Democratic Election

Disadvantages

  • Huge increase in membership. Not confined to working class but also middle class
  • Geographical spread of membership
  • Maldwyn Jones argues though that it's power lay in the new emerging cities where immigrants settled. Good examples being Detroit, Dallas, Denver
  • Attractiveness of message to disenfranchised groups
  • Political influence- Governors in Maine, Ohio, Colorado and Louisiana by 1924, senators, mayors, judges, DC Stephenson. Also many police were under the control of the Klan
  • Democratic Nomination 1924- forced the party into compromise candidate (rather than select the catholic New Yorker, Al Smith) and at Democratic convention of the same year Attorney General of Maine criticised the organisation and was forced to quit
  • Increase in violence, intimidation and fear- lynchings, prohibition, church attendance. African Americans were genuinely scared
  • Immigration Acts brought in by Republicans could be attributed to the influence of the KKK

Evaluation

Significant in the short-term

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