The Ku Klux Klan in the City 1915-1930 by Kenneth Jackson - Essay Example

The rise of the Ku Klux Klan is urban areas in the 1915 was one of the most astonishing events that occurred in the American history post World War I. Kenneth Jackson, in his work discusses the many aspects regarding the second Klan. Jackson insists that many Americans joined the second Klan genuinely joined with the intention of being a true patriot. However, many Americans were unaware of the extreme prejudices that were hidden. The re-enlightenment of the second era had many different views than its predecessors.

Post 1920, the Klan grew a strong membership of 4 to 5 million. Unlike the first Klan movement in the reconstruction era, it extended beyond the traditional motives. The second wave of the Klan continued to focus national agendas at hand that went beyond the agrarian economy. Since the Klan compromised majority of white and Protestant, it was vital that they elaborated on array of social and political issues. The macro focus was on civil issues such as Prohibition, employment, immigration restriction.

One might even insist that it was a reformation movement. However, this movement did have many ramifications as it propagated violence and publicly humiliated the status of minorities. The Klan’s supreme strength was unpredictable as it held strong ground in Indiana, Oregon, and Colorado. The Klan played a huge role in politics according to Jackson as it affected the Democratic convention in 1924. The Klan was fed up from the fact that black workers on the domestic front earned decent wages and were being accepted in this new America.

According to Jackson, the Klan made its moral duty to halt this new type of African American growth in society. Jackson reiterates the fact the Klan rose due to many factors. First and foremost was the fact that it possessed great numbers outside the South and half of the followers lived in the cities. The Klan in essence was so engrossed in its own agenda that it embedded prejudice and racism in their ideology. Often times, it crossed the legal boundaries and infringed on basic human rights as killings became common.

Secondly, the Klan rose in an era where depression plagued society. The Klan was fed up with not only economic conditions but also due to the fear of the growth of communism. Since the south at that time was majority, the Klan made it their priority to attack that particular region. Jackson argues that the Klan that rose in those cities had different agendas, which was to enforce a moral code according to their perspective. Interestingly enough, states such as Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma did not face as much hostility from the Klan as expected.

According to many historians, Texas should have the main target for the Klan. However, that was not the case as El Paso was never the home for target violence. Hence, it became common that the appeal of the Klan spread to North and West. The Klan had so much influence that its members served in the congress. The second wave of KKK was much stronger, organized, and confident that the emergence of the first KKK. As mentioned, this organization not only propagated for “white supremacy,” an intense attachment to anti-Semitic and anti-Catholicism.

One of the