Ku Klux Klan Political Cartoons
"Spreading far beyond its southern Reconstruction roots, the resurgent Klan of the 1920s was a short-lived but potent phenomenon. By equating white Anglo-Saxon Protestantism with “true Americanism,” it fueled intolerance for blacks, Catholics, Jews, immigrants, and those it deemed immoral and lawless. Under the guise of patriotism and Christianity, it justified acts of intimidation and vigilante justice. As the Klan grew nationally, many “klaverns” eschewed violence while fostering suspicion and prejudice toward “the other” in their communities. The following selections from commentary on and by the Klan offer an overview of this pivotal movement of the 1920s." National Humanities Center, AMERICA IN CLASS,® 2012: americainclass.org/. |
“Published cases of lawlessness in the South, indicating the methods of
Ku Kluxism” 1922 [In his expose of the Ku Klux Klan (initially published in the New York World), white journalist Henry P. Fry listed forty-eight “published cases of lawlessness in the South, indicating the methods of Ku Kluxism”—incidents that occurred February through July 1921. A representative sample follows.] March 3, 1921.--At Houston, Texas, J. La Fayette Cockrell, a negro dentist, was mutilated by masked men for alleged association with white women. A race riot nearly resulted from this attack. April 1, 1921.--Alexander Johnson, a negro bell boy, of Dallas, Texas, was taken out by masked men, whipped, and the letters “K. K. K.” burned on his forehead with acid. He was said to have associated with white women. May 4, 1921.--Sam King, Marshal at Brenham, Texas, was tarred and feathered. He then resigned his office. May 20, 1921.--One thousand men marched through the streets of Dallas, Texas, at night, mounted and unmounted, all of them attired in the Ku Klux regalia. They carried a fiery cross, and several banners bearing these words: “The Invisible Empire,” “White Supremacy,” “Pure Womanhood,” “Dallas Must Be Clean,” “Our Little Girls Must Be Protected,” “All Native Born,” “The Guilty Must Pay.” They rode and marched through the streets silently and without interference from the authorities. Announcements of the purposes and objects of the Klan had previously been accepted and printed by the Dallas papers. June 8, 1921.--Dr. R. H. Lenert, at Brenham, Texas, was whipped, tarred, and feathered by eight masked men. He was charged with “disloyalty during the war” and with “speaking German.” July 4, 1921.--At Austin, Texas, Governor Neff, chief executive of the State in an address before the Rotary Club said that a crime wave had struck the State and that “the entire administration of the criminal code had broken down.” On the same day warnings of the Ku Klux Klan were posted on the State Capitol grounds. July 12, 1921.--At Enid, Okla., Walter Billings, a motion-picture operator, was given a coating of cotton and crude oil, after being whipped by masked men. July 14, 1921.--One hundred masked men gathered at the jail at Greeneville, Texas, and unsuccessfully attempted to lynch Matt Olizen, negro, charged with killing Orbie Standlee. July 17, 1921.--At Miami, Fla. At the close of his evening services, eight masked men waylaid the Rev. Philip S. Irwin, archdeacon of the English Episcopal Church, and head of the work of that church among South Florida negroes, carried him into the woods, whipped him, and then applied a coat of tar and feathers to his body. He was placed in a sack and taken in an automobile to a spot in the center of the town and dumped into the street. . . . July 16, 1921.--At Bay City, Tex., W. M. Hoopengarner, a banker, was tarred and feathered and beaten. The reason alleged was domestic infidelity. July 19, 1921.--Declaring that he had information that fifty per cent of the members of the Oklahoma City police department belonged to the Ku Klux Klan, Mayor John C. Welton directed Chief Glitsch to investigate and to discharge every police officer who did not resign immediately from the Klan. On July 24, Mayor Welton was called on the telephone, and was told: “We warn you to lay off the Ku Klux Klan, or we will have to wait on you.” The mayor paid no attention to the warning. July 26, 1921.—At Topeka, Kan., a warning was sent to Senator Capper’s newspaper to “leave the Ku Klux Klan alone.” National Humanities Center, AMERICA IN CLASS,® 2012: americainclass.org/. |
Source of Images: National Humilities Center, AMERICA IN CLASS®, 2012: americainclass.org/.