History often remembers the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) as a ruthless band of racist, white, Protestant men that terrorize the lives of African Americans throughout the 20th century. However, to group such an incredibly large group of people together prove irresponsible, as every group contains unique aspects in its members. At its peak, the KKK had “perhaps as many as five million—white, native-born, Protestant men” in membership. Presence of the Women’s Ku Klux Klan and the Junior Ku Klux Klan increased these numbers by approximately five million, which only increases the need for historians to address the group as a complicated body of men, women, and children, as opposed to a fraternity of angry white men. Nancy MacLean takes on this challenge by
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In one instance, MacLean describes a moment when women are told to find out if a business is owned by a Jew or Catholic and then boycott the establishment, causing the business to close down. This is attributed to the buying power of the domestic woman during the early 20th century. In a time where women have only recently received the right to vote, the temptation of more power looms within an organization that boasts masculinity. Along with the power of the dollar, women who associated with the Klan found a certain degree of power over their husbands—something virtually unheard of during a time of the male centered …show more content…
Klansmen believe that they must protect women from the corruption that is sweeping the nation during the 1920s, and that interceding in divorce court helps to protect them from a husband that may have a scandalous past. Astoundingly, women of the Klan disagree with the ideals of the suffragette movements of earlier years and especially dislike the new ideas of feminism.
The book concludes by attempting to explain the cause of the decline and eventual disband of the Ku Klux Klan. MacLean suggests that the fraternity could not keep up with the finances required to keep the group running. Membership bills stacked up and those in charge struggled to pay taxes and rent on meeting places. Secondly, the Klan failed to produce the changes that it preached about for so many years and saw a general dislike from civil rights leaders as the nation began to disagree with the violence that the group performed against African Americans, Jews, and
In one instance, MacLean describes a moment when women are told to find out if a business is owned by a Jew or Catholic and then boycott the establishment, causing the business to close down. This is attributed to the buying power of the domestic woman during the early 20th century. In a time where women have only recently received the right to vote, the temptation of more power looms within an organization that boasts masculinity. Along with the power of the dollar, women who associated with the Klan found a certain degree of power over their husbands—something virtually unheard of during a time of the male centered …show more content…
Klansmen believe that they must protect women from the corruption that is sweeping the nation during the 1920s, and that interceding in divorce court helps to protect them from a husband that may have a scandalous past. Astoundingly, women of the Klan disagree with the ideals of the suffragette movements of earlier years and especially dislike the new ideas of feminism.
The book concludes by attempting to explain the cause of the decline and eventual disband of the Ku Klux Klan. MacLean suggests that the fraternity could not keep up with the finances required to keep the group running. Membership bills stacked up and those in charge struggled to pay taxes and rent on meeting places. Secondly, the Klan failed to produce the changes that it preached about for so many years and saw a general dislike from civil rights leaders as the nation began to disagree with the violence that the group performed against African Americans, Jews, and