In Rank-and-File Radicalism within the Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s, John Zerzan counter-argues several common stereotypes of the Ku Klux Klan when he states that “the Invisible Empire in the 1920’s was neither predominately southern, nor rural, nor white supremacist, nor violent,” but he fails to provide a completely accurate description of the Ku Klux Klan. Very few of Zerzan’s claims about the Klan hold merit, and collaborate with the information that can be found in The Golden Era in Indiana as well as the textbook. Many of his views on the Invisible Empire contrast sharply with the common image that most American textbooks portray about the Ku Klux Klan
There were several influences that came into the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan. The First World War caused Americans to have feelings of fear and intolerance toward all things un–American. The popular film released in 1915, Birth of a Nation, glorified the Klan as the protectors of the American way of life, and served as advertisement for their cause. The technological advancement of electric power aided manufactures to produce more than ever, and the industrial jobs attracted blacks to northern cities such as “Chicago, Indianapolis, Philadelphia –Camden, Detroit, and Denver, these urban areas were where the Invisible Empire of the Klan would …show more content…
He states, “Violence was directed toward Anglo –Saxon Protestants, rather than against minorities.” Violence is still violence, it does not matter who it is directed toward. The second generation of the Ku Klux Klan “attempted to use peaceful measures first to accomplish their goals, but if that failed, they resorted to violence, kidnapping, and lynching”.1 The KKK during the 1920’s was far from the peaceful social reform groups that Rank-and-File Radicalism within the Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s made it out to
There were several influences that came into the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan. The First World War caused Americans to have feelings of fear and intolerance toward all things un–American. The popular film released in 1915, Birth of a Nation, glorified the Klan as the protectors of the American way of life, and served as advertisement for their cause. The technological advancement of electric power aided manufactures to produce more than ever, and the industrial jobs attracted blacks to northern cities such as “Chicago, Indianapolis, Philadelphia –Camden, Detroit, and Denver, these urban areas were where the Invisible Empire of the Klan would …show more content…
He states, “Violence was directed toward Anglo –Saxon Protestants, rather than against minorities.” Violence is still violence, it does not matter who it is directed toward. The second generation of the Ku Klux Klan “attempted to use peaceful measures first to accomplish their goals, but if that failed, they resorted to violence, kidnapping, and lynching”.1 The KKK during the 1920’s was far from the peaceful social reform groups that Rank-and-File Radicalism within the Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s made it out to