Socialism and the Ku Klux Klan
Socialism and the Ku Klux Klan were rivaling left-wing movements during the Roaring Twenties—not a dispute between left and right as neo-Marxist propagandists claim—which represented the feuds within working-class populism and other political outgrowths of the Progressive Era. The historian Thomas R. Pegram noted the ideological similarity between the Socialist Party and the second incarnation of the Klan:[1]
| “ | An African American committeeman of the Indiana Socialist Party reported that hooded recruiters in the Hoosier town of Montpelier insisted that the ascendant Ku Kluxers were 'working for the things that the Socialist party want but cannot get.' | ” |
| —Thomas R. Pegram, "The Ku Klux Klan, Labor, And The White Working Class During The 1920s," Apr. 27, 2018 | ||
The ambiguous connections between Socialists and Klansmen in the U.S. paralleled Communism and Nazism in Germany—two competing factions of Leftists seeking to win over the same "collective identity" of disgruntled workers manipulated by demagoguery.
Socialist roots of the Klan
Among the foremost leaders of the Second Ku Klux Klan at its culmination in the 1920s was David Curtis "D. C." Stevenson, the Grand Dragon of the Indiana Klan and recruiter of Klansmen in half a dozen other states. In "One Hundred Percent American," Pegram notes that Stephenson in his earlier career organized "for socialist politicians in Oklahoma."[2]
Self-described socialists in support of the Klan
In addition to socialist appeals, the Klan broadly made inroads with liberal-minded white feminists. In one recorded example:[3]
| “ | Both literature and politics interested [Lillian Rouse]; she regularly read the Literary Digest and (in the 1930s) The Progressive and fancied herself open to 'offbeat' and progressive politics. Indeed, she described herself as a socialist, pointing to her support for government aid for the elderly and a guaranteed living wage. She saw no contradiction between those positions and the Klan, although she admitted that she favored restricting those eligible for government assistance. | ” |
| —"Women of the Klan: Racism and Gender in the 1920s," p. 117 | ||
References
- ↑ Pegram, Thomas R. (April 27, 2018). The Ku Klux Klan, Labor, And The White Working Class During The 1920s. Cambridge University Press via Internet Archive. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
- ↑ Pegram, Thomas R. (2011). One Hundred Percent American: The Rebirth and Decline of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s, p. 189. Google Books. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
- ↑ Blee, Kathleen M. (1991). Women of the Klan: Racism and Gender in the 1920s, p. 117. Google Books. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
