AP US History in 1 Minute Daily: Resurgence of the KKK (Day 231/309)

Hey APUSHers, let’s chat about Resurgence of the KKK as part of my series- APUSH in 1 Minute Daily!

The Rise and Fall of the Hooded Order, Southern Poverty Law Center

After a period of decline at the turn of the century, membership in the Ku Klux Klan rose dramatically and reached peak membership in the mid-1920s. 

States with Largest KKK Membership, Gilder Lehrman

While in the Reconstruction era membership in the hate group had been centered in the old Confederacy, during its resurrection it spread beyond its original base to the American Heartland and the West, as well.

The Klan in the 1920s, Southern Poverty Law Center

Additionally, whereas the KKK had originally focused its terror primarily on African American groups, in the 20th century it expanded its efforts to obstruct access to equal rights to Jews, Catholics, and immigrants. 

Birth of a Nation Theatrical Poster, Wikimedia Commons

Fueling its resurgence was the rise in nativism in the post World War I years, changing gender roles, the increased presence of minority groups in urban areas, economic insecurity, and the use of mass media such as the film, The Birth of a Nation, to amplify its message.

In the 1920s, a resurgence of the KKK emerged across the nation and targeted not only African Americans but also immigrants, Catholics, and Jews as it attempted to promote white supremacy through acts of terror and violence. 

Join me tomorrow as I explain Immigration Restrictions in the next APUSH in 1 Minute Daily!