How far do you agree that the KKK had a strong political influence and public support in the 1920s?

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How far do you agree that the KKK had a strong political influence and public support in the 1920s?

“the Klan defends against the invader”. This quote represents the growing conflict between value systems in 1920 America; America throughout the 20s became divided between a traditional, white, Anglo-Saxon Protestant America and a developing urban, cosmopolitan, migrant population of the north. WW1, combined with the Red Scare, instated a atmosphere of fear and chaos and exposed the underlying tensions of race and immigration which were present within American society. For centuries the white, protestant America had reigned supreme over influential institutions and policies in America, however, with this growth of  immigration these traditional values, political power, availability of jobs and housing (to them) became limited. This atmosphere of intolerance caused by the fear in losing hold of society was exploited by the KKK. Through the medium of propaganda, The KKK were portrayed as a fraternal organization that best represented the prejudices that Anglo-Saxon Protestant America held . The KKK became a body of traditional and conservative protest, by transforming the America of “freedom” into an America that advocated “100% Americanism”  and laid emphasis on the assertion of old, traditional values of prohibition, family morals and religious faith. This combined with increased methods of intimidation (reducing opposition) led to the growth of the KKK - for example, in1925 the KKK’s membership had increased to to 5 million. However, although the KKK held public opinion in regards to the southern states and some of their protestant followers in the north; there is no doubt that the KKK received opposition in the form of the NAACP and pro-migration movements of the time. Furthermore, although the KKK can be seen to have had an impact on American politics, this influence and power was always limited to federal localities and did not develop into a body which influenced politics on a national scale.  

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Increased public support in the 1920s could be viewed as a direct result of propaganda, both through the 1914 film Birth Of a Nation and the newspapers in states where the Klan were dominant - declaring the Klans movements as “night of shirt knights”. Propaganda emphasized KKK ideals by portraying the KKK as having a noble cause; a Klan that had reluctantly taken the law into their own hands to curb the excesses of foreigners. This increased public opinion, due to the fact that it inferred  that by joining the Klan you were not only benefiting yourself but also ...

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