Ku Klux Klan Political Influence

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During the Reconstruction Era in a devastated South shortly after the Civil War, the scene for the rise of the Ku Klux Klan was set. Since then, there has been three different incarnations of the Klan, with its political influence and membership peaking during the 1920’s in its second form. A group which originally sought out to disenfranchise and prevent blacks from entering society by means of violence and murder, now had bigger goals. The second Klan targeted Jews, Catholics, immigrants, and more, preaching “One Hundred Percent Americanism”. Most importantly however, was the political influence the Klan wielded in the South. The sheer size of the Klan made it impossible for there not to be political figures in local governments, and this …show more content…
The two leading candidates, with Roman Catholic and Protestant backgrounds, vowed to take legislative action against the Klan (Chalmers 64). Henry Fuqua, the Protestant from Baton Rouge won the runoff Henry Fuqua, a Protestant from Baton Rouge won the runoff for Governor, winning with a campaign platform of unmasking the Klan (Chalmers 64). The passage of three bills in the state House and Senate hurt the Klan.The passage of three main bills out of the state House and Senate greatly inhibited the power of the Klan. The first of these bills required a list of members in any organizations. Should a person not on the list attend one of the meetings, then they would be committing a crime (Chalmers 64). The second bill prohibited the wearing of any masks in times “...other than Halloween, school affairs, minstrel shows, and Mardi Gras.” (Chalmers 64). The last bill had a list of many crimes, one of which outlined that threat by someone in a mask being illegal. The large Klan membership in the House and Senate produced only three votes in opposition of the bill. The national Klan headquarters promptly ejected the two ‘Grand Titans’ and Speaker of the House’ (Chalmers 65). The series of events hurt the Klan greatly in
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