Ku Klux Klan of Indiana: 1920′s
Severity of the KKK in Indiana: 1920′s
Indiana had the largest group of KKK advocacy in the 1920′s. 1/4 – 1/3 native white Hoosiers joined the klan condoning hatred towards blacks, jews, and catholics.
Indiana was ranked to have the most powerful politically active KKklan in the nation.
1922-1925 D.C Stephenson brings 118,000 members of the KKK into the state of Indiana and started The Fiery Cross newspaper, becoming the states most influential leader for racial and religious intolerance. In Indiana, Stephenson recruited 300,000 members in less than two years, gaining the title Grand Dragon of Indiana. Recruitment cost $10 toward supporting the Klan, Stephenson earned $4 of this fee. Robes cost ~$6 in which Stephenson pocketed $4.25 per
By 1924 the entire Indiana Republican Party was flooded with active KKK members. Including elected Governor Ed Jackson:
This political influence helped Stephenson organize white supremacy in 19 more states.
In 1925- Indiana KKK reached its peak. During this year D.C Stephenson was arrested for the kidnapping and rape of Madge Oberholtzer, his secretary, and the KKK’s political influence dwindled, however the klan’s ideologies increased with social and culture influence; literature, and family value focused on American Superiority, and ‘patriotism’ It engaged Hoosier interest by implying the need for traditional and moral re-birth; attacking bootleggers, feminists, media producers, teenagers. The klan promised moral and political change for Hoosier families.
At the bottom on this site are pictures of the Indiana Klans
