The Second Coming of the Invisible Empire

Fifty years after the end of the Civil War, William Joseph Simmons, a failed Methodist minister, formed a fraternal order that he called The Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. Organized primarily a money-making scheme, it shared little but its name with the Ku Klux Klan of the Reconstruction Era. This new Klan became, for a brief period of time in the mid-1920s, one of America s most powerful social and political organizations. While often using intimidation and violence against its foes, the Klan was responsible for the election of supportive politicians at all levels of government. Following a disastrous attempt to influence the presidential election of 1924, and with increasing public awareness of the Klan's corrupt and violent nature, the order faltered, becoming a mere wisp of its former self by 1930.

Year

2016

Language

English

Publisher

Mercer University Press

Editions

2

Pages

356

ISBN

9780881465617

Data source: Wikidata