The Gospel According to the Klan

236 Pages·2015·4.48 MB·English

by  Kelly Jeanette Baker

Florida State University Libraries
Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School
2008
The Gospel According to the Klan: The
Ku Klux Klan's Vision of White Protestant
America, 1915-1930
Kelly (Kelly J.) Baker
Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected]
FLORIDASTATEUNIVERSITY
SCHOOLOFARTS ANDSCIENCES
THE GOSPELACCORDINGTO THE KLAN:
THE KUKLUXKLAN’SVISION OFWHITE PROTESTANT AMERICA,1915-1930
By
KELLYJ. BAKER
ADissertationsubmitted to the
DepartmentofReligion
in partialfulfillmentofthe
requirementsforthedegreeof
DoctorofPhilosophy
DegreeAwarded:
FallSemester,2008
ThemembersoftheCommittee approvethedissertationofKellyJ. Bakerdefendedon
July17,2008.
John Corrigan
ProfessorDirectingDissertation
NeilJumonville
OutsideCommittee Member
AmandaPorterfield
Committee Member
AmyKoehlinger
Committee Member
Robin Simon
Committee Member
Approved:
John Corrigan,Chair,Religion
The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee
members.
ii
ToSteve,Dottie,andChris
iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Historyis aninherentlycollaborativeandsolitaryenterprise,andduringthis endeavor,
variouspeoplehaveenrichedmyscholarshipwith theirkind thoughts, wordsandactions.
DuringtheyearsofreadingKlanprint culture,Ihavebeenfortunateenoughto discuss
mytentativehypothesesandwild speculationswith peoplewhosupportedmyprojectbut
hadnodesireto haveKlanvoicesechoingin theirheadsastheydoin mine.Historical
writingis alsoprocessbywhichwetest ourmettleasscholarsin ourownright,andmy
project,hopefully,reflectsboth sidesofthejourney.
Sincemydissertationis firmlyrootedin print culture,Ihavecometo appreciatethe
impactonreadingonmyhistoricalactorsandtheiractionsaswellasonmyselfasa
scholar.Readingis not aone-waytransmission ofknowledgebut rathercanopenupthe
worldviewofoneprofoundlyto anotherperson.AsIwrotethefinaldraftofmy
dissertation,it occurredto methatreading,whichhasalwaysbeensortofamagical
processforme,conveyedthehopesandtrepidationsofmyhistoricalsubjects,andIwish
thatmywritingconveyedtheirprintedexperiencesin termsthattheymighthave
recognized.Some mightfindthatdesiredistastefulbecauseofthesubjectmatter,but my
commitment, throughoutthis process,hasbeento letthesources,thevoicesifyouwill,
guidemyresearchwhetherIpersonallylikedmysubjectsornot. Readingorhearingthe
wordsofthosewefinddistastefulis just asimportant asupliftingtheworksofthosewe
admire.ReadingKlansmen’sspeeches,letters,andnewsmagazinesdoesnot imply
supportoftheircausebut ratherallowsus to seehowthey,too, arehumanin spite oftheir
intolerance.This projecthasalteredmyvision oftheworld,andIappreciatethesupport
andcandoroffriends,relatives,colleaguesandprofessorsthroughoutvariousstagesof
myproject.
Archivistandlibrarianshaveplungeddeepinto Klanmaterialsto helpmeuncoverpages
uponpagesofprintedsources.Iowemanythanksto SharonSumpter, KevinCawley,and
Elizabeth HoganattheUniversityofNotreDameArchives;Susan Sutton attheIndiana
HistoricalSociety;MaryLinnemanandMaryEllenBrooksattheUniversityofGeorgia
Archives;Phil DeloriaandJohn StrawatBallStateUniversityArchives;andChrista
HosmerattheFloridaStateArchives.
ThroughdissertationandtravelgrantsatFloridaStateUniversityandCushwaCenterfor
theStudyofAmericanCatholicism atNotreDame,Iwasableto spendmoretime in the
archives.Specialthanksgoesto staffatGraduateStudies atFloridaStateUniversityand
Tim MatovinaandPaulaBrachatCushwafortheirfinancialandbureaucratichelp.
TheDepartmentofReligionatFloridaState Universityhasprovidedwarm,mentoring
environmentthroughmystudies, especiallyJohn KelsayandMartinKavka,who
monitoredtheresearchofthis waywardAmericanistandtook thetime to checkonmy
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progress.Otherprofessorshavecommentedonmyworkorhavegivendirection,
includingDavidMorgan,EdwardIngebretsen,KathyPeiss, andTim Matovina.My
committee,AmandaPorterfield,AmyKoehlinger,Robin Simon, andNeilJumonville,
haveall madethis projectpossible with theirthoughtfulreflections.Myadvisor,John
Corrigan,haspokedandproddedmeduringthis journeyto explore largerthemesand
tacklehistoriographicaltropes.His encouragementhasmadethis dissertationbolderthan
it mighthavebeenotherwise.
MichaelPasquier,HowellWilliams, MichaelGueno,andArtRemillardhaveprovedto
beexcellentfriendsaswellasthoughtfulcritics.Iwouldnot havemadeit through
graduateschoolwithout you,andIlook forwardto futureconversations (arguments)
aboutthefieldofAmericanreligioushistoryaswellasthemoremundane.Thankyoufor
yourconversations,humorandconcern.
Finally,myfamilyhadsupportedmyworkfromthebeginning.DebbieCook, Cary
Barfield,AshleyRaines,andStephanieandJerryBasfordhaveenduredmytopicwith
grudgingsmiles andheadnods, but theiradmirationforwhatIdocountsthemost. Frank
andLynnBakerhaveprovedto beexcellentin-laws,whowatchedmyfurrycompanions
forarchivetrips. Hannah,Belle,andZan,whogenerallyproveto bedistractions,allowed
meto petthemwhilepursuingvariousavenues.Writingwouldnot bethesamewithout
allthreeatmyfeet.Myparents,SteveandDottieRaines,havealsoencouragedmeto
pursuemydreams,butIdon’tthink theyeverimaginedanadvanceddegreein Religious
Studies. But,theircommitment stands.Mypartnerandfavoritecritic,Chris Baker,had
shoulderedthis all.His humorandunfailingbeliefin myabilityhelpedmebecomethe
bestscholarandpersonIcouldbe.Without him, this projectwouldlacknot onlydepth
but alsohumorbecausehedoesnot allowmeto takemyselftoo seriously.Becauseofall
oftheirsupport,this dissertationis dedicatedto Steve,Dottie,andChris, andthefaults
areallmyown.
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TABLEOFCONTENTS
ListofFigures ................................................................................................ vii
Abstract ...................................................................................................... viii
1. Introduction:“Toexamine theKlanis to examine ourselves”....................... 1
2. ChapterOne:“ThankGodfortheKnightsoftheKuKlux Klan”................. 21
3. ChapterTwo:“TaketheChrist out ofAmerica,andAmericafails”.............. 48
4. ChapterThree:“GodGiveUsMen”............................................................... 71
5. ChapterFour: “Thechastityofwomanhood,thevirtueofgirlhood,and
thesanctityofthehome”..................................................................................... 92
6. ChapterFive:“White skin will not redeemablackheart”............................. 124
7. Conclusion: “Rome’sreputationis stainedwith Protestantblood”................ 154
APPENDIX:FIGURES....................................................................................... 178
NOTES ................................................................................................ 197
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................... 218
BIOGRAPHICALSKETCH .............................................................................. 227
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LISTOFFIGURES(APPENDIX)
Figure1: Klanrallyin Muncie,Indiana,1922 ....................................................178
Figure2: Klanformation .....................................................................................179
Figure3: Cover,TheImperialNight-Hawk ........................................................180
Figure4: 1920s Klanrobe ...................................................................................181
Figure5: 1920s Klanhood ..................................................................................182
Figure6: Detailof1920s Klanrobe ....................................................................183
Figure7: “TheStarryFlagandtheFieryCross Shall Not Fail” ........................184
Figure8: “The“ManOnTheFence’BecomesUncomfortable” .......................185
Figure9: Women oftheK.K.K...........................................................................186
Figure10: Women oftheK.K.K.,Newcastle,Indiana .......................................187
Figure11: “UndertheFieryCross” ....................................................................188
Figure12: “St. Patrick’sDayin Atlanta,Georgia” ............................................189
Figure13: Initiation,Anderson,Indiana..............................................................190
Figure14: William Fooheyin Klanrobe.............................................................191
Figure15: NewspaperClipping,1924 ................................................................192
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ABSTRACT
“The Gospel According to the Klan” identifies the intimate relationships between
Protestantism, nationalism, gender and whiteness in the print culture of the 1920s Klan in order
to demonstrate that the Klan reflected the values, ideals and aspirations of white America in that
era. To present the commonalities between the Klan and the “mainstream” deflates
historiographical arguments that label the Klan as periphery in both narratives of American
culture and American religious history. This also suggests the ways in which religious faith,
nationalism, gender and race all define and create one another in the Klan’s attempts to define
what America was and what she certainly was not. The chapters, then, focus not on chronology
but themes in an attempt to recraft the worldview of the 1920s Klan. I rely on methodologies of
lived religion and ethnography to crack open their world and recreate it for readers in order to
move beyond the Klan classification as a simply white supremacist group and show the
complexities of the order’s hatred and commitment to the American nation. Klan print culture
has been under-utilized in histories of the Klan, and it is a rich resource to see the logic, values
and theologies of the order. What also becomes clear is that the Klan consciously defined the
order in opposition to Catholicism. Catholic voices are equally important as Klan voices in the
telling of this narrative because they illuminated another vision of America, which the Klan
soughtto counteract.
viii
INTRODUCTION:
“To examine the Klan is to examine ourselves”

Forget the idea of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan being an organization that flogs [sic] and
tars and feathers people. Nor is it an organization that sneaks around into people’s back yards
trying to get something on somebody. We do, however, bring the transgressor to justice through
the duly constituted officers of the law. Let us look beyond the horizon and see this thing from a
national standpoint. Let us see to the influx of unfit foreign immigration….Let’s get behind Old
Glory and the church of Jesus Christ—The Imperial Night-Hawk (1924)1

In the long course of bigotry and violence, the Klan has evoked the rebelliousness of the
Boston Tea Party, the vigilantism of American pioneers and cowboys, and the haughty
religion of the New England Puritans. In its corruption of American ideals, it has
capitalized on some of the best-loved aspects of the American tradition—Wyn Craig Wade
(1987)
An ex-minister, William Simmons, was the architect of the 1920s Klan. His inspiration
appeared in the form of D.W. Griffith’s film, Birth of a Nation (1915), based on Thomas Dixon’s
The Clansman (1905), a romanticized rendition of the Reconstruction Klan. In early 1915,
Simmons of Atlanta, a fraternalist and former Methodist minister, was in a car accident that kept
him bed-ridden for three months. During his confinement, Simmons dreamed of a supreme
fraternity.2 Influenced by the success of Dixon’s novel and its film adaptation, Simmons drew
figures of Klansmen, created a new organizational structure based on the previous 1867 order
and developed new terminology for the fraternity.3 When he regained his health, Simmons
constructed a new Ku Klux Klan in an Atlanta atmosphere charged by anti-Semitism (the Leo
Frank trial was in the summer of 1915).4 In October 1915, he recruited 34 members to become
his Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, which he later incorporated. On Thanksgiving Day, Simmons
and nineteen of his Knights marched up Stone Mountain and lit a cross on fire.5 That event
marked the beginning of the second revival of the Klan.
Such is the standard story. Simmons created a revival of the Klan, and a dentist, Hiram
Welsey Evans, eventually wrested control of the beloved order from Simmons and continued to
build membership. Evans, the new Imperial Wizard, continued Simmons’s vision of an advanced
fraternity. However, in the many tellings of the Klan story, narrators overlook Simmons’s
religious involvement. After all, he was formerly a minister, who created a new Klan firmly
enshrouded in the language of Protestantism. For the first Imperial Wizard, God had smiled upon
America. It was momentous that he founded the Klan on Thanksgiving Day, a day of celebration
1