=== Economic Impact on Recruitment ===
=== Economic Impact on Recruitment ===
In the 1920s there was an [[Economic expansion|economic boom]] in evolving technologies accompanied by social and cultural changes.<ref name=”:4″ /> The Klan targeted geographical locations that were outside the scope of economic growth, and were behind in regard to the mass production occurring in larger cities.<ref name=”:4″ /> The smaller, rural communities were the targets of the Ku Klux Klan recruitment due to their lack of involvement and access to these technological innovations.<ref name=”:4″ /> Academics who have studied the Ku Klux Klan have noted that the rise of the KKK in the 1920s was at a time of a lot of societal turns.<ref name=”:4″ /> It is said by these academics the Klan gained members as a result of the rapid changes occurring as they reshaped their identity to be a purely American group.<ref name=”:4″ />
In the 1920s there was an [[ |economic ]] in evolving technologies accompanied by social and cultural changes.<ref name=”:4″ /> The Klan targeted geographical locations that were outside the scope of economic growth, and were behind in regard to the mass production occurring in larger cities.<ref name=”:4″ /> The smaller, rural communities were the targets of the Ku Klux Klan recruitment due to their lack of involvement and access to these technological innovations.<ref name=”:4″ /> Academics who have studied the Ku Klux Klan have noted that the rise of the KKK in the 1920s was at a time of a lot of societal turns.<ref name=”:4″ /> It is said by these academics the Klan gained members as a result of the rapid changes occurring as they reshaped their identity to be a purely American group.<ref name=”:4″ />
== The Konklaves ==
== The Konklaves ==
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The Ku Klux Klan, a prominent white supremacy group in the US, held two major gatherings at Buckeye Lake, Ohio that would later be noted as two of the most notable in the group’s history. Both of the events took place in the 1920s, one on July 12 of 1923 and the other in 1925.[1] The number of attendees per gathering ranged between 75,000 and 100,000 people, consisting of both men and women.[1] Prominent figures of the Ku Klux Klan spoke at the events, and large numbers of people were inducted as new Klansmen.[1] The meetings concluded with no major incidents, despite the KKK being categorized as a hate group and having a history of violence.[1] The success of each of these meetings resulted in a rise of political strength and influence for the Klan.[1] Local political candidates with public Klan support easily won the mayoral elections in places such as Newark, Ohio.[1]
Ku Klux Klan and the 1920s
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Women’s Chapters and Their Influence
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Prejudice against immigrants from eastern European countries, as well as Catholics and Jewish people became mainstream for the Ku Klux Klan, in addition to the basis of the group: white supremacy.[2] In the 1920s the Ku Klux Klan established chapters for women, which in some cases were just as popular and had as much involvement as men’s.[2] The flux of women in the workforce and recently receiving the right to vote caused the Ku Klux Klan to further expand and accept women as members, helping to strengthen their numbers as a new voting block was introduced.[2] The involvement of both men and women was seen at a marriage ceremony at the 1925 meeting at Buckeye Lake. A newspaper article from 1925 by the Cleveland Plain Dealer mentions the marriage between a man and woman, both members of the Marion Road Klan Drum Corps.[3]
Economic Impact on Recruitment
[edit]
In the 1920s there was an economic shift in evolving technologies accompanied by social and cultural changes.[2] The Klan targeted geographical locations that were outside the scope of economic growth, and were behind in regard to the mass production occurring in larger cities.[2] The smaller, rural communities were the targets of the Ku Klux Klan recruitment due to their lack of involvement and access to these technological innovations.[2] Academics who have studied the Ku Klux Klan have noted that the rise of the KKK in the 1920s was at a time of a lot of societal turns.[2] It is said by these academics the Klan gained members as a result of the rapid changes occurring as they reshaped their identity to be a purely American group.[2]
The 1923 Konklave was an enormous gathering, with upwards of 75,000 attendees and many speeches and events throughout the day.[1] People such as the Imperial Wizard at the time, Hiram Wesley Evans were in attendance. In the time leading up to the meeting, there was a poster with the title “Call of the Klan” campaigning for the event that read: “Klansmen From All States Invited to See Ohio Klux.”[4] There were guides in cloaks and hoods at different points near Buckeye Lake helping direct those to the meeting. The roads leading toward the lake were packed, and locals reported that all the hotels in the area were full.[1] D.C. Stephenson spoke, along with many other important and nationally recognized Klan members. There was also an induction ceremony with three live bands playing “Onward Christian Soldiers” and three enormous crosses, the largest of which was set ablaze.[1] This ceremony initiated around 1,700 new Klansmen.[1] The finale of the event was a fireworks show with an American flag overlaid with the letters “KKK”. There were no incident reports save for one fatality, an old Klansman who suffered from a heart attack due to the heat.[1] The success of this congregation inspired another two years later.
The 1925 Konklave at Buckeye Lake was one of the biggest Klan meetings in history, with attendance nearing 100,000.[1] This event also carried on with no incidents, and once again many national Klan leaders spoke. The hot button topic for this meeting was the Klan’s denouncement of evolutionary science, particularly in light of the Scopes trial that had occurred earlier that year.[1] This Konklave took place over the course of four days, and there were various weddings carried out, along with a skit on “the American ‘Sodom and Gomorrah’“.[1]
D.C. Stephenson was the Grand Dragon of the Indiana chapter of the Klan. He had a summer house in Buckeye Lake and was one of the main organizers of the Konklaves.[1] He spoke at the 1923 Konklave about the Klan’s goals, such as restoring the United States government to what the founding fathers intended and avoiding the rise of paganism.[1] Stephenson was partially responsible for the eventual fall of the clan following the 1925 Konklave. Many prominent leaders were involved in scandals that put the Klan in hot water. Shortly after the event, Stephenson was convicted of abducting, repeatedly raping, and murdering a 28 year old woman named Madge Oberholtzer.[1][5] On November 16th, 1925 he was sentenced to life in prison on four counts of homicide.[5]
H.N. Stevens was the mayor of Newark from 1923 to 1928. He was an openly Klan-backed candidate and used money from the Klan to fund his campaign. He was elected in a time when many towns and cities across Ohio were electing Klan affiliated politicians which was largely contributing to the height of this period of the Ku Klux Klan.[6] The Klan’s local and state level political influence quickly died down and by 1928 it seemed that politicians were no longer seeking the financial aid of the Klan.[6] At the end of his term, Stevens was arrested for assault with intent of rape, and the Klan’s presence in Newark became less prominent.[1]
