The Klan's 1920s' resurgence was felt in north country

Apr. 27—The first Ku Klux Klan meeting in Northern New York that was open to the public began with a prayer. The main speaker then "brought forth a small, silk American flag, which he carried in his Bible, and waved it about during his speech."

The gathering of about 40 people at the Redwood theater on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 1924, was preceded by a fiery display in Watertown: a cross, about 14-feet high, was found burning at Thompson Park three days earlier, between Franklin and Gotham streets. Watertown chief of police E.J. Singleton thought it was the work of "mischievous boys." The previous week, one was burned in Plessis.

The police chief's opinion may have been wishful thinking. Two Watertown Daily Times reporters who attended the Redwood KKK meeting were told the cross burning "was a signal to Klansmen of the meeting held in Redwood."

By August of 1925, the first north country Klan convention would attract 15,000 people in Adams. The event included a parade, where, according to Times files, 500 KKK members marched through the village streets.

All across the country in 1924, more Americans were heeding the dark call of the Klan.

The allure was documented in the book, "A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Him," by Timothy Egan, published last year and scheduled to be released in paperback on June 4.

In the chapter, "The Klan on Top: 1924," Egan writes:

"By mid-1924, seemingly nothing could slow the march of the Invisible Empire across the United States. In cities big and small, north and south, the blazing cross had become as much part of life as the soda fountain and the barbershop pole."

The Bill of Rights Institute attributes the second rise of the KKK, first created in 1865 in Pulaski, Tennessee, by a group of Confederate veterans, to "cultural conflict and modernization."

"Whereas the original KKK was a violent, racist organization born in the post Civil War South, the modern Klan was driven by somewhat different concerns," independent historian David Pietrusza writes on the website of the institute. "Many white, lower middle-class, Protestant Americans in the North and Midwest were fearful that immigrants were changing traditional American culture, and they responded with anti-Catholicism and anti-Semitism."

Also helping the revival: the 1915 D.W. Griffith film "Birth of a Nation," which was re-released in 1921. The three-hour film was adapted from Thomas Dixon's 1905 novel, "The Clansman."

The film was lauded for its technical achievements, but harshly criticized for its racist message. The Library of Congress added Griffith's work to the National Film Registry in 1992, calling it a "controversial, explicitly racist, but landmark American film masterpiece."

The film broke box office records and was the first movie shown in the White House, where Woodrow Wilson attended a special screening. That caused controversy, and according to the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum, Wilson later drafted a statement to be shared: "It is true that 'The Birth of a Nation' was produced before the President and his family at the White House, but the President was entirely unaware of the character of the play before it was presented and has at no time expressed his approbation of it."

Catholicism flayed

The speaker at the September, 22, 1924 Redwood meeting was "Rev. Mr. Whaley, claiming to be from Houston." The Times wrote that he "expounded the principles of the Klan and flayed Catholicism for one hour and 57 minutes."

Whaley said that foreigners threatened the values of America.

"This country is known as the melting pot of the world and we should train those people when they come to this country to be Americans," he said.

He also told the crowd that the KKK stood for "Christianity and patriotism."

"Everyone the Klan takes in as a member must profess to believe the Bible as we have it and not one that has been changed by some man to suit his beliefs. We must also sweat to believe in God," he said. "We believe in upholding the Constitution of the United States as is. The Klan is not opposed to the Catholic, Jew, or Negro as long as they live within the law of the Constitution."

The Redwood meeting was well attended, but Whaley failed to convince most attendees to join the KKK. "When at the close of his talk he asked those who believed in the principles of the Klan to raise their hands, only about 15, including one woman, did so," the Times reported.

A Klan pitch at church

On Sunday, April 26, 1925, an unusual service was held at the West Side Church of Christ in Carthage. More than 500 people attended the service, taking up all seats as the crowd flowed into adjoining rooms and the basement. Others stood on the sidewalk outside the church, with an ear toward the entrance.

"Following the service by Rev. H.W. Gair, pastor of the church, the members of the audience were asked to remain in their places a few minutes," the Times reported.

Six Klan members, in robes but not masked, then marched into the church, down the aisle, to the tune of "Onward Christian Soldiers" that someone played on piano. The group contained three men and three women. One carried an American flag, another a large cross. They paused at the foot of the pulpit and one thanked Rev. Gair for his "leniency" and "fair and impartial spirit."

The message to the congregation was similar to the one shared by Rev. Whaley, but with an added theme.

"We are not against the Negro, but we are against inter-marriage of the White Caucasian race and any colored race whether they are yellow, red or Black," the Klan member told the congregation.

When they were done, the six fled to a side room and out the door. When questioned where they came from Rev. Gair said he "was unable to state, as he was not certain," but did admit they were from out of town.

A KKK field day

The annual New York State "konvention" of the Klan was held on Aug. 23, 1925 in a pasture in Adams. The day after, the Times reported it attracted about 15,000 visitors.

"Main Street was packed with visitors anxious to see the parade," the Times reported. "The wide streets, where the parade was to pass, were lined with automobiles packed in such a manner that the headlights were played on the silent marchers who passed down the street five abreast." Several "Klan candidates" trailed behind the procession.

There was one float in the parade — a schoolhouse, painted white. On its side was a banner, inscribed, "One church, one school and one flag."

The night parade was the beginning of the day's activities.

"Hundreds of automobiles followed the parade back to the field, where the initiation and mass meeting of Klansmen was held," the Times reported. Electric lights illuminated a platform, a large American flag displayed above it.

About 20 guards questioned drivers trying to enter the field. "They would jump on the running boards of the autos and take the password from the occupants," the Times said. "If they were members of the organization or persons to be initiated, they were allowed to enter the field. Otherwise, they were forced to drive up a dirt road and back onto the main road."

The speakers who addressed the crowd were national officers.

Common Klan news

By the mid-1920s, nearly 4 million Americans claimed Klan membership. Across the north country, reports of its resurgence became common. Some examples, from Times files:

—Sept. 19, 1924: PLESSIS — "The burning of a fiery cross, apparently a genuine Ku Klux Klan emblem, created great excitement in this village Thursday night." The cross, "one of the largest seen" in NNY, was built of green poplar saturated in kerosene.

—Feb. 15, 1924: OGDENSBURG — "The Ku Klux Klan is conducting a strong drive for members in this section." Being distributed beforehand were "Did You Know?" cards, which criticized the Catholic church.

—June 1, 1925: WATERTOWN — "Three men, who were fearful that their identity would be known, waiting until 2 Sunday morning at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, placed two wreaths which were attached to Ku Klux Klan signs." One wreath was placed on the soldier and the other on a cannon.

—Sept. 2, 1925: THREE MILE BAY: "One of the largest meetings ever held by the Ku Klux Klan in Northern New York was held on the Watertown-Cape Vincent state highway just outside the village" on a farm.

—Sept. 2, 1927: OSWEGATCHIE — "A big filed day program has been arranged for Sept. 3 by the Klansmen of Oswegatchie and surrounding territory."

—Sept. 12, 1927: COPENHAGEN — A county KKK convention was held at a farm on the Copenhagen-Carthage Road. A rain storm canceled the speaking program.

—June 20, 1927: POTSDAM — "The largest meeting ever held by the Ku Klux Klan in this section was staged Saturday evening in a filed on the Norwood Road about four miles from the village. State police who were doing traffic duty estimated there were 1,500 automobiles parked in the field." The admission fee was 25 cents. Two crosses were burned at the end of the meeting; their remnants smoldering into Sunday morning.

—Aug. 30, 1927 : HARRISVILLE — "Notices have made their appearance here during the past day or two of a forthcoming Ku Klux Klan meeting which will be held at Wilder Park on Sept. 2."

—Sept. 7, 1927: ALEXANDRIA BAY — "The KKK will hold an open air gathering near this village on Sept. 8."

A collapsed Klan

In his essay for the Bill of Rights Institute, Pietrusza explains why the KKK of the 1920s flamed out.

"Just as quickly as the Klan rose in membership and influence, however, it collapsed," he writes. "There were many reasons. Some members were embarrassed by the organization's bigotry, some by its silly regalia and ceremonies, or its money grubbing. Others were repulsed by its violence or its hypocrisy. The Klan's most fatal weakness was rooted in its poor leadership. The organization claimed to stand for morality, but its leaders provided the worst possible examples."

Pietrusza concludes: "Although popular anti-Catholicism flourished in 1928 when Catholic New York Governor Al Smith unsuccessfully ran for president, the second Klan had long since declined. Its revival after World War II was related to opposition to the growing civil rights movement."