Klan Shadow Falls on Nation's Politics
- Title:
- Klan Shadow Falls on Nation's Politics
- Alternate Title:
- Klan Shadow Falls on Nation's Politics
- Collection:
- Persuasive Maps: PJ Mode Collection
- Creator:
- The New York Times
- Date:
- 1923
- Posted Date:
- 2024-04-25
- ID Number:
- 2413.01
- File Name:
- PJM_2413_01.jpg
- Style/Period:
- 1920 - 1939
- Subject:
- Politics & Government
Slavery/Race - Measurement:
- 14 x 20 on page 57 x 46 (centimeters, height x width)
- Notes:
- This map dramatically illustrates the extent of the Ku Klux Klan’s power in 1923: “States Controlled by Klan” and “States Where Klan is Gaining” comprise a huge portion of the U.S. The map illustrates a detailed article and state-by-state analysis that filled more than a half page in the Sunday New York Times.
According to the article, the Klan “has become a problem of major proportions in some of the greatest states in the Union.” It is “in control in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Indiana and Oregon,” while “Ohio appears ready to join the masked parade, and California is said to be coming on fast.” The Klan’s “growth at this moment is so rapid” that other states - Kansas, West Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri - “are in danger of being gathered into the fold of the masked organization overwhelmingly.”
“In all of these States, the Klan is moving for political control,” either by dictating nominations for office or “wielding the balance of power.” Established political leaders in these states, from Senators and Governors to county and local officers, “are silent in the face of the oncoming wave.” The expansion is fueled by “more than 150 Klan-owned or Klan-controlled newspapers” with a combined circulation “well beyond the 1,000,000 mark.” The article reproduces the titles of nine major Klan newspapers across the country.
The KKK first arose after the Civil War and spread as a violent insurgent movement fighting Reconstruction in the South. A federal grand jury labeled the Klan a “terrorist organization” in 1870, and the Congress enacted anti-Klan legislation the following year. By the mid-1870’s, the Klan had been fatally weakened by enforcement actions and disillusion over its failure to overturn Reconstruction state governments.
Forty years later, the Klan was reborn after it was glorified by the 1915 hit film “The Birth of a Nation.” In its second incarnation, the Klan was not only white Supremacist, but anti-Catholic, anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, and Prohibitionist.
The mapmaker in this case used one technique that artificially increased the apparent power of the Klan in 1923. Two of the three cross-hatched blocs of states are those "Controlled by Klan" or "Where Klan is Gaining." But the third bloc denotes those states "Where Klan is Losing." Viewers who didn't study the legends carefully would likely have been misled to believe that all three blocs were part of a growing threat, when in fact the third bloc reflected favorable developments. The Times article appeared at a moment when the organization was near its peak membership and influence. As Klan members committed more violent acts, public sentiment turned against it, and by the end of the 1920’s, it had suffered major declines nationwide.
Cornell University Library is pleased to present this digital collection of Persuasive Maps, the originals of which have been collected and described by the private collector PJ Mode. The descriptive information in the “Collector’s Notes” has been supplied by Mr. Mode and does not necessarily reflect the views of Cornell University. - Source:
- New York Times, November 18, 1923, p. XX3.
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- For important information about copyright and use, see http://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/copyright.