poor law enforcement and communications
The membership of the KKK was reportedly several million at its peak during the 1920s. However, it was a secret organization that had a self-interest in exaggerating its strength and power.
The KKK of the 1920s differed significantly from the Reconstruction Era KKK in its broader focus and membership. While the original KKK primarily targeted Black Americans and sought to maintain white supremacy in the South, the 1920s KKK expanded its agenda to include a wide range of anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic, and anti-Semitic sentiments, reflecting a reaction to the changing social dynamics of the time. This version of the KKK also saw a massive increase in membership and visibility, promoting itself as a national organization with a more mainstream appeal, utilizing parades and public rallies to recruit members. Additionally, the 1920s KKK leveraged modern media and a more organized structure to spread its message beyond the South.
There was a claimed membership of over two million people at the height of the Klan's size in the mid-1920s.
The KKK came to an end in the 1920s through corruption from within the Klan itself and society. The Klan's more violent activities (such as lynchings, robbings, and burnings) started to offend the conscience of Americans and membership decreased. That, along with numerous accounts of fraud, sexual scandals, accusation of crimes, and money mishandling led to the demise of the KKK.
The KKK
In the 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) expanded significantly, attracting a diverse membership that included white Protestants, particularly in the Midwest and South. Many of its members were middle-class individuals, including professionals and community leaders, who were drawn to the Klan's promotion of nativism, white supremacy, and moral values. The KKK also gained political influence, participating in local and state elections and advocating for legislation that reflected its ideology. This period marked a peak in Klan membership, with millions of Americans joining the organization at its height.
The KKK of the 1920s was strongest in Indiana.
The "KKK of the 1920s," established in 1915, called itself the Ku Klux Klan or KKK.
The biggest KKK, that of the 1920s, attracted racists, opponents of immigration, supporters of National Prohibition, Democrats, Protestants, rural residents, and people who saw themselves as patriotic. At its peak, membership across the country was claimed to be in the millions. The KKK consisted almost exclusively of white, middle-class males.
KKK
The KKK actively recruited members in the 1920s. Later, Sen. Harry Byrd would become a KKK recruiter.
The KKK is a secret organization. However, there were KKK groups in Pennsylvania is the 1920, largely because of its staunch support of National Prohibition.