Did the Ku Klux Klan get stronger in the north?

Answer 1

In 1915, William Simmons founded the twentieth-century version of the KKK after viewing the film, Birth of a Nation, which glorified the history of the Klan. The new Klan was not only anti black, but anti Jewish, anti foreign, and anti-Catholic. The Klan actually became a respected part of the Democratic Party and reached its peak of political power in the 1920s, when membership may have been as high as 4.5 million, including many prominent business and political leaders. The Klan declined in power when the Grand Dragon, was found guilty of second degree murder in the death of a young women whom he had taken to Chicago with him. In an attempt to lessen his sentence, Grand Dragon David Stephenson turned over evidence to the government revealing the corruption of the Klan, the names of politicians the Klan had bribed, and other illegal activities of the organization.