How was the new Ku Klux Klan similar to and different from the old klan?

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 ant -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.