In the early 1920s a resurgent Ku Klux Klan rose to prominence in Indiana. It is estimated that dues paying membership and participation in Klan activities included nearly 300,000 Hoosiers in a population of approximately three million. Indiana, a state that sacrificed 25,000 lives in the Civil War, had more Klan members than any state in the Union.
A mystery man and demagogue of huge proportions led the movement, beginning in Evansville and moving North through towns and cities familiar to us all (Kokomo, Muncie, Marion, Richmond, Indianapolis, etc.), where he took control of government and police departments all the way to the Governor’s office. His goal was to be appointed as U.S. Senator and eventually to run for President. This Grand Dragon of the KKK was W.B. Stephenson. Originally from Texas, Stephenson and his minions made hooded vigilante justice and cross burnings common practice in the Hoosier Heartland. All this from Timothy Egan’s 2023 book, “A Fever in the Heartland, the Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to take over America, and the woman who stopped them.”
The KKK sold its ideas on a stated philosophy of temperance, chastity, and chivalry. It successfully promoted fear of the “other” and a yearning for times past. The KKK rejected modernism and its moral failings. All the while, Stephenson and his brutal charges were anything but chaste and temperate in this time of the Roaring Twenties and prohibition. Quite the opposite. The targets of the KKK were Blacks, Jews, homosexuals, Catholics, dark-skinned immigrants, and the teaching of evolution. Dark-skinned immigrants were defined as Italians and Greeks. These groups, so proclaimed, provided an easily identifiable cause for the common man’s disaffections. Stephenson was the master promoter of hate.
The KKK in Indiana had a women’s division headed by Daisy Douglas Barr, and a Klu Klux Kiddies organization. Evangelist Daisy Barr was born in the poorish small town of Jonesboro, Indiana (the town of my birth as well). Originally a Quaker minister, she left or was asked to leave the church as she picked up the torch for the KKK as a fiery revival meeting speaker and proponent of all that the KKK stood for. She grew the organization throughout the Midwest by enlistment of thousands of women whose job it was to support and aid in the work of the KKK.
The core tenant of the KKK was (and still is) pride in race and religion. The very definition of nativism. Surprisingly, core allies of the KKK were the many Protestant churches and faith leaders that promoted its growth either from the pulpit or through defacto support of resigned silence. From the book, “The Klan that spread to the North was steeped in homegrown Christianity practiced by everyday folks. But instead of love your neighbor, these Klansmen hated many a neighbor.”
There are many heroes in this story. Among them, law enforcement, journalists, faith leaders, lawyers, and common citizens. First among them was a young woman, raped and brutalized by Stephenson, whose bedside death testimony eventually brought down the demagogue who previously proclaimed “We (the KKK) are the law itself.” Because of these heroes, he was soon to find out that was no longer true.
WHAT’S NEW?
If the past is truly prologue, this story of the rise and demise of the KKK should prove providential. The KKK still exists, though in diminished form. Other nativist hate groups like the KKK who proclaim superiority through race and birthright are plentiful. The Oath Keepers, Proud Boys, Patriot Front, Three Percenters, etc. There are too many to count. Shockingly (sarcasm), they all support the current and most disgusting demagogue of our time, Donald Trump, who, in W.B. Stephenson fashion, disparages immigrants at every opportunity. Mr. Trump has never disavowed his affection for these groups. Add to that the obvious support of Vladimir Putin, who murders his political opponents and willingly sacrifices hundreds of thousands of his own citizens to death in an unjust war on a sovereign neighbor, and we find overwhelming evangelical support that requires a good bit of moral gymnastics to justify. I find it sad and unconvincing.
W.B. Stephenson said, “I did not sell the Klan in Indiana on hatred. I sold it on Americanism.” This statement is consistent with MAGA reasoning and America First philosophy. The free world watches and is desperate for us, the USA, to be better than this.
Here’s The Thing: I do not know who will win the election. However, I do know that a majority voters in the U.S. will vote against Donald Trump. I take some comfort there.
Just a heads up to whoever stole my Biden/Harris yard signs in 2020. I will be placing my Harris/Walz sign out soon. Thought this might help you plan. I’ll wave to you.
.ken.ballinger@yahoo.com
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Editor’s Note: This is one of a series of articles and opinions written by a group of retired and current teachers — Ken Ballinger, Billy Kreigh, Kathy Schwartz, and Anna Spalding. Their intent is to spur discussions at the dinner table and elsewhere. You may also voice your thoughts and reactions via The News-Banner’s letters to editor.
