Author

Finding aid prepared by Julie Williams

Title

Ku Klux Klan papers

Date

Bulk, 1901-1948

Repository

University of Kentucky Special Collections

Arrangement

Collection is arranged by format.

Conditions Governing Access note

Collection is open to researchers by appointment.

Preferred Citation Note

61M250: [identification of item], Ku Klux Klan papers, 1881-1961, bulk 1901-1948, University of Kentucky Special Collections.

Extent

1.86 Cubic feet

4 boxes

Biography/History

The Ku Klux Klan is an organization that promotes views such as white supremacy, white nativism, and anti-immigration and expresses them through terrorism and violence. The Klan’s history consists of three distinct periods. The Klan was originally founded in the late 1860s by ex-Confederates and Democrats opposed to Reconstruction policies. Though initially a social group, the Klan became involved with violent acts against those who supported Reconstruction. The influence of the Klan declined in the 1880s once the Democrats regained political power. In the 1920s and 1930s, Klan activity reemerged in response to popular sentiment against the flow of new immigrants from Eastern Europe, in particular Catholics and Jews. They viewed these immigrants as a threat to economic and religious stability and used this sentiment to promote its own white supremacy stance. A third period of renewed Klan activity occurred in the 1950s and 1960s in response to the civil rights movement. The Klan directed acts of intimidation, violence, and murder toward civil rights activists and supporters.

Inventory of the Ku Klux Klan Collection. University of Mississippi Libraries, Archives and Special Collections. University of Mississippi. n.d. Web. 21 March 2012.

Scope and Content

The Ku Klux Klan papers consist of broadsides, brochures, correspondence, leaflets, pamphlets, periodicals, and newspapers, most of which relate to the 20th century Ku Klux Klan movement. However, the collection also contains publications covering prohibition and prostitution as well as anti-Catholic and antisemitic pieces. The sources for these materials vary, documenting the national coverage of the Ku Klux Klan's popularity during the 1920s and 1930s.

Subjects

• Ku Klux Klan (1915-).
• Anti-Jewish propaganda
• Antisemitism--United States
• Catholic Church--United States--History.
• Newspapers.
• Prohibition--United States.
• Propaganda
• Prostitution
• Racism--United States--Public opinion

Collection Inventory