Who is an American?
asked the Ku Klux Klan. It is a question that echoes as loudly today as it did in the early twentieth century. But who really joined the Klan? Were they hillbillies, the Great Unteachables
as one journalist put it? It would be comforting to think so, but how then did they become one of the most powerful political forces in our nation's history? In this book, a renowned historian details the creation and reign of the infamous organization. Through the prism of their operations in Indiana and the Midwest, he explores the Klan's roots in respectable white protestant society. Convinced that America was heading in the wrong direction because of undesirable un-American
elements, Klan members did not see themselves as bigoted racist extremists but as good Christian patriots joining proudly together in a righteous moral crusade. This book offers a detailed history of this powerful organization and examines how, through its use of intimidation, religious belief, and the ballot box, the ideals of Klan in the 1920s have on-going implications for America today.