FIGHTING FRATERNITIES: THE KU KLUX KLAN AND FREEMASONRY IN 1920S AMERICA Submitted by Miguel Hernandez, to the University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History, September 2014. This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other University. Signed …………………………………………………………………………. 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Throughout this project, I have been supported and assisted by a number of people and institutions without whom this thesis could not have been completed. I would struggle to mention all the people who have helped me over the years, but I would like to thank a few key individuals and institutions. First, I would like to express my gratitude to the Arts and Humanities Research Council of the UK for financing my studies over the past three years. I hope that they consider my work a worthwhile investment. I would also like to thank the AHRC for funding my placement at the Library of Congress, it proved to be an invaluable experience. Several historians have also offered me valuable advice throughout my studies. I am indebted to Jeffrey Tyssens, Bob James, Cecile Revauger, Andrew Pink, and Mark N. Morris for all their help. Librarians and archivists are truly some of the most overlooked members of the historical community, but their work proved vital for the completion of this thesis. I would like to thank Martin Cherry of the Library and Museum of Freemasonry; Mary-Lou Reker and the other members of staff from the Kluge Center; Tom Savini of the Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library; Marianne Leese of the Rockland County Historical Society; Joan A. Kleinknecht of the House of the Temple Library & Museum; Samantha Dodd of the Dallas Historical Society; Jane Newell, Janet Price, Sal Addotta of the Anaheim Heritage Center; Laurence Collister, Secretary of Anaheim Lodge No.207; Tyler Anderson of the Grand Lodge of New Mexico. Adam Kendall of the Henry W. Coil Library and Museum of Freemasonry proved to be an especially valuable colleague. He provided me not only with extensive material from the Grand Lodge of California’s archives, but shared his thoughts on my work and Freemasonry in general. All of the staff at the University of Exeter have helped me in some way or another, but I would like to thank Alan Booth, Catriona Pennell and Richard 2 Noakes in particular for having read through my work and helped with my supervision. Most of all I need to acknowledge my supervisor, Kristofer Allerfeldt, for his constant support and encouragement. His advice and suggestions have been fundamental for the direction of this research, and I am truly grateful for all his assistance. I hope that one day I can repay the enormous debt I owe him. My friends and my family have backed me throughout this project, and their support has helped me complete this work. My parents in particular have shown nothing but encouragement for my ambitions. I would also like to thank my girlfriend, one of the few people who took the time to read through every part of this study and offered her insightful opinions. Lastly, I would like to express my appreciation to all those people who have contributed to this thesis in some small way 3 ABSTRACT Throughout the 1920s, America was marked by a series of fundamental political, social and economic shifts that defined the decade. The rise of the Second Ku Klux Klan was just one of the many results of the underlying tensions produced by the radical changes of the period. This fervently patriotic and nativist organization has captivated onlookers and academics because of its peculiar customs and its mysterious resurgence following the First World War. Historians have thoroughly analysed this group’s ideology, and have presented detailed case studies of the growth and decline of individual chapters of this vast organization. The 1920s Klan has been studied from practically every possible angle. However, researchers have neglected to study the order’s fraternal traditions and their relationship with other fraternities. This thesis hopes to address this oversight by offering a critical evaluation of the Ku Klux Klan’s role as a fraternity. This thesis will analyse how this order functioned as a fraternity, and how these traditions helped recruit followers to the movement. This study will also discuss how the Klan interacted with other fraternities, particularly the Freemasons. These two fraternities shared a complex relationship with elements of both cooperation and conflict, and their interactions will help us comprehend how the Ku Klux Klan managed to become the foremost fraternal movement of the 1920s. This thesis will analyse a number of different aspects about the Ku Klux Klan, from their ideology and rituals to their sales methods and public relations campaign. This study hopes to re-evaluate a number of key assumptions about this group by critically assessing the Klan from a different perspective. By investigating the response of fraternities like the Freemasons to an intrusive and aggressive order like the Klan, we can gain a better understanding of how the nation as a whole perceived and reacted to this peculiar organization. 4 CONTENTS Acknowledgements ............................................................................................ 2 Abstract .............................................................................................................. 4 List of Tables and Images .................................................................................. 5 Terms and Abbreviations ................................................................................... 7 Introduction....................................................................................................... 10 Chapter 1: Klannishness: Brotherhood in the Invisible Empire ......................... 47 Chapter 2: Freemasonry’s ‘Fighting Brother’: Militancy, Nationalism and the Ku Klux Klan .......................................................................................................... 82 Chapter 3: Kluxing America: The Use and Abuse of the Masonic Reputation 123 Chapter 4: Salesmen of Hate: Selling the Invisible Empire ............................ 161 Chapter 5: Hooded Freemasons: Dual Membership and Conflict in Local Lodges ........................................................................................................... 195 Chapter 6: Dallas Klan No.66 and Anaheim Lodge No.207: A Case Study of Two Communities ........................................................................................... 223 Chapter 7: Friend or Foe?: Grand Masters’ Responses to the Ku Klux Klan 263 Epilogue ......................................................................................................... 303 Conclusion: an “Invisible” Empire? ................................................................. 315 Bibliography and References ......................................................................... 326 5 LIST OF TABLES AND IMAGES Image 1 – Outline of a Klavern 81 Image 2 – Masons and Klansmen Attend a Funeral 159 Image 3 – Duties Confront the Modern Paul Revere 159 Image 4 – 100% Americans 160 Image 5 – Advertisement for Kleagles in the Wisconsin State Journal 164 Image 6- Nelson Burroughs after his “kidnapping” 295 Chart 1 – Estimates for National Masonic Membership, 1914 -1930 55 Chart 2 – Dual Membership Among Klansmen from Colorado, Montana, Kansas, Michigan and Texas 210 Chart 3 – Membership in the Freemasons Among Klansmen, the DCCL and Dallas Residents 242 Chart 4 – Dual Membership in Anaheim Lodge No. 207 256 Chart 5 – La Grande Klavern Attendance ` 308 6 TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS Ku Klux Klan Terminology The Ku Klux Klan had an exceedingly complex nomenclature, for further information, see Ku Klux Klan, Klansman’s Manual (Atlanta: Ku Klux Klan Press, 1924). Domain – A collection of Realms within the Invisible Empire Emperor – Spiritual and fraternal head of the Ku Klux Klan Exalted Cyclops – Head of a local Klan chapter Extension Department – New name of the Propagation Department following 1923 Grand Dragon – Executive leader of a Realm Grand Goblin – Head salesman and promoter of the Klan within a Domain Great Titan – Head of Province Imperial Kloncilium – National council of Imperial officers. Imperial Klonvokation – Biennial national gathering of Klansmen Imperial Palace – National headquarters of the Klan Imperial Wizard – National executive head of the Ku Klux Klan Invisible Empire – Alternative name for the Ku Klux Klan, mostly used in rituals King Kleagle – Chief salesman and promoter of the Klan within a Realm Kladd – The conductor of the ritual within a klavern Klaliff – Vice-president of the klavern. Klankraft – A collective term for the Klan’s ritual and fraternal traditions Klannishness – Term for the Klan’s brand of fraternalism Klanton – Jurisdiction of an individual klavern Klarogo – Inner guard of the klavern Klavern – An individual chapter of the Ku Klux Klan and a term for their meeting rooms Kleagle – The Klan’s sales and marketing officers. 7 Klectoken – Klan initiation fee, usually $10 Klexter – Outer guard of the klavern Kligrapp – Secretary of the klavern (Imperial Kligrapp refers to the national secretary) Klokard – lecturer of the