Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of several publications, a citizenship form for “Klan No. 56, Realm of Illinois,” a donation form that was attached to the citizenship form, a handwritten note inviting “Faithful and esteemed Klansmen” to a meeting in Havana, Illinois in 1924, and a broadside poster. The publications were all published by the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in Atlanta, Georgia. The three issues of
The Kourier Magazine (later retitled
Kourier) touch on a variety of events through the lens of Klansman ideology and values. Articles were about political topics such as the 1928 presidential election, Tammany Hall, the Great Depression, Hitler’s dictatorship in Germany, and Communism. Two other publications,
The Practice of Klanishness and
Constitution and Laws of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (Incorporated), are also included in this collection.
The Practice of Klanishness outlines what it means to be a member of the Ku Klux Klan, emphasizing values like American loyalty, white supremacy, and Christian ideals.
Constitution and Laws of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (Incorporated) details what their executive structures were in 1921.
Biographical/Historical Context:
During the late 1910s to early 1930s, the Ku Klux Klan was at its peak, having over 4 million members across the United States during the 1920s. Of those members, about 200,000 of them were Illinois residents. The Knights of the Ku Klux Klan publications in this collection were printed at Atlanta, Georgia, the location of a prominent revival of the Ku Klux Klan headed by white Protestants. By the 1930s - the most recent years documented by materials in this collection - the Great Depression caused the number of Ku Klux Klan members to plummet.
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