A resurgence of Ku Klux Klan (KKK) movement between 1915 and the mid-1920s, in what historians call the "Second Klan," reached all 48 states, with membership over four million in the mid-1920s. Although the Klan's core belief in white supremacy, at least with regard to African Americans, had less resonance in Washington State, by 1921 there was a ready audience for much of its agenda -- dislike of unions, leftists, and the unemployed; anti-immigrant sentiment; hostility to perceived elites; dedication to conservative family values; and the embrace of a fundamentalist strain of Protestant Christianity.
By the end of 1922, there were 2,000 Klan members in Seattle and smaller groups in Walla Walla, Tacoma, and Spokane. The Klan frequently utilized public events with elaborate patriotic entertainment to attract and indoctrinate massive crowds. The image here shows three unidentified Washington Klan members, covered in robes and hoods, as they are interviewed by Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter Robert Berman (b. 1890), probably at a Klan initiation or pubic rally. While dozens of Klan chapters were organized in Washington State throughout 1923, in 1924 membership declined sharply in the wake of power struggles between Klan leaders, Klan leaders' embezzlement of organization funds, and a general settling of the uncertain national political and economic conditions.
In this photo, three robed and hooded Klansmen, one holding an American flag, speak with Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter Robert Berman, at right.
Caption information source: "The Ku Klux Klan in Washington, 1921-1925," by John Caldbick, HistoryLink.org Essay 20718. Caption information source: "KKK Super Rallies in Washington State, 1923-24," by Trevor Griffey, retrieved from https://depts.washington.edu/civilr/kkk_rallies.htm Caption information source: "The Great Ku Klux Klan Rally in Issaquah, Washington," by Joe Peterson, retrieved from http://www.narhist.ewu.edu/pnf/articles/s1/ii-4/great_rally/great_rally.html Caption information also derived from captions written by Post-Intelligencer staff.
ID Number: PI21477
Date: Circa 1923
Physical Description: 1 glass negative : b&w ; 4 x 5 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
