HOODED KNIGHTS ON THE NIAGARA: THE KU KLUX KLAN IN BUFFALO, NEW YORK

HOODED KNIGHTS ON THE NIAGARA: THE KU KLUX KLAN IN BUFFALO, NEW YORK (BRIEF SUMMARY)

Introduction

  • The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in Buffalo, NY, operated differently from the typical image of the organization, often facing strong opposition.
  • The second KKK (founded in 1915) under William J. Simmons initially offered mystic fraternalism and insurance, lacking clear direction.
  • Edward Young Clarke and Elizabeth Tyler of the Southern Publicity Association boosted KKK membership through commission-based recruiters (kleagles) and adaptable sales pitches stressing character building, fraternal life, business contacts, or community improvement.
  • The KKK's secrecy also attracted members, some out of curiosity.
  • By mid-1921, the KKK expanded widely, attracting prominent citizens in some areas but also engaging in violence, particularly in the South.
  • National press exposure in late 1921, notably by the New York World, led to House Rules Committee hearings, but Imperial Wizard Simmons deflected accusations.
  • This publicity unexpectedly fueled Klan expansion across the US, including the Northeast, by appealing to native-born white Protestants' values and leveraging the romanticized image from The Birth of a Nation.
  • KKK leaders, particularly Hiram W. Evans (who replaced Simmons in 1922), adapted programs to local needs, often focusing on civic action rather than just ideology.
  • The KKK became a significant political force by 1924 but then declined rapidly due to internal feuding, scandals, and opponent activism.
  • Early scholarship, often by sociologists, stereotyped the KKK as a rural, low-status, and fanatic group due to limited records and scholarly bias.
  • Recent historiography, using new social history techniques, revises this view, showing the KKK had broader urban appeal, drew diverse white male Protestant members, and often functioned as a civic action group.
  • This study focuses on the overlooked KKK experience in the urban Northeast, specifically Buffalo, analyzing Klan members' social characteristics and actions rather than national ideology, from the perspective of a Catholic author who aims for scholarly objectivity.
  • Primary sources, including a membership list and undercover reports, provide detailed insights into the Buffalo Klan.

A Troubled Community

  • Buffalo, NY, was a major urban center in the 1920s, with a growing population and significant industrial production.
  • The workforce was predominantly white male, but women and Black people saw increasing, though limited, occupational presence.
  • Socioeconomic disparities were reflected in residential patterns, with wealthy native whites in outlying wards and lower-income foreign-born populations in central, congested areas.
  • The foreign-born population declined throughout the decade but became more diverse.
  • Buffalo had a significant Black population facing racial discrimination and limited socioeconomic mobility.
  • Religion was a source of conflict, with Roman Catholics forming the majority of church members and holding significant institutional power, while Protestants often held opposing views, especially on prohibition.
  • Buffalo's politics were generally conservative and Republican-dominated, with strong party-ethnicity ties.
  • Local politics were volatile due to intertwined religious, ethnic, party, and class influences.
  • Mayor Francis X. Schwab, a German-American Roman Catholic brewer, dominated 1920s city government, rising to power due to prohibition opposition.
  • Prohibition, implemented in 1920, caused widespread resentment in Buffalo, seen as an arbitrary restriction by a small group of evangelical Protestants.
  • Schwab campaigned on a platform of personal liberty and reduced prohibition enforcement, winning the 1921 mayoral election largely along ethnic, religious, and class lines.
  • Schwab's victory was a triumph for non-Anglo-Saxon groups and a rebuke to prohibition advocates.
  • As mayor, Schwab aimed to be accessible to citizens but his policies, including the regulation of "soft drink" shops, were seen by critics as power grabs.
  • Schwab faced strong opposition and constant feuding from other city commissioners, leading to widespread dissatisfaction with local government.
  • Social concerns of the 1920s included perceived societal breakdown: materialism, declining morality, modern women's behavior, youth conduct, and labor unrest, leading to calls for renewed social and spiritual purpose.
  • The 1919-1920 steel strike and 1922 streetcar strike fueled fears of class conflict and lawlessness, reinforcing the need for order.
  • Perceived crime waves and lenient courts intensified demands for strict law enforcement.
  • Mayor Schwab's stance on lax law enforcement, particularly regarding prohibition and vice, made him a target for opponents.
  • Schwab disbanded the police "dry squad" and appointed an antiprohibitionist police chief, leading to accusations of promoting corruption.
  • Prohibition advocates, including state and federal officials, continued efforts, but the lack of public support and resources hindered enforcement.
  • Federal charges against Schwab for Volstead Act violations led him to adopt a more moderate stance and resign from his brewery position.
  • Protestant reformers, convinced of Schwab's corruption, launched a campaign to improve moral conditions, using private investigators to document lawlessness.
  • By late 1922 local clergy intensified calls for Schwab's removal, but the governor declined to act.
  • The political and social turmoil in Buffalo created an environment ripe for organizations like the KKK to offer a sense of order and purpose.