Indiana Klan

==Rise to power (1922–1925)==
The Evansville Klavern became the most powerful in the state, and Stephenson soon contributed to attracting numerous new members. More than 5,400 men, or 23 percent of the native-born white men in [[Vanderburgh County, Indiana|Vanderburgh County]], ultimately joined the Klan.<ref name="Moore" />

[[File:D. C. Stephenson Grand Dragon of the Klu Klux Klan in Indiana, c 1922.jpg|thumb|upright|[[D.C. Stephenson]], [[Grand Wizard]] of the [[Ku Klux Klan]] in [[Indiana]] and other northern states during the height of Klan power in the 1920s]]

Building on the momentum, Stephenson set up a base in Indianapolis, where he helped create the Klan's state newspaper, ''Fiery Cross'' and he quickly recruited new agents and organizers, building on news about the organization. Protestant ministers were offered free memberships. From July 1922 to July 1923, nearly 2,000 new members joined the Klan in Indiana each week.<ref>Moore (1997), ''Citizen Klansmen'', pp. 16-17</ref> [[Hiram Wesley Evans]], who led recruiting for the national organization, maintained close ties to state leaders throughout 1921–1922 and especially to Stephenson, as Indiana by then had the largest state organization. Stephenson backed Evans in November 1922 when he unseated [[William Joseph Simmons|William J. Simmons]] as [[Imperial Wizard]] of the national KKK. Evans had ambitions to make the Klan a political force in the country.

Klansmen in the Indiana General Assembly passed a bill in 1922 that created a Klan Day at the [[Indiana State Fair]], complete with a nighttime cross burning. Governor [[Warren T. McCray]] vetoed the bill, beginning his public resistance to the Klan; he was the highest-ranking official to oppose them. The same year [[Edward L. Jackson]], a Klan member who had been elected as the [[Secretary of State of Indiana|Secretary of State]], granted the Klan a state charter. McCray demanded the charter be revoked because the leaders of the Klan did not reveal themselves to sign the document. Jackson refused to revoke the charter. Stephenson ordered Jackson to offer McCray a $10,000 bribe to try to end his anti-Klan stance. McCray was personally wealthy and he refused the bribe.<ref name="Gugin, p. 265–266">Gugin, p. 265&ndash;266</ref>

In November 1922, [[Hiram Wesley Evans]] took power as the new Imperial Wizard in Atlanta, with the support of Stephenson. As a reward and in recognition of Stephenson's recruiting success, Evans appointed Stephenson as [[Grand Dragon]] of the Indiana Klan and head of recruiting for seven states north of Mississippi during a 1923 Fourth of July gathering of the Klan in [[Kokomo, Indiana]], with more than 100,000 members and their families attending.<ref>Moore (1997), ''Citizen Klansmen'', pp. 17-19</ref> Stephenson said, 

<blockquote>My worthy subjects, citizens of the Invisible Empire, Klansmen all, greetings. It grieves me to be late. The President of the United States kept me unduly long counseling on matters of state. Only my plea that this is the time and the place of my coronation obtained for me surcease from his prayers for guidance.<ref name="Lutholtz 1993 43,89">{{cite book |last=Lutholtz |first=M. William |date=1993 |title=Grand Dragon: D. C. Stephenson and the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana |url=http://www.thepress.purdue.edu/titles/format/9781557530103 |location=West Lafayette, Indiana |publisher=Purdue University Press |page=43,89 |isbn=1-55753-046-7|access-date=March 25, 2015}}</ref></blockquote>

Encouraged by his success, in September 1923, Stephenson severed his ties with the existing national organization of the KKK, and formed a rival KKK made up of the chapters he led. That year Stephenson changed his affiliation from the Democratic to [[History of the Republican Party (United States)|the Republican Party]], which predominated in Indiana and much of the Midwest. He notably supported Republican [[Edward L. Jackson]], rumored to be a Klan member, when he ran (successfully) for governor in 1924. 

=== Political agenda and rhetoric ===
The Klan's rhetoric was [[Anti-Catholicism|anti-Catholic]] and [[anti-Semitism|anti-Semitic]] in these years, as rapid expansion of industrial jobs in Indiana and other Midwestern states brought tens of thousands of immigrants from southern and eastern Europe. As these immigrants were mainly of Catholic or Jewish faith, the Klan alleged that they were behind secret plots to overthrow the government and exterminate [[Protestant]]s. Its lesser enemy, however, were African Americans. 
[[File:Women-of-the-Klan-Muncie-Indiana-1924.jpeg|thumb|Women of the Ku Klux Klan, Muncie, Indiana, 1924]]
The Indiana Klan stressed more social issues than racism, as it promised to uphold moral standards, help enforce Prohibition, and end political corruption. The Klan also publicly attacked adulterers, gamblers, and undisciplined youths.<ref name="madisom292">{{cite book|author=Madison, James H|title=The Indiana Way|year=1990|pages=292}}</ref> This moralistic focus attracted support from religious leaders, particularly those active in the [[Temperance movement in the United States|Temperance movement]]. [[Daisy Douglas Barr]], who had risen to political prominence through the successful campaign to ban alcohol in the city of Muncie nearly a decade earlier,<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Hoover |first=Dwight W. |date=1991 |title=Daisy Douglas Barr: From Quaker to Klan "Kluckeress" |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27791471 |journal=Indiana Magazine of History |volume=87 |issue=2 |pages=171–195 |issn=0019-6673}}</ref> became a vocal supporter of the Indiana Klan. Appointed by Stephenson as Imperial Empress of the Klan in 1923,<ref name=":0" /> Barr's public persona was crucial to expanding the Klan's membership among women.

The Klan members wanted to end authorization for Catholic parochial schools, and remove all Catholic influence from public schools. The Klan was unable to attain either goal, but attained support for their agenda from key leaders.<ref name = madisom292/> [[Samuel Ralston]] delivered an anti-Catholic speech in 1922 which the Klan reproduced and spread across the state. With their support, he was elected to the [[United States Senate]] in 1923.

=== Peak of influence ===
At the height of its power the Klan had over 250,000 members. The highest concentration was in cities in the central part of the state.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20081018105327/http://www.centerforhistory.org/indiana_history_main7.html Northern Indiana Center for History. "Indiana History Part 7". Internet Archive, October 18, 2008.</ref> Klan membership was discouraged in some parts of the state; in [[New Albany, Indiana|New Albany]], for instance, city leaders denounced the Klan and discouraged residents from joining.<ref>Moore, Leonard.  ''Citizen Klansmen: The Ku Klux Klan in Indiana, 1921–1928''.  ([[University of North Carolina]] Press, 1991). p. 11</ref> Other cities, including [[Indianapolis]], were almost completely controlled by the Klan, and election to public office was impossible without their support. Street fights occurred in Indianapolis between the Klan members and minority groups.  Statewide, estimates of native white male Indiana Klan membership ranged from 27 to 40%.<ref>Bodenhamer, David. ''The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis'' ([[Indiana University]] Press, 1994), p. 879</ref>

With its high rate of membership, the Indiana Klan became influential in the Indiana politics and a public endorsement from the organization leadership could practically guarantee victory at the polls. This led to many Indiana politicians at all levels of government to join the Klan in order to gain their support. 

Unable to bring Governor McCray to their side, leaders in the Indiana Klan worked to uncover dirt on McCray to force him out of office. They uncovered loans solicited by McCray in a questionable way. Because the solicitations were sent by mail, they were subject to federal mail fraud laws. The Klan leaders used their influence to have McCray tried, convicted, and imprisoned for mail fraud, forcing him to resign from office in 1924.<ref name="Gugin, p. 265–266" /> Edward Jackson was elected to the governor's office that fall.

The Klan had a large budget, based on a percentage of membership fees and dues. With more than 50,000 dues-paying members in Indianapolis, the Klan had access to tens of millions of dollars. A large part of these funds went to helping the poor, but millions were also poured into bribing public officials, paying off enemies, purchasing weapons, and contributing to political campaigns.<ref>Gray, Ralph D. (1995). Indiana History: A Book of Readings. Indiana: Indiana University Press. {{ISBN|0-253-32629-X}}</ref><ref>Gray, p. 308</ref> The Klan became so powerful, and Stephenson so influential, that by 1925 he began to brag, saying "I am the law in Indiana."<ref name="Lutholtz 1993 43,89" />