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Klan Influence In Williamson County

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Klan Influence In Williamson County
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The Klan was very influential in Williamson County, in November 1922 seventeen men walked in the First Christian Church on Sunday morning in full Klan regalia, hoods up and everything. But what they didn’t know was this wasn’t going to be the last time these men would wreak havoc on their day to day lives. The Klan had a severe prejudice for immigrants and took up residence in small towns in southern Illinois. Williamson County was the perfect place for them. They led residents to believe that they were respectable and wholesome. One of their key quotes was they wanted people to think they were just trying to be “100% American” of which I will inform you how they are nothing but the opposite.
When the Klan invaded Herrin …show more content…
They caused many innocent people to be killed and injured just because they were born a certain race and religion. The Klan had a terrible reputation and I think some of it was some person’s foolishness to accept that they were the “new Klan.” When the Klan entered Williamson County they were led there because of the Kleagles that told them this would be a good place to be. Bootlegging was going on everywhere and law enforcement was proving to be inefficient in stopping the people who were breaking the law making their own alcohol. The Klan saw this as a perfect opportunity to get people to follow …show more content…
The churches that had ministers who were pro-Klan played a big part in wooing the townspeople over to side with the Klan and their forces. The Klan did many raids resulting in arrests which the citizens in the area believed was justice since they were being taken to Benton and arrested for not abiding the laws associated with prohibition. This made the Klan popular even if it was unnecessary force and beatings that achieved the status that they came to get. I don’t think people in this day and age would be as easily swayed by the Klan as they were in the 1920’s for the simple fact that people are far more educated now. Also groups of this caliber now aren’t as big as the KKK was in those days so the lower numbers means less attacks in my eyes.
The new Klan that was supposedly Christian and peaceful wasn’t any different in the way I see things simply because they still had the old beliefs and still were prejudiced which is what led them to do all these unruly and unspeakable acts. I personally do not think the author agrees that the new Klan was any different either. The author proves that they didn’t change from all the beatings, deaths, injuries, and innocent people dying for no reason at all, they just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong
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